Hooray! Simple Hashbrown Casserole is my first (of many?!) Instant Pot recipes to share. But guess what else?
I’m well aware that not everyone has an Instant Pot, so I’m also providing instructions for baking this in an oven. Not only that, because there are times we might need a slower cooking option (like, if we need to get dinner started, then head out to ball games, then come home to a cooked meal) – so I’m also including Crock Pot cooking instructions!
As best I can, I will provide all these options each (or most of the) time I share an Instant Pot recipe. Here’s a quick glance at cooking times for this Simple Hashbrown Casserole so you can make your best plan on the day you make this.
Cook Time Options for Simple Hashbrown Casserole
Instant Pot: 15 minutes
Oven: 1 hour
Crock Pot: 3-6 hours, depending on low or hi setting
You need just five ingredients to make this recipe! One of the ingredients is this Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix, which I love to have on hand at all times. Another ingredient is cooked meat. This time I made hamburger meat in my Instant Pot and I can’t wait to tell you about it! This is the easiest meat-cooking method there is – and possibly my “if you get an Instant Pot for no other reason, this is it!” shout out. I’ll share about this meat-cooking method soon!
You might remember a variation of this new simple recipe: Bacon Ranch Hashbrown Casserole. You can most certainly make that recipe in your Instant Pot or Crock Pot following these instructions! And if you don’t love the “ranch” flavor this calls for, simply sub it out for any spices you like! Truly this recipe is most forgiving, and allows you to make it with any meat you prefer or have on hand, so you can create it to your family’s taste!
And then there’s the variety of cooking methods that allow you to make this no matter how busy your day, so I think we can all agree that this recipe wins the “Cooks Choice Award!”
Simple Hashbrown Casserole
- 1 pound cooked meat (hamburger, ham, bacon, sausage, or any of your choosing!)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar or Colby jack cheese
- 3 cups sour cream
- 3 Tablespoons Ranch Dressing Mix
- 1 bag of frozen shredded hashbrowns
- In a large bowl, stir together cooked meat, shredded cheese, sour cream, and ranch dressing mix.
- Fold in frozen hashbrowns until all ingredients are well combined.
- Instant Pot Method: Add ½ cup water to the bottom of the Instant Pot before adding remaining ingredients. Cook for 15 minutes on manual mode, hi pressure.
- Oven Baking: Bake uncovered in a 350° oven for 45-60 minutes or until casserole is lightly browned and bubbly.
- Crock Pot Method: Cook on low for 6 hours or on hi for 3 hours.

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I am so excited that you got an Instant Pot! I am looking forward to your recipes to use in it! Thanks :)
Thank you for the cooking options!!! It’s frustrating to see yummy recipes for the instant pot that I can’t make! I really appreciate that you’ve done this! ????
This sounds amazing!! I also appreciate all the cooking options since I don’t have an Instant Pot. However I do have a crockpot that I am constantly searching for more recipes for! It’s the only way I can feed the family on the weekend without everyone having a meltdown the minute we get home:) Weekends are kind of full for us at the moment and for the forseeable future so I am always looking for more things to make in the crockpot. Definitely going to be using this one!
Just tried this in our Instant Pot and it never got to pressure and just scalded the bottom. Scooped it all out of the pot, put it in a baking dish, put the trivet in the bottom and added 1/2 cup of water to generate steam. Waiting now to see the result of the second attempt.
Chris, Did that work?
For the hashbrown casserole in the Instant Pot…….what liquid is creating the steam? I imagine there has to be some added.
Yes, add about 1/2 cup water to this. I will edit the recipe to add this!
I halved the recipe because I have a 3 qt, and the half cup of water still didn’t bring my recipe to pressure. I’ve added an extra half cup and it’s working now.
If I were to make this in the Instant Pot, would I put it in a dish in the pot? Since we have to add water? I was going to make this in the Instant Pot last night, but wasn’t quite sure what setting to use or how to go about it. So I made it in the oven instead, which went fine. Just wondering how to do it in the IP for future reference. Thanks!
I prefer the oven as it has a hard time coming to pressure in the IP. But, if you want to try the IP, I do 15 minutes at high pressure, manual mode. :)
I have tried this twice, 1st time with 1/2 cup of water and then again with a full cup. I never achieved pressure and had scalding on the bottom. Any ideas on how to remedy?
Shoot, I can’t figure out why yours is scalding on the bottom. This one might work best in the oven (that’s what I do most often). :)
Hi!
I used this recipe for IP time and details. I used the full bag of frozen shredded potatoes (hash browns), 1 can cream of chicken, 3/4 C water, 1/2 C sour cream, 1 3/4 C (whole package of) shredded cheddar cheese, salt & pepper, and 1 pretty small white onion chopped. 15 mins pressure cook,
I NPR always, and did so for 10-12 mins.
Cheesey, gooey, hash brown casserole was the goal. I know your recipe includes different ingredients, so, as I mentioned, I mostly used your time and details for the IP. I have a recipe for a slow cooker for my ingredients, but wasn’t sure on the time in the IP. This was a last minute side dish.
I had to finish in the oven. They were still frozen in some places and scorched the bottom too. ? I wish I read the comments first.
Oh well.
This really doesn’t work in instant pot (not done after 15 min and starting to burn on bottom,
I used the oven and the flavor was amazing! I was wondering, what size bag of hash browns did you use? It was very rich. I thought 16 oz. of hash browns would be about 2 cups( because we bought a huge family size bag) but that seems a little off with the 3 cups of sour cream. Next time, we thought we might adjust it either with more potato or less sour cream. I would love your advice. Thanks!