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Home » Mashed Potato Casserole

Mashed Potato Casserole

November 22, 2021 by Debi 32 Comments

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The combination of buttery Yukon gold potatoes, cream cheese, and a crunchy cheesy browned topping makes a delicious and fancy holiday side dish. This vegetarian Mashed Potato Casserole is a great make ahead dish that’s also great as leftovers!

It’s a fancy mashed potatoes side dish that’s great to serve at holiday dinners like Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it’s also just as welcome on the weeknight dinner table! This dish will end up being the highlight of any meal!

Mashed Potato Casserole with a serving taken out of it and some potatoes behind it.

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Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.

a serving of mashed potatoes on a brown plate.

Holiday side dish

Mashed potatoes are a requirement on the Thanksgiving table. So why not make it easy on yourself and make it ahead of time. And, make it delicious!

I think that it’s important to serve the right kind of mashed potatoes on thanksgiving.

They should be creamy and delicious enough to stand on their own, but not so overpowering that they don’t go with turkey and gravy. And this casserole is just that – perfectly balanced for the holiday table.

Healthy lower calorie side dish

This easy to make casserole is lower in calories than many mashed potato recipes because it uses the potato cooking liquid as the main liquid for the mashed potatoes.

And you can feel better about this one because there’s no heavy cream or saturated fat filled butter to weigh it down either.

How to make this dish

Be sure to scroll down for to the recipe card for detailed amounts and instructions.

how to make this casserole dish with mashed potatoes

Peel and slice the potatoes. Slicing the potatoes, rather than cutting them into cubes, allows them to cook more evenly.

Place peeled and sliced potatoes and salt in a large saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until tender. Drain in a colander, reserving some of the cooking liquid.

how to make a casserole of mashed potatoes

Press cooked potato through a potato ricer or a food mill into a large bowl. Or mash the potatoes with a potato masher or wooden spoon. Stir in reserved ½ cup cooking liquid, garlic powder, remaining salt, and cream cheese.

Now is the time to taste the potatoes. Are they salty enough for you? Should you add salt and maybe a little white pepper for more spice? Remember, you can always add more salt but you can never take it out, so the recipe is written for everyone.

Are the potatoes moist enough? Some spuds are naturally just dryer than others, so the amount of potato cooking liquid you may want can vary. If they are not moist enough, mix in a little more potato cooking liquid.

Place the mashed potatoes in a casserole dish that’s been sprayed with non-stick spray.

how to make this casserole

Bake, uncovered until thoroughly heated.

how to make the casserole with mashed potatoes.

Combine shredded cheese and panko; sprinkle evenly over top of potatoes. Broil 4 minutes or until golden brown. Keep a close eye on the casserole under the broiler, it can burn quickly.

Sprinkle with chives or chopped green onion.

Make it your own Potato Casserole

Note: this section contains affiliate links

Do you prefer lumpy mashed potatoes? Or smooth ones? Go with your choice here.

Everyone seems to have preferences in terms of how they mash theirs.

A potato ricer or food mill will get you ultra-smooth mashed potatoes.

A potato masher or just a simple wooden spoon will get you nice lumpy spuds.

You can also use a hand mixer or stand mixer as long as you don’t overbeat the potatoes. The more you work the potatoes, the more starch gets released. When too much starch gets released, the potatoes become gummy or gluey. And never use a food processor (far too powerful and will overwork the potatoes).

Mix up the topping

Feel free to use Asiago or Parmesan on top. Or, use whatever you have in your fridge. Cheddar, Manchego, Romano, Granada Padano, the choice is yours. Smoked Gouda would be a fun twist as well!

Toss some green onions, chives, or fresh oregano on the top to garnish.

Try mixing in some green onions, bacon, bacos, or pancetta into the potatoes themselves before baking to make it more of a main dish.

Want to make a loaded mashed potato casserole? Simply top the casserole with some bacon and those green onions. Maybe add a dollop of sour cream on each serving!

