Following the holidays we often find ourselves seeking out creative recipes to use up the leftovers. This cheesy hash brown ham casserole was a huge hit in our house! Loaded with hash browns, cheese, and ham bits, this hearty casserole is sure to impress even the pickiest of eaters.
We’ve made this several times, sometimes just using leftover boiled or baked potatoes. If you’re using a baked potato, make sure it is chilled quite well before finely dicing it into squares. You’ll also need to reduce the baking time by about fifteen minutes if the potatoes are not frozen.
How to Make Cheesy Hash Brown Ham Casserole
Finely dice the onions and bell peppers (if using). I used about half a cup worth of each, this isn’t exact, I was literally just using up a few leftover bits that were in the refrigerator so they wouldn’t go to waste.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the sour cream, cream of chicken soup, and garlic powder, mixing well to incorporate all ingredients. Add the bell peppers and diced Vidalia onion. You can use any type of onion that you like, red onion adds a bit of bite compared to a sweet onion such as vidalia.
Then add the finely diced ham.
Place half of the frozen potatoes in a greased 9 x 13-inch pan. Season with salt and pepper. Pour half of the melted butter over the frozen potatoes. Pour half of the ham mixture over the potatoes, top with half of the cheese.
Add the remaining frozen potatoes, season with salt and pepper, drizzle the remaining butter over the potatoes, top with the remaining ham mixture, spreading it evenly, and top with the remaining cheese.
Bake in a 350°F oven for 50-55 minutes. This casserole can easily serve six, but it can also be halfed and baked in a 9×9-inch pan for a smaller family.
Cheesy Hash Brown Ham Casserole
You’ll Need:
2 lbs frozen southern style hash brown potatoes or 4 large baked potatoes, diced
salt & pepper
2 cups sour cream
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup (10 1/2 oz)
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup butter or margarine (1 stick, melted)
1 small finely diced onion
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 cups finely diced Ham
1/2 green or red bell pepper, diced (optional, for color)
In a bowl combine the sour cream, and cream of chicken soup, and garlic powder, mixing well to incorporate all the ingredients. Add the bell peppers, diced onion, and finely diced ham.
Place half of the frozen potatoes in a greased 9 x 13-inch pan. Season with salt and pepper. Pour half of the melted butter over the frozen potatoes.
Pour half of the ham mixture over the potatoes, top with half of the cheese. Add the remaining frozen potatoes, season with salt and pepper, drizzle the remaining butter over the potatoes, top with the remaining ham mixture, spreading it evenly, then top with the remaining cheese.
Bake in 350°F oven for 50-55 minutes.
This casserole easily feeds 6, but can also be halved and baked in a 9×9-inch baking pan to accommodate smaller families. If you prefer more cheese, you can add an extra cup or so to the top of the casserole during the last 10-15 minutes of baking.
Ham Casserole Variations
Here are a few variation ideas that we’ve enjoyed with this casserole, we welcome you to share your ideas in the comments below.
- Add 1/2 – 3/4 c. chopped pickled jalapeno pepper slices, evenly layer or mix into the sauce mixture prior to layering
- Add 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper to the sauce/ham mixture
- Add 1 Tbs of honey dijon mustard to the sauce mixture & use Swiss cheese instead of cheddar
- To the sauce mixture, add 2 Tbs of fresh chopped herbs (herbs that go well with ham include: marjoram, mustard, oregano, sage, rosemary, thyme, garlic)
Can I freeze Cheesy Hash Brown Ham Casserole
Yes, this casserole freezes quite well. Cover the casserole tightly and place it in a vacuum seal bag. If you don’t have access to a vacuum sealer, you can also make the casserole in a 9″x9″ foil baking pan, cover it tightly with foil, then slide it into a one-gallon Ziploc bag.
To prepare, place the covered, frozen casserole in a 350F (preheated oven) for about 1 hour, 15 minutes. Remove the foil during the last 20 minutes of cooking. No need to thaw first.
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Cheesy Hash Brown Ham Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lbs frozen southern style hash brown potatoes or 4 large baked potatoes, diced very small
- salt & pepper
- 2 cups sour cream
- 10 ½ oz condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ cup butter or margarine 1 stick, melted
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 2 cups cheddar cheese grated
- 2 cups Ham finely diced
- ½ green or red bell pepper diced (optional, for color)
Instructions
- In a bowl combine the sour cream, and cream of chicken soup, and garlic powder, mixing well to incorporate all the ingredients.
- Add the bell peppers, diced onion, and finely diced ham, mix well.
- Place half of the frozen potatoes in a greased 9 x 13-inch pan. Season with salt and pepper. Pour half of the melted butter over the frozen potatoes.
- Layer with half of the ham mixture over the potatoes, top with half of the cheese. Repeat the layers, ending with cheese.
- Bake in 350°F oven for 50-55 minutes.
Notes
Add 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper to the sauce/ham mixture
Add 1 Tbs of honey dijon mustard to the sauce mixture & use Swiss cheese instead of cheddar
To the sauce mixture, add 2 Tbs of fresh chopped herbs (herbs that go well with ham include: marjoram, mustard, oregano, sage, rosemary, thyme, garlic)
If you altered the ingedients above by doubling or tripling the recipe, you may also need to change the pan/dish size and adjust the cooking/baking time.
Frozen hash brown potatoes can be difficult to find in my area. Can I use fresh potatoes instead of frozen hash browns?
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You can use fresh potatoes instead of frozen hash browns if you would like. You’ll need to shred the potatoes to be like hash browns, then put the shreds in a bowl of cold water. Alternatively, here is a homemade frozen hash brown potato recipe that works very well in this recipe!
This recipe ROCKS! We had some leftover smoked turkey, which actually tastes pretty similar to ham, surprisingly. I chopped it up and used it in place of the ham. Right before serving I added a heaping spoonful of picante sauce on top for a little spice. Everyone raved about how good it was.
I will definitely be making this one again.