"Country Comfort" Smoked Sausage Casserole - The Seasoned Mom (2024)

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for my endorsem*nt, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website.

Loaded with hash browns, cheese, sour cream, onion, and kielbasa, this Smoked Sausage Casserole is a hearty, one dish meal with very little prep work. You can’t beat a dump-and-bake recipe that takes the stress out of mealtime! Serve the sausage and potato casserole with a green salad, afruit salad, and aloaf of crusty bread, for an easy dinner or satisfying breakfast that the whole family will love!

Sausage and Potato Casserole

This sausage casserole recipe comes from a blog reader named Diana, who calls it “Country Comfort Casserole.” I can’t think of a better name for the cozy dish that’s made with smoked sausage, hash brown potatoes, sour cream, onion, and cheddar cheese. It’s warm, creamy and so darn easy! The dump-and-bake meal requires almost no prep work. Just stir together all of the ingredients in a large bowl, then bake it in the oven. It’s a perfect meat-and-potatoes dinner for busy weeknights, or a hearty breakfast casserole without any eggs!

Ingredients for Cheesy Smoked Sausage and Potato Casserole

This is a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for an easy sausage and potato casserole. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.

• Frozen shredded hash brown potatoes: thawed in the fridge overnight. The big 30-ounce bag is about 12 ½ cups of shredded potatoes.
• Smoked sausage: I use kielbasa, but you can substitute with any other fully cooked sausage, such as breakfast pork sausage or Italian sausage, or another cooked meat like diced ham or even hotdogs!
• Cheddar cheese: hand-grated cheese melts smoothest into the casserole.
• Sour cream: use full-fat sour cream at room temperature for the best flavor and texture.
• Onion: very finely diced so that it softens and becomes tender while the casserole bakes in the oven. If you’d like to add extra vegetables to the dish, sauté the onion with green bell pepper and mushroom in a large skillet before adding them to the hash browns and the rest of the ingredients.
• Butter: I use salted butter for extra flavor, but unsalted butter is also fine.
• Salt and pepper: to enhance the other flavors in the dish.
• Condensed cream of chicken soup: the creamy sauce that acts as a binder and brings the casserole together. Substitute with cream of celery soup or cream of mushroom soup, if you prefer.

How to Make Sausage Casserole

If you’re like me and you’d rather not spend all of your free time in the kitchen, then today’s recipe is just for YOU! It’s an easy dump-and-bake casserole that tastes like a big warm hug! You don’t have to pre-cook the meat, you don’t have to pre-cook the potatoes, and you don’t have to stand over a hot stove mindlessly stirring. Instead, just combine everything together and dump it in a pan! It takes about 10 minutes (at the most), and the oven does the rest of the work for you.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 13 x 9-inch dish, and set aside.
2. Stir together all of the ingredients in your largest mixing bowl.
3. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
4. Bake the casserole, uncovered, for about 40 minutes. It’s done when the filling is hot and bubbly and the top is lightly browned.

What to Serve with Sausage Hash Brown Casserole

We typically enjoy this dish for a quick weeknight dinner; however, it’s also an easy breakfast or brunch option (even without eggs). Here are some sides that go well with the sausage casserole:

• 3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins
• Homemade Crescent RollsorSoft Dinner Rolls
• Aunt Bee’s 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits,Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits,Cheese BiscuitsorDrop Biscuits
• Skillet Cornbread,Honey CornbreadorCorn Muffins
• Pumpkin BreadorPumpkin Muffins
• Apple Muffins with Cinnamon Sugar or Apple Cider Donut Muffins
• Wedge Salad,Classic Caesar Salad,House Salad with Candied Pecans,or aGreen Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette
• Fennel Salad with Apples and Creamy Cider Dressing
• Roasted CabbageorBraised Red Cabbage
• Homemade Applesauce, Baked Apple Slices, or Fried Apples
• Garlic Bread,Homemade Focaccia,Breadsticks,Jalapeno Cheddar Bread, or a crusty loaf ofNo-Knead Dutch Oven Bread
• Sauteed Asparagus
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
• Sauteed Spinach with Garlic

Preparation and Storage Tips

• Thissausage casseroleis perfect for entertaining because you canprepare it in advance. Assemble the dish up to 24 hours ahead of time, keep it covered in the refrigerator, and then bake according to the recipe instructions. Allow the dish to sit on the counter and come to room temperature while the oven preheats.
• Leftovers will keep in therefrigerator for 3-4 days.
• I do not recommend freezing this dish, as sour cream and other dairy-based ingredients tend to separate or “break” when thawed.

Recipe Variations

• Add sautéed vegetables, such as bell peppers, tomatoes, or mushroom.
• Instead of cheddar cheese, try other good melting cheeses such as Colby, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, Colby Jack, Gouda, or Velveeta.
• Cooking for a Smaller Family? Cut all of the ingredients in half and bake the casserole in an 8-inch square dish.
• Instead of kielbasa, use cooked bacon, chicken, turkey or diced ham. You can also use a different kind of cooked sausage, such as breakfast sausage, Italian sausage, or even hotdogs!

Tips for the Best Sausage Casserole Recipe

• Find your largest bowl for mixing the ingredients!
• Dice the onion into very small pieces so that it softens and becomes tender while the casserole bakes.
• When possible, use a block of sharp cheddar cheese that you grate by hand, rather than a package of pre-shredded cheese. The hand-grated variety melts smoother into the casserole.
• Allow the sour cream to come to room temperature. Very cold sour cream has a tendency to curdle or separate when heated quickly.
• Garnish with sliced green onion or fresh herbs such as parsley, chives, basil or thyme.

More Sausage Casserole Recipes to Try

• Sausage Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole
• Italian Sausage Crescent Roll Casserole
• Baked Ziti with Sausage
• Sausage Breakfast Casserole
• Smoked Sausage Pasta Bake
• Slow Cooker Sausage Breakfast Casserole

This post was originally published in December, 2017. The photos were updated in November, 2021.