Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole Recipe from Scratch

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Imagine biting into a scrumptious, warm, Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole on a chilly winter morning. This recipe isn’t just a meal; it’s an experience, tailor-made for those frosty mornings when only the heartiest of breakfasts will do.

Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole

Breakfast Hashbrown Casserole

I love having any meal in the fall/winter that contains potatoes. Ok, I’ll admit it. I love any meal with potatoes at ANY time of year. I love them for some reason. I also love cheese….and a good casserole recipe...

I really love this recipe for Breakfast Hashbrown Casserole; it’s such a good combo of things that we love! Plus, it’s pretty inexpensive since it contains basic ingredients.

Make sure to stock up on potatoes in October/November to get the best prices on them and enjoy dishes like this one all winter! I will grab about 50 pounds with my next co-op order because they will only be around $0.50 per pound, which is a great deal for organic potatoes.

Tip: Stock up now on potatoes and store them all winter long with this DIY Cold Storage and Frugal Root Cellar Ideas 

cheesy hashbrown casserole on a blue plate

This Breakfast Hashbrown Casserole recipe is perfect for those cold, windy fall days when you want a warm meal but don’t want to do much to get it on the table. Plus it takes very few ingredients that I generally keep on hand, so making it is really simple!

Why We Love This Hash Brown Casserole

This casserole is easy to make and frugal. It doesn’t contain expensive or unwanted ingredients such as egg, cream of chicken soup, corn flakes, or ritz crackers. You don’t have to use frozen hashbrowns, either. I use fresh shredded potatoes.

This recipe can also be prepared in advance and baked later. See the instructions at the bottom of this post.

How to Serve Hashbrown Casserole

You can make this potato casserole for holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas…or you can just serve it on a Wednesday night! It can be made as a side dish or as a main dish or even taken to your next potluck.

If you are serving this as a side dish, it goes great with pork chops, steak, or another kind of hearty meat.

a hand holding potatoes

Ingredients in Cheesy Breakfast Hashbrown Casserole Recipe

  • Potatoes. This recipe uses medium-sized potatoes that should be washed, peeled, and shredded. If your potatoes are larger or smaller, you may need to adjust. If you have frozen hash browns, you could use those instead.
  • Cheddar Cheese. If you have a different cheese, that will work fine as well. Cheddar cheese gives the best flavor.
  • Onion. This should be a yellow onion or sweet onion.
  • Butter. You can use salted or unsalted butter.
  • Potato Starch. You can use cornstarch or arrowroot powder if you don’t have potato starch.
  • Milk. You can replace this with a milk alternative if you need to or you can replace with homemade chicken broth.
  • Sausage. I use a ground sausage in this recipe but you could also use bacon, cubed ham, or even ground beef with good seasonings.
  • Salt and Pepper. For added flavor. You could also add a little garlic powder.
  • Sour Cream. To top it if desired!

Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with all of us. I love the simplicity of this recipe as well as the added bonus of being able to shred my own potatoes instead of having to buy frozen hashbrowns.

Jran, Little House Living reader
sausage patties

Step By Step Instructions for Making Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole

In a frying pan on the stovetop, cook the sausage (I use my homemade sausage patties!) until cooked through. Place the sausage in the bottom of a non-greased 8×8 baking dish or a small casserole dish.

In the same frying pan, fry the onion in the butter. (Cooking it in the same pan will help soak up the sausage leftovers and give it even more flavor.) When the onion turns transparent, turn the burner to low and add the milk and starch. Ensure you continually stir at this post so the milk doesn’t scald. Cook until the sauce starts to thicken.

Mix your shredded potato with the onion/milk sauce in a large bowl. Stir well so it’s all mixed together. Pour the mixture over the top of the sausage layer into the baking dish.

cheesy hashbrown casserole

Finally, sprinkle your dish with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 – 40 minutes until the Breakfast Hashbrown Casserole is bubbly and slightly brown on the top.

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Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole Recipe

Easy from scratch casserole recipe that is very frugal!

Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Keyword Hashbrown Casserole
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 6 people
Calories 409 kcal
Creator Merissa

Ingredients

  • 6 medium potatoes washed, peeled, and shredded
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon potato starch you can use corn starch or arrowroot
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 pound Sausage
  • salt

