Five Guys potato casserole

I’ll just get right to it today. The Mayhews are devoted to Five Guys hamburgers and fries. I will speak a little heresy here. If you are from Nashville, you will understand this. Five Guys hamburgers are better than Rotiers, Browns Diner or Gabby’s. They just are. However, there is one thing I take exception to at Five Guys and that is the over-serving of their fabulous French fries. You order a regular order. The fries come in a paper cup, but they also dump a mountain of extra fries in the paper bag your order comes in.

In the years we’ve been going to Five Guys we’ve never come close to finishing an order of fries, even if we’re splitting them. And it pains me to throw them away. Until now. Because I have brilliantly come up with a way to use leftover Five Guys fries.

This occurred when Noah was home and we really over-ordered on the fries – a large order for three of us. My cheap nature told me to bring the leftover fries home and make something out of them. And what I made is the best potato casserole ever.

You start by processing the fries until they are coarsely chopped. And, by the way, you don’t need to do this immediately upon returning home. I had those fries in a Tupperware container in the fridge for two days before I made the casserole and it didn’t make a bit of difference.

At any rate, after you process them, you mix them up with the traditional Southern ingredients of creamed canned soup, sour cream and cheese. Since I always have these three ingredients on hand, I feel like I made this casserole for free, which appeals to my stingy nature enormously. I threw in some green chiles for a little heat, but you could leave them out or substitute diced green pepper.

I think I will have to contact Five Guys corporate offices and tell them of my invention. I believe there should be a reward involved.

Five Guys Potato Casserole

4 cups leftover Five Guys French fries

½ medium onion, diced

2 tablespoons butter

1 can cream of mushroom soup

½ cup sour cream

½ cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

¼ cup chopped mild green chiles

Salt and pepper to taste

Seasoned breadcrumbs

Process French fries in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Saute onion in butter until it starts to brown. Add onions, soup, sour cream, cheese, paprika, chiles to potatoes and combine well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with seasoned breadcrumbs. Bake in a oven-proof dish at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.