Can I prepare this Mashed Potato Casserole Ahead of Time?

The holidays can get a little hectic (and that’s putting it mildly). So, making this simple Make-Ahead Mashed Potato Casserole can help out.  

You can prepare this dish a day or two before. Cook and mash the potatoes, add them to the casserole dish, allow it to cool completely. Then cover it and pop it in the fridge. Mix the cheese and panko together and store them in a ziptop bag in the fridge so it’s ready to go as well.

Before you’re ready to serve, take the casserole out of the fridge, uncover it, and pop it in the oven.

If you’re starting from a cold casserole, you’ll want to add about 10-15 minutes to the bake time.

Sprinkle the panko-cheese mixture on top and broil as directed.

This casserole also reheats great as leftovers, and everyone love thanksgiving leftovers! Reheat the leftovers in the microwave or in the oven.

Potato Side Dish

I made this casserole the other day to serve with my husband’s Braised Beef with Balsamic Roasted Tomatoes. He had dinner and a couple days’ worth of great lunches out of it. It was a great meal!

Meat and Potatoes, I guess. But this simple little potato casserole has a fancy little shine to it. That crispy cheesy crust on the top just makes it so special.

I’ve also made this Casserole for a simple dinner with seared tofu and Caramelized Broccoli.

a black cat looking at peeled potatoes.

Make it a meal

These potatoes would be fantastic served with Parmesan Baked Halibut, Sirloin Beef Roast, or Salmon with Blueberry Sauce and a side dish of Air Fryer Broccoli or Grilled Asparagus.

Fancy casserole recipes

Looking for other fancy casserole recipes or fancy potato recipes?

These dishes will be welcome on any table! Try my Roasted Potato Stacks, Fancy Green bean casserole made with fresh green beans and homemade cream of mushroom soup, Potato broccoli casserole, and zucchini stuffing casserole.

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Looking down into a dish of Mashed Potato Casserole with a serving taken out of it.

Mashed Potato Casserole Recipe

square crop of mashed potato casserole in a white dish with a serving spoon in it.

Mashed Potato Casserole

Debi
It’s a fancy mashed potatoes side dish that’s great to serve at holiday dinners like Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it’s also just as welcome on the weeknight dinner table! This dish will end up being the highlight of any meal!
5 from 6 votes
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Prevent your screen from going to sleep.
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 40 minutes mins
Total Time 55 minutes mins
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 8 servings
Calories 248 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt divided use
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 6 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 2 ounces Asiago or Parmesan cheese grated (about 1/2 cup)
  • ½ cup panko Japanese breadcrumbs
  • thinly sliced chives or green onions for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350° F.
  • Place potatoes and ½ teaspoon salt in a large saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes or until tender. Drain in a colander over a 2-cup Pyrex glass measuring cup, or similar sized bowl, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid.
  • Press cooked potato through a potato ricer or a food mill into a large bowl. Or mash the potatoes with a potato masher or wooden spoon. Stir in reserved ½ cup cooking liquid, garlic powder, remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, and cream cheese.
  • Taste mashed potatoes for salt and moisture content, adding more salt or cooking liquid if desired.
  • Spoon potato mixture into a broiler-safe 2.5 liter casserole dish or ceramic baking dish that's been sprayed with cooking spray, and bake, uncovered, at 350° F for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
  • Preheat broiler to 450° F.
  • Combine Asiago and panko; sprinkle evenly over top of potatoes. Broil 4 minutes or until golden brown. Keep a close eye on the casserole under the broiler, it can burn quickly. Sprinkle with chives.

Notes

Adapted from Cooking Light

Nutrition

Calories: 248kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 8gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 583mgPotassium: 764mgFiber: 4gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 341IUVitamin C: 34mgCalcium: 132mgIron: 2mg

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

Keyword casserole, potato
Tried this recipe?Mention @LifeCurrents or tag #LifeCurrents!

