Hidden beneath the layers of a cheesy hashbrown crust lie all of your favorite veggies *and* a tender pot roast. In this video, Nicole shows you how to make her copycat dinner recipe for Cracker Barrel’s hashbrown casserole shepherd’s pie!
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00:00Oh, that looks so good.
00:01If Cozy had a dish, this would be its mascot.
00:05It's starting to look incredible.
00:07Saucy, meaty, comforting, cheesy.
00:12Oh, it's that time of year where we're looking
00:15for some good comfort food,
00:17and I've got the perfect recipe today.
00:20Hash brown casserole shepherd's pie.
00:22This is actually Cracker Barrel's newest addition
00:26to their fall menu, and I just thought we'd recreate it
00:28because it sounds too good to be true.
00:30Everyone's making pot roast this time of year,
00:33and this is my message to you for next time
00:35that you do make it.
00:36To get a big one, make double.
00:38Just be sure you have leftovers so you can make this.
00:41The reason why I think you should start this
00:43with leftover pot roast is because the whole dish
00:45would seem too overwhelming if you made the pot roast
00:48and then made this.
00:49So I went ahead and made my pot roast,
00:51and here's how I did it.
00:53This is my super easy pot roast.
00:55Start with a chuck roast and then season it well
00:57with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
01:00Sear that on all sides in a little bit of oil
01:02until it's really crusty.
01:04Take it out and then add in an onion, some celery,
01:07carrots, a little more salt and pepper,
01:09and then cook that down, and you'll notice
01:11how it pulls the flavor off the bottom of the pan.
01:13At this point, add in a couple tablespoons of butter,
01:15a couple tablespoons of flour.
01:17Stir that around and then deglaze it with some water,
01:19and I like to use bouillon paste.
01:21You could also use a bouillon cube,
01:23or you could just use beef stock, whatever you want.
01:26Just stir that around until it's all incorporated,
01:28and then it's gonna start to thicken.
01:30Add in a couple tablespoons of tomato paste,
01:32a little Worcestershire, and two bay leaves,
01:34and you're good to go.
01:35Bring this up to a simmer and then just cover it,
01:37throw it in the oven for about 350 for about an hour,
01:40and then 325 for another hour and a half or so.
01:43And then here's what you're left with.
01:46Super tender, super flavorful.
01:48All that gravy has concentrated in there.
01:51Our veggies are ready to go.
01:53That's one of the main components.
01:55The other is the hash brown casserole.
01:57I'll whip that up for you, just in case you forgot.
02:04You've seen me make this before.
02:06You can use whatever hash brown casserole recipe
02:08is your favorite, or we will link one below.
02:11I'll just make it again because it's one
02:13of my favorite indulgences of all time.
02:16And then some cream of chicken,
02:20and a little bit of sour cream, a stick of melted butter,
02:24a little bit of diced onion.
02:25You could also use the minced dried onion here,
02:28and then some cheddar cheese.
02:30I'm gonna season it up with salt and pepper,
02:32even though that might not be in the recipe.
02:34And it's as easy as that.
02:37It's okay if your hash browns are still mostly frozen,
02:40as long as they're separated.
02:41What I love in the description is that it said
02:43griddled hash brown casserole, so it makes like
02:46a crispy crust of the hash brown casserole,
02:49and everything else is like ready-made.
02:52I will say that one portion that I ordered
02:55was about 20 bucks, but if you are buying a chuck roast
02:58and you can get two meals out of it,
03:00thanks for your buck, you know what I mean?
03:02Okay, once that is all good and mixed,
03:05it just goes into a casserole dish.
03:07A lot of taters.
03:09Spread it out, I'm gonna top it with a little more cheese,
03:11and then just bake it.
03:13It takes about 45 minutes to an hour,
03:15especially when you're starting with mostly frozen
03:17hash browns.
03:18Because my research is so thorough,
03:22I thought I would order one from Cracker Barrel
03:24so we can see what we're working with.
03:26This right here is 20 bucks.
03:28Now, it is very hearty portion,
03:30but if this is what I wanted to serve my family,
03:33I'd have to order at least two of them.
03:34So here's the hash brown griddled crust.
03:37So it's just a very thin layer of hash browns.
03:43I do love the crust.
03:44It just kinda adds a different texture,
03:46and I like that it's made with pot roast.
03:49But you know how I do.
03:50I just gotta do one better, you know?
03:53Okay, so we've got our hash browns going,
03:57our pot roast.
03:57This is our pretend leftover pot roast.
04:00So I'm gonna take the meat out.
04:04And then you've got your leftover gravy.
04:06If you don't have a lot of gravy left,
04:08you can just buy some store-bought gravy.
