Cheesy Potato & Smoked Sausage Casserole
A quick & easy dish to throw together, this Cheesy Potato & Smoked Sausage Casserole is a meat and potatoes kind of dinner everyone can agree on. It’s meant to be savored, and shared.
Cheese. Cheese! Glorious Cheese. How can you not like cheese?
It is beyond our family’s comprehension. In the words of the infamous Sicilian, The Great Vizzini, “Inconceivable!”
So if you’re one of these people who don’t like cheese, whether it’s a texture thing, an animal by-product aversion, I give you fair warning: Look Away. Look. Away. NOW.
For everybody else who jumped right on the cheese wheel wagon with us, this is your kind of dish.
Cheese, cheese sauce, with another sprinkle of cheese on top.
And, you know, some tender Russet potatoes and sliced smoked sausage were included to make it a meal appropriate for general consumption.
Eating cheese sauce by the spoonful & straight out of the pan- it’s probably frowned upon in polite society.
I wish there were a cheese grater, like the one at Olive Garden who grates the fresh Parm on your salad, but at my personal beck and call, and when I tell him to keep it coming, make it rain, (you get the idea), he just says, ‘As You Wish.’
Can you tell I’ve been re-reading The Princess Bride for like the millionth time? I can’t help it. I love everything about it, and it makes such good reference material!
But honestly, if you thought cheese was good all by itself, err I meant to say cheesy potatoes, yes– if you thought cheesy potatoes were good by themselves, then you’re really gonna love them with the added flavor from the smoked sausage.
Let’s not forget the sweet, smokiness of the paprika either!
I could seriously eat a dish like this everyday. This Cheesy Potato & Smoked Sausage Casserole is serious comfort food, just how it’s meant to be.
Making It A Meal: What To Serve With This Cheesy Potato Casserole?
Ever heard the term meat & potatoes? It generally is prescribed to hearty, stick to your ribs comfort food which this casserole definitely is. It also happens to literally be a meat & potatoes casserole, with a heaping helping (or more) of cheese thrown in the mix.
This is a rich dish that is very filling, expecially depending on the serving size. It can totally serve as a stand a lone meal. My boys would have zero complaints even if this was the only thing on the dinner menu any given night.
But there’s that nagging Mom guilt that means I need to make it a full meal, which means at least something healthy (ish) needs to be ready to go on their plates with this dish.
My go to is a simple, fresh side salad. Leafy, green, good for everyone and they can customize it with the dressing of their choice. When that’s not an option, I serve either steamed broccoli on the side or our go to canned green bean recipe.
If you truly want to make it a one dish meal, you can toss the steamed broccoli or a plain, drained can of cut green beans right into the casserole before baking.
Other Cheesy Potato Ideas To Try:
If you’ve tried this CHEESY POTATO & SMOKED SAUSAGE CASSEROLE, or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Cheesy Potato & Smoked Sausage Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 cups peeled cubed Russet potatoes, boiled until soft but not mushy
- 1 lb smoked sausage* thinly sliced
- 4 tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp flour
- 2 cups half & half or milk
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 lb Velveeta cheese cubed
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
Instructions
- In a large skillet, over medium low heat, saute the sausage in a large skillet with 1-2 tbsp of olive oil flipping and stirring until they've browned a bit.
- Lightly spray a 9x13" baking dish with non stick cooking spray. Transfer the cooked potatoes and sausage to a casserole dish, stirring just enough to evenly distribute.
- Turn the heat up to medium and add the butter to the skillet. When melted, whisk in the flour. Allow it to cook about a minute, whisking constantly, to get rid of the floury taste. Slowly add in the half and half, 1/4-1/2 cup at a time, whisking constantly until evenly incorporated. Continue cooking until thickened.
- Stir in the Velveeta, paprika, and salt & pepper, stirring occasionally until completely melted and the sauce is smooth.
- Pour cheese sauce evenly out over the potatoes and meat. Evenly sprinkle the shredded cheese over top.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender and the casserole is golden brown on top.
Notes
Nutrition
Heck yes I’d put Spam in this bad boy!! Looks so creamy delicious and comforting.
It is! And I love that it’s so accommodating meat-wise.
No cheese for me! Just cant abide it!! (Mrs Fitz loves the stuff!) Thanks though for sharing it at Fiesta Friday 101!
It will still be good, without the cheese, and probably a wee bit healthier, but for any cheese-lover, it really makes the dish 🙂
This looks like total comfort food! I really don’t understand people who don’t like cheese – having lactose intolerance or an allergy to dairy, sure, but just plain dislike? Does not compute.
Me either! One of the sons is even struggles to digest dairy and he’s all like “cheese its ok I’ll still eat u tomorrow even after my debilitating stomach pain tonight…. I battle tonight for the love of cheese and all things dairy tomorrow”. Luckily, a probitic helps us manage it.
Can i use something besides velveeta its not real cheese
This looks dangerously delicious.
James, it is definitely a test of will-power, and portion control 😉 but oh-so worth every bite!
Lovely comfort food, Meaghan. Happy Fiesta Friday!
Me too, and this dish provides it in spades!
Cheers for cheese!
When I was diagnosed with migraine (I was in 5th grade), my doctor told me that I need to avoid cheese as it will trigger the migraine. And because I love cheese a lot, I didn’t listen to her. I love anything with cheese and a dish overloaded with cheese? Count me in! Yeah!! 😀 Thank you for bringing this awesome, cheesy dish at FF101! Have a lovely weekend and happy FF!
