Pepper Jack Potato Casserole – our favorite potato casserole recipe. It is like a cross between traditional potato casserole and scalloped potatoes. LOVE the cheesy bacon cracker crust!!! Frozen shredded hash browns, cream of chicken soup, heavy cream, pepper jack cheese, butter, sour cream, onion powder, garlic powder, ritz crackers, parmesan and bacon. Can make ahead and freeze for later. I always have a batch on hand for a quick and delicious side dish! #potatocasserole #freezermeal #sidedish
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Pin This RecipeThis Pepper Jack Potato Casserole is a new favorite in our house!!! OMG! So creamy and delicious. This potato casserole is different from other recipes in that it uses heavy cream. The cream makes this a cross between a potato casserole and scalloped potatoes. It makes such a difference! So yummy!!!
If you are watching your calories, you can substitute half-and-half for the heavy cream without sacrificing the creaminess. I have made this Pepper Jack Potato Casserole with both and it turns out great either way.
This casserole is loaded with tons of great flavor! I loved all the yummy pepper jack cheese. If you aren’t a fan of pepper jack, feel free to substitute Monterey jack. Don’t skip the topping – it really puts the potato casserole over the top! Ritz crackers, parmesan cheese, and bacon – YASSS!!!
You can make this casserole ahead of time and freeze for later. I like to split the casserole between a couple of foil pans and bake one now and freeze the others for a quick side dish later.
These potatoes go with just about everything. Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with this easy casserole:
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Pepper Jack Potato Casserole
Ingredients:
- 1 (30 to 32-oz) bag frozen shredded hash browns
- 1 (10.5-oz) can Unsalted Cream of Chicken Soup
- 2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
- 1½ cups heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup butter, melted
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 sleeve Ritz crackers crushed
- ½ cup cooked chopped bacon
- 1 tsp paprika
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Lightly spray a 9x13x2-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine hash browns, cream of chicken soup, pepper jack cheese, heavy cream, butter, sour cream, ¼ cup grated parmesan, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Spoon potato mixture into prepared pan.
- Combine crushed crackers, bacon, remaining ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese, and paprika. Sprinkle over potatoes.
- Bake, uncovered, for 45 to 50 minutes, until bubbly.
Notes:
- I suggest using Unsalted Cream of Chicken Soup in this dish to control the sodium.
- You can buy it by the case at Amazon: https://amzn.to/49n4uZE
- Need Gluten-free Cream of Chicken Soup? You can buy it here: https://amzn.to/3MtqQ1s
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup: https://www.plainchicken.com/homemade-cream-of-chicken-soup/
- Can assemble casserole ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze for later.
- To bake after freezing, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and bake as directed above.
Steph
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This is one of my family’s favorite side dishes! We love it best cooked on the smoker!
Loved this recipe! I’ve made it almost every week my family loved it so much. I slice my potatoes scalloped style and bake them crispy first. Wondering if anyone has tried adding ground hamburger?
I think that would be a delicious addition.
These are amazing . Making them tonight again. Family asked for them every night lol. I made no substitutions. Tried to freeze second 8×8 but family wanted it the next day.
Making this today and adding shredded chicken to make it a main dish!
Wondering if I could use canned dried onion instead of crackers for my top
Sure! Sounds delicious.
Can this be made in a crockpot as my oven is out?If so do you know how long on times?
You can make it in the slow cooker. I would cook it on LOW heat for 4 to 6 hours.
I cant wait to make this, Im not a huge parm cheese fan so may substitute more pepper jack in cracker topping. That would be ok right?
Made this casserole tonight and it was very delicious. I did not have Ritz crackers and used panko instead and used bacon bits. Very good recipe and will definitely make again. Thank you so much for your hard work in bringing us free recipes, I really appreciate it.
This is absolutely delicious! Wouldn’t change a thing! Makes a lot, I had enough to make two separate casserole dishes , one for us and one to share with my parents, and they loved it as well!
Hey Stephanie, about how many does one batch feed? I am thinking about making this for Easter Dinner and I have about 36 people coming. Thanks 🙂
All serving sizes are listed under the recipe title.
When you say “grated Parmesan”, do you mean “shredded like with a box grater” or do you mean “grated” like the kind in the fridge for spaghetti or pizza? Or would either kind work?
Thank you for your answer,
Cheryl Mallie
Either is fine.
Delicious casserole & easy to make! Only change I made (because I was out of crackers) was to top casserole with French’s fried onions in the can. I baked casserole as directed and about 5-10 minutes before being done, I topped it with crushed fried onions, returned to oven and finished cooking. Yum so delicious! Thanks for sharing!
