Recipe for Chive and Onion Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes

I won’t kid myself- I know I cannot replace your own family tradition of mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving. However, I wanted to present another option for a comforting potato dish (inspired by a casserole by Barb Templin of Norwood MN in Taste of Home) for perhaps another winter day. This is an easy to whip up on a blustery day casserole (on the day I made this I was red cheeked and sniffly after walking through 30-50 MPH winds), and a perfect dish for a holiday potluck. It’s also vegetarian. Thus, this recipe for Chive and Onion Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes.
Chive and Onion Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes, vegetarian and a cozy casserole for a winter day or a holiday potluck Recipe for Chive and Onion Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes, vegetarian and a cozy casserole for a winter day or a holiday potluck

I was inspired when I saw the original recipe’s use of chive and onion cream cheese and cream that basically instead of topping a potato with sour cream and chives like I often like, this is all built in already.
Recipe for Chive and Onion Hash Brown Potatoes, vegetarian and a cozy casserole for a winter day or a holiday potluck Recipe for Chive and Onion Hash Brown Potatoes, vegetarian and a cozy casserole for a winter day or a holiday potluck Recipe for Chive and Onion Hash Brown Potatoes, vegetarian and a cozy casserole for a winter day or a holiday potluck

The major modification I made to the recipe is that instead of dried minced onion, I used shallots that I minced and sauteed beforehand, and also instead of the Swiss cheese that was called for I used shredded Parmesan. The recipe makes 12 servings supposedly (each serving is 3/4 cup), but who only eats 3/4 cup of potatoes?
Recipe for Chive and Onion Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes, vegetarian and a cozy casserole for a winter day or a holiday potluck Recipe for Chive and Onion Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes, vegetarian and a cozy casserole for a winter day or a holiday potluck

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup of chopped shallots (or you can use onion,  or 2 tablespoons of dried minced onion, but I went with fresh shallots because that’s what I had on hand)
  • 4 tablespoons of butter, divided: you will use 2 tablespoon with the shallots and the rest later with the potato dish
  • 1 cup of heavy whipping cream. (the original recipe called for 1 1/2 cup of half and half, so you could also use that)
  • 1 single 8 ounce container of chive and onion cream cheese
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
  • 2 packages each of 20 ounce refrigerated shredded hash brown potatoes
  • 2 cups of shredded cheese. The original called for Swiss, but I used Parmesan
  • 1/4 cup of minced fresh chives

Directions:

  • In a large pot or dutch oven, I used 1/2 cup of diced shallots and sauteed it in probably 2 tablespoon of butter over medium heat until the shallots started to become translucent..
  • Next, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. As the oven is heating, add to that pot with the sauteed shallots or onions the 8 ounce container of chive and onion cream cheese, salt, pepper together in a large pot over medium heat. Stir until the cream cheese has melted and incorporated into a gravy like sauce. Add the 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and stir until blend. 
    Recipe for Chive and Onion Hash Brown Potatoes. add to the pot with the sauteed shallots or onions the cup of whipping cream, 8 ounce container of chive and onion cream cheese, salt, pepper together in a large pot over medium heat. Stir until blended and the cream cheese has melted and incorporated Recipe for Chive and Onion Hash Brown Potatoes
  • Next, add in the shredded hash brown potatoes. Stir until all the potatoes and sauce are well distributed.
    Recipe for Chive and Onion Hash Brown Potatoes
  • In a greased 13 x 9 ” baking dish, layer a third of the hash brown mixture. Then add a layer of your shredded cheese, using 2/3 cup Swiss or Parmesan cheese per layer, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the minced fresh chives. Repeat layers of potato / cheese /chives – you should still have a little bit of chives left at the end for topping after baking. At the very end, top with your two tablespoons of butter by turning the two tablespoons into lots of little dots.
    Recipe for Chive and Onion Hash Brown Potatoes, layer a third of the hash brown mixture, then 2/3 cup cheese, and then minced chives times 3 Recipe for Chive and Onion Hash Brown Potatoes, layer a third of the hash brown mixture, then 2/3 cup cheese, and then minced chives times 3
  • Bake, covered, at 375 degrees F for 35 minutes. Then uncover the baking dish and continue baking for 10-20 minutes longer or until edges begin to brown and potatoes are heated through. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with remaining chives.
    Recipe for Chive and Onion Hash Brown Potatoes, vegetarian and a cozy casserole for a winter day or a holiday potluck Recipe for Chive and Onion Hash Brown Potatoes, vegetarian and a cozy casserole for a winter day or a holiday potluck Recipe for Chive and Onion Hash Brown Potatoes, vegetarian and a cozy casserole for a winter day or a holiday potluck

