Cracker Barrel Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole (Copycat Recipe)
This cheesy hash brown casserole is my copycat of the one served at Cracker Barrel, made with frozen shredded hash browns, sharp cheddar, butter, onion, and cream of chicken soup that bake into a creamy, golden casserole that disappears fast.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole
- Serves: 4
- Main Ingredients: frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, butter, cream of chicken soup, chopped onion, grated cheddar cheese, pepper, salt
- Why You'll Love It: This cheesy hash brown casserole is similar to that hash brown casserole you get at that famous home-style chain restaurant. Cheesy, creamy, and delicious!
Everything gets stirred together in one bowl and spread into a 9×13 dish, so there’s no thawing, peeling, or grating potatoes before it goes in the oven. It’s one of the easiest sides on our Thanksgiving table, right up there with green bean casserole.
Just Like Cracker Barrel’s Hash Brown Casserole
What makes the Cracker Barrel hash brown casserole so good is how simple it is: shredded potatoes, cheddar, onion, and a creamy sauce, with no sour cream at all. Frozen shredded hash browns make it easy to recreate at home, since they’re already cooked and shredded and turn tender in the oven while the cheese and soup melt into a creamy sauce all around them.
We serve this at holiday dinners, family reunions, and any Sunday that needs a side everybody will eat, and it’s just as good at breakfast next to cheesy scrambled eggs as it is at supper next to baked ham.
If you love this one, I have a couple of other versions you might like too. My sour cream hash brown casserole has a little extra tang, and my cheesy potatoes with frozen hash browns are another one my family asks for.
Ingredients for Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole
- Frozen shredded hash browns: Use the shredded kind rather than diced or cubed, since the shreds give you that classic Cracker Barrel texture. They can go in frozen or lightly thawed.
- Cream of chicken soup: This is what makes the casserole creamy. Canned works great, or you can use my homemade cream of chicken soup, and cream of mushroom works in a pinch.
- Cheddar cheese: Shred your own from a block if you can, because bagged cheese has a coating that keeps it from melting as smoothly.
- Butter: Melted butter coats every shred of potato and helps the top turn golden in the oven.
- Onion: Dice it small so it softens as it bakes and adds flavor without any crunch.
You’ll find the full amounts in the recipe card below.
Helpful Tips Before You Start
- Use a big bowl. Two pounds of hash browns take up a lot of room, and you’ll want plenty of space to stir everything evenly.
- Mix the wet ingredients first. Stirring the soup, butter, onion, and seasonings together before the potatoes go in keeps the sauce from clumping.
- Bake until it’s bubbly. Look for bubbling edges and a hot center, and keep in mind that hash browns straight from the freezer may need a little extra time, so check the middle with a spoon before you pull it out.
- Grease the dish. A light coat of butter or cooking spray keeps the edges from sticking, and those crispy edges are everybody’s favorite part, just like the corners of a pan of Mama’s creamy macaroni and cheese.
- Leave it uncovered so the cheese on top can brown. If you want even more crunch, try one of the toppings below.
How to Make Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole
1. Mix the Sauce
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add the diced onion, melted butter, cream of chicken soup, salt, and pepper to a large mixing bowl.
Stir with a large spoon until everything is well combined.
2. Add the Cheese
Stir in the shredded cheddar cheese.
3. Add the Hash Browns
Add the hash browns, which can go in still frozen or lightly thawed.
Stir until every shred is coated in the cheesy sauce.
4. Bake
Spread the potato mixture into a lightly greased 9×13 baking dish.
Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes, until it’s hot and bubbly, and serve it warm next to something hearty like chicken fried steak.
Easy Variations and Toppings
- Add-ins: Stir in chopped red bell pepper, crumbled bacon, sliced green onions, or diced leftover ham. If you still have ham to use up after that, I have more recipes for leftover ham too.
- Crunchy topping: Sprinkle crushed potato chips, Ritz crackers, panko, or corn flakes over the top before baking, which turns it into what a lot of folks call funeral potatoes.
- Soup swap: Cream of mushroom or cream of celery both work in place of cream of chicken.
