This little casserole is the kind of dish Midwestern women have been quietly making for decades, only now we have the blessing of frozen potato wedges to save our backs and our time. You simply dump a bag of wedges in a casserole dish, whisk together four pantry staples, and slide it into the oven. The potatoes soak up a creamy, seasoned sauce and bake into something that tastes like you fussed with it all afternoon. It reminds me of the church potlucks of the 1970s, when every table had some kind of potato bake bubbling away, making the whole hall smell like home.
Serve this casserole hot, straight from the oven, with a simple green salad or steamed green beans to balance the richness. It’s lovely alongside meatloaf, baked ham, roast chicken, or even grilled pork chops. A pan of buttered corn or a bowl of cottage cheese and sliced tomatoes fits right in with this old-fashioned supper. If you like, sprinkle a little extra black pepper on top at the table and pass a bottle of hot sauce for those who enjoy a bit more kick.
4-Ingredient Oven Classic Potato Wedge CasseroleServings: 6
Ingredients
1 (28–32 oz) bag frozen seasoned potato wedges
1 (10.5 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup whole milk (or 2% milk)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Cooking spray or a little butter for greasing the dish (optional)
Directions
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray or a little butter so the potatoes don’t stick.
Open the bag of frozen potato wedges. Pour them into the prepared casserole dish and spread them out in an overlapping pattern so most of the wedges are lying flat but slightly stacked, like shingles on a roof. This helps the creamy sauce settle in between them.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the condensed cream of chicken soup, milk, mayonnaise, and garlic powder until the mixture is smooth and creamy with no big lumps of soup remaining.
Pour the creamy mixture evenly over the potato wedges in the casserole dish. Gently tilt the dish back and forth so the liquid can flow down and pool between the wedges, but do not stir; you want to keep that pretty overlapping pattern.
Place the casserole, uncovered, on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Bake for 45–55 minutes, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork and the top is lightly browned and bubbling around the edges.
Let the casserole rest for about 5–10 minutes before serving. This short rest helps the sauce thicken slightly and makes it easier to scoop out hearty portions that hold together on the plate.
Variations & Tips
You can easily tailor this casserole to what you have in your pantry. For a different flavor, use cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup in place of cream of chicken. If your potato wedges are unseasoned, add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper to the sauce along with the garlic powder. A pinch of paprika or dried parsley sprinkled over the top before baking gives it a little color. For extra richness, you can stir 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese into the sauce or sprinkle it over the top for the last 10 minutes of baking. To stretch the meal, tuck a few thawed frozen peas or a handful of leftover cooked ham or chicken between the wedges before you pour on the sauce, making it a full one-pan supper. For food safety, keep the frozen potato wedges in the freezer until you are ready to assemble the dish, and do not let them sit out at room temperature for long. Use canned soup and mayonnaise that are within their expiration dates, and store any leftovers in the refrigerator within 2 hours of baking. Reheat leftovers thoroughly in the oven or microwave until steaming hot in the center before serving.
