TODAY Food Club

If you like potato skins, loaded baked potatoes or twice baked potatoes, you will love this mashed potato recipe as much as my family does. Classic homemade mashed potatoes have been a staple in our family for generations. As soon as my sons were able to eat solid foods I fed them mashed potatoes and it was love at first bite. Now that my sons are older I'm always looking for new and creative ways to dress up my mashed potatoes. Our favorite way to dress up our classic recipe is to add bacon, cheddar cheese, sour cream and scallions and we call it Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole. This dish is perfect to serve during the fall and winter months because it's quintessential comfort food. The potatoes are creamy and fluffy and the bacon, cheese and scallions give it a hearty taste. After one bite you will be begging for more…they are that irresistibly delicious! It's no wonder this spin on our classic family recipe continues to be a favorite.

Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole

• Yield: 8 servings
• Prep Time: 20 min
• Cooking Time: 45 min

Ingredients

• 5 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 ½ cups milk
• 1 stick salter butter
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (reserve 1 cup for topping)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ cup chopped scallions (reserve ¼ cup for topping)
• 6 strips of bacon, cooked and diced (reserve 3 slices for topping)
• salt n pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Boil potatoes in a large pot of water until they are tender when pierced with fork
2. Strain water from potatoes and place potatoes back in pot
3. Add milk, butter, sour cream, garlic and salt n pepper to potatoes and mash until there are no lumps and its a creamy texture
4. Add 1 cup cheddar cheese, ¼ cup scallions, 3 strips of bacon to potatoes and stir until mixed well
5. Place potato mixture into a casserole dish
6. Add remaining cheese, scallions and bacon to top of potato mixture
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbling
8. Serve with a dollop of sour cream

Recipe Tags

• Comfort Food
• American
• Side dish