A wonderful potato casserole featuring russet potatoes, cheese, sour cream, and Rotel diced tomatoes, plus optional garnishes of tomato, avocado, green onion, bacon and additional sour cream.
Velveeta Truck Stop Potato Casserole
Truck Stop Potatoes apparently originated at an Idaho truck stop as a breakfast side dish and was picked up at some point by a caterer who may have come up with the idea of the garnishes.
Mine is a little bit different from the traditional recipe which uses red potatoes (though you may substitute those here too of course), a combination of cheddar and monterey jack cheeses, plain diced tomatoes and garnishes with extra tomatoes, avocados, green onion and extra sour cream.
The garnishes are really pretty, but it's all stuff The Cajun won't eat so I usually skip them, because all that stuff apparently makes him nervous and honestly the potatoes can certainly stand on their own.
I prefer using regular russet baking potatoes, and yes, Velveeta, because it just makes the dish so creamy. For the tomatoes I go with Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies for a little bump of heat. There are lots of ways you can make this dish your own. It's definitely a different, but delicious potato casserole.
This recipe is written for a 1-1/2-quart baking dish but doubles great for potlucks or holidays.
Just a quick reminder.... this is a blog, not just a "recipe site," and yes, there is a difference! I want to first thank all of you who have supported my work over the years, but if you aren't interested in the chit chat, info, photos, tips and such in a post, as always, you'll find the complete recipe text with measurements and instructions, as well as a printable document, a little bit further down the page. Just swipe or scroll down to the bottom of the post!Here's how to make my Velveeta Truck Stop Potatoes.
If you're making a full 3 quart pan in a 9 x 13, you'll be doubling all of this.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 1-1/2 to 2-quart baking dish; set aside. You'll need about 2-1/2 pounds of potatoes.
Peel them and then use a paring knife to remove any imperfections. I hold my potatoes in large bowl of cool water to keep them from oxidizing and turning brown.
Slice into thick slices lengthwise, then cube them, returning them to the water.
Drain off the Rotel tomatoes. I'm using the mild ones, which provide just a little bit of a kick, but if you don't want the heat, substitute a can of well-drained, regular diced tomatoes. The extra chopped tomato won't hurt a thing.
Chop up some onion. I almost always use sweet onions.
Bring a large pot of water to a full boil and add salt.
Drain the potatoes.
Add them to the pot. Once the water returns to a boil, boil them for only 4 minutes.
Meanwhile, sauté the onions in a skillet with some oil.
Add the drained tomatoes to the onion and warm through.
Once the potatoes are done, drain them and set aside.
Now... I'm using Velveeta, because I had it on hand, and also because I love the creaminess it gives and you just cannot get that from anything else, except American cheese and really they're both about the same. If you object to the use of Velveeta, you can 100% use other cheeses - like a combination of Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses.
If you remember, you can put it up in the freezer for about 30 minutes and that makes it easier to shred, otherwise just cut into thick slices and then cut into thin strips from those.
Place the warm potatoes in a large bowl. Taste the potatoes to see if you need any salt - you may not!
To that, add the tomato and onion blend and the seasonings. Don't add salt unless you've tasted the potatoes already!
Set aside about 1/2 cup of the Velveeta shreds and add the remaining cheese to the bowl of potatoes.
Toss all together so that the cheese begins to melt into the potatoes.
Once that's tossed together well, add the sour cream.
Gently blend so as not to break the potatoes up too much.
Transfer to the buttered baking dish. I'm using a 1-1/2-quart dish that's part of a two-piece set and kind of like a pie plate really. Smooth the top down a bit but don't compact everything.
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for about 35-40 minutes or until completely heated through.
Remove and top with reserved Velveeta for the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Now... the garnishes make for a pretty presentation, but if you want to stop here, that's fine.
While the addition of the garnishes is a delicious enhancement, this potato casserole can also certainly stand on its own. It is scrumptious y'all, I'm not even kidding!
The typical garnishes for this are usually fresh, chopped tomatoes, fresh cubed avocado, lots of green onion and sour cream, but garnish however you like. I add bacon!
As to the avocado, if you're traveling with this casserole, and you want to include it, wait until you get to your destination to chop and add the avocado just so that it's fresh and doesn't begin to oxidize.
I once watched a YouTube video on Facebook where a gal was actually peeling an avocado in order to slice it. It was really painful to watch! There is certainly a much easier way.
Once you've sliced lengthwise through the outer skin, twist and separate the halves and remove the pit. Easiest way to do that is to gently whack it with the blade of a fairly sharp knife (but be careful!). Then, just take a butter knife and carve out slices into the flesh of the avocado. I'm cubing mine, so just also do slices in the opposite direction.
Then use a spoon to go around the edges of the avocado to pull out the pieces, or in this case, the cubes. The spoon will lift all of the slices or cubes out so easily.
Because this is a garnish, I'm squeezing a little lime over the avocado.
Sprinkle tomatoes around the outside, then a ring of avocado and a ring of sliced green onion. A dab of sour cream in the center and a sprinkle of bacon all over the top.
Dig in!
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