twice-baked potato casserole

Fluffy baked potatoes are mixed with all the best fixings- sour cream, butter, cheese, bacon- and baked until bubbly in this twice-baked potato casserole.

I hate to use the word casserole. For me, it conjures up images of muddled flavors and indistinguishable ingredients. So while I’m calling this a twice-baked potato casserole, let’s get this out of the way from the start: this is not your grandma’s casserole (sorry, Granny!).

This dish combines all the classic baked potato flavors that we love. There’s the requisite butter, plus tangy sour cream, crunchy bacon, and shredded cheese that gets delightfully melted. For added smoothness, you toss in a brick of cream cheese, in addition to salt and pepper. The gang’s all there.

Twice-baked potato casserole is a perfect dish for summer barbecues or family potlucks. The steps are simple enough to keep you from sweating in the kitchen all day, but the flavors bring the wow. If you think regular baked potatoes are just as good, think again; this casserole will blow your mind.

twice-baked potato casserole
adapted from here

6 large baking potatoes (about 4-5 pounds)
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, room temperature
16 oz. sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
6 slices bacon (1/4 to 1/2 cup- really, can you have too much bacon?), cooked and diced

Wash, prick, and bake your potatoes for one hour and 15 minutes at 350 degrees. (If you’re looking for a summer BBQ recipe and don’t want to heat up your kitchen for that long, you can bake the potatoes in a crockpot.) Let them cool thoroughly or use a folded kitchen towel to hold the potato. Cut your potatoes lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop the insides into a bowl. Be sure to scrape out as much potato as you can.

When potato skins are scooped out, beat together potato insides, cream cheese, butter, sour cream, half of shredded cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, and bacon. I usually use my KitchenAid, but you could use a hand mixer or just a spoon. You can beat until smooth, or you can leave some lumps for texture.

Transfer potato mixture to a greased 9 x 13 dish. At this point, you can bake it and serve it, or you can refrigerate it to bake later. When you’re ready, bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese and bake 7-10 minutes more, or until cheese is melted.

What’s your favorite summer barbeque side dish?

Looking for more crowd-pleasing, crowd-feeding dishes? Try these easy green chile baked chicken taquitos or these parmesan & panko crusted baked vegetables.