Cajun Potato Casserole Recipe

"I love potatoes," says recipe developer Jessica Morone, "They always make the best side dishes." If you feel a certain kinship with Morone following her revelation, then you'll feel it even more once you make her latest potato-based recipe. As she describes, "This Cajun potato casserole recipe is a fun dish filled with spicy and smoky Cajun flavor." With a rich and creamy filling complete with potatoes, sausages, peppers, and cheese, this nourishing meal can be included in a range of spreads.

"This could be a main course because it is so hearty," Morone notes and adds, "I would serve it with something like a salad on the side." In general, she notes, "I tend to think of it as a side dish, in which case you could serve it with something like Cajun chicken or with a Po' boy." And while it's a great option to serve for dinner any day of the week, Morone points out, "It would also be a great dish to bring to a potluck."

For this recipe, start by dicing large russet potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Next, you'll need unsalted butter, andouille sausage, a medium onion, and a medium red bell pepper. Chop the sausage, onion, and bell pepper before you start cooking. For the creamy consistency, pick up sour cream, mayonnaise, and milk, and season the dish with Cajun spice, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Finally, make sure to shred plenty of cheddar cheese.

Morone comments that adding both sour cream and mayonnaise is essential to the final result as "they both help add a ton of creaminess and flavor to the casserole." As she points out, "If you just added all sour cream it would overwhelm the flavors, [so] the mayonnaise really balances it out."

Get your equipment ready first: Preheat the oven to 350 F and lightly grease a 13x9-inch baking pan. Set it aside while you prep all the components. Toss the cubed potatoes into a large saucepan and top it off with enough water to submerge the spuds. Bring the contents to a boil and cook the potatoes until they are tender when tested with a fork. It should take about 15 minutes or so. Drain the water and set the cooked potatoes to the side for now.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large saucepan on the stovetop. Add the chopped sausage, onion, and bell pepper and cook the ingredients for about 10 minutes, or until the onion is soft. Transfer the mixture to a plate while you finish preparing the ingredients.

If they aren't already in one, transfer the cooked potatoes to a large bowl and mash or beat them with an electric mixer until they are smooth. Stir in the remaining butter, sour cream, mayonnaise, milk, Cajun spice, salt, and pepper, and mix until the contents are well combined. Finally, fold in the sausage and vegetable mixture as well as 1 ½ cups of cheddar cheese.

Pour the potato mixture into the greased baking dish. Finish it off by sprinkling the rest of the cheddar cheese over top. If you're meal prepping, Morone notes, "You can definitely assemble it before baking it and freeze it until you are ready to use it." In this case, she says, "the baking time would be increased to about an hour, and you will want to cover the top with foil until about 15 minutes before it's done baking so the top doesn't burn."

If you're forging along for dinner tonight, transfer the baking dish to an oven rack and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the contents are hot and bubbly. Serve this delicious Cajun potato casserole as a main with a tangy salad or as a side with your favorite Cajun-style protein.

Store leftovers in the fridge for up to three days and reheat them in the microwave. "You can also freeze the baked leftovers for up to a month and reheat them in the oven at 350 F for about 30 minutes," Morone adds.