Can I Freeze It?

[barbszy]

Sunday I made some "hash brown casserole" (like at Cracker Barrel) for our brunch guests. Normally there is NONE left, or only a tiny bit--this time I seriously overestimated what our guests would eat. I still have about 4 cups of casserole left over.

I'd like to freeze it in small portions so we can eat it for our own breakfasts as we want to. I'm a little leery of freezing potatoes. This is made mostly with potatoes, cheese, milk & broth. Do you think I can freeze this?

[ajrsmom]

I have been doing a little searching on this and everything that I have found says that you can freeze it before cooking, let it thaw slightly and then bake it like normal.

However, if it is already baked, I would try freezing a little bit of it and then microwaving it to see if this would work ...instead of ruining all of your leftovers.

[cat lover]

Found this at Food-Info.net

Can you freeze cooked potatoes ?
You can freeze cooked potatoes, but it is not recommended as they become watery upon reheating. The potato is 80 percent water; and when frozen, this water separates from the starch and nutrients. After thawing the potato may loose its structure and taste.


Sounds like this is not talking about a casserole though containing potatoes so..... If you do freeze it let us know how it worked?:eek:

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Barb, I have personally found that freezing anything with potatoes doesn't come out very good. The texture and flavor is terrible. However, let us know if it does freeze well.

[cat lover]

You know years ago I got a good deal on lots of potatoes and had to do something with them. We cut them up into french fries and you deep fried them a short while then drained them and froze them. Then you just deep fried them like the ones you buy in the store and they tasted just like store bought french fries! I never knew how they did the frozen fries until I found that recipe!

[DeBora4BobbyL]

I make potato patties with my leftover mashed potatoes. I wonder if you could make potato patties with the leftover casserole?

[cat lover]

You know I bet that would make tasty way to use that casserole! Maybe just adding a little flour and egg would do the trick. Barbszy; let us know if you go for that.

[barbszy]

I think this is too thick to mix in any egg! LOL! I could probably just fry it in a pan, "as is."
I did freeze the leftover, in 2 2-cup containers. I'm going to let it sit there a week and then try it.

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Let us know how it turns out. When I go off this diet that I am starting tomorrow, I plan on trying this.