These are the potatoes you will love to hate! With a mess of bacon, white cheddar cheese, garlic, sour cream and chives, they’re the definition of decadent. They’re all kinds of wonderful.
When it comes to potatoes I find myself returning to the same familiar flavors again and again. All the favorites. They work magic on bringing boring potatoes to life and I love that there’s so many different ways you can combine them and cook them.
This starts with making mashed potatoes, preferably using Yukon Gold potatoes, my current crush, and loading them up with all the goodies I mentioned earlier.
They’re baked off in a casserole with more bacon, cheese and panko crumbs on top because, no, not enough went into them. Together they form a nice, crunchy crust on top, one of the best parts.
They taste kind of like twice baked potatoes without the skins and all the work of scooping out potatoes. They’re the perfect thing to make for potlucks, parties and holiday dinners because everyone will love them.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds potatoes (I used Yukon Gold)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ⅓ cup milk
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- salt and pepper
- 1 heaping tablespoon snipped fresh chives (use kitchen scissors for easy cutting)
- 8 ounces bacon, divided
- 2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar cheese, divided
- 3 tablespoons Japanese panko crumbs
Instructions
- Fill a large saucepan halfway with water. Wash, peel and cube the potatoes, placing them in the saucepan as you cut them.
- Add enough water to cover the potatoes then set them over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Simmer until fork tender about 16 - 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the bacon:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large roasting pan with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- Lay the bacon out in one layer. Bake 14 - 16 minutes until cooked but not too crispy. Remove to paper towels and drain. Rough chop it when cool enough to handle.
- Turn the oven up to 400 degrees F. and butter a 10 x 6-inch (or similar size) casserole dish.
- Drain the potatoes and add them to a large mixing bowl with the butter, milk, sour cream, garlic, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
- Mash with a potato masher or with a hand mixer on low speed until creamy and combined - don't overmix.
- Mix in by hand ¾ of the bacon and 1 + ½ cups of the white cheddar. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.
- Spoon into the casserole pan.
- In a small bowl mix the remaining bacon and cheese together with the panko crumbs. Sprinkle over the top of the casserole.
- Bake 25 minutes.
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