Get ready to dig into a baking dish filled with piping hot, irresistibly golden crusted, super creamy Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes. This make-ahead perfect side dish combines everything you love about creamy mashed potatoes, baked and twice baked potatoes; grated cheese, sour cream, crispy bacon, fresh herbs, and a whisper thin crispy crust at the edges.
The only thing better than the taste of Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes casserole is its convenience. You can make it up to three days ahead of time and reheat before serving or you can make it, wrap it tightly, and freeze it for up to a month.
Between the ease of preparation, the convenience of making it ahead of time, and the creamy texture mixed with next level deliciousness, this indulgent take on the classic side dish twice baked potato is about to become your new holiday meal favourite.
Break out this easy dish for dinner parties and any holiday table like Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner where it just might supplant your usual mashed potatoes recipe. But don’t just confine it to special occasions; Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes are the perfect potato recipe for any time of year.
Mashed Potato Bake
Before we get into the details of how to make this perfect dish, let’s go over the simple ingredients and equipment needed for it.
Loaded Baked Potato Casserole Ingredients
- Yukon Gold Potatoes (or other waxy gold, white or red potatoes)
- Salted or Unsalted Butter (according to your preference)
- Cream Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Grated Cheese (cheddar, monterey jack, colby, Parmesan cheese
- Bacon
- Fresh Herbs (fresh chives, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, or a mixture of them. Green onions can also be used.)
- Nutmeg (preferably fresh)
- Salt and Pepper
Twice Baked Potato Casserole Equipment
- Chef’s Knife
- Paring Knife or Vegetable Peeler
- Potato Masher
- Stock pot or Other Large Pot
- Colander
- 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish
- Cheese grater (or buy pre-grated cheese)
Baked Potato Casserole
Any potato lover knows that Russet potatoes make the best baked potatoes. But when it comes to mashed potatoes, waxy potatoes like gold, white, and red spuds are king.
For my money, Yukon gold potatoes are the potatoes to choose for the most creamy potatoes of all time. With their medium range starch content, they consistently deliver a thick, creamy mashed potato that my beloved Russet just cannot get near even in its potato dreams.
You may have noticed a lack of milk or heavy cream in this recipe and that is by design. With the amount of butter, cream cheese, and sour cream (not to mention grated cheese!) added to our recipe, there’s no need for additional cream or milk.
If you want to get technical, there’s a ton of cream in there anyway between the butter, sour cream, and cream cheese. Our Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes are ultra creamy without any added cream!
When it comes to cheese, the choice is up to you! I prefer to do a mixture of cheddar and monterey jack cheeses, but I’ve also used Parmesan and colby jack, too, with great results.
I’m keen on adding a combination of parsley, chives, and thyme to my Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes, but you can chance this up according to what’s available and what you love best. It’s delicious made with green onions, too.
May we have a word or two about nutmeg? Fresh nutmeg is the only kind I use.
That may sound fussy, but I promise once you’ve tried fresh nutmeg, there’s no turning back. You can purchase whole nutmegs and then use a special grinder for them or just rasp the nutmeg over a microplane type zester/grater. This second option is how we work it at our house.
You may balk at buying a bag of whole nutmegs, but at under $10 for 4 ounces, you’re setting yourself up nicely! The whole nutmegs, when properly stored, will last indefinitely.
Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Peel the potatoes and cut them into roughly equal size pieces, about 2 inches. Place potatoes and garlic cloves to a large stockpot, cover with cold water by 1 inch, and place over high heat.
Bring the potatoes and garlic to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the potatoes and garlic are soft and easily pierced with a butter knife, about 10-15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Strain the cooked potatoes and garlic in a colander.
Place the pan on the warm burner without turning the heat back on. Cut the butter and cream cheese into small pieces.
Add the butter and cream cheese pieces to the pan, then return the hot, drained potatoes and garlic to the pan as well. Let the potatoes steam dry for about 5 minutes.
Use a potato masher to thoroughly mash potatoes until they reach your desired consistency. Mix in the sour cream, grated cheese, nutmeg, and all but 1 1/2 teaspoons each of the crumbled bacon bits and freshly chopped herbs.
Taste the mixture and adjust with salt and pepper to taste. Lightly grease a 9-inch by 13-inch casserole dish and scrape the mashed potato mixture into it. Use a silicone spatula or serving spoon to swirl the potatoes so there are some peaks to crisp as it bakes.
Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown with slightly darker edges. Garnish with the reserved bacon and fresh herbs.
Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes
Rate RecipeEquipment
- chef's knife
- Paring Knife or Vegetable Peeler
- Potato Masher
- Stock pot or Other Large Pot
- colander
- 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish
- Cheese grater (or buy pre-grated cheese)
Ingredients
- 5 lbs golden potatoes or white potatoes
- 6 cloves garlic peeled but left whole
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ pound butter or 16 tablespoons or 2 sticks
- 12 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese or monterey jack, colby, Parmesan, or combination of cheeses
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 pound bacon crisped, drained on paper towels, and roughly chopped
- ¼ cup minced fresh herbs divided (I use a combination of parsley, thyme, rosemary, and sage)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF.
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into roughly equal size pieces, about 2 inches. Add the potatoes and garlic cloves to a large stockpot, cover with cold water by 1 inch, and place over high heat.
- Bring the potatoes and garlic to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the potatoes and garlic are soft and easily pierced with a butter knife. Turn off the heat. Strain the mixture in a colander.
- Place the pan on the warm burner without turning the heat back on. Add the butter and cream cheese to the pan, then return the hot, drained potatoes and garlic to the pan as well. Let the potatoes steam dry for about 5 minutes.
- Use a potato masher to thoroughly mash the potatoes until they reach your desired consistency. Mix in the sour cream, grated cheese, nutmeg, and all but 1 1/2 teaspoons each of the crumbled bacon and freshly chopped herbs.
- Taste the mixture and adjust with salt and pepper to taste. Lightly grease a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish and scrape the mashed potatoes into it. Use a silicone spatula or serving spoon to swirl the potatoes so there are some peaks to crisp as it bakes.
- Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown with slightly darker edges. Garnish with the reserved bacon and fresh herbs.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Reader's Thoughts...
Nancy Long says
How many servings do they make?
Lisa Joswick says
If I’d like to make ahead of time., do you suggest fully baking it and then just reheating? Or, do you leave the baking part to the day of?
Rebecca says
Hi Lisa- I’d leave the baking part for right before serving it. 🙂