Recipe Rescue: A Recipe for Ham and Broccoli Hash Brown Casserole (Podcast #95)

by The Meal Makeover Moms on March 3rd, 2010

Casseroles often get a bad rap … and for good reason. They’re typically made with butter, cream of something-or-other soup, and lots of full-fat cheese. So when Shayna, a loyal Facebook fan, posted a recipe for a cheesy hash brown casserole with ham and asked us to give it a healthy makeover, we accepted the challenge. Shayna found the recipe on one of the many food blogs she follows, and to be perfectly honest, it looked mighty good. But when we crunched the nutrition numbers, we knew it needed some serious rehab. Given the recipe’s 1 stick of butter, 1 pound of ham, and the sour cream and cream of chicken soup, each gooey serving had 16 grams of the bad saturated fat and over 1,000 milligrams of sodium.

Okay, enough complaining. The new recipe that we presented to Shayna, her husband Dave, and her teenage son, Aaron was considerably leaner than the original thanks to a few key ingredients: reduced-fat Cheddar cheese, light sour cream, and Campbell’s Healthy Request soup. The sodium was a whole lot lower too thanks to the soup and a lower sodium deli ham. And no Recipe Rescue by The Meal Makeover Moms would be complete without the addition of at least one super-nutritious ingredient, which is why we added a 10-ounce box of frozen chopped broccoli. Given all the potassium-packed potatoes in the dish, the broccoli was a nice subtle addition — plus, it added a lot of vitamin C!

Ham and Broccoli Hash Brown Casserole

Makes 8 Servings

  • One 10¾-ounce can condensed lower-fat, lower-sodium cream of celery or mushroom soup (we like Campbell’s Healthy Request)
  • 1 cup light sour cream
  • 1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • One 30-ounce bag frozen shredded potatoes, thawed
  • 2 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (6 ounces), divided
  • One 10-ounce box frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
  • 8 ounces lower-sodium deli ham, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 2 cups) (we like Boar’s Head Lower Sodium Ham)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil or coat a 9×13-inch baking pan or dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a very large bowl, whisk together the soup, sour cream, milk, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper until well combined.

3. Mix in the shredded potatoes, 1½ cups of the cheese, broccoli, and ham.

4. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan, top with the remaining cheese, and bake, uncovered, until the cheese melts and and the casserole is heated through, about 45 minutes. Cool about 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Information per Serving: 240 calories, 8g fat (4.5g saturated), 460mg sodium, 29g carbohydrate, 4g fiber, 17g protein, 20% vitamin A, 45% vitamin C, 30% calcium

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Shayna and her family really liked the new recipe. In fact, when we spoke to Aaron, he said, “it tasted pretty good!” Shayna also told us that the reason the hash brown casserole first caught her attention was because she just so happened to have A LOT of hash brown potatoes in her freezer. “Dave and I saw an add on Craig’s List for 100 pounds of potatoes and 50 pounds of onions from a farmer in Idaho. So we stocked up. With the potatoes, I made hash browns. I grated, blanched, and flash froze them, and then cut them into bricks.” You should see Shayna’s freezer! She also makes her own cream of mushroom soup, a recipe she found on A Year of Slow Cooking. So suffice it to say, she had plenty of ingredients on hand for our potato casserole.

Shayna and Dave have three boys between them. Two are in college and Aaron is home, so when they’re all together they eat a lot of filling foods — things like pasta and casseroles. “I’m in a Biggest Loser competition at work and Dave has high blood pressure and cholesterol so we’re trying to pay closer attention to the foods we eat,” Shayna told us.  “We try to avoid a lot of red meat, we have one meatless meal per week, and we avoid fast food, fried food, and junk food. Recently, we’ve also changed over to brown rice and whole wheat bread and pasta.”

We certainly hope our light and nutritious hash brown potato casserole helps to keep Shayna’s family healthy and well fed in the future … and we hope you all like it too.

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4 Comments | Filed Under Dinner, Podcast, Potatoes, RecipeRescue 

4 Responses to “Recipe Rescue: A Recipe for Ham and Broccoli Hash Brown Casserole (Podcast #95)”

  1. marla {family fresh cooking} on March 5th, 2010

    Amazing how meals can be lightened up and still be so tasty! Great job altering the ingredients of this casserole.

  2. nancy dolan on March 8th, 2010

    sounds good to me.

  3. Wendy Jo Peterson on March 16th, 2010

    This looks great! I have my nephews in from Texas this week and this looks like something they’d love! Thanks!!

  4. Meredith Myers on March 30th, 2010

    Love this recipe makeover! It seems like there are so many ooey-gooey rich and creamy hashbrown casseroles out there, and you all have officially rescued them. Can’t wait to try this one!

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