04:10Mine is there and it's super thick.
04:13I'm gonna add in a little beef broth
04:14just to thin mine out a little bit.
04:17And this is when you can add in your frozen peas.
04:22Frozen peas take like two seconds to cook.
04:25Now mine is still warm.
04:28You can heat your gravy back up
04:29just to warm your peas through a little bit,
04:31but they'll finish cooking in the oven.
04:33And that is our base for our shepherd's pie.
04:36And then I'm gonna cut my pot roast into chunks.
04:39Ooh, this is so tender.
04:41Just gonna kinda cut it into hearty chunks
04:43because that's the way they have it.
04:45Look at that.
04:46This is just a simple version.
04:47You can use whatever pot roast recipe you like.
04:49Okay, then I'm gonna add in our pot roast.
04:52I always use my leftover pot roast.
04:54I'll simmer it down in tomato sauce
04:56and make like a hearty ragu
04:57or shred it up for sandwiches or tacos.
05:00This just gives you another something different
05:03to do with your pot roast.
05:04Just makes the pot roast a lot more versatile.
05:06Oh, that looks so good.
05:08That's just so good.
05:09We've made the pot roast.
05:10That's good to go.
05:11We've made our hash brown casserole.
05:13That's good to go.
05:14You know, that's all the real cooking
05:16that we're gonna do.
05:17I'm taking a shortcut for the base
05:20with mashed potatoes that are already made.
05:22I'm just going straight in to my cast iron skillet.
05:25You want enough mashed potatoes
05:27to cover whatever vessel you're using.
05:29For me, it's about one and a half of those containers
05:31or about four cups if you're using homemade.
05:34Then goes our pot roast mixture.
05:37You can see the flavor, the comfort, the deliciousness.
05:42Mm, could stop there, but why,
05:44when you can make a hash brown crust?
05:46So what we're gonna do is we're gonna press
05:48our leftover hash brown casserole with some extra cheese
05:51into a large nonstick skillet,
05:53big enough to cover the top.
05:56This one's not gonna be big enough.
05:58Come on.
06:01That should do it.
06:01That should do it.
06:03So let's just cook it up.
06:04Let's make our hash brown crust.
06:07So it has enough butter and cheese in it.
06:09You shouldn't need anything
06:10as long as you're using a good nonstick skillet.
06:13Put some extra cheese down,
06:14and then I'm going in with my hash brown casserole.
06:16Just kind of press it into a super thin layer.
06:19Theirs is really thin, so just as thin as you can get it.
06:22Also, it doesn't have to be perfect.
06:24Craggly edges are probably more what you want.
06:27So I'm just kind of bringing it together,
06:29and then I'm gonna crank the heat up and let it get crispy.
06:32Okay, look at this.
06:34Get up under there.
06:35Do you see that?
06:36That is a cheesy, crusty deliciousness.
06:41We're just gonna slide it right on top.
06:45Oh, craggly bits.
06:47It's gonna be good.
06:49Now I'm gonna top it with even more cheese,
06:51just like they have it.
06:52Okay, so now, when it goes into the oven,
06:54I'm gonna do 400 degrees until it's all good and bubbly,
06:57and then I'm gonna turn on the broiler to crisp up that top.
07:01Oh, here we go.
07:03Oh, Cracker Barrel, thank you for the idea.
07:07Look at this.
07:09Oh my gosh.
07:12This looks so dang good.
07:13If Cozy had a dish, this would be its mascot.
07:17Now in the picture, they topped this with sour cream.
07:21First, I thought that sounded a little weird.
07:23However, with the hash brown crust,
07:25it kind of makes sense, like a loaded potato on top.
07:30So that's how I'll serve it up.
07:33Oh my goodness.
07:37It might be one of the best shepherd's pies I've ever made.
07:40Look at that.
07:41It's starting to look incredible.
07:43Saucy, meaty, comforting, cheesy.
07:48That hash brown crust.
07:50Oh, little dollop how they do it.
07:54And some green onion.
07:56Nailed it.
07:57And in for the perfect bite.
07:59Gotta get a little crusty bit first.
08:04Oh my God.
08:06It's so rich.
08:08So much flavor, but that little salty, cheesy
08:11hash brown crust with the creamy mashed potatoes,
08:15like double the carb.
08:17And then you get your gravy all in one bite, y'all.
08:21One of the best things I've made in a minute.
08:24Y'all gotta make this.
08:26Don't even worry about going to Cracker Barrel
08:28with all the travelers.
08:29Just make it at home.
08:34What it's worth, our hash brown casserole.
08:39You saw how easy that was to put together.
08:40Look how delicious that looks.