Festive Potato Casserole

Potato, Bacon and Cheese Festive Casserole is cheesy, flavorful and with a crispy topping and can be prepared beforehand. Just perfection!

This post is sponsored by Sargento®

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Like it happens every year, vendors round the world trip over each other trying to beat the rest in the Earliest Christmas Display Competition. Round here Christmasy things were on display on September. Don’t believe me?

Not to be left behind (too much) we start adding festive (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Festivus, etc) recipes starting now.

If you can’t beat them, join them.

Besides the traditional Dominican festive dishes, we have added some new ones of our creation, because mixing the old and the new is a good thing. Eating the same thing every year gets boring by the time you grow your permanent teeth.

Casseroles (pastelones) are a popular choice for Dominican festive meals. This dish is somewhere between a casserole and baked potatoes. It’s juicy, cheesy, crispy, all in one. And it can also be made with some time in advance and finished sometime before serving.

The original “baked potato salad” recipe comes from here, and I was invited by Sargento to make the recipe mine. I have made some changes to make it lighter, and added a couple of new elements, but the concept remains the same.

Potato, Bacon and Cheese Casserole Recipe

Potato, Bacon and Cheese Casserole Recipe: It’s cheesy, flavorful and with a crispy topping and can be prepared beforehand. Just perfection!

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Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Christmas, pastelon

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 197kcal

Recipe Author: Clara Gonzalez

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 sprig of dill , chopped (or 1 teaspoon of dry dill)
• 2 medium carrots , peeled and cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 1/2 lb [0.68 kg] of potatoes , peeled and cubed
• 2 red bell peppers , cut into squares
• 2 large white onions , cubed
• 1/4 teaspoon of freshly-cracked pepper
• 1 pack of bacon (1/2 lb [0.23 kg])
• 1 1/2 ] cup of Sargento® Traditional Cut Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese

Instructions

• Mix the dill, and olive oil. Set aside.
• Boil carrots, adding salt to the water.
• Two minutes later add the potatoes and boil until cooked throughout but firm.
• Remove potatoes and carrots from the water, dispose of water. Mix potatoes, carrots, peppers, onions and a pinch of cracked pepper. Set aside.
• Cut the bacon into small (1/2″) pieces.
• Heat a heavy-bottom pan (with lid). Add the bacon.
• Cook over medium heat, nearly covered, until the bacon has turned into golden crisps.
• Heat oven to 350 ºF [175 ºC].
• Remove from the pan and place on a paper towel to remove excess fat. Set aside.
• Mix the the potato mix with a cup of cheese, the olive oil and place in a baking pan.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until bubbly.
• Top with remaining cheese; bake 5 more minutes.
• Sprinkle with the bacon chips and serve hot.

Notes

If you are uncomfortable using this amount of oil, feel free to reduce it to half. The potatoes won’t be as crispy, but the will be lighter.

Nutrition

Calories: 197kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 636mg | Potassium: 678mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 92.8% | Vitamin C: 81.8% | Calcium: 5.4% | Iron: 22.4%