I Tried Our 5 Most Popular Potato Casserole Recipes and My Favorite Is From a Kentucky Grandma

If you’re anything like me, you woke up this morning with the stark realization that the year is almost over and Christmas is around the corner. Hopefully you have your prime rib recipe at hand and probably a few dessert ones ready to go. But what about side dishes? Have you considered this year’s potato situation? If holiday potatoes have been at the bottom of your list, have no fear: I’ve got it handled for you. In search of the perfect potato casserole, I tested Allrecipes’ five most popular recipes. Read on to find out which one I’ll be bookmarking to make again and again.

The Contenders

• Easy Loaded Baked Potato Casserole by Gemini26

• Grandma’s Hashbrown Casserole by missbutterbean

• Million Dollar Potato Casserole by Giovanna Vasquez

• Hamburger Potato Casserole by Gravyclan

• Incredible Potato Casserole by Jenn Harmon Jones

The Criteria

I used these three main criteria to judge our potato casseroles.

• Texture: The ideal potato casserole has textural variety. You want creamy but never gummy potatoes if you’re mashing them, and tender hash browns if you’re leaning in that direction. Arguably, the best part of any casserole is the topping. There are so many options here, and as long as they both balance the flavor and add a bit of crispness to each bite, you’re on the money.

• Flavor: We’re going for cozy here, and the rich, filling nature of potatoes fits the bill. The most important ingredient in a potato-based casserole is salt. That’s because potatoes soak up so much sodium during the cooking process that it can be difficult to know exactly how much additional salt should be added. One rule of thumb is to boil potatoes for mashing in water that borders on aggressively salted.

• Execution: Casseroles are simple dishes, often requiring ingredients that are readily available. Potato casseroles, specifically, tend to require more steps than other casseroles due to the need for boiling, mashing, etc. I looked at the number of steps in each recipe and accounted for time, prep, and clean-up.

The Results

Best for a Crowd: Easy Loaded Baked Potato Casserole

• The Recipe: Easy Loaded Baked Potato Casserole by Gemini26

• Average Rating: 4.8

• Rave Review: “Big hit with the family! Couldn't get my picture fast enough. This was quick and easy to make.” —Rashida Parson.

This recipe combines all of the flavors of a loaded baked potato into an easy-to-execute,  generous, crowd-size dish. Potatoes are boiled until tender and then mashed with cheddar, evaporated milk, sour cream, green onions, and bacon. This mixture bakes for a mere 30 minutes, and the dish is finished with additional scallions, cheddar and bacon. The result is a deliciously creamy yet nuanced dish, perfect for a crowd. This recipe makes an excellent side dish for any time of year.

Best for Impressing Guests: Million Dollar Potato Casserole

• The Recipe: Million Dollar Potato Casserole by Giovanna Vasquez

• Average Rating: 4.8

• Rave Review: “I made these potatoes for a family get together and there was nothing left. I never modify a recipe until I’ve made it as is. This recipe needs zero changes! Thank you for sharing!” —BakingBad503

This is a very special recipe. Giovanna shows us how to make a completely un-intimidating béchamel sauce with cream of chicken soup, cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, heavy cream, and a handful of dried and fresh herbs. This sauce is so mind-bendingly delicious that my 6-year-old volunteered to drink the leftovers. Peeled and thinly sliced potatoes are added to the sauce and then layered with cheddar cheese in a casserole dish. The topping is assembled with buttery crackers, butter, and more shredded cheese. Because the potatoes go into the oven raw, the dish requires one hour and 40 minutes in the oven. But trust me: It’s worth it. This recipe feels fancy, boss-worthy, and holiday-ready. This is the potato casserole you want to make when there are folks to impress around your table.

Related: 7 Million Dollar Recipes for Every Night of the Week

Best for Serving As a Meal: Hamburger Potato Casserole

• The Recipe: Hamburger Potato Casserole by Gravyclan

• Average Rating: 4.3

• Rave Review: “A very good old fashion dish. Easy to make.” —Dave Hopkins

Not only is this recipe simple and straightforward, it also requires no mashing. The author calls first for browning and draining a pound of lean ground beef. The sauce, which gets layered with the browned beef and thinly sliced potatoes, is composed of cream of mushroom soup, chopped onion, milk, salt, and pepper. All of this is topped with a generous layer of shredded cheddar cheese before baking. Out of the oven, the casserole smells just like a cheeseburger, and the onions give it a nice sharpness. This casserole is no side dish—it’s a complete meal, offering a level of convenience that anyone can appreciate.

Best for Comfort-Seekers: Incredible Potato Casserole

• The Recipe: Incredible Potato Casserole by Jenn Harmon Jones

• Average Rating: 4.6

• Rave Review: “My Husband had three servings. I should have doubled the recipe.” —AllRecipes Member

This recipe calls for boiling whole, unpeeled potatoes until tender. Once cool enough to handle, they are peeled and grated. While the potatoes are cooling, a simple sauce comes together with cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, and shredded cheddar cheese. The cooled and shredded potatoes are tossed in the sauce, poured into a baking dish, and topped with crushed cornflakes and melted butter. The outcome is a deliciously creamy interior with a perfectly crackly crust. This was the homiest recipe of the bunch, and I wanted to eat it out of a mug, wrapped in a blanket by the fireplace. Cornflakes as a casserole topping was a new concept for me, and I am sold. The cereal adds just a hint of sweetness, offsetting the salty savory flavors of the potatoes. I definitely wouldn’t mind making this recipe again.

Best All Around: Grandma’s Hashbrown Casserole

The Recipe: Grandma’s Hashbrown Casserole by missbutterbean
Average Rating: 4.8
Rave Review: “My wife has a healthy suspicion about assembled food dishes that include canned soup. And rightfully so. Nonetheless, she loved this. I used "only" one stick of butter instead of the two in the recipe and can't tell you how much cheese I used but it was a lot. Our grandmas never made this dish, but we did and will again.” —Mike Spence

One thing I’ve learned over years of recipe testing is that if the title includes “Grandma,” “Mee-Maw,” or “Nana,”it’s going to be a banger, especially when it comes to casserole. This recipe, submitted by missbutterbean, did not disappoint. The recipe calls for combining a bag of thawed hash browns with cream of chicken soup, sour cream, chopped onion, shredded cheddar and melted butter. This mixture then gets topped with butter-soaked cornflakes—can I get an amen? The hashbrowns give the interior a bit of structure without diminishing its creaminess. The crust is equal parts crackly and buttery, perfectly offsetting the potatoes within. Everyone in my family loved this recipe and we will make it for years to come. 

Related: I Tried Our 5 Most Popular Chicken Casseroles and This Is the One I'll Feed My Family Again and Again

Read the original article on ALLRECIPES