This Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole recipe is the perfect easy side dish to serve up with any meal. Cheesy, creamy and tasting just like the real thing, this cheesy hashbrown casserole made with refrigerated shredded hash browns, cheese, sour cream and condensed soup is pure comfort food!

Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole

When it comes to comfort food, Cracker Barrel™ has lots of amazing foods to choose from but their cheesy hashbrown casserole is my hands down favorite.

What’s not to love about an easy hashbrown casserole baked all bubbly in a creamy cheese sauce?

Honestly, it’s the only reason I will leave the house on a weekend morning.. those cheesy hashbrowns!!

By the way, if you are a potato lover like me, you should really check out my Homemade Potato and Cheese Pierogi, Irish Pub Potato Nachos and Loaded Potato Skins!

Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole

Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole is an easy, cheesy casserole made with refrigerated or frozen hash browns, egg, sour cream, onion, butter, cheese and condensed soup. 

.. and when I say this potato side dish is EASY, I mean this is possibly the easiest side dish in the history of all easy side dish recipes.

Five minutes to mix together and in the oven it goes. It’s just that easy!

This copycat recipe from Cracker Barrel is the perfect breakfast side dish to serve alongside eggs and bacon and it’s an easy dinner side dish to pair with meat and veggies.

Have you ever had anyone tell you that there’s a wrong time to serve cheesy hash browns? If you have, walk .. run! .. away from that person.

No one needs that kind of negativity.

Besides, this is the perfect breakfast casserole to feed a crowd or to serve up on a holiday morning.

You could even add some bacon or ham to this recipe to make it even more amazing!

how this cheesy casserole recipe is different

There are a lot of Cracker Barrel copycat recipes on the internet for this cheesy casserole recipe. This is MY take on that original Cracker Barrel casserole recipe.

Most of the Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole copycat recipes present a much larger recipe… as in enough casserole to feed an army.

That’s great if you have an army to feed, but my household is smaller so this recipe was written for that purpose.

Also, I am not a huge fan of popular frozen hash browns for my hash brown casserole. Certainly, if you are feel free to make that substitute with Ore Ida frozen hashbrowns or something similar.

My favorite hash browns to use to make this easy hash brown casserole are refrigerated hash browns, specifically Simply Potatoes.

why this easy hash brown casserole ROCKS!

• Tender shredded hash browns baked in a creamy cheese sauce until hot and bubbly! Enough said! 
• Five minutes to prep and this cheesy side dish is ready in under an hour.
• Use frozen hash browns or a bag of refrigerated hash browns to make this an easy side.
• This Cracker Barrel hashbrown casserole can be made ahead of time and frozen for convenience.
• Perfect easy casserole recipe to serve alongside breakfast, lunch or dinner!
• Recipe is easily doubled (or tripled!) so the perfect side dish to feed a crowd.
• Using refrigerated shredded hash browns means you don’t need to wait around for the frozen hash browns to thaw! #winning

To make this cheesy hashbrown casserole, you will need:

• Refrigerated or frozen hash browns
• Sour cream
• Butter
• Onion
• Condensed soup
• Spices
• Shredded cheese

how to make Cracker Barrel Hashbrowns

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spay a 9 x 9 pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine shredded hash browns, sour cream, melted butter, chopped onion, condensed soup, spices and most of your shredded cheese.

Transfer hash brown mixture to your prepared pan and spread out into an even layer. Sprinkle with reserved cheese.

Bake for 45 minutes or until top has lightly browned.

pro tips for perfect cheesy potato casserole

• Use refrigerated shredded hash browns instead of the big bag of frozen hash browns creates a smaller recipe. If you are using a 30 ounce bag of hash browns, make these changes:
  • 30 ounces of frozen hash browns – thawed
  • Pint of sour cream
  • 1/2 cup of melted butter
  • Entire can of condensed soup
  • Same spices and amount of cheese
  • Bake for 45 minutes
• Don’t forget to spray your baking pan with nonstick spray. Your hash brown casserole will stick if you don’t.
• Cream of chicken or cheddar soup can be used in this recipe. Want to make this a vegetarian side dish? Replace the cream of chicken soup with cream of mushroom.
• Substitute the reserved cheese with crushed corn flakes for a crunchy topping. You can also use Panko bread crumbs mixed with a bit of melted butter.
• Pre-shredded bags of cheese are convenient but can sometimes make your dish greasy. Choose a good quality bagged cheese if you aren’t shredding it off the block yourself.

make ahead hash brown casserole

This cheesy casserole makes the perfect make ahead side dish.

Prepare this cheesy hash brown casserole they day before you need it, transfer to your baking pan, cover with plastic wrap and move it to the refrigerator.

When needed, remove from the refrigerator and bake as instructed, adding on an extra 5 minutes.

casserole add ins 

• Leftover chicken or turkey
• Chunks of pre-cooked ham
• Broccoli
• Green onions
• Cooked bacon or breakfast sausage
• Jalapeno or bell peppers

what to serve with cheesy potato casserole

• Cherry Habanero Grilled Flank Steak
• Easy Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs 
• Juicy Slow Cooker Turkey Breast  
• Easy Oven Baked BBQ Chicken
• Better Than Your Momma’s Classic Meatloaf

Enjoy ♥ Heather

Update Notes: This post was originally published in May of 2020 but was republished with an updated recipe, new photos, step by step instructions and tips in November of 2023.