This Twice Baked Potato Casserole is the ultimate potato side dish! Super fluffy mashed potatoes loaded with all your favorite twice baked potato fixings!
Serve this potato side dish with a Roast Turkey for the holidays – or the star of the Christmas dinner show – Beef Wellington! Of course you don’t have to save this casserole for the holidays, we serve these potatoes with Grilled Chicken or Grilled Steak too!
A Make Ahead Potato Casserole Recipe
Making mashed potatoes ahead of time is hard to do. You can use a slow cooker mashed potato recipe to free up oven space, but the texture can get gummy sometimes.
If you make mashed potatoes ahead of time and refrigerate them, you end up with a really hard bowl of mashed potatoes that has to be reheated with more cream and/or melted butter to loosen them up again.
This Twice Baked Potato Casserole is the best way to make mashed potatoes ahead of time with the best possible flavor and texture! You can make this potato casserole recipe even the day before, stash it in your refrigerator and bake when ready.
Perfect, fluffy, creamy potatoes every single time! This recipe is also perfect to take along to potlucks or dinner parties or to give to a friend or family member who needs a hug in a casserole dish.
What Kind Of Potatoes Do You Use To Make This Casserole Recipe?
Russet potatoes are best since they will yield the fluffiest potato filling. You can use a Yukon Gold if you prefer but the potatoes will be more creamy instead of fluffy. Still delicious, it’s just what you prefer. I love the way the potatoes in this casserole are so fluffy and light, even though they are mixed with sour cream, cream cheese and yes, a whole stick of butter!
Yep, you heard me. A stick of butter. First of all, this recipe uses 5 pounds of potatoes. That’s like a whole bag that you pick up at the grocery store…and it feeds at least 10 people. These twice baked potatoes are super rich so a big scoop is all you really need.
Which Is Better, A Potato Rice Or A Potato Masher?
Neither are better, really. Again, it’s about what you prefer. A potato ricer will break down the potatoes into small, thin strands that literally melt together after only a few stirs. Using a potato rice will yield the smoothest, fluffiest potato filling. But that’s not to say that there’s not a place for a potato masher.
If you like more texture to your mashed potatoes then a potato masher is the right tool for you! Mashing the potatoes will leave a few pieces of potato in tact, so this will make for a more textured filling.
Once you have the potato filling in your casserole dish, you’re going to top it with lots of sharp cheddar cheese and bacon. We love using “real” bacon bits from the store in recipes like this because it’s SO much easier than cooking bacon.
Make sure you do get good quality REAL bacon bits though, the ground up bacon product stuff is not going to be so delicious on this delectable potato casserole.
Check out how crazy light and fluffy those potatoes are!!! Look inside that scoop! I know I’ve used the word “fluffy” about ten times in this Twice Baked Potato Casserole recipe but there’s no other word to describe these potatoes.
PIN IT!
Looking For More Potato Side Dish Recipes?
- Super Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Crispy Smashed Potatoes
- Mini Loaded Hasselback Potatoes
- Fried Mashed Potato Balls
- Mustard Roasted Potatoes
- Oven Roasted Potatoes with Bacon
Twice Baked Potato Casserole
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 10 Servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeThis loaded potato casserole is the ultimate side dish recipe! You can make this potato casserole ahead of time and bake when ready!
Ingredients
- 5 pounds russet potatoes
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Fresh black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup whole or 2% milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 cups shredded white cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 1/2 cup bacon bits (or cooked, chopped bacon), divided
- Chopped chives for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into approximately 2 inch size cubes. Add to a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring the water to a boil and then boil the potatoes for 15 minutes or until they are fork tender.
- Drain the potatoes and rice them (using a potato ricer) into the pot that you used to boil them in. Alternately, you can add the potatoes into the pot and use a potato masher, but using a potato ricer will result in a smoother, fluffier texture.
- Slice the butter into pieces and add to the potatoes while they are still warm, along with the cream cheese and sour cream. Stir to combine.
- Add the garlic powder, salt, pepper, milk, cream, 2 cups of the shredded cheese and 1 cup of the bacon bits. Stir to combine well.
- Pour the potato mixture into a 9″ x 13″ baking dish that’s been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Top with remaining cup of cheese and 1/2 cup of bacon bits.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, uncovered until the cheese on top is melted and the potatoes are warmed through in the middle.
- Garnish with chopped chives before serving.
Recipe Notes
To make this potato casserole ahead of time just, cover, refrigerate and bake when ready! Take the dish out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking to take the chill off, or add a few more minutes to the baking time.
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
