Cheesy Mashed Potato Casserole with Blue Cheese, Bacon and Rosemary
By Jessica RudolphPublished on August 27, 2020
Time
1½ hours, plus 30 minutes cooling
Yield
Serves 10 to 12
Ingredients
Potatoes
4 pounds Yukon Gold potato, peeled and sliced ½ inch thick1 teaspoon table salt, plus salt for cooking potatoes16 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces1 ½ cups half-and-half 1 teaspoon pepper 6 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (1½ cups)4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (1 cup)12 ounces cooked bacon, crumbled (1 cup)2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemaryTopping
¾ cup panko bread crumbs 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, meltedBefore You Begin
This recipe can easily be halved: Boil the potatoes in a large saucepan and bake them in an 8-inch square baking dish. If made ahead, the casserole will be slightly more firm and set than a freshly made one; we liked both versions. If you'd like to serve 5 to 6 people, see How to Cut This Recipe in Half below.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Place potatoes and 2 tablespoons salt in Dutch oven, add water to cover by 1 inch, and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until potatoes are tender and can be easily pierced with paring knife, 18 to 20 minutes.
- Drain potatoes and return them to pot. Add butter and mash with potato masher until smooth and no lumps remain. Stir in half-and-half, pepper, and salt until fully combined. Stir in mozzarella, blue cheese, bacon, and rosemary until incorporated. Transfer potato mixture to 13 by 9-inch baking dish and smooth top with spatula. (To make ahead, let potato mixture cool completely in dish, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 3 days. When ready to bake, remove plastic, cover dish tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and proceed with step 3.)
- Combine bread crumbs and melted butter in bowl. Sprinkle topping evenly over potato mixture.
- Bake until casserole is heated through and topping is crisp and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes. Serve.
for the potatoes
for the topping
Time
1½ hours, plus 30 minutes coolingYield
Serves 10 to 12Ingredients
Potatoes
Topping
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Potatoes
Topping
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Potatoes
Topping
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
We wanted irresistibly cheesy mashed potatoes that could be made ahead of time. To start, we sliced 4 pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes (enough to ensure a full casserole dish) and boiled them in well-seasoned water. Once they were completely tender, we drained and mashed them with lots of butter until they were smooth and lump-free. Adding two full sticks of butter in this step prevented the potatoes from becoming gluey as we mashed them. Then we stirred in a hefty pour of half-and-half (heavy cream was just a tad too rich, and milk was not quite rich enough). Next came the cheese. Our tasters loved the pungent sharpness that blue cheese provided but also wanted something with a little more cheesiness. Mozzarella fit the bill: Its mild flavor allowed the blue cheese to sing, but it gave the potatoes a supple, stretchy texture that screamed “cheesy.” Folding in crumbled cooked bacon and fresh rosemary along with the cheese loaded this casserole with irresistible flavor. When we were ready to bake our casserole, we topped the potatoes with buttery panko bread crumbs, which crisped up into the perfect crunchy foil for the luscious potatoes underneath.
Before You Begin
This recipe can easily be halved: Boil the potatoes in a large saucepan and bake them in an 8-inch square baking dish. If made ahead, the casserole will be slightly more firm and set than a freshly made one; we liked both versions. If you'd like to serve 5 to 6 people, see How to Cut This Recipe in Half below.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Place potatoes and 2 tablespoons salt in Dutch oven, add water to cover by 1 inch, and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until potatoes are tender and can be easily pierced with paring knife, 18 to 20 minutes.
- Drain potatoes and return them to pot. Add butter and mash with potato masher until smooth and no lumps remain. Stir in half-and-half, pepper, and salt until fully combined. Stir in mozzarella, blue cheese, bacon, and rosemary until incorporated. Transfer potato mixture to 13 by 9-inch baking dish and smooth top with spatula. (To make ahead, let potato mixture cool completely in dish, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 3 days. When ready to bake, remove plastic, cover dish tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and proceed with step 3.)
- Combine bread crumbs and melted butter in bowl. Sprinkle topping evenly over potato mixture.
- Bake until casserole is heated through and topping is crisp and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes. Serve.
for the potatoes
for the topping
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