Family-favorite Funeral Potatoes casserole is creamy, cheesy, and crispy on top. It’s perfect for dinners and holidays!
Funeral Potatoes are the perfect side dish for large gatherings, parties, and holidays. If you like cheesy potatoes, you’ll probably like scalloped potatoes, or loaded mashed potatoes.
what are funeral potatoes?
There are certain side dishes that have to be made on Thanksgiving in our family. Some of those include my aunt’s super yummy Ham, my mom’s famous rolls, and several side dishes, including Funeral Potatoes (also known as Cheesy Potato Casserole).
We do have Classic Mashed Potatoes as well, but we always have at least two pans of Funeral Potatoes. Usually one has onions in it, and the other one does not (for us picky folk).
Why are they called Funeral Potatoes? Because this dish has become a staple at funeral luncheons. They’re a an easy dish to feed a crowd! Which means they are great to have for holiday dinners, potlucks, and family gatherings year round as well!
I’m not going to lie… I sometimes crave these more than the regular mashed potatoes, BUT having said that I usually have both on Thanksgiving, because I’m just a potato lover!! 😀
How to Make Funeral Potatoes
PREP. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place your potatoes in a colander. Let them sit until thawed and drained.
MIX. Combine sour cream, soup and butter in a large bowl. Mix it well. Add salt, onion and cheese to this mixture and stir until all combined.
LAYER. Add potatoes to mixture and stir until all combined. Place in 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle on butter covered crushed Corn Flakes.
BAKE + SERVE. Bake uncovered at 350°F for 40-50 minutes.
Want to use Fresh Potatoes? No prob! Just peel and cube (small cubes) about 6-7 medium potatoes. Add potato cubes to a large pot and cover with cold water. Add a dash of salt and bring water to a boil. Once boiling, cook for 1-2 minutes. Drain potatoes and allow to cool to room temp before adding the cubes to the cream mixture.
funeral potato variations
There are so many ways to change this up!
- Toppings. We think corn flakes work the best, but you can also use Panko, bread crumbs, Lays Potato Chips, or even crushed Ritz crackers. Most kind of crackers will do, but Ritz works best if you are going that route.
- Potatoes. Use shredded hashbrowns – we have a similar recipe using them for Hash Brown Casserole.
- Crock Pot. We like this version in the oven, but we do have a Slow Cooker Cheesy Potatoes recipe we love!
Cheesy Potato tips
Make funeral potatoes ahead of time. Make them as the recipe says, but don’t add the cornflake topping or butter. When you’re ready to bake, thaw in the fridge overnight. Add the butter and cornflake topping and bake as directed!
FREEZE. Make this to the point where you pour the potatoes into the dish. Do not add the cornflakes and instead cover with foil and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let thaw in fridge overnight and then add the cornflakes before baking. We also recommend making them in a disposable dish pan if you are planning to freeze.
STORE. Place the potatoes in an air-tight container and leave in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, just place on a plate and reheat in the microwave until heated through.
Make for a LARGE crowd. Funeral potatoes are a great dish to make for a crowd! If you want to make this recipe for 50 or more people – just triple the recipe or more. This recipe serves about 16 people. Make sure you have a few 9×13 pans lying around to bake all the potatoes in! Or better yet – buy large disposable pans to bake them in.
Serving Suggestions
If you’ve ever had these Cheesy Potatoes, then I’m sure you know just how yummy they really are. The best part is that you can add ingredients like bacon bits or even a few veggies to make them just how you’d like them. 🙂
What to serve with Funeral Potatoes?
Here are some of our favs…
For more potato recipes, check out:
- Twice Baked Potato Casserole
- Sweet Potato Casserole recipe
- Favorite Mashed Potatoes
- Twice Baked Potatoes
- Cheesy Mashed Potato Casserole
- Ham And Potato Casserole
- Crockpot Cheesy Potatoes
- Crockpot Hashbrown Casserole
- Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole
COLLECTIONS: Thanksgiving Sides
Funeral Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 32-ounce package frozen diced hash browns, (or shredded potatoes)
- 2 cups sour cream
- 1 10.5-ounce can cream of chicken soup
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder optional
- 2-3 cups corn flakes crushed
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place hash browns in a colander and let sit until fully thawed and drained.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine sour cream, soup, and ½ cup butter and mix well.
- Add cheese, salt, and onion powder and mix until well combined.
- Add potatoes to cheese mixture and stir until combined. Place in a lightly greased 9-x-13-inch baking dish.
- Combine cornflakes and the remaining ¼ cup melted butter in a large resealable plastic bag and shake until cereal is coated.
- Sprinkle buttered cornflakes over potatoes.
- Bake for 42–46 minutes. Serve warm.
Funeral Potatoes are the best. Great for a crowd.
I think so too!! Glad you think that! Thank you!
these are the best taste great for cookouts and left overs are delish
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Comforting and delicious, everyone loves them! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed the potatoes!
Great dish to feed a large family gathering. Tastes great
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Best potato casserole. Always asked for by my family. Just the right amount of potatoes, cheese and crunch with a creamy sauce.
Love love love!
I love the funeral potato casserole. We serve it a lot where I’m from. It is popular there in Louisiana. Thank you for sharing this and all recipes that you share. Love your web page. You have a beautiful family too.
Thank you so much!! I’m so glad to have you here on the site. Happy to hear you enjoy the funeral potatoes too! 🙂
Great recipe! I have a question — has anyone tried adding more than 1 can of soup to up the creaminess? Maybe 1 1/2 cans? Some recipes call for double the sour cream but I have folks that do not love sour cream in my family and I’m afraid that would make it too tangy. Any suggestions would be welcome!
How can I make it without using cream of chicken soup? The stuff they put in there is gross.
You could probably search online for a homemade cream of chicken soup. Then just use that in place of the canned soup.
Any creamed soup will work. Cream of potato, mushroom, onion, celery … I’ve used them all. All perfect!
I just made these for Easter they were a big hit. I added an extra can of cheddar cheese soup and 4 green onions chopped. Thanks so much.
Our family loves these!
What happens if you forgot to thaw the potatoes? I got into a hurry
The best funeral potatoes ever. The ratio of everything is perfect.