- Leftover makeover: My deluxe cheesy hash brown casserole turns Thanksgiving leftovers into a whole new dish.
- Garnish: A little chopped fresh parsley or green onion right before serving adds some color.
What to Serve With Hash Brown Casserole
This casserole works at breakfast, brunch, or supper, so here are a few of the ways we like to serve it.
- For holidays: crock pot turkey breast or baked ham, with fresh green beans on the side
- For supper: cubed steak and milk gravy with fried okra, butter beans, and a skillet of cornbread
- For breakfast: a ham, egg, and cheese casserole or biscuits and sausage gravy
- Something green: quick fried turnip greens balance out all that cheese
Make-Ahead, Storage, and Freezing
Making it ahead
You can assemble the casserole up to a day ahead, cover it, and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake, adding a few extra minutes since it starts out cold. It also works to bake it ahead, refrigerate it, and rewarm it in the oven.
Freezing
Cover the unbaked casserole tightly with foil and freeze it for up to 30 days. When you’re ready for it, let it thaw in the fridge for 24 hours and then bake as directed.
Leftovers
Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months, and they reheat well in the microwave or in a 350°F oven. Leftovers are also really good tucked into breakfast burritos the next morning.
Hash Brown Casserole FAQs
Do I need to thaw the hash browns first?
No, you can stir them in frozen or lightly thawed. Fully frozen hash browns may just need a few extra minutes in the oven.
Can I use diced or cubed hash browns?
You can, but the texture will be chunkier, since shredded hash browns are what give this casserole its creamy, Cracker Barrel-style texture.
Can I make it without canned soup?
Yes. Use my homemade cream of chicken soup in place of the can.
Is this a breakfast casserole or a side dish?
It’s both. Serve it at breakfast with eggs and biscuits or at supper alongside your main dish.
How do I keep it from getting greasy?
Stick to the amount of butter in the recipe and use block cheddar that you shred yourself, because pre-shredded cheese can leave the top a little oily.
Is this hash brown casserole made without sour cream?
Yes. This copycat uses cream of chicken soup instead of sour cream, so it’s a good pick if you’re out of sour cream or just don’t care for it. If you’d like the tangier version, try my hash brown casserole with sour cream.
Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 lbs frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1 can cream of chicken soup or one recipe of homemade cream soup
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine soup, onion, melted butter, and seasonings, stir well. Add in shredded cheese and frozen hash browns.2 lbs frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, 1/2 cup butter, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1/2 cup chopped onion, 2 cups grated cheddar cheese, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon salt
- Spread into a lightly greased 9×13 casserole dish and bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until bubbly.
Very Close but too much butter. I made this tonight & the taste is spot on but there’s WAY too much butter in this recipe. I’ll try it next time with just a quarter cup & see how it is. It is good recipe and I thank you for sharing.,
One of our favorite dishes I make at home, but also our favorite when we go to Cracker Barrel, YUM! I usually put Diced Kentucky Legend ham in mine, But I’m definitely going to try the copy cat cracker barrel recipe, matter of fact it’s in my slow roaster right now baking for dinner! (With diced ham )
Yum, can’t wait…Thank You for Sharing
You are so welcome. So glad you like it!!
I think if you add chicken to this it would be a meal in itself. Yummy!
Yes it would Judy! Great thinking!
I read somewhere that someone who worked at Cracker Barrel said they used Colby cheese in their hash brown casserole, not cheddar, though I haven’t tried making it that way, yet.
I will have to give it a try and see Rhonda, thank you so much for sharing!!
A nice way to use up leftover ham..dice and stir it in. I have even been known to sneak in acup or so of frozen peas.
Great idea for snaking in some extra vegetables Nana!
I have been making this casserole, and the other hash brown casserole in your cookbook for some time. Both are delicious! It’s easier for me to mix when I let the hash browns thaw a bit. Thanks for the good recipes!
Thank you for giving them a try Peggy! I appreciate you being here!
If you substitute one can of Cream of Onion soup for the Cream of Chicken soup and chopped onions, this becomes a vegetarian-friendly dish. 🙂 And it still tastes amazing.
Great idea Yvonne, thanks for sharing and giving our vegetarian readers an idea!!