What's In Cracker Barrel's Hashbrown Casserole?

Since 1969, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (simply known as Cracker Barrel) has been serving up classic Southern cuisine that resonates with many people. Among the chain's most popular items are its all-day breakfast dishes, including pancakes, grits, biscuits, and gravy, and the iconic hashbrown casserole. The hashbrown casserole serves as a must-have side for most of the chain's breakfast platters, its other meals, or even as its own meal with added protein, such as its steak n' egg and bacon n' egg hashbrown casserole options. But what's in this popular dish anyway?

The hashbrown casserole features shredded potatoes, Colby jack cheese, chopped onions, salt and pepper, and a seasoning blend, all baked for a hot and bubbly consistency. Because of its creamy, cheesy, and savory flavor, it's a dish often hard to resist because of its simple ingredients, which are liked by most people.

Cracker Barrel dominates the South and/or states with older demographics (Florida is the state with the most Cracker Barrels, with 50 restaurants there alone), so if you can't find one close to you, it is possible to create a homemade version of its hashbrown casserole, for you to enjoy whenever you want.

While it may not have invented the dish, Cracker Barrel is certainly regarded as having popularized hashbrown casserole, and inspiring home cooks to develop their own recipes for it, including our Tasting Table hashbrown casserole recipe.

Many of the copycat recipes, including ours, have slightly different takes on it, but all have similar processes to make the ingredients bind together. Some recipes use a combination of sour cream and cream of chicken soup, or cheddar cheese soup to mix with the potatoes, cheese, and onions. For the soup of choice, use one can, and for sour cream, one cup.

For cheese, you can use Colby jack for an exact copy, cheddar cheese, or both, as long as it adds up to two cups. For time's sake, using frozen shredded hashbrowns is more than acceptable for this recipe. However, if you want to do the dirty work, make sure your fresh potato amount equals four cups. Mix the potatoes, one cup of cheese, soup, sour cream, and four tablespoons of melted butter with salt and pepper.

Before baking, make sure your pan is greased with a tablespoon of butter, then add the potato mixture to the pan and top with the remaining one cup of cheese. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45-50 minutes. You can top the casserole with chives, green onions, or similar garnishes.