Skinny Cheesy Potato Casserole
on Apr 01, 2015, Updated Aug 01, 2024
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This Skinny Cheesy Potato Casserole is a lightened up version of my favorite cheesy potatoes. It has all the flavor of the original potato casserole and is the perfect side dish for your next dinner or holiday meal!
Looking for an alternative to potatoes? Try this cheesy cauliflower casserole!
This post has been updated since it was originally published on 4/1/2015
Table of Contents
- Why I love these potatoes
- The ingredients
- How to make cheesy potato casserole
- What to serve with cheesy potatoes
- Can I freeze the skinny cheesy potato casserole?
- Can frozen hash browns be used for cheesy potato casserole?
- Can I use full fat ingredients in this potato casserole?
- More side dish recipes
- Skinny Cheesy Potato Casserole Recipe
Why I love these potatoes
Cheesy potatoes – I’m pretty sure cheese and potatoes were made for each other. This potato casserole uses both cream cheese and cheddar cheese and it makes them rich and decadent!
Lightened up – Sometimes you want the real deal full fat version of a recipe and other times you want something a little lighter. This cheesy potato casserole swaps out several ingredients for their lower fat and calorie alternatives, but doesn’t sacrifice any of the flavor.
Holiday side dish – Growing up we always had this casserole with Easter dinner. It would also be a great alternative to mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving or the perfect potatoes to serve with Christmas dinner.
The ingredients
- Potatoes – Russet potatoes are what I generally use for this casserole, but you could also use Yukon Gold potatoes.
- Green onion – Adds a mild onion flavor. Yellow onion would be too harsh in flavor.
- Butter – Even though you don’t use very much, th butter adds a little richness to the casserole.
- Cream cheese – Low fat cream cheese, also labeled as 1/3 less fat or Neufchatel cheese is what the recipe calls for. Full fat may be used, but I don’t recommend non-fat.
- Greek yogurt – Plain Greek yogurt is used as an alternative to sour cream. It adds creaminess, tang, and protein to the potatoes.
- Milk – Non-fat, low-fat, or whole milk can be used. The higher the fat content the richer the flavor.
- Mozzarella and cheddar cheese – I like the combination of these two cheeses for the best flavor, but also as a way to cut down on fat as mozzarella is considered a lower fat cheese in comparison to some.
How to make cheesy potato casserole
Boil the potatoes – Wash and peel the potatoes then cut them in half and add them to a large pot of salted water. Bring them to a boil and cook them until they’re al dente. They shouldn’t be so tender that they can be mashed.
Shred the potatoes – Let the potatoes cool for a few minutes and then use a the largest grate on a box grater to shred them.
Combine ingredients – In a large bowl whisk together the melted butter, cream cheese, Greek yogurt, milk, salt, and pepper. Add in the shredded potatoes, green onions, and 1/2 a cup each of the mozzarella and cheddar.
Stir everything together until combined then put the potato mixture into a baking dish sprayed with cooking oil. Add the remaining cheese to the top of the casserole.
Bake – Bake the potato casserole at 375° F. for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
What to serve with cheesy potatoes
Potatoes and chicken are always a delicious combination. This casserole would go great paired with baked lemon pepper chicken, slow cooker barbecue chicken, or this creamy mushroom chicken.
If you’re planning to serve this at the holidays, it pairs nicely with ham, turkey, and lamb chops. Some other holiday side dishes I recommend serving with the potatoes are whole wheat dinner rolls, honey roasted carrots with goat cheese and thyme, and this Autumn apple pear salad.
Can I freeze the skinny cheesy potato casserole?
I don’t recommend freezing this casserole because of all the dairy in it. It will likely change the texture and make the casserole watery.
Can frozen hash browns be used for cheesy potato casserole?
Yes. If you’re in a hurry frozen hash browns can be used. I recommend getting a 24 ounce bag. Let them defrost before combining with all of the other ingredients. The texture won’t be exactly the same, but similar.
The remaining changes to the recipe were using skim milk, cutting back on some of the cheese used, and replacing half of the amount of sharp cheddar cheese with part skim mozzarella. The potatoes were amazingly creamy and cheesy even with all the substitutions!
Can I use full fat ingredients in this potato casserole?
Yes. If making a lightened up casserole isn’t important to you feel free to use full fat cream cheese, Greek yogurt, and milk.
More side dish recipes
- Herb Roasted Potatoes with Blue Cheese
- Berry Fruit Salad
- Balsamic Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
- Berries and Feta Salad
- Parmesan Pesto Roasted Cauliflower
Did you make this skinny cheesy potato casserole? I’d love if you’d leave a recipe rating and review below.
Skinny Cheesy Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 pounds russet potatoes washed and peeled
- 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
- 2 ounces low fat cream cheese room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups plain 2% or non-fat Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup low fat milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup shredded part skim mozzarella divided
- 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese divided
Instructions
- Spray a 3 quart casserole dish or a 9×13 dish with cooking oil and set aside.
- Wash and peel the potatoes, then cut them in half and add them to a large pot of salted water. Bring the potatoes to a boil and cook for 8-10 minutes. They should be nearly tender, but still have some bite to them. Let the potatoes cool until you are able to handle them, then using a box grater shred them using the largest grate.
- In a large bowl whisk together the melted butter, cream cheese, Greek yogurt, milk, salt, and pepper. Add in the shredded potatoes, green onions, and 1/2 a cup each of the shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed.
- Fold everything together until combined then pour the potatoes into the prepared casserole dish. Top with the remaining cheese. Bake the potatoes at 375° F. for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Is it possible to make these like scalloped potatoes? I don’t have a box grater, but I do have a mandolin.
Thank you
Hi Margaret. I haven’t tried making this recipe like scalloped potatoes. I would suggest either mashing or dicing the cooked potatoes and then mixing with all the other ingredients if you don’t have a grater.
Can these be prepared a day ahead of time and then baked? Or baked and then warmed up the next day?
Absolutely. Just let them sit out for about 30 minutes before putting them in the oven so they aren’t going in ice cold.
I am going to make this for Easter this year. If I don’t want to make the whole dish ahead of time do you think I can just cook/ shred potatoes day before?
You can absolutely do that Casey. I hope you like the potatoes!