This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure Policy.
My mom has been making this cheesy potato casserole for decades, and I begged her to let me share the recipe! It’s a perfect side dish for just about any occasion. Rich and creamy, I always request it at all our family get-togethers!
Before You Get Started
- Don’t buy a bag of already-shredded cheese for your casserole! That cheese is fine for, like, tacos or sprinkled over salads. For making a melty cheese sauce, though, you’ll get much better results if you shred your own cheese from a block. Packaged shredded cheese has starches added to keep it from clumping in the bag. Those starches change the flavor a little, though, and make the melted cheese grainy or gritty.
How to Make This Recipe
See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.
Boil and Grate the Potatoes.
Boil the potatoes in well-salted water until you can easily pierce them with a fork. Don’t overdo it, though. If the fork glides right through the potato or breaks it apart, they’re too soft to use for this casserole. After you’ve boiled them, drain the potatoes and then chill them in the fridge to make them easier to grate.
Make the Cheesy Cream Sauce.
Heat milk, cheese, and butter together over low heat until the cheese is completely melted, stirring as you go to combine the trio into a single mixture. When the cheese mixture is ready, add the onions, the sour cream, the salt, and the pepper, stirring everything together until you’ve got a mostly-smooth, creamy sauce.
Make and bake.
Combine the grated potatoes and the cream sauce, folding the two components together just until the potatoes are incorporated evenly, then spread the casserole mixture out evenly across the baking dish. Sprinkle a little paprika on top and then pop the casserole into the oven for 45 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the top is lightly browned.
What I Love About This Recipe
- I won’t pretend there’s not a healthy dose of nostalgia behind my unfettered love for this cheesy potato casserole, but I can honestly say that, even decades later, this recipe holds up! No, really. It’s genuinely delicious. Tender red potatoes slathered with a creamy mixture of melted cheese, sour cream, milk, and onion, with a little paprika to finish it off.
- This is such an easy dish to make, which is great for holiday cooking. With a menu full of involved recipes – multi-step pies, roasted meats that need constant babying, rolls you have to time just right – I’m always happy when I can work in something that needs very little effort.
- Cheesy potato casserole isn’t just for the holidays. No, no. Potatoes and cheese go with just about everything, so you can serve this one up with any entrée you like!
Cheryl’s Tip
The baking dish you use will change your results a bit, so factor that in! You want to use a 2-quart baking dish, which can be an 8″x8″x3″ square, a 9″x9″x2″ square, or a 7″x11″x1.5″ rectangle. The deeper 8×8 dish will give you a meltier, creamier casserole. If you want the casserole to be a little crispier, use a larger, shallower dish, like a 9×9 or 7×11.
Recipe Variations
- Change Up Your Cheeses: Mild cheddar is my personal preference here, as it’s what my mom’s always used. Feel free to blend it with or swap it out for a sharp cheddar, a colby jack, or a monterey jack. For a little punch of spice, opt for a pepperjack.
- Potato, Potahto: For a slightly different texture, dice the red potatoes instead of grating them! You can also use frozen diced potatoes or frozen hashbrown potatoes if you want, but you’ll probably need to adjust your cook time a bit.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Mom’s Cheesy Potato Casserole
Equipment
- vegetable brush or dish towel
- Large pot
- Large wooden spoon
- colander
- refrigerator
- potato peeler
- box grater or mandoline
- Large bowl
- Oven
- 2-quart casserole dish 8×8 or 9×9 square
- neutral-flavored cooking spray
- Small saucepan
- Silicone spatula
Ingredients
For the Potatoes
- 6 medium red potatoes approximately 1 pound total
- 6 cups cold water or enough to cover potatoes by 1 inch
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
For the Cheesy Cream Sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ cup whole milk at room temperature
- 4 ounces shredded mild cheddar cheese at room temperature, see Notes
- 1 8-ounce container full-fat sour cream at room temperature
- ¼ cup chopped white onion
- 1 teaspoon salt more or less to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper more or less to taste
For the Casserole Topping
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into 8 small cubes
- 2 teaspoons paprika
Instructions
For the Potatoes
- Wash 6 medium red potatoes under running water, using vegetable brush or dish towel to scrub away any surface dirt or impurities. Place potatoes in large pot.
- Fill pot with 6 cups cold water, then stir in 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Place pot on stovetop over high heat and bring water to rapid boil.
- Boil potatoes, uncovered, 10 to 15 minutes or until potatoes can be easily pierced with fork.
- Pour potatoes and water into colander and drain completely, then place potatoes in refrigerator. Chill potatoes 30 minutes.
- Remove chilled potatoes from refrigerator. Carefully peel potatoes, then use box grater or mandoline to grate peeled potatoes into large bowl. Set grated potatoes aside.
- Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Spray bottom and sides of 8×8 baking dish with neutral-tasting spray oil and set dish aside.
For the Cheesy Cream Sauce
- Add 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, ½ cup whole milk, and 4 ounces shredded mild cheddar cheese to small saucepan. Place saucepan on stovetop over low heat and simmer mixture, stirring occasionally, until butter and cheese are completely melted and incorporated into milk.
- When ingredients are fully combined, remove saucepan from heat and let cool slightly.
- Add 1 8-ounce container full-fat sour cream, ¼ cup chopped white onion, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper to saucepan and stir to incorporate ingredients into cheese mixture.
- Once combined, pour cream sauce over grated potatoes in large bowl. Gently fold sauce into potatoes until just incorporated.
For the Casserole
- Transfer cheesy potato mixture to prepared baking dish, spreading mixture evenly across dish.
- Place 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (cut into 8 small cubes) evenly spaced across top of potato mixture, then sprinkle 2 teaspoons paprika evenly across top of casserole.
- Place baking dish in preheated oven. Bake casserole 45 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and top of casserole is browned.
- Carefully remove casserole from oven and set aside. Let stand 5 minutes, then serve warm.
- Cheddar Cheese: Buy a block of cheddar cheese and shred it yourself. Pre-shredded cheese has added starches to prevent clumping, which can make the cheese grainy when melted.
- Dairy Products: Make sure all of your dairy products are room temperature before using them! Heating dairy too quickly, or adding cool dairy to hot mixtures, can cause the ingredients to curdle or separate.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Tag @40aprons on Instagram and be sure to leave a review on the blog post!
Must-Make Casserole Recipes to Try Next
- Creamy Chicken and Stuffing Casserole
- John Wayne Casserole
- Keto Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole
- 30 of the Best Holiday Casseroles
- Creamy Veg-All Casserole with a Buttery Cracker Topping
- Chicken Pot Pie Casserole
- Walking Taco Casserole
- Ruth’s Chris Sweet Potato Casserole
- Butternut Squash Casserole
- Copycat Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole
- Ultimate Chicken Casserole
- The BEST Croissant French Toast Casserole
Never Miss A Meal!
New Recipes Straight To Your Inbox
A curated selection of our most recent recipes, delivered straight to your inbox once a week.
Thank you!
You have successfully joined our subscriber list.