This version of the famous Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole will satisfy your potato craving and fool your entire family. I frequently make potato dishes with cauliflower and my husband still could not believe this wasn't actually potatoes! This easy recipe is low carb, keto, gluten-free, grain-free, sugar-free, and Trim Healthy Mama friendly.
Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole. That might be my favorite 4-word phrase ever. Anytime we are on a road trip and pop into a Cracker Barrel with the kids I have a hard time resisting a heaping side of cheesy, potato goodness. My kids have grown to love it too so I've made a few copycat recipes over the years using shredded potatoes and cream of chicken soup.
It is a great make-ahead for brunches. Whenever my kids have had a celebration like a Baptism or First Communion my favorite (and the easiest) meal to feed our guests is always brunch. I make egg bakes, some coffee cakes, and a copycat Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole. It is delicious but is definitely not the healthiest option.
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Therefore, a remake of this has been on my recipe list for YEARS. Every few months I would think about how could I possibly make the delicious, carb-loaded, fattening Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole healthy?
Ingredients
The rest of the ingredients in my remake of the Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole Recipe were easier. I can do cheese, and onion, and more cheese. Who doesn't love cheese? I chose to use a blend of shredded cheddar and Monterey jack but you can use whatever your family's favorite cheese is.
Butter - I like to use salted butter.
Shredded cauliflower stalks - Use your food processor to make this fast and simple.
Sour cream - You can use regular sour cream or any version that works.
Mayo - Helps to add creaminess to the texture.
Shredded cheese - Have fun and change up the blends.
Minced onion - Adds some texture and flavor.
Bouillon powder - Gives a boost of salt to the mixture.
Salt and pepper - To taste.
How to make Keto Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole
You're going to love the ease of this low carb hashbrown casserole! Simple and delicious!
Step One: Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8 x 8 baking dish with cooking spray.
Step Two: Set aside ⅓ cup of the shredded cheese to use as a topping.
Stir together the remaining ingredients.
Spread in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the reserved cheese.
Step Three: Bake for 50-60 minutes until the casserole is golden and bubbly.
Variations
Add toppings - Gravy and parsley are always delicious to add to the top. You can also top it with even more cheddar cheese!
Add meat - If you want to add ground beef, cook it up well and then add. This makes this casserole dish hearty!
Common Questions
What is the Best Low Carb Potato Substitute?
First, I thought over the different potato subs. Should I use jicama? Should I use radishes? What about cauliflower? And how on earth do I replicate cream of chicken soup? The more I thought about it the more my plan became solid in my mind.
My favorite potato sub is cauliflower so I decided I would just use cauliflower. But I would only use the stalks of fresh cauliflower because I wanted a shredded texture, not the texture of the florets which is more rice-like.
How do I make Keto Cream of Chicken Soup?
To make the cream of chicken soup I needed a few creamy ingredients and some chicken bouillon. You can use canned chicken broth concentrate paste or homemade powdered bouillon. The bouillon paste ends up being ⅛ tsp per serving so it has a negligible impact on the nutrition facts.
There is a link in the recipe card to a recipe to make your own version if you prefer to do so. My powdered chicken bouillon does also work. I make one using nutritional yeast that was amazing. I could not believe how much nutritional yeast plus some salt and spices could taste like chicken.
Can I use frozen cauliflower for this dish?
If you want to use up some of the things that you have in your freezer, frozen cauliflower will work! Just thaw it and then chop or shred it as the directions say.
When should you serve this cracker barrel hash brown casserole?
It's perfect for a weekend meal, weeknight dinner, Sunday brunch, or great for Thanksgiving or Christmas as well! It feeds a crowd!
How much cauliflower do I need?
This was the biggest part of disguising the cauliflower as a potato substitute. My family knows mashed cauliflower. And they know cauliflower rice. But shredded cauliflower? That is a new one. To do this I cut off the florets trying to leave as much of the stalk as possible. Then, I put them through the food processor with a shredding disc.
One medium head of cauliflower had enough stalks for me to have the 3 cups of shredded cauliflower I needed for this recipe. I put the florets in a large plastic storage bag and roasted them for dinner a few nights later with some roasted garlic paste.
What so serve with Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole
I served this hashbrown casserole recipe along with some baked pork chops. It goes well with breakfast, breakfast for dinner, or just your regular dinner as a side dish. Next on my to-do list is to add shredded chicken to this to make it a one-dish meal. If you try that make sure to let me know how it turns out!
Some of my favorites are:
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📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups shredded cauliflower stalks (reserve florets for another use)
- 4 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup mayo
- 1 cup shredded cheddar & Monterey jack cheese, divided
- 1 tablespoon minced onion
- 1 tablespoon bouillon powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8 x 8 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Set aside ⅓ cup of the shredded cheese to use as a topping. Stir together the remaining ingredients. Spread in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the reserved cheese.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, until the casserole is golden and bubbly.
