Funeral Potatoes
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When you bake hash browns combined with creamy chicken soup, sour cream, and cheese and then top them with some crunchy cornflakes, what you’ve got is Funeral Potatoes! It’s a delicious cheesy potato casserole that is super easy to make and sure to become your new favorite go to party pleaser!
What Are Funeral Potatoes?
This sinfully good creation has its roots in the Midwest and Intermountain of the United States. And just as the name suggests, Funeral Potatoes are commonly served after funerals because it’s an easy casserole that is both comforting and delicious.
However, of course, this cheesy potato dish is also served all the time at potlucks and parties. People love it! I mean, who doesn’t love creamy cheesy potatoes!?! It’s an indulgent combination and this dish is almost like the hash brown casserole version of my Cheesy Mashed Potatoes with Bacon, yet with a crunchy topping and no bacon.
But you can add meat to it if you like. Some people add bacon, ham, or sausage. Or, just serve it alongside Air Fryer Steak or Grilled Chicken. Funeral potatoes are also wonderful served for breakfast with some eggs. It’s a versatile recipe so feel free to be as creative as you like.
Why You’ll Love This Funeral Potatoes Recipe
- Easy Recipe! This simple recipe is made with just a few basic ingredients, requires very little prep, and basically bakes itself right in the oven.
- Creamy Cheesy Potatoes! Potatoes and melted cheese are a match made in yummy heaven. Then top them with a crunchy buttery topping and it’s next level deliciousness.
- Crowd Pleaser! Your guests will love funeral potatoes. You can serve them any time of year and they are perfect side dish for holiday dinners, potlucks and family gatherings.
- Hash Browns – You need a bag of frozen hash browns to make this easy recipe.
- Salt – Potatoes always need a dash of salt to season them or they are bland.
- Black Pepper – Regular ground black pepper is perfect.
- Butter – Always use unsalted butter to control the amount of added salt. But if you don’t have any unsalted on hand, you will need to cut back on the amount of salt you add to the recipe or even omit it.
- Onion – I like to use brown onion or yellow onion for the most flavor.
- Cream of Chicken Soup – Used to make the potatoes nice and creamy, any brand will work or you can make your own. You can also use cream of mushroom soup or cream of celery soup if you prefer.
- Sour Cream – Helps to make the dish even more creamy and adds a nice tang to cut the richness.
- Cheddar Cheese – Makes the funeral potatoes cheesy good! You can use any kind of cheddar you like.
- Corn Flakes – This recipe would not be complete without its crunchy topping made out of crushed cornflakes. You can also use potato chips or ritz crackers if you like, but they do not need to be mixed with butter.
Because this recipe is made with frozen hash browns, it doesn’t take much effort at all! It’s pretty much just a matter of combining all the ingredients together and then baking them into a pan of cheesy potato deliciousness with a crunchy topping!
Preheat The Oven
To start, get your oven hot and ready to go before you even begin the recipe. The dish will not cook as well if the oven is not hot enough before you put the potatoes in to bake. So preheat your oven to 350°F (176°C) and then move on to the next step.
Make The Potato Mixture
While the oven is heating up, add the thawed hash browns along with ½ cup of the melted butter, salt, pepper, chopped onions, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and shredded cheddar cheese to a large bowl. Then stir everything together until it is well combined. You really want to make sure that the potatoes are evenly coated with all the ingredients.
Now, transfer the mixture into a 9×13-inch baking dish and spread it evenly.
Top And Bake The Potaoes
Now, you need to make the crunchy corn flake topping! So mix the crushed corn flakes together with the remaining butter in a small bowl. Then sprinkle the crushed corn flake mixture over the potatoes in the baking dish. Transfer the funeral potatoes to the oven and bake them for about one hour or until golden brown on top and bubbly.
Can I Use Frozen Hash Browns?
The potatoes need to be defrosted for this recipe. If the hash browns are frozen they will add too much liquid to the casserole and can make it soupy. So make sure to thaw them out before making this dish.
Can I Add Other Ingredients To The Potatoes?
