Twice-Baked Potato Casserole
Twice-baked potatoes are everyone’s favorite, but when placed in a casserole dish, they’re even better! This recipe combines together all of the best components, including bacon, sour cream, cheese, and potatoes. It feeds a crowd and is a delicious recipe to serve for the holidays or any time of year!
Servings 16 servings
Calories 327kcal
Ingredients
- 5 lb baking potatoes (such as russet)
- 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 ¾ cup buttermilk
- 6 oz cheddar cheese shredded
- 12 oz bacon
- 1 bunch scallion chopped, separating white and green parts
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp minced parsley
- 1 tbsp minced chives
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish and set aside.
- Prick the washed and dried potatoes a few times with a fork and set them on a baking sheet. Bake the potatoes in the preheated oven until they are tender, or when a knife inserted into the middle of the largest potatoes meets no resistance, 55-75 minutes. Once the potatoes are baked, remove them from the oven.
- While the potatoes are baking, cook the bacon in a large skillet until browned and crisp. Allow the bacon to cool and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Once all of the bacon has cooked, remove all but 1 tbsp of the grease.
- Heat the bacon grease in the skillet over low heat and add the white parts of the chopped scallion. Sauté until the scallion is softened and beginning to brown, 4-6 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Once the garlic is cooked, remove the skillet from the heat and set it aside. When the bacon is cool enough to handle, chop it into small pieces and set it aside.
- When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice each one in half, scoop out the flesh with a spoon, and place them in a large bowl, leaving as little skin as possible. Add the butter to the warm potatoes and mash until mostly smooth. Pour in the buttermilk, sour cream, salt, pepper, and mash until the buttermilk is combined with the potatoes. Stir in the prepared bacon, sautéed scallions and fresh greens from the scallions, and half of the shredded cheese. Pour into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
- Bake in the 375°F oven until the potatoes are warmed through, and the cheese is beginning to brown, 25-30 minutes. Garnish with parsley and chives.
Notes
- Since the potatoes will not be reused once they’re baked and scooped, be as rough with the skins as desired. There’s no need to preserve the integrity of the skins as they will not have a second life. Simply discard or eat the skins.
- For the bacon, a crispy texture seems to work best in this casserole. The crispiness will play well with the smoothness of the potatoes and will add a welcome interplay within the dish.
- It’s important to cook the garlic slightly to reduce the raw flavor that’s implicit in garlic. The garlic's somewhat astringent flavor is reduced when added to the scallion and bacon grease, leaving behind a pleasant taste. Make sure not to cook the garlic for too long, though, as garlic can burn quickly. Around 30 seconds to one minute should be the correct length of time needed.
- Once the entire mixture is combined but before it’s added to the casserole dish, taste it for flavoring. Since there is nothing raw in the mixture, you can safely taste it to see if anything is needed. Add salt and black pepper as needed. Then proceed with the baking process.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 327kcal
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