Recipe Makeover: Hash Brown Casserole

The utter simplicity of hash brown casserole makes it a comfort-food star: Homey shredded potatoes get cozy with butter, cream soup, sour cream, and plenty of cheese. It's a workingman's day-starter. But unless you're the wood-chopping type, you likely won't be able to burn off nearly 500 calories of cheesy potatoes by lunch. The challenge: Keep the mighty comfort-filled portion and whack the calorie count.

Classic 
480 calories per serving
19 grams saturated fat
872 milligrams sodium

Makeover
273 calories per serving
4 grams saturated fat
379 milligrams sodium

We simmer and puree fresh mushrooms and garlic with light sour cream to create a silky sauce, replacing canned mushroom soup, heavy sour cream, and butter to save 176 calories and 11.5g sat fat per serving.

Instead of tossing frozen potatoes directly into the dish, we brown them to caramelize the natural sugars and create a crispy crust. Reduced-fat kettle chips top with savory crunch.

Meaty, pan-seared center-cut bacon and earthy mushrooms deliver full savory satisfaction to every bite, allowing us to cut salt in half and save 120mg sodium per serving.