I think cheesy potatoes might be one of America’s favorite side dishes. I’ve heard a few different names for this sort of dish, from Crack Potatoes to Funeral Potatoes. The cheesy potato recipe I have been making for years is called Prudence Penny’s Perfect Potatoes. The recipe came from my aunt. I wondered who in the world Prudence Penny was, and also why she felt like her potatoes needed so much butter in them? Not very prudent if you ask me…
So then I did a little research and found out that Prudence Penny was a pseudonym for the cooking instructors and writers, and later the food editors, of the Dear Abby style cooking column from the Hearst Newspaper in the 1930’s. Good to know! I love learning the history of the recipes I have collected.
For these Healthier Cheesy Potatoes, I set out to see if I could keep the cheesiness, saltiness, and creaminess that we all love without so much of the butter, canned soup, and sour cream. I actually halved the amount of butter the original recipe called for, substituted a simple white sauce for the canned soup, and substituted nonfat plain Greek yogurt for some of the sour cream. I loved the way they turned out so much, I even made two batches of them for a big family get together – and they were totally devoured.
I can honestly say I prefer them made the healthier way, and if you know me this is usually not the case! I think Prudence Penny would be proud.
PrintHealthier Cheesy Potatoes
These healthier cheesy potatoes are still the creamy, crunchy potato side dish we all love, just lightened up a bit.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Sides
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons melted butter (divided)
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon chicken base
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 lbs. frozen diced hash brown potatoes, mostly thawed
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup crushed Ritz crackers (about 1/3 of a tube)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan, on medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Whisk in flour, and allow to brown and bubble, stirring constantly, for two minutes. Slowly whisk in milk and chicken base, and stir frequently while the mixture simmers and thickens slightly (about 3-4 minutes). Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, mix together remaining 4 tablespoons of melted butter, sour cream, Greek yogurt, and onion powder.
- Add the white sauce from the saucepan into the sour cream / Greek yogurt mixture.
- Stir in hash browns and cheese.
- Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.
- Bake for 50 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the oven and top with crushed Ritz crackers. Put the potatoes back into the oven for 10 more minutes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving
- Calories: 526
- Sugar: 3.7g
- Sodium: 521mg
- Fat: 35g
- Saturated Fat: 20g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10.8g
- Trans Fat: 1.3g
- Carbohydrates: 32g
- Fiber: 2.5g
- Protein: 22g
- Cholesterol: 100mg
These look magnificent, Julie! And even better that they are skinny. I can’t wait to give these a try.
Thanks Jen! Hope you enjoy too.
These cheesy potatoes look perfect! I’d never tell they are healthier than the real thing. I bet they’re even better, actually ; ) Love the pictures, by the way! You have such a lovely blog! xx
Thank you Consuelo!
You ever made them with real potatoes?
Hi Martha, I have only made this recipe with frozen hash browns. I don’t see why you couldn’t make that substitution though.
Ritz crackers are not a “healthy” product.
If you really don’t like it, you can leave them off.
You can use kellogs corn flakes which is a little more healthier to still get that crunch.
You can also substitute reduced fat Ritz crackers.
Nice to see recipes without the canned soup. I am very allergic to MSG and most canned goods contain it. Keep up the good work
Thank you Gloria! Glad I could help.
I am so glad to see that somebody besides me hates the canned soup! I have made my own cream of whatever soups for years and used just a cheese sauce for these. I hadn’t thought about how much butter, however, or the Greek yogurt! I thank you for your insights and I’m going to go make a batch right now. With fresh russet potatoes.
Sounds good Anna!
Any thoughts on this being in the crock pot?
I haven’t tried this in the crockpot, but I think it could be done. Just not sure how long it would take to cook. Let me know how it goes if you decided to try it!
can you make this the night before?
This sounds tasty, but what is “chicken base”?
Ellen, chicken base is like a very concentrated chicken stock paste. You can use it like a chicken bullion cube, but it is better! I get “Better Than Bullion” chicken base at Costco and never use regular stock anymore.
I am happy to find a recipe that doesn’t have a cream of soup in it. I’ve made my own version of it for years.
Thank you! It truly is the healthier option.
Can I freeze this and then bake it?