Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole
It was BIG exciting news when Cracker Barrel opened in our sleepy little neck of the woods. We had very few restaurants up until that point and the only chains were fast food restaurants. I’ve always been a Hash Browns with cheese sort of gal, so the Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole was right up my alley! No matter the time of day that I ate there, I always asked for the Hash Brown Casserole even though they only prepared it for breakfast. Sometimes I lucked out and was able to get it, other times I wasn’t so lucky. No matter the time of day I ordered it, I was often disappointed because it was always served to me at room temperature or colder.
Once I realized I had a cookbook with the Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole recipe in it, I quit being disappointed because I quit ordering it at the restaurant. Now, I prepare my own casserole at home and get to enjoy it while it’s fresh and hot. Since there are just two of us at my house, I usually make this and bake 1/2 of the batch and freeze the other half. When I need a larger batch, I double the batch. I freeze before baking in the small Pyrex casserole dish that I’ll later cook it in. I’m sure that this would also freeze well in a heavy duty freezer bag.
There’s another reason that this recipe is better than many other Hash Brown casserole recipes. This one doesn’t call for the use of any mayo, sandwich spread, or whatever you wish to call it. The need for those products kept me from cooking many of the other recipes that I found over the years. I’m so particular about that white stuff that I even know what the casserole looks like when it’s been cooked with that stuff!
- 26 ounces bag frozen country-style hash browns
- 2 cups shredded Colby cheese
- ¼ cup minced onion
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup beef stock or canned broth
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 dash garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Combine frozen hash browns, cheese, and onion in a large bowl.
- Combine the milk, beef stock, half the melted butter, the garlic powder, salt, and black pepper in another bowl. Mix until well blended, then pour the mixture over the hash browns and mix well.
- Heat the remaining butter in a large, ovenproof skillet (no plastic handle) over high heat.
- When the skillet is hot, spoon in the hash brown mixture. Cook the hash browns, stirring occasionally, until hot and all of the cheese has melted (about 7 minutes). Put the skillet into the oven and bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until the surface of the hash browns is dark brown.
Since there are just two of us at my house, I usually make this and bake ½ of the batch, freezing the other half of the other half. When I need a larger batch, I double the batch. I freeze before baking and freeze in the small Pyrex casserole dish that I'll later cook it in. I'm sure that this would also freeze well in a heavy duty freezer bag.
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