*This post may contain affiliate links. Using these links adds no cost to you but does earn a little money for our family. We only recommend products that we used ourselves and believe bring value to those around us.
Are you ready for a quick recipe? This one is in no way healthy. I don’t even think serving it on top of a salad would save it.
But sometimes you need comfort. I’ve seen variations of this called funeral potatoes and cheesy potatoes. We just call them Messy Potatoes because in the early years of childbirth brain damage the only way I could think to make these was by combining them by hand.
Yeah, yeah, I know. A clear indication that new moms (and by new I mean every) don’t get enough sleep.
It eventually occurred to me to use my wonderfully awesome stand mixer but by then the name had stuck.
Messy Potatoes.
It’s very simple really.
First, you remember to take the potatoes out of the freezer. It’s okay if you don’t remember until after lunch. You just need them at least almost all the way thawed.
Got your potatoes? Good. Now you just combine all of the casserole ingredients in the stand mixer and dump them into a 13×9 baking dish. No, don’t even think about greasing it.
Then you toss the topping ingredients into a ziplock bag and crush and mush them together.
This would be a good time to teach your littles that nursery rhyme about giants grinding men’s bones.
After you have ground the topping mixture to your desired crumble size, sprinkle it over your casserole.
If you’re really on top of things you remembered to preheat your oven to 350.
But if you didn’t, don’t worry. The casserole can wait for the oven to catch up.
Stick the casserole in the oven for 40 minutes to an hour. This is going to vary depending on how cold your potatoes were (I’m not judging) and how finicky your oven is.
My oven is a powered by a temperamental propane demon so we have widely varying cook times from day to day.
I also turn the casserole halfway through but you don’t need to worry about this part if your appliance isn’t in need of an exorcism.
Once it reaches the perfect molten lava temperature that Southern casseroles are known for… you’re done!
You can serve this as a side dish with some veggies and pan fried ham, sausage, chicken, or steak. Whatever.
Or just eat it by itself as a meal if you’re blanket deep in a good book and can’t be bothered to forage for greener nutrition. The kids won’t mind.
Oh? And did you see that box in background? Enzymes. You might want them after a meal like this. Or not. I used to live dangerously too.
Casserole Ingredients
- 32oz bag of frozen diced potatoes (thawed)
- 6 tablespoons melted butter
- 15oz (ish) sour cream
- 10oz (ish) cream of chicken soup
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 heaping teaspoon dried minced onion (or a small scoop of fresh)
- 2 handfuls (cups?) of shredded cheddar cheese
Topping Ingredients
- 3 cups cornflakes
- 5 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix casserole ingredients in a large bowl and spread evenly in an ungreased 13×9 pan.
- Combine topping ingredients in a zip-close bag and crush together until you reach your desired crumble size. Sprinkle evenly over your casserole.
- Bake uncovered for 40-60 minutes.
- Enjoy!