The casserole is pretty hearty and comforting, and freezes well so you can prepare well beforehand.
Recipe for Chive and Onion Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes, vegetarian and a cozy casserole for a winter day or a holiday potluck

It’s also ok to admit you totally want the crispy edge pieces!
Recipe for Chive and Onion Hash Brown Potatoes, vegetarian and a cozy casserole for a winter day or a holiday potluck Recipe for Chive and Onion Hash Brown Potatoes, vegetarian and a cozy casserole for a winter day or a holiday potluck

And, how convenient that I can just grab some ingredients that are already prepped (such as the cream cheese, the shredded hash browns) and just have to combine it in a pot and in a baking dish. You can make it easier by even using dried seasonings from the cabinet if you don’t want to use fresh onions or shallots) to easily put this together and into the oven so you can work on the main entree.

Recipe for Chive and Onion Hash Brown Potatoes, vegetarian and a cozy casserole for a winter day or a holiday potluck Recipe for Chive and Onion Hash Brown Potatoes, vegetarian and a cozy casserole for a winter day or a holiday potluck

What main dish do you think you would pair this with?

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Hash Brown Casserole

My kitchen remodel is finally done! It looks great- now instead of all the white which always had me looking around to wipe up food stains and splatters and spills, I can relax with the darker tone. I also love the Cambria quartz countertop, so much more useful than the countertops we got with the house in that they are so easy to clean and keep clean and can be used as a great workspace since it is a harder surface. Unlike granite it is also more durable, while still looking like beautiful natural stone (it actually is a combination of natural quartz and man made extras) and without worrying about sealing it.  And, the best part of which was part of the costs of the countertops was gifted by Floform Countertops!

Yes, that’s right! I had entered their national contest hoping to win their grand prize, which included both a kitchen remodel and a catered party, but I was so excited to have won a secondary price which was a generous credit towards countertops. Even when we were purchasing the house, a kitchen update has been on my wishlist. One thing led to another as we were looking at our many countertop options, and we went from just replacing our wine stained white countertops to wanting better looking cabinets to go with the beautiful quartz.

And then we decided on redoing our floors so we had more flexibility in our cabinet layout (particularly the “island” which was meant to have breakfast stools was never used that way, and we wanted more depth for in-cabinet garbage cans) and which would be more comfortable to stand on and clean than old Italian terra cotta tiles, some of which were cracked from the previous owners. And, we repainted the kitchen walls a “Butter Up” yellow.

Amazing what those countertops inspired us to do because they were so elegant. Here are before and after pictures of the previous green walled, white kitchen to the new look. I particularly love how we have so much more room for all our beverage glasses…

Hash Brown Casserole, a breakfast casserole that feeds a group and is vegetarian and easy Hash Brown Casserole, a breakfast casserole that feeds a group and is vegetarian and easy
Hash Brown Casserole, a breakfast casserole that feeds a group and is vegetarian and easy Hash Brown Casserole, a breakfast casserole that feeds a group and is vegetarian and easyHash Brown Casserole, a breakfast casserole that feeds a group and is vegetarian and easy Hash Brown Casserole, a breakfast casserole that feeds a group and is vegetarian and easy

During the kitchen remodel though, I was out of a kitchen for 5 months, from late spring to early autumn! Oh well. At least now I love coming into my beautiful new kitchen! During the kitchen outage though, there were some ingredients that just sat around since the stove and oven were unavailable, and when I unpacked everything back into my new cabinets I started to realize I needed to start using some of these pantry items up soon before they expired.