I was wondering if that would work out! So glad you put this comment here! I’m also wondering if I could use chaddar instead of pepper jack? My stomach will not tolerate spicy … ANYTHING. 🙁
You can make this however you want
Anyone ever try mashed potato’s with this? Just trying to figure out how many to use and if the % of ingredients would be different at all.
I haven’t tried that but it sounds interesting.
I have made this several times and everyone LOVES it. I like the fact you don’t have to thaw the hash browns and squeeze out the water.
I do need to make it ahead of time this wknd. Can I bake it frozen or if I make and thaw out, will it get watery while that’s happening.
Can I substitute panko or something else instead of Ritz?
Sure!
You can top it with cornflakes & melted butter! That’s how I make my hashbrown casserole!
Made this tonight. Everyone seemed to like it. However I did not care for the cracker topping. Think next time I’ll just use more crumbled bacon & cheese for the topping.
Gotta say this recipe earned all five stars. My family, including some picky eaters, all enjoyed it. This dish was also a hit with the monthly neighborhood get-together. So many people have asked for the recipe so it’s making the rounds. My grandkids keep asking me if I will fix it when they come for dinner. Thanks Stephanie for sharing and giving a different side to fix other than the same old mashed potatoes.
SO glad you enjoyed it!
We love this recipe!!! I almost didn’t use the topping but at the last minute decided to do it. That made the dish DONT leave it out
My family LOVED this!! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Made this for a dinner added rosted chicken it was amazing 👏 😋
Can I use regular hash browns instead of shredded? Well I know I can, but would I need to change the cooking temp or time? I prefer cubed hash browns but last time I made a hash brown casserole and swapped cubed for shredded the potatoes were undercooked.
I’m not sure if it would take longer or not. My guess is that it might take a little longer since the potato chunks are larger.
Just made this for the first time. Halved it cuz it was just 4 of us.
Delicious!
Will definitely make often!
p.s didn’t add the bacon to the topping but I will next time.
Do you thaw the hash browns first or mix frozen?
I use them frozen, but you can thaw them if you would like
What can I use in place of Whipping cream in this recipe?
A usual replacement for whipping cream is whole milk + 2 tbsp butter. This recipe already calls for a lot of butter so milk is a fine replacement. I did. Turned out great.
How do you think Cauliflower would do in place of hashbrowns?
I’ve never made this with cauliflower, so I can’t say with certainty. Sounds like it would work.
This was excellent! Very creamy and flavorful!
Can you use cream of bacon soup instead of cream of chicken
Any cream of soup should work fine
YUM!!! This is now in my recipe rotation. I made this with a few additions-I added a 5 oz can Hormel drained and flaked ham, 3 T minced red bell pepper, and 4 oz well drained green chilies in with the hashbrowns. I also bumped the sour cream to 1 cup to compensate for the extra ingredients to prevent dryness. It was awesome. I will be making this often and taking it to pot luck. My husband suggested instead of the ham next time we add 1 c cooked and drained ground sausage. Thanks for the best recipes. I have never been disappointed with anything you have shared with us and I have made many of your recipes.
Was thinking if adding ham chunks to this. Any thoughts or experience with that?
Sounds delicious!
Is this really spicey? I am gonna cook for around 25 people and was just wondering
No – it isn’t spicy at all. You can use Monterey Jack cheese if you prefer.
Do you thaw the hashbrowns?
I didn’t, but you can.
Do you thaw the hash browns before making the recipe?
you can, but it isn’t necessary
Could this be made in a crock pot?
sure
We typically eat healthy, but on holidays we splurge! My family wants this added to holiday list! I had to make myself stop 🛑 eating, soooo good!
This sounds delicious! I was wondering if I could use fresh potatoes as opposed to the frozen hash browns. Would that change anything in the cooking directions?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
I would suggest that if you use your own potatoes and shred them, that you squeeze all of the water out of the potatoes before adding to recipe…. 🙂
I used diced fresh potatoes in this casserole and added an additional 20 minutes. It turned out great. I put tin foil over it for the last 20 minutes of baking.
This potato dish was the perfect side to serve with BBQ Beef Brisket, feeding 9 adults. Everyone raved about it, and there was almost nothing leftover! Thank you for sharing an easy to prepare, delicious recipe! It will most certainly be added to our potato dish rotation!
I was in a hurry when I made this. Accidentally dumped a little paprika into the actual casserole, couldn't taste it. Followed the directions other than adding bacon, missed that completely. Still was unbelievably amazing. Can't wait to try your other recipes.
My family loves your pepperjack rice bake, I can't wait to try these pepperjack hashbrowns this weekend!