Layered potato casserole is definitely a simple dish in the sense that—with the exception of a few more elaborate versions—it doesn’t contain any fancy ingredients, and anyone can make it without any special kitchen knowledge. But it’s not a quick dish at all. Not even this simple version.
Just putting together this simple layered potato casserole, including peeling the eggs and potatoes, took 30 minutes. Add to that the cooking time for the eggs and potatoes, plus baking the whole thing.
But we all love layered potato casserole. Love it? We adore it! And I don’t think either you or I mind taking this little bit of time to put together what is otherwise a truly simple recipe. Plus, you can make a larger batch ahead. Not only does it freeze really well, but layered potato casserole is the kind of dish that may be even better reheated. And if the family eats it for a week, then the work that goes into it doesn’t feel like so much after all.
What Makes It Simple?
I think layered potato casserole can be made in about as many ways as there are households. This version here is the simplest one in terms of both ingredients and preparation, while still including sausage.
I left only one “more complicated” step in this recipe: I cook the potatoes in their skins, then peel and slice them afterward. This gives them much better flavor and texture, so it’s absolutely worth making them this way. Plus, if you’ve tried it before, you’ll realize it isn’t any harder than cooking them the traditional way, already sliced.
But if you don’t want to bother cooking the potatoes in their skins, peel and slice the raw potatoes, then cook them that way. In this case, just be careful not to overcook them, and handle them gently so the slices don’t fall apart.
What Makes Layered Potato Casserole with Sausage Really Delicious?
A simple layered potato casserole—as I already wrote—is made from very simple ingredients, yet it’s everyone’s favorite. But how does that work? And especially, how can you make sure your layered potato casserole turns out truly delicious too?
Because the greatness of layered potato casserole really lies in its simplicity. The potato-egg-dairy combination, usually with sour cream, is already an incredible trio on its own. Add a good sausage, let everything come together in the oven as one dish, and there’s nothing quite like it. But I’m sure you’ve also eaten a version that was, how should I put it, less likely to make you go back for seconds.
And if there’s better and less-good layered potato casserole, then what could be the trick if you want to make a truly unforgettable, perfect layered potato casserole?
First, in the sausage version, the sausage has a very defining flavor. As with every simple dish, the ingredients have a huge influence on the quality of the final dish. So choose the best sausage you possibly can!
Second, salt is an especially critical element here. If you think about it, almost all the ingredients—potatoes, eggs, sour cream—are not only unsalted on their own, but they can also take a lot of salt. One of the tricks to making simple layered potato casserole is really just paying close attention to the salt. And here I mean that it’s easy to make it under-salted even when you already think you’ve long since over-salted it.
I’ll note one extra tip related to this: cook the potatoes in fairly salty water. Even whole. It makes a big difference whether, after cooking, they’re already at least halfway pleasantly salted, or whether you still have to somehow fix completely unsalted potatoes in the baking dish.
Beyond that, salt every potato and egg layer separately when assembling it, and the result is guaranteed to be heavenly!
Simple Layered Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 2.2 lb potatoes 1 kg
- 8 eggs
- 7 oz dried sausage 200 g
- 12 oz sour cream 350 g
- oil or butter for greasing
- salt
Instructions
- As the first step, cook the potatoes and the eggs. Cook the whole potatoes in their skins in salted water for 30 minutes from the time the water comes to a boil. Cook the eggs for 8 minutes from the time the water comes to a boil.You can also peel and slice the potatoes raw. In that case, cook them in salted, barely simmering water for about 10 minutes, until tender.
- Preheat the oven to 320°F (160°C) with convection, or 350°F (180°C) conventional.
- Remove the potato skins, and peel the eggs.
- Butter or oil an ovenproof dish.
- For the very bottom of the first layer, add one third of the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into about 1/4-inch (1/2 cm) slices, and lay the slices on the bottom of the dish. It doesn’t have to be just one layer; the potato slices can overlap. Salt the potato layer.
- Next comes half of the egg. Using an egg slicer or a knife, slice it into rounds that are also about 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) thick, and place the slices on the potatoes. Salt this layer too.
- Next comes half of the sausage. Cover the whole thing with 1/8-inch (2–3 mm) sausage rounds.
- Repeat the same thing in one more layer: one third of the potatoes, salted; the remaining half of the eggs, also salted; then the remaining half of the sausage. Put the remaining third of the potatoes on top, and salt this layer as well.
- Finally, spread the sour cream over the top.It’s easier to spread if you mix it thoroughly first.
- Put the whole thing in the oven, and bake for 1 hour.
- The simple layered potato casserole is ready. The dish is very hot, so handle it carefully. You can serve it right away, but it’s excellent reheated too, and it also freezes well. Offer fresh sour cream with it!
