Cheesy Hash Brown Bake {GF option}

Updated 8.13.2020.

I have been strictly gluten-free for a few weeks now and have learned that life isn’t all that bad when you’re gluten free. Of course it would be a lot easier if you weren’t. You could order any dish you want at a restaurant. You could go to any restaurant. When I go out to eat I have to be very strategic. Asian or Mexican food establishments are the most friendly to those who can’t eat gluten. But still you are limited in what you can choose from the menu unless the restaurant goes out of its way to serve gluten-free fare. Some do. I came across a food truck in Portland that serves gluten-free fried chicken. How delightful does that sound?

I was most delighted when I realized I could easily make one of my favorite indulgent dishes from childhood gluten-free with just a few substitutes. Oreida potatoes are naturally gluten-free and proudly labeled that way. You can easily find gluten-free cornflakes online at Amazon if you can’t find them at the store. And Pacific foods makes gluten-free cream of chicken soup. Voila! Those are the only substitutions you need to make for a gluten free cheesy hash brown bake casserole.

Here’s what I said about this dish back in 2010:

For as long as I can remember my mom made this recipe for every kind of get-together from cookouts to holiday meals to weddings to funerals and everything in between. It is one of my absolute favorite dishes, and she made it again recently when I was home for a visit. This dish will please just about anyone — even the pickiest of eaters. It makes a lot, but don’t worry — it tastes great reheated and will not sit in the fridge for very long.

My mom has since updated her recipe. She uses shredded potato hash browns instead of the cubed kind. Since I grew up on the cubed kind, I’m partial to the latter. You could probably make this dish with a variety of potato styles and it would still turn out delicious. Mini-tater tots anyone?

We also discovered that this dish tastes delicious for breakfast. Go ahead and fry the leftovers in a pan on your stovetop and top with an egg, bacon, sausage, veggie sausage, etc. You get the picture.

This recipe can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until you are ready to bake it.

Bon Appetit!

ingredients.

1 32-oz package of frozen cubed hash browns (gluten-free, if necessary)
2 cans of cream of chicken soup (gluten-free, if necessary)
16 oz sour cream
10 oz grated cheddar cheese
1 small onion chopped
1 tsp. garlic salt
½ tsp. pepper
¼ c. + ¼ c. butter
2 to 3 c. crushed cornflakes (gluten-free, if necessary)

directions.

Chop onion and cook in microwave with ¼ c. butter until onions are tenders. (Three or four minutes). You can also fry the onions in a pan on your stovetop.
Mix chicken soup, sour cream, cheese, salt, pepper and cooked onions together.
Add in the hash browns and spread into an 8×11 in glass pan (or larger) greased with cooking spray.
Add a layer of shredded cheese on top the potato mixture.
Then sprinkle with crushed cornflakes.
Drizzle 2 T. melted butter over the top. Cover with foil. Bake 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly.
Uncover the last 20 minutes to brown the cornflakes.