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What Is a Baked Potato Casserole?
A baked potato casserole is a dish that uses baked potatoes and has been cooked in a casserole dish. Beyond these requirements, the baked potato casserole is open to a wide variety of ingredients and variations. Common ingredients include meat and vegetables plus some kind of sauce, whether sour cream, gravy, cheese or even alcohol, to moisten the dish. While the term casserole originated in France, it is a common recipe for cultures across the world.
The word casserole comes from medieval France, but dates back to ancient Rome and Greece. In modern usage, it is used to describe a meal prepared in a casserole dish, which is then placed in an oven and cooked. This includes a wide variety of dishes from lasagna to shepherd’s pie. Rice, pasta and other forms of potato are used in various dishes instead of baked potatoes.
Baked potatoes are a large variety of potato that is washed, then cooked for a long time without being peeled. When wrapped in foil, baked potatoes take around three hours to cook on a low heat. They are then cut open and topped with butter, cheese, or bacon. There are many different toppings. Baked potatoes are prized because by keeping the skin on while it is cooking, the potato retains a lot of its nutrients and flavor.
Both of these qualities are important for the baked potato casserole. In order for the baked potatoes to be cooked without burning the rest of the casserole, they are twice-baked. This means the potatoes are baked in the oven until partially or mostly cooked and then are placed whole in the casserole dish. Other ingredients are then placed with the potatoes or mixed in and this dish is cooked a second time in the oven. If the baked potatoes are cut open and mixed up with the other ingredients, the potato skins are usually kept in the casserole as a bottom or middle layer.
For some people, a baked potato casserole with just baked potatoes would be boring. Other ingredients add flavor and texture. Meats that are often combined with baked potatoes include ham, bacon, turkey and beef. Tuna and salmon can also be used. Other vegetables that go well include carrots, broccoli and spinach.
Sauces are used for two reasons: first, they add extra flavor and second, they help to keep the baked potato casserole moist. Tuna and salmon go well with a white sauce, while beef and pork can be eaten with a red sauce. Other sauces that can be used with a baked potato casserole include drinks such as wine or gravies and vegetable stock.
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![A bowl of sour cream, which can be used to make baked potato casserole.]()
A bowl of sour cream, which can be used to make baked potato casserole. -
![Potatoes.]()
By: Africa StudioPotatoes. -
![Bacon is often included in baked potato casseroles.]()
By: sparkiaBacon is often included in baked potato casseroles. -
![Ham can be used to make a baked potato casserole.]()
By: David SmithHam can be used to make a baked potato casserole. -
![Salmon, which goes well with white sauce, can be used to make a baked potato casserole.]()
By: SunnySSalmon, which goes well with white sauce, can be used to make a baked potato casserole. -
![Potatoes are the main ingredient in a baked potato casserole.]()
By: NatikaPotatoes are the main ingredient in a baked potato casserole. -
![Gravy may be added to a baked potato casserole.]()
By: Stephanie FreyGravy may be added to a baked potato casserole. -
![Baked potato casseroles may feature cold cuts of meat.]()
By: Bronwyn PhotoBaked potato casseroles may feature cold cuts of meat.
Discussion Comments
Tuna or salmon in a baked potato casserole? Can I say *yuck*? Eeww. That's just nasty. I can't even imagine why anyone would possibly want to do that.
I'm with Pippinwhite on this one. Using the actual potato skins in the casserole is a new one on me. Not very appetizing, I don't think, especially if the skins weren't scrubbed well before baking. It would be awful to get a mouthful of grit. That would just ruin the whole dish. Using stew meat and brown gravy would probably be good, but then that kind of turns it into shepherd's pie or something similar.
I've honestly never heard of putting the skins in a baked potato casserole. I always heard of baking the potatoes, then scraping the potato flesh out of the skins, mashing it up with sour cream, cheese and bacon, topping with chives, and baking until brown. That would be a loaded baked potato casserole, I guess.
A cheese sauce would probably work well, but I'd want to keep additions limited to what you might actually find on a baked potato. Chopped broccoli would be good, and you might even put a can of chili on the bottom of the dish and layer the potatoes over it, since many people like chili on a baked potato. That would be my way of doing it, anyway.
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