A white casserole dish filled with mashed potato casserole that's being served up with a big spoon.
One of the original pictures from when I published it in 2015
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Filed Under: Budget, Lunch, Side Dishes, Thanksgiving, Vegetarian Tagged With: casserole, Cooking, Food, gluten-free, potato, recipe, vegetarian

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about debi

ABOUT DEBI

Hello! I’m Debi, the girl behind Life Currents where I write about mainly healthy vegetarian dishes. My husband eats meat, so occasionally I share some of his dishes as well. And, I’ll share tasty treats and projects that we do. Read more...

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Comments

  1. Culinary Ginger

    January 13, 2015 at 9:12 am

    That IS a fancy potato casserole, it looks lovely. Once I got a ricer, I couldn’t live without it. That crunchy panko top is calling my name, I could eat the whole thing by myself 🙂

  2. Sophia @ NY Foodgasm

    January 13, 2015 at 12:22 pm

    OMG yesssss! This looks amazing! I am all over it and the photos are just GORGEOUS!! Beautiful job Debi!

  3. Michelle F.

    January 13, 2015 at 2:43 pm

    That looks so good. What a unique way to eat mashed potatoes.

  4. Michele

    January 13, 2015 at 5:00 pm

    I know I would like this–I love mashed potatoes and cheese is also on my always eat list.

  5. Lori Vachon

    January 13, 2015 at 5:05 pm

    YUM! This is comfort food in my book!

  6. Nicole Neverman

    January 13, 2015 at 6:14 pm

    I can just imagine how fantastic this tastes with the beautiful cream cheese and cheese mixed in there 🙂

  7. ForkandForage

    January 13, 2015 at 6:29 pm

    Loving the look of your potato casserole. It screams all kinds of yum!

  8. Dan from Platter Talk

    January 13, 2015 at 6:34 pm

    Something so incredible from something as simple as mashed potatoes; genius!

  9. mealplanmaven

    January 13, 2015 at 7:19 pm

    Comfort food at it’s best! My hubbie will go crazy over this!!

  10. Debra

    January 13, 2015 at 8:27 pm

    This sounds amazing! I would love it!

  11. peter @feedyoursoultoo

    January 14, 2015 at 11:14 am

    5 stars
    Perfect dish. My family loved it!

  12. kristi@ishouldbemoppingthefloor

    January 14, 2015 at 5:03 pm

    Holy yum. That looks amazing!

  13. triedandtasty

    January 14, 2015 at 9:26 pm

    I loved mashed potatoes, so I can guarantee I would LOVE this!

  14. Kris ~ Big Rigs 'n Lil' Cookies

    January 15, 2015 at 9:07 am

    These sound amazing! My grandmother used to make potatoes similar to this (which I haven’t had in years), but you took them to a wonderful new level with that topping! I have to try your recipe 🙂

  15. Caitlin

    January 15, 2015 at 9:15 am

    YUM!!! This looks super amazing. And I could totally make this!

  16. taranoland

    January 15, 2015 at 9:45 am

    Love, love, love this casserole!!

  17. Coralie

    January 15, 2015 at 10:08 am

    This looks so good. I have made it a few times, and my kids eat it like candy. The crunchy topping is so perfect with the potatoes.

  18. Kayle (The Cooking Actress)

    January 15, 2015 at 11:08 am

    ooooooh mmm mmmm!!! I love this casserole-it looks incredible!

  19. KC the Kitchen Chopper

    January 15, 2015 at 12:47 pm

    Love the crust on top and the creamy beneath. Perfect comfort food!

  20. dcclark13

    January 15, 2015 at 1:53 pm

    Love this, I will have the opportunity to bust out my potato ricer, which is such a great kitchen tool! Plus the salty bite Asiago will give the potatoes a delicious flavor.

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Hello! I’m Debi, the girl behind Life Currents where I write about mainly healthy vegetarian dishes. My husband eats meat, so occasionally I share some of his dishes as well. And, I’ll share tasty treats and projects that we do. Read More >>>

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