Twice Baked Potato Casserole

Love twice baked potatoes but not all the work that goes into them?  This Twice Baked Potato Casserole is just the solution you’ve been looking for!  A perfect make ahead side dish for your holiday  with creamy, cheesy and bacon topped potatoes.  

Twice Baked Potato Casserole from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen | Make-ahead casserole with creamy, cheesy and bacon topped potatoes to serve a crowd.

We are just T-minus 10 days until Thanksgiving and are you ready yet?  My brother is hosting this year but I’m co-cooking with him and he’s already emailed me a rough outline of the menu and a schedule for Wednesday and Thursday.  Yes that’s right we start the day before, you must when you’re hosting sixteen people!  Although honestly, if I remember correctly my mom would start prep way before just the day before the holiday, she’d get things going almost up to a week before Thanksgiving.

I clearly come from a family of planners.  It’s a good thing when it comes to cooking big meals for a lot of people – you can’t rush these things and cram it all into one day of cooking.  You’ll get stressed out, burn something (or yourself) and inevitably forget a dish or two.

Of course with such a large gathering, comes a smattering of side dishes.  You can’t have small servings here or there of just one or two items, you need a lot!  Now in general stuffing holds high regards at the Thanksgiving table, but it gets pretty stiff competition from mashed potatoes.  Creamy, buttery and light and fluffy – I’ll pile those high on my plate and more or less forget about anything else at the table.

Twice Baked Potato Casserole | girlinthelittleredkitchen.com

Most of us know, for perfect mashed potatoes it’s best to make them the day of with just a gentle reheating right before dinner.  What if there’s a way to get your mashed potato fix in and prep it days ahead?  It is possible I say and it can be done with the twice baked potato.

Oh I know, it always seems like a lot of work but with a little planning, it’s not so difficult after all and it can be easily made on a large scale!  After all, how can you not love everything about it? Twice Baked Potatoes really are the original mash-up – a perfect baked potato stuffed with creamy and cheesy mashed potatoes.

To make this meal a success, you of course need the right potato and that’s an Idaho® Potato.  Bags of Idaho Burbank Russet Potatoes can be found in my house this time of year from baking, roasting, mashed potato and latke making.  They really are a must for the holidays.

Twice Baked Potato Casserole | girlinthelittleredkitchen.com

With the right potatoes in hand, we scrub them clean, let them bake in the oven and scrape out the fluffy potatoes on the inside.  Saving the skins, you lay them down in your favorite casserole dish to be filled with the mashed potato topping and this is the point where you stop!

Wrap it up, tuck it away in the refrigerator until meal time the next day or even the day after!  Before you are ready to go, add the finishing touches and twice bake away.  Time is saved, you get an impressive potato dish your table and your guests will think you slaved all day long on this dish!

The Idaho Potato Commission is partnering with Country Crock this Thanksgiving for mashed potato recipes. For more information on Idaho® Potatoes visit them on Facebook , Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

Twice Baked Potato Casserole
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Ingredients

  • 6 medium Idaho® Russet Burbank potatoes, scrubbed
  • 6 tablespoons Country Crock Spreadable Butter
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 3/4 cup shredded gruyere, divided
  • kosher salt and black pepper
  • 4 slices bacon, cooked
  • parsley or chives for garnish

Instructions

  1. Scrubbed your potatoes under cold water and prick them all around with the tines of a fork. Place the potatoes directly on the rack of a 400F degree heated oven and bake for 1 hour.
  2. Remove the potatoes and let cool for about 10-15 minutes. Slice in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh of the potatoes into a bowl, leaving a small potato wall in the skins.
  3. Run the potatoes through a ricer or a masher to break the potatoes into small pieces. Stir 2 tablespoons of Country Crock butter, the heavy cream, sour cream, 1/2 cup gruyere and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Mix until the potatoes are creamy. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
  4. Arrange the potato skins in a 9x13 casserole dish – you will most likely only be able to fit about 6-8 skins. Fill them with half the mash and then use the remaining amount to cover the top. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon, 1/4 cup of cheese and dot with the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter.
  5. Place the casserole in a 350F degree heated oven and bake for 20 minutes, turn the heat to 375 and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
  6. Let sit for about 10 minutes before serving and garnish with either chopped parsley or chives.
  7. If making ahead, you can prepare steps 1-3 storing the mash and potato skins in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator. Prepare the casserole the day of serving.
Recipe Type: Side dish
https://girlinthelittleredkitchen.com/2015/11/twice-baked-potato-casserole/

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This post is sponsored on behalf of  Idaho® Potatoes.  As always all opinions are my own and thanks for supporting brands that I work with. 

Twice Baked Potato Casserole | girlinthelittleredkitchen.com

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16 thoughts on “Twice Baked Potato Casserole

  1. Lori @ Foxes Love Lemons

    Oh yeah – I start the Saturday before Thanksgiving! I hate to be stuck in the kitchen all day on Thursday, so it’s a must. I must confess that I tried making my mashed potatoes the day before this year, then baking them in a casserole dish on Thanksgiving. Honestly, they took WAY longer to heat up than I thought they would, and it wasn’t great. I’m bookmarking this recipe for next year, because it seems like a great solution!

    Reply

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