You know my sister’s were at the folk’s house and when I came back I found about 15 pounds of potatoes in the cupboard! Guess what I’m making!! This sounds delish!!
I had to stop by and tell you we made this for dinner the other night, but we didn’t have any velveeta. I just used regular cheddar, about 8 ounces and it was STILL super cheesy! We happened to have jalapeno smoked sausage. It was a huge hit with my Dad, especially, but I loved it, too and it was perfect for our minus 20 degree weather!
Awesome, Mollie! I’m so glad you all liked it 🙂 I can just picture it paired with a spicy jalapeno sausage and it sounds perfect.
Oohhh maybe swap out the potato for pasta and this is right up my ally!
That’s a great idea! I’ll have to give it a go. Let me know if you do and your final thoughts.
I planned on making this tonight as it looks delicious and my husband and I love cheese, however, I only had one question: how long should I boil the potatoes? Until they’re fork ready or a little harder since they’ll cook in the oven?
We do between 12-15 minutes, so that they’re tender but won’t completely fall apart after their bake in the oven.
Making this tonight. Why do you have to boil the potatoes if they’re going to bake for 45 min? Will they not cook just in the oven?
They’ve never gotten soft enough for us with just baking them.
How many servings does this recipe make? I wish top make this for our main meal and do not know if to double it up or not 🙂
There’s 6 of us, and it fills us up without any leftovers 🙂
Thats brilliant thank you!
I made this last night, I did double up but now have the 2nd dish full in the freezer for another day!
I cooked for myself, my partner and our 10 year old daughter, served with a side of green beans. we all polished off our plates (one recipe’s worth split 3 ways) My daughter is skinny as a rake but has a healthy appetite!
Thanks for this great recipe, its now in our recipe rotation!
This is undoubtedly one of the best casseroles I have made in a while.. it is soooooo cheesy and creamy. My family loves it and it will become one of our regular dishes. I think next I will try it with broccoli also. Thanks for the recipe!!
Made exact from recipe. I have never commented on a recipe. This was delicious! It was so creamy and the perfect combination of sausage and potatoes. It was easy. I doubled the recipe for my big eaters and boiled the potatoes for twenty minutes prior. Very much a keeper!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed it as much as we do! With my teenage boys, I often find myself doubling it too, lol.
Love this warm comforting food especially in this cold weather.
Hey, Meaghan, thanks for sharing this at Fiesta Friday! I made this last year and we all loved it!! It had slipped my mind, so it’s great to see it again – I’ll make sure to pin it this time so I won’t forget to make it again! It’s a perfect, stick to your ribs and delish dinner!
Mollie
Can’t wait to try this! Looks yummy!
Can anyone tell me, how big should the “cubes” of potatoes should be?
Don’t want them too mushy or underdone! 😉
Thanks!
It’s one of our favorites, Kathryn! Our potatoes are usually about the width of a fork, so 1/2″-3/4″-ish.
Wanted to try something different with smoked sausage, so I will be making this tonight. Lots of times I look on Pinterest to get ideas, even though I don’t have all ingredients all the time I end up putting my own spin on it. Looking forward to dinner tonight!
I can’t wait to here what you did with it to give it a little touch of your own, Cindy! I hope you loved it as much as we do 🙂
Could this all be thrown in the crockpot to cook?
Yes, I’d boil the potatoes a bit longer and then cook it on low for 4-6 hours until the potatoes are 100 % fork tender. Also, make sure to spray the pot ahead of time so the mixture doesn’t stick during cooking 🙂
Going to make this for 14 hearty appetites, so will be doubling the recipe. Real challenge is that three of the children who will be eating are gluten intolerant, so I have to change the flour for almond flour, I’m thinking, and two of the 9 kids eating it are just plain fussy eaters (never had to deal with that with my son, so it boggles my mind).
This sounds like a fabulous recipe, and one that will be made often if they all like it. I’m single and live alone, so won’t make it for just myself. My extended family will surely love it, though, and we now have a new main dish for our weekly Sabbath meal rotation 🙂
This was so good..my whole house loved it. I did add an onion when frying the sausage and instead of velveeta I used a can of broccoli cheddar cheese soup. It turned out so awesome. I will be making this often.
I love the idea of swapping the condensed soup for the cheese. I may not always have Velveeta on hand, but I keep my pantry stocked with condensed soups bc they’re so versatile. Thanks for the feedback, Tami!
I added a can of chopped green chili’s and a little cayenne pepper to the sauce. Patiently waiting for it to finish cooking. Thanks for the recipe.
Made this tonight. It was so delicious
Glad you liked it! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave your feedback 🙂
You can go to olive garden and buy the grater. I have one!!! Its amazing!
I think I might try a veggie in this ( maybe green beans and maybe some onion)recipe so I can make it a balanced meal. Thank you for the recipe:)
Green beans or some steamed broccoli would both make great additions to this meal!
I really wanted to like this, but it was very heavy and very one note. It was bland. My ten year old agreed. It’s not a do-over.
Seasoning usually helps with that. I just finished my huge bowl of it and it’s freaking amazing! I did add green beans to ours as well and super yummy! We usually eat this as a soup and without the cheese which is also amazing. If i wanted to do it as a cheese type soup, then any thoughts how to go about that?
Saute chopped celery & onions, change the paprika to hot & smoky & add 1/2 teaspoon or more of nutmeg. Put some celery seeds in it. Try garlic powder. This is a recipe for kids who can be very picky. You can get creative if your child(ren) can handle it.