Southern Hash Brown Casserole Recipe
Cracker Barrel was the Copycat - Here's the Original Home Casserole
Aug 30, 2008
Perhaps you’ve tried the Hash Brown Casserole at Cracker Barrel restaurant. Cracker Barrel offers a variety of favorite Southern side dishes like Hash Brown Casserole.
It’s hard to say when hash brown casseroles first became popular in the South. It was probably some time after companies started selling frozen bagged hash brown potatoes. It is possible to shred fresh potatoes and partially cook them when making a hash brown casserole, but it’s a lot more work. With frozen hash browns, Hash Brown Casserole becomes a quick and easy dish to prepare.
It does work out best to thaw frozen hash browns before making this casserole. Put the frozen hash browns in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter for a half hour or so. Then, drain off any extra water. If the hash browns do have extra water from ice, the casserole can come out a tad runny.
You can also use Simply Potatoes hash browns (see photo) which are not frozen. They are in the refrigerator section of the grocery store. That eliminates the need to thaw the hash browns. Simply Potatoes are more expensive than the bagged frozen hash browns though, so most Southerners go with the frozen hash browns.
Southern Hash Brown Casserole Recipe
- 1 bag of frozen hash brown potatoes (2 lbs)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup melted butter
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 small onion (chopped)
- 1 can 10 ¾ oz cream soup (cream of chicken or cream of mushroom work very well)
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cups crushed Corn Flakes
- ¼ cup melted butter
Directions:
- As mentioned above, thaw hash browns (or use refrigerator style hash browns).
- In a large bowl, mix together hash browns, cheddar cheese, ½ cup melted butter, salt, onion, soup, and sour cream. Stir until evenly mixed.
- Spray a 9 x 11 or 9 x 13 inch pan or casserole dish with Pam or lightly grease the dish. This helps on clean up.
- Pour mixture from bowl into pan and spread evenly with a spoon. Do not pack down tightly.
- In a small bowl, mix together Corn Flakes and ¼ cup melted butter. Mix together and spread on top of casserole.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes without a lid. The top should be lightly browned when done.
This is a large casserole (feeds 12 or more), and it is not from the healthy cooking file. Depending on the size of the serving, expect between 300 to 400 calories per hearty serving with about half those calories from fat. For these reasons, this recipe is usually served for special occasions. And, the casserole dish usually comes home empty.
Other family favorite Southern casserole dishes:
Mom's Sweet Potato Casserole - This pretty casserole dish is generally served as a side dish in the South but could certainly be used as a dessert. It's popular during the holiday season but yummy any time of the year.
Best Ever Potato Salad - The secret is in the salad dressing - Italian salad dressing. This looks like a traditional Southern potato salad but has a little tang.
Southern Carrot Casserole - If you have some extra carrots in the refrigerator, this is a classy way to serve up some root vegetables. Nice color. Nice flavor.
Green Bean Casserole Recipe - Yes. This is the class green bean casserole served at holidays in the South. People may joke around about green bean casserole, but somebody sure cleans out the dish.
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