This potato casserole is one of the most popular dishes in my family, we literally cook it twice a month at least. I love it, my wife loves, the kids are OK with it as well… It’s basically one of our go-to meals when we don’t feel like thinking about what to cook for lunch too much.

I’ve known this recipe since I was a kid, my mom used to prepare it all the time as well. We used to call it “The French Potatoes” and it was one of those dishes that everyone in our town used to cook frequently.

Making this potato casserole couldn’t be easier and you can totally tweak the recipe, to fit your tastes better. Enough of the intro, let’s dive into the recipe.

TIP: Looking for more baking dish recipes? Try my Sauerkraut Chicken Legs or Baked Chicken Thigs. Want to step the casserole game up a little bit? Try to make this Chicken potato casserole or Keto taco casserole!

What ingredients do you need for this loaded potato casserole?

The amounts/weights would depend on the size of the casserole or baking dish you’re about to use. The one I have is 38×25 cm (15×10 inch) so adjust accordingly.

2-2.5kg (4-4.5 lb) potatoes of choice
150g (5oz) bacon
150g (5oz) sausages
150g (5oz) kielbasa
5-6 eggs
2 balls fresh mozzarella
150g (5oz) shredded mozzarella
350lm (1.5 cup) heavy whipping cream
3-4 tbsp grated Parmigiano
1 tsp red paprika
salt & pepper to taste

NOTE: I never really care about the exact measurements for this recipe. If I have 4 sausages sitting in the fridge, I’m gonna use all of them… if there are just 3, so be it. Large kielbasa or a bit smaller one, I don’t care. Same for the rest, I’m basically eyeballing the measurements and with a dish like this potato casserole, it works just fine. Cooking is not rocket science, don’t make it more complicated than necessary 🙂

How To Make Loaded Potato Casserole

Watch the video or scroll down for step by step instructions:

1. Start by boiling 3-4 eggs. We need them hard boiled for easy slicing, so keep boiling them for at least 10 minutes. Slice the bacon, sausages and kielbasa and brown them in a pan. Start with the bacon, so it releases some fat that the rest will fry in.

TIP: Get some high quality sausages or hot dogs, the cheap ones usually taste like… 🙂 I prefer pork or veal sausages, the ones made from poultry meat are often the worst.

2. Slice the potatoes thinly and rinse them with water quickly (optional). Sprinkle some olive oil into the baking dish and spread it across the bottom. Form a thick potato layer, using half of the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

TIP: I’m going with 2 layers of potatoes. In case you have a very deep casserole or baking dish, you can go for 3 layers too.

3. In with the browned bacon, sausages and kielbasa. Add slices of boiled eggs and chunks of fresh mozzarella (1 ball). The keyword here is “even distribution”! You want a piece of all the good things in all parts of the potato casserole.

4. Form the second layer of potatoes and season with salt and pepper again. Mix the heavy cream with 2 eggs and grated parmigiano. Pour the mix over the potatoes, which will make our potato casserole even more flavorful and a bit creamy. Sprinkle the top with some sweet paprika, it won’t really do much in terms of flavor but I just love the color 🙂

5. Cover the casserole with aluminium foil and bake in a preheated (220C/425F) oven for 30 minutes. Once the 30 minutes have passed, remove the foil and keep baking at the same temperature for 20-30 minutes more.

6. The potatoes are fully cooked by now and the top layer should have a nice golden brown color on the edges of the potato slices. There is just one last step left, to form a cheesy top. Cover the potatoes with shredded mozzarella, or any other type of cheese you prefer. We have one more fresh mozzarella ball left, cut that into chunks and add those too.

7. The final step takes just a few minutes, we just need to broil the cheese. Set the oven to max heat or turn on the grill function and wait for the cheese layer to turn golden brown. My oven needed about 8 minutes for this.

8. And we are done, it’s time to serve. I love to eat this loaded potato casserole with a bit of sour cream or classic pickles. You can also use some salad, such as this simple coleslaw or any other vegetable salad that you like.

Optional Tips For This Recipe

This is one of those recipes that can be modified a LOT. Whatever ingredient you like, you can add it. Let me list a few modifications that I’ve done in the past.

• Try adding some sliced onions into the pan along with the bacon, works really well.
• Want some veggies in your casserole? You can even replace the meaty parts with your favorite veggie types.
• Not a fan of mozzarella cheese? No problem, Gouda, Cheddar, Provolone… almost any type works great.
• I used heavy whipping cream, but you can use sour cream or even yoghurt instead.
• This potato casserole can be also used as a side dish, just skip the meaty parts or replace them with vegetables.
• Sweet potatoes work great for casseroles too. Let’s give this Sweet potato casserole with walnuts a try.