Cheesy Potato Casserole [step by step VIDEO] - The Recipe Rebel (2024)

This Cheesy Potato Casserole is made with fresh potatoes and a creamy, tangy homemade cheese sauce — no hashbrowns or cream soups here! See the full step by step recipe down in the recipe card.

Love hearty casseroles? Try this Chicken and Stuffing Casserole, this Ground Beef Casserole recipe or this Broccoli Casserole next!

This post is generously sponsored by The Little Potato Company and I was compensated for my time in creating this recipe. Thank you for supporting the brands that make The Recipe Rebel possible!

If there’s one thing that speaks right to my comfort-food-loving heart, it’s creamy, cheesy potatoes.

I’ve always thought it was a shame how most people use frozen hashbrown potatoes and condensed soup in the traditional Cheesy Potato Casserole. You know I’m all for a shortcut when we need one but let’s take the potato casserole up a notch!

My go-to shortcut for this casserole is our favorite Little potatoes — they have a smooth, delicate skin that doesn’t need to be peeled (unlike most large potatoes!), and they come washed and ready to use.

I simply give them a chop and boil, whip up a homemade cheese sauce and toss everything in the oven — no peeling and no frozen hashbrowns in sight 😉

I used the Boomer Gold potatoes for my Potato Casserole but any of the varietals will work great!

How do you make Cheesy Potatoes from scratch?

1. Start with your Little potatoes: give them a chop (I aim for a cube of 1cm or just less than half an inch).
2. Cook potatoes in a large pot of boiling, salted water for 5-6 minutes, until almost tender.
3. Make your sauce: saute your onion, add your herbs and spices, then thicken with flour. Milk and sour cream give this sauce a rich and creamy flavor!
4. Pour the sauce over the potatoes in the pan and bake until the casserole is hot and bubbly — just a short zap!

Variations and Substitutions for this potato casserole:

• Swap the sour cream: I’ll admit, I’m not sour cream’s biggest fan. But in this casserole it does add lots of creamy, tangy flavor. If you want to skip it, simply add ½ cup more milk or cream to the sauce when you are cooking it.
• Vegetables: you can always add vegetables to this casserole! I would stick to frozen or canned peas or corn, or carrots that are chopped to be roughly the same size as the potatoes.
• Seasonings: like it spicy? Add a squirt of sriracha or a pinch (or more) of cayenne pepper. Feel free to experiment with different herbs and seasonings to make it your own!

How to make this recipe ahead:

Because we are cooking the potatoes before assembling the dish, this potato casserole is perfect for making ahead!

Simply prepare up until the point of baking, then you can cover it and store in the refrigerator up to 4 days before baking and serving.

A great make ahead option for a busy week!

What to serve with this cheesy Potato Casserole:

Even though I could make a meal out of these cheesy potatoes all on their own, we usually round out the meal with some other favorites:

• Instant Pot Pot Roast (skip the potatoes in the pressure cooker and serve with this casserole!)
• Italian Beef — cook it in the slow cooker for an easy dinner!
• Slow Cooker Chicken Breast or Instant Pot Chicken Breast — a classic but so flavorful and juicy!

More comfort food casseroles you’ll love!

• Twice Baked Potato Casserole with Ham
• Loaded Baked Potato Breakfast Casserole
• Taco Casserole — a fun option for Taco Tuesday!