Cooking on a Budget: Loaded Baked Potato Chicken Casserole

Aren’t casseroles just the best on a cold winter’s day? Cheesy, bubbly and hot, right out of the oven! I spent a little time looking for an amazing casserole dish to post this evening that your entire family will most likely enjoy. I believe that the Loaded Baked Potato Chicken Casserole fits the bill. It’s fabulous! It’s frugal! This recipe takes just an hour and a half in total which includes prep time and cooking. This meal is super easy on your family’s grocery budget!

The Loaded Baked Potato Chicken Casserole, from Food.com combines a mixture of all of your loaded baked potato favorites such as bacon, potatoes, cheese and green onion with chicken to make it a little more hearty. You also could add cubed beef for a different flavor. This recipe is great for families because it serves up to eight!

What’s even better here is that (like most of my recipes) you can easily freeze several of these casseroles. Then defrost them as the weeks go by by simply baking them. And, presto! You have a simple AND quick meal pretty much all ready to eat.

Ingredients

2 lbs. chicken breasts, cubed

8 potatoes, cubed

¹⁄₃  cup olive oil

1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon fresh ground pepper

1 tablespoon paprika

2 tablespoons garlic powder

6 tablespoons hot sauce

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup bacon, crumbled

1 cup green onion, diced

Directions

To begin, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. In large mixing bowl, stir together olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and hot sauce. Add your potatoes to the bowl. Make sure that you first coat your baking dish with cooking spray. Add the potatoes but make sure to allow for excess sauce in the remaining bowl. Bake potatoes for 45 minutes, stirring them every 15 minutes. Add cubed chicken to bowl with leftover sauce and let to marinate while potatoes bake. Next mix together cheese, bacon and green onion in separate bowl. Once the potatoes are done, add the chicken then layer all the toppings over chicken. Bake for additional 15 minutes or until chicken is done and cheese is melted and bubbly.