Ultimate homemade mashed potatoes, loaded with cheese and bacon! This easy casserole will be a perfect side dish to celebrate any occasion or for a simple family dinner.
Name the most popular side dish for any celebration. I’m pretty sure you’ll say Mashed Potatoes! It’s a traditional staple that everyone loves and is always looking forward to eating.
Since we want to focus on celebrating the holiday season, I wanted to make this classic recipe even fancier. So, I added some sour cream to the potato base to make it richer and creamier and then loaded it with cheese and bacon! If you’ve never made this version before, you should definitely give it a try!
I love serving this recipe for the holiday season dinners, together with Oven Roasted Turkey Breast or Baked Whole Chicken.
In addition to this side dish, you may also like Crispy Smashed Potatoes, Instant Pot Mac and Cheese, Roasted Broccoli with Parmesan, Roasted Beet Salad, Farro Salad, and more.
How to make it
Cook the Potatoes. Peel, chop, and cook in a pot of water until tender. You can check if they are ready by piercing them with a fork or a knife.
Cook the bacon. While the potatoes are boiling, cook the bacon. Then let cool off and chop.
Mash the potatoes. When they are done, drain and mash. Add salt, butter, sour cream, and milk. You can mash them using a potato masher, immersion blender, or a stand mixer.
Assemble. Add half of the shredded cheese and fold it in and transfer to a baking dish. Then top with the remaining cheese and chopped bacon.
Bake. Bake covered at 350°F for about 20 minutes. Then uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Tips for best results
- To make it easier, you can cook the potatoes in your pressure cooker instead of the stove (check my recipe for Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes).
- This recipe is quite flexible, so you can adjust the ingredient proportions to your liking.
- To make it creamier, you can substitute milk with heavy cream or half and half.
Frequently Asked Questions
I like to use Russet potatoes, but you can also use Yukon gold variety.
Yes! You can cook and assemble everything a day before, then bake before you are ready to serve. Because the filling is cold, baking time might take a bit longer to reheat.
If you have any leftovers, you can cover the pan with plastic wrap or transfer to an air-tight container, then refrigerate for 2-3 days.
Did you make this recipe?!? I’d love to know how it turned out! leave a comment and a rating below👇 thank you!
Loaded Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 pounds Russet potatoes peeled, cut in chunks
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 4 slices bacon
- 1/4 cup green onion or chive chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the bacon on a baking sheet with a wire rack and bake for about 18 minutes or until cooked. When done, transfer to a paper towel, degrease, and chop.
- Peel and cube the potatoes, then put them in a pot. Cover with water, about 1-inch over and put on the stove over high heat. Bring it to boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cook until the tender. When done, drain the liquid.
- Mash the potatoes, add butter, sour cream, and salt, and mix again. Gradually add milk until the desired consistency and continue mixing until smooth and silky.
- Add half of the grated cheese and fold it in.
- Transfer the mixture to a baking dish. Top with the remaining cheese and chopped bacon.
- Cover with foil and bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes. Then uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Take the dish out of the oven and sprinkle some chopped green onion or chives on top.
Wow I love mashed potatoes so much and these look amazing with all that cheese and bacon! Cant wait to give this recipe a try!
Never again simple, plain mash potatoes, this is such a treat. It’s like eating mashed baked potatoes with all the fixings, so comforting and scrumptious.
Well I’m never going back to plain mashed potatoes. This was so good, we could have eaten it alone without a main dish!
Talk about comfort food…YUM! This is an epic recipe that the whole family will love! Doesn’t get much better than this!
This is looks phenomenal! I love loaded mashed potatoes and it goes with so many dishes. Ahh this is dangerously good ;D
I am always on a hunt for a better mashed potatoes recipe. It is one of those dishes that you aways make and the quicker and easier the recipe is the better!
This was delicious. I wanted an even creamier finish so I used cream instead of milk. There is no going back to milk now!
I love mashed potato dishes and this is indeed loaded with it and I am not complaining! I will definitely make this for me and my family, thank you for sharing, I can’t wait to try this out!
Being the carb-ivores that we are, we are looking forward to this dish. I love it because it adds my favorite baked potato toppings and I won’t have to fight to get them out of the skin. Thanks for sharing.
This sounds and looks amazing! I am making this as a side dish this week and I can not wait. We love mashed potatoes and this sounds so much better!