Cracker Barrel’s Hashbrown Casserole

These Cracker Barrel’s Hashbrown Potatoes are yummy, cheesy, and delicious. Made with frozen shredded hashbrowns as the main ingredient, and sharp cheddar cheese, you can’t get much more easy or tasty! Pure comfort food at its finest–a favorite side dish to take to family meals.

If you’ve got 6 minutes, you’ve got yourself a great copycat cracker barrel casserole side dish. These also make the perfect breakfast casserole as well! This delicious dish will complete any meal!

My whole family loves potato dishes, so this is right up their alley. You may have heard these referred to as loaded hashbrown casserole or funeral potatoes! It is one of those popular recipes!

Complete List of Ingredients

• Frozen shredded hashbrowns- Frozen hash browns make it super convenient to whip up this dish.  
• Butter- We prefer unsalted butter so you can adjust the salt as needed. 
• Cream of Chicken Soup- This is what sets these hash browns apart, making them creamy and delicious. You can also try cream of celery or cream of mushroom if you desire. You can use different cream soups as this is a versatile recipe.
• Sour Cream- Sour Cream gives this recipe such a creamy texture.  
• Red Onion- We love to add red onion to give a little extra little kick to liven up the flavors.  
• Grated Sharp Cheddar- Freshly grated cheese is best, but if you must buy a bag of cheese, I won’t tell. Sometimes if I run short on sharp cheddar, I easily substitute colby cheese for some of the cheese to make these cheesy potatoes!
• Salt + Pepper- Add as much salt and pepper as your crew likes!

Directions

We love this Cracker Barrel Hashbrown recipe because it is so fast to prepare. It takes just a few quick minutes to get it all together and in the oven.  

You can prepare this in a large mixing bowl and transfer to a baking dish or you can skip the bowl and prepare it right in the baking dish. I like to cut down on my dishes, so I prepare it right in the baking dish.  

For this hashbrown recipe, you are going to combine all of the ingredients, minus ½ a cup of cheddar cheese, in a 9 X 13 baking dish–which I find is the perfect size–and stir until combined. Top with the remaining cheddar cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until it’s bubbling and crispy around the edges.  

It’s that easy!  

How to Thaw Frozen Hashbrowns

You can thaw your bag of frozen hash brown potatoes in the refrigerator overnight. If you only have a little bit of time, you can place them in a colander in the sink and let them thaw. Drain off any excess liquid before using the hash browns. You can lay the hashbrowns on a paper towel and pat them dry to help them from being too mushy in your casserole.  

Do you have to Thaw Frozen Hashbrowns for this Recipe?

We prefer using thawed hashbrowns for this Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Potato recipe. If you use frozen, just be prepared to cook your casserole for a longer amount of time. Using thawed potatoes allows you to remove some of the moisture and gives you a crispier potato.  

What are Frozen Hashbrowns?

Frozen hashbrowns are your easy button for any recipe that calls for peeled and prepped potatoes. Frozen hashbrowns are essentially cooked, peeled, shredded potatoes. You can certainly peel and shred your own potatoes, but frozen are so easy and they last a long time in the freezer.  

Why We Love these Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Potatoes

• EASY!  It doesn’t get much easier than mixing your ingredients together and popping them in the oven.  
• Did we mention CHEESE?  Anything that has 2 cups of sharp cheddar is a winner for me!
• Feeds a crowd- This Cracker Barrel Hashbrown recipe fills a 9 X 13 casserole dish, so there’s plenty to go around. It’s also an easy recipe to double if you have lots of mouths to feed!

What goes well with Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Potatoes?

These Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Potatoes can be eaten for breakfast or dinner.  

Paired with sausage, eggs and some fresh fruit, these hashbrowns are a nice addition for a filling breakfast.  

You can also use these hashbrown potatoes as a side dish with our Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Drumsticks. These are great with a hamburger or a more heartier dinner of meatloaf.  

Green beans are another great side dish to pair with these hashbrown potatoes!

Why do you like to Shred your Cheese vs Buying it Already Shredded?

We like to shred our own cheese because it melts better in our recipes. Plus, you can save money by grating a block of cheese yourself! Buying pre-shredded cheese can add extra cost. Personally, I think freshly grated cheese tastes better than shredded cheese from a bag anyway!

Can you Add Toppings on Hashbrowns?

You can add a number of toppings on your hashbrowns. We love a good crunchy topping! You can add some buttered breadcrumbs, Panko bread crumbs or even corn flakes. If you’re wanting to add a veggie to your hashbrowns you can chop some broccoli and mix it in with the casserole.  

Can I Prepare my own Frozen Hashbrowns?

Making your own frozen hashbrowns will take more time than buying a bag of frozen hashbrowns, but you can also be certain you’re only getting potatoes when you do it yourself. No preservatives or extra junk.  

In order to make your own hashbrowns I have found that the perfect way is to cook your fresh potatoes first. Never freeze uncooked potatoes.  

You can either peel and boil your potatoes whole, or you can peel and bake your potatoes. Baking is generally used for large batches of potatoes.  

Once you cook your potatoes, you will allow them to cool. You can pop them in the refrigerator overnight to cool.  

Once cooled, you can use a box grater or food processor to grate the cooled potatoes. You can also chop them into small cubes if you’d rather use them in that shape.  

Lay the shredded potatoes on a parchment lined baking sheet to freeze. If you have a large batch of potatoes you can layer your parchment and potatoes on the baking sheet to freeze 3-4 layers at a time.

Once frozen, break them apart and store in zip top bags.  

What Potatoes are Best to use to Make my own Hashbrowns?

Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes are the best to make hashbrowns. They hold their shape the best.  

Can you Freeze Hashbrowns?

These Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Potatoes are so easy to prepare ahead of time. If you are crunched for time, you can prepare them the night before. Prepare as directed, but don’t bake–refrigerate instead. 

Save the baking for the day you’re ready to serve them. Bake as directed.  

If you want to make them ahead to freeze, prepare the hashbrowns as directed, then store in the freezer. To thaw, place in the refrigerator overnight then bake as directed.   

I hope you enjoy these hashbrown potatoes!!! They are the next best thing if you can’t get to your local Cracker Barrel!