Preheat Oven & Grease Pan: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease the bottom and the sides of a 9-inch glass pie dish using a bit of melted butter.

Drain Hash Browns: Thaw the hash browns completely. Drain the shreds well, spreading them on a clean kitchen towel and pressing firmly to remove as much moisture as possible. That is necessary for creating that crunchy golden crust on top.

Combine Filling Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, mix together the well-drained hash browns, sour cream, 1 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese, and melted butter. Make sure the shreds are evenly coated with the filling without overstiring since you want to retain their shreddy texture.

Press Into Shaped Baking Dish: Transfer the filling into the greased glass pie dish. Press the potatoes into an even layer, spreading it smoothly across the interior and pressing to make sure it covers the bottom and goes a bit up the sides.

Add Cheese on Top: Sprinkle the rest of the shredded cheddar on top of the filling. That way, you will get a golden crust as the result.

Bake: Place the dish onto the middle rack of the preheated oven. Bake it for 35–45 minutes, or until the crust becomes golden and crispy, the edges are browned, and the dish starts bubbling at the edges through the glass pan. The exact cooking time may differ depending on your oven, so start checking for readiness at about 30 minutes.

Rest: Let the Cheesy Hash Brown Pie cool for at least 10 minutes after removing from the oven. Allowing the pie to rest will let the filling set up, and you will be able to cut neat wedge-shaped pieces out of the pie.

Slice & Serve: Slice the pie into 6–8 wedges right in the glass dish. Gently loosen the edges around the pie using a thin spatula if needed to cut neat, pretty-looking wedges.