Some of these ingredients included some dehydrated dried hash browns from Costco, panko bread crumbs from Trader Joes’s, a can of condensed Campbells cream of chicken soup, leftover Mexican shredded cheese from a taco dinner, and some corn kernals in the freezer. What immediately came to mind was this recipe, which I have seen passed around on several websites, a copycat recipe for Cracker Barrel’s Hashbrown Casserole. I’ve only been to Cracker Barrel’s once, and I didn’t even have the Hash Brown Casserole when I was there, but I’ve seen the signs and saw rave reviews for it, so was curious to try it anyway.

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds frozen hash browns, thawed (my package had 24 oz, and was dried and I had to use water, but I used it anyway)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 cups corn kernals. The original recipe uses 1/2 cup chopped onion, but I didn’t have any on hand but I did have corn, and I upped the amount since I was using 24 oz of hash browns.
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 can (10.75 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup + 1 can of water (the recipe just calls for 1 can of regular cream of chicken, but I only had condensed. This is going to make my version more mushy)
  • 8 ounces sour cream, though you can also use tofu sour cream or yogurt as a substitute
  • 1 cup grated colby cheese, although I used reduced fat shredded Mexican Cheese instead
  • 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs – or you can also use crumbled potato chips or crunchy onion

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray 11 x 14 inch casserole or baking dish with cooking spray.
  2. Fry the hash browns until they are crispy in a pan with the olive oil (I put in half the olive oil to cook the first side, and then the second half for browning the second side of the hash browns). Remove and put into an even layer in the casserole dish.
    Hash Brown Casserole, a breakfast casserole that feeds a group and is vegetarian and easyHash Brown Casserole, a breakfast casserole that feeds a group and is vegetarian and easy
  3. Meanwhile, I used the same hot pan right after removing the hash browns to pan fry the corn until a little burnt with the 1 tablespoon of butter.
    Hash Brown Casserole, a breakfast casserole that feeds a group and is vegetarian and easy
  4. Combine all the ingredients (except the hash browns and panko) and stir together. Pour the mixture on top of the hash browns in the casserole dish. Top with the panko.
    Hash Brown Casserole, a breakfast casserole that feeds a group and is vegetarian and easy Hash Brown Casserole, a breakfast casserole that feeds a group and is vegetarian and easy Hash Brown Casserole, a breakfast casserole that feeds a group and is vegetarian and easy
  5. Bake for 45 minutes until top is golden brown. Let cool for 15 minutes so when you cut the casserole it will stay more together as wedges.
    Hash Brown Casserole, a breakfast casserole that feeds a group and is vegetarian and easy Hash Brown Casserole, a breakfast casserole that feeds a group and is vegetarian and easy

Other twists you can add into this casserole is adding meat (Italian sausage particularly comes to mind), or some spiciness or other veggies (especially that which could add some crunch- such as adding chopped celery) and chopped nuts, it is very versatile and I can see it as a good base for many side dish variations. Who says hash browns are only for breakfast?

When I had my piece, I sprinkled a little bit of crushed red pepper on it and ate it in front of the tv, cuddled under a blanket with my kitty while F was out of town for work. Other pieces were fine during the rest of the week warmed up for lunch. Serves as a side dish 6 people.

Hash Brown Casserole, a breakfast casserole that feeds a group and is vegetarian and easy

You can also halve this recipe, and do it without the corn, as in below for just the 2 or 4 of you!

Hash Brown Casserole, a breakfast casserole that feeds a group and is vegetarian and easy Hash Brown Casserole, a breakfast casserole that feeds a group and is vegetarian and easy Hash Brown Casserole, a breakfast casserole that feeds a group and is vegetarian and easy
Hash Brown Casserole, a breakfast casserole that feeds a group and is vegetarian and easy

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