Twice-Baked Potato Casserole
This delicious and easy-to-make recipe is perfect for a crowd. It can be made ahead of time and reheated when ready to serve.
This delicious and easy-to-make recipe is perfect for a crowd. It can be made ahead of time and reheated when ready to serve.
- Carbohydrate 38.4924420570938 g
- Cholesterol 98.7419791788235 mg
- Fat 11.823588327147 g
- Fiber 4.19616131735532 g
- Protein 17.0459455821105 g
- Saturated Fat 5.63304893461478 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (285g)
- Sodium 421.720714957591 mg
- Sugar 34.2962807397384 g
- Trans Fat 1.18247183203052 g
- Calories 325 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat oven to 350.
- Lightly coat a 3 qt. shallow baking dish with non-stick spray.
- Cook potatoes in just enough water to cover for 20 - 25 minutes, until tender when pierced.
- Drain in a colander and return to pot.
- Add butter to potatoes, mash with a potato masher until smooth.
- Stir in 2 c. cheese, milk, sour cream and eggs until blended.
- Then add onions and bacon bits, reserving a few tablespoons of each for garnish.
- Stir in salt and pepper.
- Spoon into prepared baking dish.
- Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 c. cheese and bacon.
- Bake, uncovered, 40 minutes or until top is lightly golden.
- Sprinkle with remaining onions.
Golden, bubbling cheddar crusts over a dense, velvety expanse of mashed russets while crisp bits of bacon provide a sharp counterpoint to the rich dairy. Achieving this textural contrast requires specific hardware alongside careful thermal management. Standard hand mashers often leave dense lumps that trap pockets of unblended sour cream, so utilizing a ricer or a heavy-duty electric hand mixer operated at low speed ensures complete incorporation without developing unwanted gluey starches. Because five pounds of peeled potatoes demand considerable vessel volume, standard three-quart shallow baking dishes work best by maximizing surface area for optimal cheese browning during the forty-minute bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Overcrowding a smaller dish traps steam, preventing the desired golden crust from forming on top.
Scaling quantities downward or upward demands careful ratio adjustments, particularly with eggs and moisture. Halving the batch works well in a standard two-quart baking dish, though the baking time should be reduced by approximately ten to fifteen minutes to prevent the edges from over-drying before the center reaches serving temperature. Conversely, doubling the mass for large gatherings requires splitting the mixture into two separate pans rather than using one oversized container, because a deeper thermal mass prevents the interior from heating evenly throughout the standard baking window.
