Easy Hash Brown Chicken Casserole Recipe - Home & Plate (2024)

FAQs

Why is my hash brown casserole soggy? ›

Frozen hash browns will leak moisture during cooking, which could leave a soggy, sad mess behind. For the best results, let the frozen hash browns thaw overnight in the fridge, then thoroughly pat them dry to remove as much moisture as possible before cooking them to crispy.

Without thawing them beforehand, that moisture ends up in your dish and your hash browns turn out wet and mushy instead of crispy and crunchy. To prevent this, as Prepare and Nourish advises, you can also drain any excess liquid from the potatoes after they're defrosted.

Substitute fresh potatoes for 30 ounces of frozen hashbrowns. Substitute diced green onions for 3 tablespoons dried chives.

Potato

Hash browns / Main ingredient

The potato is a starchy root vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are tubers of the plant Solanum tuberosum, a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United States to southern Chile.

Wikipedia

Squeezing the shredded potato in a towel or cheesecloth to remove as much moisture as possible helps it brown more evenly. Cooking the shredded potato briefly in the microwave helps it develop a better crust that remains crispy for longer.

You'll want to remove as much moisture as possible because this will prevent your hash browns from getting as crisp as possible. All the water will just create steam and as any additional starch is released from the potato it's going to get gummy, just not as gummy as before. So get them dry!

Remove as much moisture as possible. In order to get evenly crispy hash browns, you need to squeeze out as much water as you can. I prefer to do this using my salad spinner- it works GREAT for removing water! But you can also use a cheese cloth or even paper towels to squeeze it out.

Thaw the hash browns before you start: Thawing the frozen hash browns prevents the sauce from clumping when you mix them in, and helps the casserole cook faster. You can thaw your shredded hash browns overnight in the fridge directly in their bag or for about an hour at room temperature.

If you're reheating frozen hash browns, I suggest preheating your oven to 350 and covering the tray with foil. Pop this into your oven for about 20 minutes. Then, remove the foil and let them cook uncovered for another 5-7 minutes depending on how much crispiness you want.

They are steamed, peeled, steamed again or boiled, shredded and cooked partially in oil, oven dried and IQF before going into a bag to be cooked at home once again. IQF equals individually quick frozen strands. Cooking the potato twice is the key and is something that is hard to replicate at home.

How many cups is 2 pounds of shredded potatoes? ›

As a general guideline, 2 pounds of potatoes is approximately equivalent to 6 to 8 cups when peeled and diced.

Can You Freeze Potatoes? Yes! You absolutely can freeze potatoes, and you should if you have an excess of spuds. But there's one important thing to remember: You should really only freeze cooked or partially cooked potatoes, as raw potatoes contain a lot of water.

Top crispy hash browns with chili, beans, and cheese. Garnish with sour cream, chopped tomatoes and scallions. Jalapenos too if you are anything like me!

The problem with prepared hash brown patties is that, typically, they are deep-fried in vegetable oil. This tips the scale to the side of not-so-healthy because of high fat content. Also of note: If you're eating a low-carb diet, be aware that 60 to 70 percent of a potato is starch, a type of carbohydrate.

Hash browns, also spelled hashed browns and hashbrowns, are a popular American breakfast dish consisting of finely julienned potatoes that have been fried until golden browned.

To prevent a soupy casserole, be sure to fully thaw any frozen vegetables in a colander over a bowl, and pat dry, squeeze excess moisture out of greens like spinach or chard, and quickly precook watery fresh vegetables like onions, mushrooms or squashes just until they release their moisture.

Your vegetables could be to blame

According to Allrecipes, the vegetables you selected are the most common culprit for your watery casserole, due to the high percentage of moisture that some of them contain in their raw form which seeps out as they cook down in your dish.

My sauce is watery

If you stored your potatoes in water to prevent discoloring, be sure to drain them well and pat them dry before adding to your casserole. Some of the waxier potatoes can release more water than starchier ones, so look for good baking potatoes like russet or Yukon golds.

You might not realise it, but those perfectly ripe, bursting-with-moisture-veggies that you're tossing into your casserole are most likely the culprits when it comes to a watery bake, which is why it's important to heed the recipe when it comes to prepping your vegetables and cooling your finished product.