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 oz package frozen diced hash browns, (or shredded potatoes)
- 2 cups sour cream
- 1 10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder optional
- 2 – 3 cups corn flakes crushed
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees 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 corn flakes and remaining ¼ cup melted butter in a large resealable plastic bag and shake until cereal is coated.
- Sprinkle buttered corn flakes over potatoes.
- Bake for 42–46 minutes. Serve warm.
We make these for every holiday meal! They are my husband’s favorite. Sometimes we squeeze some ranch in there too because that’s how my husband’s mom made them growing up.
Family favorite
So good. I made minor changes out of necessity. I only had 12 oz of sour cream, so I added 2 oz of heavy whipping cream. I didn’t have Corn Flakes, so I made some bread crumbs from white bread I had in the fridge instead. So good. Thanks for the recipe.
When my step-kids’ mom passed several years ago, we had a memorial at our house for family and friends, but especially for the kids who were 10, 12, and 16. Our friends brought some funeral potatoes, but we decided to call them ‘party potatoes’ because the term funeral potatoes was upsetting to our 10-year old. We still call them party potatoes.
If I triple this recipe do I triple the cook time or no?!? Help!!!!
Are you cooking the tripled recipe in one large dish? If you are making 3 9×13 pans, the cook time will remain the same. If combining it into one large dish, you will certainly need to increase the baking time. It may not need to be tripled. Since everything is already cooked, the oven just heats it all through and melts the cheese. So I’d increase the time and then just check/test it. Once the potatoes are golden and crispy on top and bubbling inside, it’s done! 🙂
Best ever 🤤🤤🤤🤤
Everyone loved this
My dil made these for Christmas…. Fantastic!
This is a great recipe for get-together or Church activity!!!!! Everyone loves this!