Originally published on craftykeg.

I love twice baked potatoes. If they weren’t food, I would marry twice baked potatoes. So, when my sister and I were talking about a side dish to make for a party at her house (during the weekend of our brother’s college graduation!), we were sad that twice baked potatoes would be too much work for 27 people. So, we decided to turn it into a casserole! It was a hit, and was all gone by the end of the night! The recipe is below.

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

• 7 lbs baking potatoes
• 2 oz cream cheese
• 5-6 tbsp butter
• 2(ish) cups milk
• bacon bits
• shredded cheese (we used cheddar)
• salt and pepper
• sour cream for serving

Wash the potatoes and poke each a few times with a fork. Bake at 350F until done (tender when poked with a fork). This will probably take 30-45 minutes. Quarter and peel the potatoes. It’s ok to leave a little bit of flesh on the peelings, actually a little preferable. Toss the peelings into the bottom of a casserole dish (we used a disposable turkey roasting pan, it was a great size for this).

Put the flesh of the potatoes into a large bowl. You want to work quickly so the potato innards stay warm. Mash the potatoes with the cream cheese, milk, butter, salt and pepper until they are a good consistency, maybe a little more wet than your average mashed potatoes since they will be baked again. Layer over the skins in the baking dish. Top with bacon bits and cheese. (You can also add anything else you usually enjoy in your twice baked potatoes, such as green onion, garlic, chives, etc…) Bake until it is all warm throughout and the cheese is melted.

This can also be made ahead, and stored in the fridge for a few hours. Take out of the fridge, warm to room temperature, add your toppings and then bake. So, not only is it yummy, it can also be a time saver since it can be mostly assembled in the morning for a large diner gathering!

We served this with a little sour cream on the side, and it was completely gone by the end of the night, with tons of compliments! Enjoy!

Editors pick by Catnip of Catnip and Coffee. I’ve admired Krista’s blog craftykeg for the last few months, and I’ve enjoyed every post I’ve read – that would be all of them! This one made me drool, because really, who doesn’t love good homey comfort food? She’s both a great cook and a talented crafter, and you won’t regret subscribing to her feed!