Church Supper Potatoes

Easter week. We do Easter big in this house — egg hunt in the yard on Saturday morning, big family dinner Sunday, the particular sugar rush that comes from letting four children loose on Easter baskets. I make the same things every Easter: glazed ham, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole with actual fresh beans and a homemade cream sauce (I stopped using the canned soup version years ago and the difference is enormous), and a lemon bundt cake that Gary calls "the reason Easter exists."

Noah found the golden egg this year, which has a five-dollar bill in it, which is a massive fortune when you're six. He clutched it the entire morning with the focused joy of someone who has won something significant. Mason found seven eggs and negotiated trades with Olivia for the flavors he wanted. Ethan found two eggs and pretended not to care while clearly being pleased.

Gary's parents came for dinner and my parents called on video while we were eating, which meant the whole table was slightly louder than necessary for twenty minutes but also wonderful. My dad asked if I'd saved him any ham and I said no and he made a face and I said I was kidding and he laughed the way he always does, a big barrel laugh that makes everyone in earshot feel better.

I filmed a short Easter kitchen video: the glazed ham, nothing fancy, just how I season and score and bake it to get the right caramelization. It went up Sunday morning and people watched it in real time while they were cooking their own. That felt like a particular kind of connection — different time zones, different kitchens, same ham.

I’ve made scalloped potatoes for Easter for years, but this past Sunday, with Gary’s parents at the table and my parents on the screen and four kids still buzzing from the egg hunt, what I really wanted was the potato dish that’s built for exactly that kind of full, joyful chaos — Church Supper Potatoes. Creamy, cheesy, feeds a crowd without fuss, and disappears faster than the candy in Noah’s basket. It’s the kind of recipe that was invented for tables like ours: too many people, not enough room, and everyone going back for seconds.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 50 min | Total Time: 1 hr 5 min | Servings: 12

Ingredients

1 bag (30 oz) frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 can (10.5 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (divided)
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups cornflakes, lightly crushed

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with butter or nonstick spray.
Mix the filling. In a large bowl, combine the thawed hash browns, shredded cheddar, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, 1/4 cup of the melted butter, diced onion, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir until everything is evenly combined.
Fill the dish. Spread the potato mixture evenly into the prepared baking dish and smooth the top with a spatula.
Make the topping. In a small bowl, toss the crushed cornflakes with the remaining 1/4 cup melted butter until coated. Sprinkle the buttered cornflakes evenly over the top of the potato mixture.
Bake. Bake uncovered for 45–50 minutes, until the casserole is bubbling around the edges and the cornflake topping is golden brown.
Rest and serve. Let the casserole rest for 5 minutes before serving. Scoop and serve alongside ham, roast, or your holiday main of choice.

Nutrition (per serving)

Church Supper Potatoes — The Side Dish That Belongs at Every Easter Table