Your morning eggs will find their perfect partner in this cheesy and delicious casserole. It’s baked with a crunchy, buttery topping that will bring you back for seconds—and thirds! This casserole is a good alternative to mashed or baked potatoes at dinnertime, too. Try serving it with fried chicken for a true comfort feast.

　　

Ingredients

makes 6 to 8 servings

　　Cooking spray

　　1 (2-pound) package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed

　　3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

　　1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup, or 1 1/2 cups homemade Cream of Chicken Soup (page 202)

　　1 (8-ounce) container sour cream

　　1/2 cup chopped onion

　　8 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded (2 cups)

　　1 teaspoon salt

　　1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

　　2 cups crushed cornflake cereal

　　

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray.

　　

Step 2

In a large bowl, combine the hash browns, 1/2 cup of the melted butter, the soup, sour cream, onion, cheese, salt, and pepper. Spoon the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.

　　

Step 3

In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, sauté the cornflake crumbs in the remaining 1/4 cup melted butter until the cornflakes start to brown, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle the cornflakes over the top of the casserole. Cover the casserole with foil and bake for 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the edges are bubbling. Serve immediately.

　　

notes

Step 4

If you want to freeze your casserole, don’t include the cornflake topping. Save it to add right before baking so that it is extra crunchy!

　　

Step 5

This dish can be made vegetarian by using cream of mushroom soup instead of chicken soup. Now, isn’t that easy?

　　From The Casserole Queens Cookbook by Crystal Cook & Sandy Pollock. Copyright © 2011 by Crystal Cook and Sandy Pollock; Food photographs copyright © 2011 by Ben Fink. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers.Crystal Cook and Sandy Pollock, the Casserole Queens, have been delivering casseroles in Austin, Texas, since 2006; they also teach cooking classes at Whole Foods stores in the area. They have been featured on Food Network's Throwdown! with Bobby Flay and Bobby Flay Radio on Sirius XM, as well as on television news and radio talk shows.