Notes
Nutrition
More Cauliflower Sides and Mains:
- Loaded Cauliflower Casserole
- Cheesy Cauliflower Rice
- Dirty Cauliflower Rice Recipe
- Shepherd's Pie Recipe with Cauliflower Topping
- Green Chile Cauliflower Casserole
Originally Published October 9, 2019. Revised and Republished November 14, 2022.
Lorry Norton says
I haven't tried this yet, but shredding the cauliflower stalks is pure genius!!! What a way to use something a lot of us don't. Thanks!
Mary says
Tastes so good when made and leftovers are good also. I was happy with the texture and flavor was so good. Easy to make too.
Krista Killins says
I made this but used a bag of the shredded kohlrabi I got at Trader Joe’s. It was already cleaned and shredded and I steamed until I got the right texture. Almost impossible to tell the difference from the real thing.
Taryn says
I'm glad to hear shredded kohlrabi worked! I'll have to look for that next time I'm at TJs!
Grace Stanphill says
If I used nutritional yeast as you suggest, how much would I use?
Taryn says
You can use this recipe: Homemade Chicken Bouillon
Renee M Jeanmenne says
OMG- This was great ! I didn't have 2 heads, so I got as much as I could from 1 head and halved the rest of the ingredients. I did use better than bullion. If I had 2 heads and followed the recipe exactly, I probably would give it 6 stars. It didn't taste like cauliflower to me, but I am getting used to making substitutions- I reversed diabetes completely and will never go back, so if I can get close to what I used to eat- I'm happy. Side note- next time I think I will broil the casserole to get a browned cheese- kinda like Mac & Cheese 🙂
Anita Personeus says
I made this last night. So, so good! Only thing I did differently was use one medium chopped onion. We love onion in most things. Thank you for the recipe. It is definitely a keeper.
M T says
Is the minced onion dry or raw?
Taryn says
I usually use dried minced onion to save on time. But either will work.
Anita Personeus says
The onion was raw.
Gail Ouellette says
I was so disappointed. I really wanted to love this but to me the cauliflower was still quite pronounced (I used to love cauliflower but since being on keto, I do not care for it much anymore). I might try it again and cut down on the salt as I did find it a bit on the salty side and swap out the cauliflower for the daikon radish as suggested above.
Taryn says
Radish has even a stronger flavor in my opinion. Hearts of palm might be a better choice for you. You could cut up palmini noodles.
Jessi says
Super yummy dish! My whole family, even my cauliflower hating kids had seconds!
Ginny says
Everyone loved this. Will definitely make again.
Lisa says
How many heads of cauliflower are needed for the 3 cups shredded stalks?
Taryn says
About 2. Try to pick ones with big stalks.
Sheryl says
This looks delicious. I think I will try it with spaghetti squash
Elissa Steidley says
Im going to make this but will use shredded rutabaga. Which in my opinion is the closest to a potato that i have found. You can fry it, mash it and or cube it. So shredded should be great.
Samme says
What is the serving size?
Taryn says
There are 8 servings in an 8x8 dish. Each serving is approximately a 2x4 inch piece. I just eye it up as I serve.
Elizabeth says
Do you think this would work with jicama? My husband can’t stand the taste or smell of cooked cauliflower. I’ve never cooked with jicama, only eaten it raw. I was hoping you’ve tried it or had experience cooking jicama.
Taryn says
I just made fries with jicama last week. I think it could work in this! I want to try myself. If you try please let me know how it turns out!
Gems says
This looks delicious! I have two questions. Could this be made with frozen riced cauliflower and how would I make this in a crockpot? (I’m disabled so I have to adapt recipes to what I can physically do) Thank you!
Taryn says
Yes, frozen riced cauliflower can work. It is not the best for texture but it's fine for flavor. As far as the crockpot, you can thaw the cauliflower rice and drain it and then add everything to the crockpot to heat.
Caitlin says
Yum!! Made this tonight! Soooo good!! You are a genius!
Lisa Green says
I want to make this so so bad but I absolutely hate mayo. Can I just add a little extra sour cream to substitute? Or do you have another suggestion?
Taryn says
Sure. But you really can't taste it at all.
Betty Sanchez says
I found the taste of the mayonnaise to be quite a bit stronger than I would prefer but I did not use my own homemade for this recipe. I'm in Germany for can't always find the options I need, used what I had here and maybe it was just too strong.
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I will make 2 changes next time, I'm going to try frozen cauliflower and just thaw it and chop it up, and use my own homemade mayonnaise.
Lisa Quinn says
This was absolutely delicious!! I swapped the cauliflower for shredded daikon radish.....so amazing! I made it as a dinner side and am enjoying the leftovers like it's Christmas morning!! Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Alana says
Hi Taryn!
This looks amazing but I was wondering if I swapped the cauliflower for jicama if it would be even swap of quantity? And do you think I would need to cook/blanch jicama 1st? Thinking about mixing in broccoli & ham!!
Taryn says
I've never tried jicama in a casserole so I'm not sure, sorry!