This dish was one of my favourites when I was growing up and it has always been a family staple on the holiday dinner table. These cheesy potatoes are also ridiculously easy to make. They can be pulled together in less than 10 minutes, popped in the oven for 45 and then they’re ready to be served, just like that.

The recipe was inherited from a friend of my parents named Heather, hence the name. It wasn’t called “Heather’s Cheesy Potatoes” before it reached my family’s kitchen, but that is always the name I give the dish even when I find it on other people’s tables. Apparently, I'm not in the only family who's passed this recipe on from generation to generation!

I have found lots of different versions of this recipe, but I love the simplicity of this one, especially the fact that it uses so few dishes (one casserole dish and one big spoon). So, let's get cooking...

Step 1: Ingredients

Gather all the ingredients:

1 x 1 kilogram (about 32 ounce) bag of
diced-style hashbrown potatoes
2 x 284 milliliter (10 fluid ounce) cans of cream of mushroom soup
2 1/2 cups (about 240 grams or 8 ½ ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups sour cream
1 yellow onion, diced
½ teaspoon garlic salt
½ teaspoon ground white pepper

Step 2: Stir It All Together

Preheat oven to 350˚F (175˚C).

In a 3-quart glass casserole dish, combine the 1 kg bag of diced-style hash brown potatoes, 2 cans of condensed cream of mushroom soup, 2 cups of sour cream, 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, 1 diced yellow onion, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt and 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper.

Stir well until evenly mixed. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese over the top.

Step 3: Bake and Enjoy

Cook in the oven for about 45 minutes. Liquid should be bubbling around the edges when it’s done. If you can wait, allow the casserole to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.