Instructions

  1. In a frying pan on the stovetop, cook up the sausage (I use my homemade sausage patties!) until cooked through. Place the sausage in the bottom of a non-greased 8×8 baking dish.
  2. In the same frying pan, fry the onion in the butter. (Cooking it in the same pan will help is soak up the sausage leftovers and give it even more flavor.)
  3. When the onion turns transparent, turn the burner down to low and add in the milk and starch. Make sure you are continually stirring at this post so the milk doesn’t scald. Cook until the sauce starts to thicken.
  4. In a large bowl, mix your shredded potato with the onion/milk sauce. Stir well so it’s all mixed together.
  5. Pour the mixture over the top of the sausage layer in the baking dish.
  6. Finally, sprinkle your dish with shredded cheddar cheese.
  7. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 – 40 minutes until the Breakfast Hashbrown Casserole is bubbly and slightly brown on the top.
Nutrition Facts
Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 409 Calories from Fat 180
% Daily Value*
Fat 20g31%
Saturated Fat 9g56%
Trans Fat 0.2g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g
Monounsaturated Fat 7g
Cholesterol 56mg19%
Sodium 408mg18%
Potassium 1107mg32%
Carbohydrates 42g14%
Fiber 5g21%
Sugar 5g6%
Protein 16g32%
Vitamin A 346IU7%
Vitamin C 44mg53%
Calcium 218mg22%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Gluten-Free Hashbrown Casserole

This recipe is naturally gluten-free since it contains starch instead of flour. Always check all of your ingredients first to double-check before making.

Dairy Free Hashbrown Casserole

This recipe can be made dairy-free by replacing the milk with a milk alternative or chicken broth. Replace the butter with a vegan buttery spread and replace the cheese with a dairy-free alternative.

cheesy hashbrown casserole

Make Ahead Hashbrown Casserole

I love this Hashbrown Casserole Breakfast dish because you can prep it beforehand. Either make it up the night before and place in your fridge until the following day and then bake, or prep it in the morning when you have time and enjoy it for supper later!

You can also freeze it to make later. Prepare the casserole in an aluminum foil pan. You can freeze it before or after baking.

Tip: Find more Make Ahead Breakfasts perfect for busy morning and seasons!

Storing Leftover Hashbrown Casserole

Place any leftovers of the casserole in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you are ready to reheat and enjoy again. The casserole can be reheated in the microwave or in an oven-safe pan in the oven.

We tend to eat this dish more for supper versus breakfast (I’m a fruit-for-breakfast kind of girl!), but it works either way perfectly. If you need to serve a larger crowd, simply double this recipe and bake in a 9×13 baking dish instead.

potatoes on a baking sheet

More Potato Recipes

Skillet Meals

 What is your favorite recipe to make for breakfast? Do you like making casseroles?

Did you enjoy this recipe? Be sure to give it a star rating and share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and through email using the sharing buttons below!

Me and Kady

Merissa Alink

Merissa has been blogging about and living the simple and frugal life on Little House Living since 2009 and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can read about Merissa’s journey from penniless to freedom on the About Page. You can send her a message any time from the Contact Page.

This Breakfast Hashbrown Casserole Recipe was originally published on Little House Living in October 2013. It has been updated as of March 2024.

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23 Comments

  1. This looks delicious! I have been looking for hashbrown casserole recipes that do not have cream of chicken soup as an ingredient! Thanks 🙂

  2. Question what kind of cream are you talking for the biscuits. We live on a farm but we don’t have livestock any more. Are you talking heavy cream or light cream for the grocery . Will it work?

  3. This looks and sounds amazing! I love love cheese and anything casserole with tons of cheese just makes my mouth water. I will have to remember to try this out sometime soon 🙂

  4. I love breakfast casseroles and this sounds just like my perfect dish. I’m pinning and saving for a special occasion. Thanks for sharing with everyone! 🙂 I’d be thrilled if you’d come on over to Pink Recipe Box and link up at Creative Wednesdays.

  5. This is a great breakfast casserole that we just love! Hope you are having a great day and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday!
    Come Back Soon,
    Miz Helen

  6. If I use the 2 lbs. frozen potatoes I use for cheesy potatoes, would I need to double the recipe? Not sure about how much the 6 potatoes would weigh.

    BTW, I love your ideas!

  7. This sounds yammy. But I’d do it for dinner instead breakfast – in here we never eat casselores in the mornigs. Or am I missing something because lack of English? 😀

  8. Just put this together to bake in the morning. Looks great so far. Just one thing…the bottom recipe…it doesn’t have the butter listed in the ingredients! 🙂

  9. Even better to make home made hash browns. I bought 40 lbs of potatoes for maybe $1.48 for 10lbs. So canned thirty lbs and made hash browns with the last 10 lb bag.

  10. I make an even simpler breakfast casserole and take advantage of our farm fresh eggs when they are in abundance (like right now!) I cook one pound of sausage (drain well), stir in 12 eggs and a bag of frozen hashbrowns, pour in a glass 9 x 13, top with cheddar cheese and bake for about 45 minutes (until cooked all the way through). Delicious!!!

  11. Merissa,
    Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with all of us. I love the simplicity of this recipe as well as the added bonus of being able to shred my own potatoes instead of having to buy frozen hashbrowns.