This Funeral Potatoes Recipe is a delicious, cheesy potato dish similar to au gratin potatoes. Don't let the name bother you, though! This dish is for more than just funerals. It's an affordable, easy-to-make side dish for holiday meals, potlucks, game day parties, or weekend brunch.
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There is something so nostalgic and cozy about a scoop of cheesy, creamy potatoes with crispy topping. This is the best funeral potatoes recipe, hands down. Make it to serve with dinner or as part of a delectable brunch.
If you love potatoes, you're also going to love my oven roasted potatoes recipe, these cheesy twice baked potatoes, and our my best ever garlic mashed potatoes recipe.
Why You'll Love This Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole
- Easy to Make: Cheesy potatoes with frozen hash browns only take an hour to make and are super straightforward, especially when you use hash browns that are already finely cut.
- Budget-Friendly: This funeral potato recipe is made with simple pantry-ready ingredients and is an inexpensive way to feed a crowd.
- The Ultimate Comfort Food: Shredded potato casserole has an indulgent, cheesy, buttery flavor and that perfect crunch from the cornflakes on top.
Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter: There's plenty of butter in these cheesy funeral potatoes, making them rich and luxurious. Use unsalted butter to avoid them becoming oversalted.
- Cream of Chicken Soup: Creamy soup helps make the base for this dish. It's an easy pantry staple and super tasty. Feel free to use cream of mushroom or celery soup if you prefer.
- Sour Cream and Cream Cheese: The creamy texture is part of what makes these cheesy hashbrown potatoes so decadent. You could also use full-fat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.
- Grated Yellow Onion: The little bit of yellow onion also makes the flavors robust, savory, and unforgettable. Grate it so that it fades into the background providing flavor without being too chunky.
- Cheddar Cheese: Melted cheddar cheese gives you the perfect gooey texture. You could also substitute a different cheese like Colby, Colby Jack, Monterey Jack, or mozzarella.
- Frozen Shredded or Cubed Hash Browns: Using a bag of frozen shredded hash browns is what makes this recipe so easy and quick. The potatoes work beautifully whether you use shredded or cubed.
- Corn Flakes: We love corn flakes for the crispy crunch on top of the funeral potato casserole.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations
- Vegetarian Version: You can easily make this dish vegetarian by swapping cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup for the cream of chicken.
- Change the Topping: Instead of corn flakes, you could also top this with crunchy kettle potato chips, crumbled Ritz crackers, Panko bread crumbs, crispy fried onions, or crushed croutons.
- Add Meat: Throw in some shredded rotisserie chicken, diced ham, or bacon crumbles to make this comfort food even more comforting.
- Tex-Mex Version: You could add ground beef, sauteed red pepper and onion, and a small can of green chilies.
How to Make Funeral Potatoes
The night before you make this recipe for funeral potatoes, pull the hash browns out of the freezer and let them thaw in the fridge overnight. Before preparing, be sure to preheat your oven to 350°F and coat your baking dish with cooking spray before assembling.
- Step 1: Make the Base. Mix together ½ cup melted butter, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, cream cheese, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion.
- Step 2: Add the Hash Browns and Cheese. Mix everything until it's evenly combined, then dump it into the prepared casserole dish.
- Step 3: Prepare and Add the Cornflakes. Crush the cornflakes in a large freezer bag. You want the pieces a bit smaller than regular corn flakes but not too finely crushed. Add ¼ cup of melted butter and mix until they're evenly coated. Sprinkle them over the potatoes.
- Step 4: Bake. Bake the cheesy hashbrowns uncovered for 40-45 minutes until the potatoes are bubbling and golden brown. Serve hot!
Hint: Grate Your Own Cheese
Freshly grated cheese is so yummy! And it melts really well. If you have time, buy a block of cheese and grate it yourself instead of buying the bag.
Expert Tips
- Thawing the Hash Browns Before Assembling: Be sure to let the frozen hash browns thaw fully before mixing them with other ingredients to prepare the casserole. Otherwise excess moisture can lead to the dish being soggy.
- Grate the Onion Finely: Using a fine grater for the onion can help you create small onion pieces that mix in well and that even picky eaters won't notice.
- If You Like Extra Crispy Crust: You could brown the topping under the broiler for the final minute. Just keep a close eye on it so it doesn't burn.
Storage Directions
- Storing: Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 2-3 months.
- Reheating: Reheat the dish in the microwave on medium heat for 30-60 second intervals until it is heated through.
- Making Ahead: You can make this funeral potatoes recipe ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking. When you're ready to enjoy it, just pop it in the oven to bake, adding a few extra minutes since it's cold inside.
Serving Suggestions
This Funeral Potatoes Recipe works on a regular day when you're craving comfort food, or you can bring them to a potluck, family reunion, funeral, or dinner with friends. Cheesy hashbrowns make an excellent side dish for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!
- This dish makes an awesome side dish for an everyday dinner like smoked meatloaf, chicken and gravy, steak, or pork chops.
- Serve at Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter alongside sausage stuffing, brown sugar baked ham, lamb, or prime rib.
- For the best brunch, pair a cheesy hashbrown casserole with hashbrown breakfast casserole (another one of our favorite potato casserole recipes), sausage and gravy, bacon, and fruit.
More Delicious Side Dishes
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Funeral Potatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 14.5 ounces cream of chicken soup
- 1 ½ cups sour cream
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ cup yellow onion grated
- 2 cups cheddar cheese
- 32 ounces package frozen shredded or cubed hash browns thawed
- 2 ½ cups corn flakes crushed
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Thaw hashbrowns in the refrigerator overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and prepare a 9x13 baking dish by coating it with a nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine ½ cup melted butter, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, cream cheese, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion. Mix until well combined.
- Add hashbrowns and cheese. Mix until well combined and place in prepared baking dish.
- Crush the cornflakes in a large freezer bag. Add ¼ cups of melted butter and mix until coated. Then sprinkle over the hashbrown mixture.
- Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes.
Notes
- Make sure your frozen hash browns have defrosted fully in the fridge overnight. If they're still icy, the casserole can turn out watery instead of creamy.
- Grate your own cheese if possible. It gives the best creamy, cheesy, gooey texture.
- Cornflakes are a classic topping for this recipe but feel free to swap in crushed potato chips, Ritz crackers, or panko bread crumbs if you want.
- You can assemble everything up to 2 days ahead of time and store in the fridge before baking.
- Adding in ham or bacon makes this an even heartier dish with more protein.
Nutrition
*All nutrition information provided is automatically calculated and is an estimate and will vary based on ingredients, brands, and changes in cooking methods listed in the recipe. If you need exact numbers on your ingredients, I would recommend calculating them with your prefered nutrition calculator.
Ryan Allen
These are so good and go perfect with the holiday ham.
Tani
Can I use non frozen potatoes I shared myself?
Ryan Allen
Yes, this recipe works great with potatoes you shred yourself.
Julie smith
Can I put it all together and freeze it?
Ryan Allen
Yes, you can freeze them. Just don't add the cornflake topping until you are ready to bake them.