Yes, of course! This potato casserole recipe is really versatile, so you can add anything you like to the dish. Chopped jalapeños are a nice addition for a little spice or bacon for some salty goodness. You can also switch up the cheese if you like or type of cream soup.
Expert Tips
- Melt the butter. The butter needs to be fully melted, not just soft for it to properly mix with the other ingredients.
- Don’t over-bake the casserole. Set a timer to make sure that you don’t forget about the funeral potatoes in the oven. You want them to be browned but not burnt.
- Make it vegetarian. To make this recipe completely meat-free, use cream of mushroom soup or cream of celery soup in place of the cream of chicken soup.
Storage
These cheesy potatoes will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in an airtight container. To reheat, put them in the microwave for a few minutes on medium heat or in the oven at 350°F (176°C) for about 10 minutes.
Make Ahead
You can easily make this casserole recipe ahead of time. All you have to do is just make the potato mixture but don’t top it with the corn flakes. Then wrap the baking dish in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Then when you are ready to serve, top the casserole with the crushed corn flake topping and bake it as instructed in the recipe.
Other Delicious Potato Recipes To Try
- Air Fryer French Fries
- Mashed Potatoes
- Irish Potato Cakes (Potato Farls)
- Roasted Baby Potatoes
- Potatoes Au Gratin
- Zucchini Potato Bake
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Ingredients
- 30 ounces frozen hash browns (thawed)
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper (or to taste)
- ¾ cup butter (unsalted, melted (12 tablespoons))
- 1 medium onion (chopped)
- 10.5 ounces cream of chicken soup (1 can)
- 2 cups sour cream
- 2 cups cheddar cheese (shredded)
- 2 cups corn flakes (crushed)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Add the thawed hash browns, ½ cup of the melted butter, salt, pepper, onions, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, cheddar cheese and mix until well combined.
- Transfer the hash browns mixture to a 9×13-inch baking dish and spread it evenly.
- Mix the crushed corn flakes together with the remaining butter in a small bowl.
- Sprinkle the cornflake mixture over the potatoes evenly. Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake for 1 hour until bubbly and golden brown.
Equipment
Notes
- Melt the butter. The butter needs to be fully melted, not just soft for it to properly mix with the other ingredients.
- Don’t over-bake the casserole. Set a timer to make sure that you don’t forget about the funeral potatoes in the oven. You want them to be browned but not burnt.
- Make it vegetarian. To make this recipe completely meat-free, use cream of mushroom soup or cream of celery soup in place of the cream of chicken soup.
- These cheesy potatoes will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Goes right along with my Funeral Lasagna
That’s funny, they used to be called Heavenly Hash browns. Like that better.
My sis in law used to make this for my brother and I had it while visiting them long ago. I had forgotten about it so thank you so much, Jo! This is so tasty and rich and difficult to have just one serving! Great for leftovers, too.
My pleasure. 🙂
This recipe is a classic! You can change it up a bit by substituting French onion dip for the sour cream.
Yes, absolutely!
This is an old Southern recipe that was passed to me by my grandmother 40 years ago. A few things I’ve tweaked over the years: I sautée the onions first in a bit of olive oil and butter, I don’t completely thaw the hash browns, and it’s because treated more as a holiday dish, we splurge with the topping by using buttered Ritz crackers instead of corn flakes. It’s absolutely one of my favorite things to make. I’m so glad to see it out there. Never called it Funeral Potatoes though. 😉
I would like to try this recipe so I was wondering what kind of hash brown potatoes did you use?
I have never bought hash browns and the store has different kinds, are they shredded, or little cubes or bigger?
Thanks, I enjoy all your postings and several are on my favourite list.
The ones I used, because that’s all I found at my grocery store, are the ones that are in little cubes, but the shredded ones will work too, even the bigger cubes, it doesn’t really matter.
Instead of thawing 30 ounces of frozen hash browns, can I use 30 ounces of Simply Potatoes Shredded Hash Browns that are not frozen?
Yep, they should work perfectly.