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Our family’s favorite Funeral Potatoes Recipe starts with frozen diced potatoes, gets mixed with a simple creamy, cheesy mixture, and then it’s all topped off with buttery Cornflakes. These have an odd name, but they’re a definite favorite!
Okay, it’s true – these potatoes have a rather unfortunate name.
Funeral Potatoes? Sounds…morbid.
But, they’re the ultimate comfort food side dish and we absolutely love all the cheesy, creamy goodness.
Plus, I’m a sucker for any casserole topped with Cornflakes. It just adds the perfect buttery crunch.
This recipe is very similar to my hashbrown casserole, with just a few key changes.
What are funeral potatoes?
Funeral potatoes are just a cheesy potato casserole that is popular in the Midwest and within the LDS church.
I’m not Mormon, but my understanding is that funeral potatoes are often brought to dinners and family gatherings held after a funeral.
These have definitely been served at family gatherings after a funeral in my family, but they’re also served at many holiday dinners and just regular family dinners.
They’re simple, cheesy, and always a hit with family and friends, no matter when you serve them.
Ingredient Notes:
Frozen Diced Hash Browns – We use plain hash browns here, but you could also use the Potatoes O’Brien package, which has onions and peppers added.
Cream of Chicken Soup – A staple in many casseroles. Use my cream of chicken soup if you don’t like the canned stuff. It’s the perfect swap.
Sour Cream – Adds creamy flavor and adds moisture that helps keep the potato casserole from drying out.
Melted Butter – Added to the both the potatoes and the topping.
Seasonings – We use garlic powder, onion powder, and salt.
Cheddar Cheese – Freshly shredded is best for the ultimate creamy cheesy melt, but pre-shredded works too.
Corn Flakes – This cereal gets mixed with some butter to make a perfectly crunchy and buttery topping for the funeral potatoes!
What We Love About This Recipe:
- It’s pure comfort food!
- The buttery and crunchy corn flake topping is hard to resist!
- It’s an easy casserole recipe that you can prepare ahead of time.
How to Make Funeral Potatoes:
Combine: We love how quick and simple this cheesy casserole recipe is. Add all of the creamy, cheesy bits to a mixing bowl and give it a stir. Next, stir in the potatoes. Add this to a 9×13 pan.
Top: Add cornflakes to a small bowl and drizzle with melted butter. Stir it around to coat and then spoon the cornflakes over the cheesy potatoes.
Bake: This goes in a 350 degree oven, uncovered, for 55 minutes or until the cheesy hashbrown casserole is hot and bubbly.
Helpful Tip!
Recipe Swaps
- Cheddar cheese may be swapped for any cheese you like, but cheddar is definitely the classic.
- The diced hash browns can be swapped for shredded. We prefer the texture of diced, but both work well!
- Use Ritz crackers, potato chips, or Panko crumbs in place of the cornflakes, if preferred.
Thawed Vs. Frozen Potatoes
Many people prefer to thaw their frozen diced hash browns before adding them to this casserole.
Personally, I don’t notice much difference in the taste or texture of thawed vs. frozen, so we normally skip that step.
If I think about it, I’ll place the frozen potatoes in the fridge the night before cooking them, but if I don’t remember, no one knows the difference.
Make Ahead:
This funeral potatoes recipe can easily be made in advance.
Assemble the casserole, but skip the cornflake topping. Cover with foil and refrigerate for 1-2 days until you’re ready to bake.
Remove the foil, add the cornflake topping, and bake as directed.
FAQs:
Leftover funeral potatoes will last for 3 to 4 days in the fridge if they are well covered!
Nope! We love the buttery cornflake flavor it adds, but you can skip it if you don’t like the crunch or the flavor. You can also swap it for something else like Panko.
If you want to use homemade hashbrowns you can. But the frozen kind from the store work perfectly, and they are easy!
Leftover Hack!
Slice smoked sausage into rounds and sear in a hot skillet. Add to your leftover funeral potatoes, cover with foil, and bake until it’s all heated through for a quick lunch using the leftovers.
Make It a Meal!
Pair this with…
- Spiral Ham in Crockpot
- Turkey Meatloaf
- Air Fryer Brats
- Jiffy Corn Casserole
- Keto Broccoli Casserole
- Green Bean Casserole with Bacon
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Homemade Brownies
Funeral Potatoes
Ingredients
For the potatoes:
- 16 ounces sour cream
- 10 ounces cream of chicken soup
- 2 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 32 ounces frozen diced hash browns
For the topping:
- 2 cups corn flakes cereal
- ¼ cup melted butter
Instructions
To make the potatoes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 baking dish.
- Add the sour cream, cream of chicken soup, shredded cheddar, butter, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt to a large mixing bowl and stir well to combine.
- Stir in the potatoes to coat.
- Spread into the prepared baking dish.
To make the topping:
- Add the cornflakes and melted butter to a small bowl and stir to combine.
- Sprinkle the cornflakes over the potatoes and place dish in the oven.
To bake:
- Bake, uncovered, for 50-55 minutes or until potatoes are tender and dish is hot and bubbly.
Betsy Welsh says
Delicious!!!x a million!
Debbie says
Great recipe! Quick and easy prep and very tasty. A great “comfort food.”? I made it for Easter, and it was a big hit!
Karly Campbell says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks, Debbie!
Lisa Linhares says
I loved this! However I had some scallions and added bacon. The topping I used panko and a bag of crushed fried onions! Yummy!
Karly Campbell says
Oh, that sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Marcy says
These were really good but too much for just the two of us. Can the leftovers be frozen?
Karly says
Hi Marcy! Glad you enjoyed the recipe! We haven’t tried freezing these, but I do think they’d freeze just fine. 🙂
Carla says
Why not try to include some gluten-free recipe in that way you would increase the number of people enjoying your site? I do recall that your son was gluten intolerant, so you must have some recipes that you fix for him?
Karly says
As I have said to you over and over again, my son is not gluten intolerant and I will not be creating gluten free recipes to share here as I have zero experience with it.
Carla says
Could you please give me a gluten-free version of this recipe?
Thanking you in advance
Glenn says
Haven’t prepared the recipe yet, but can guarantee they will be the best potatoes I’ve ever savored.
Cecilia M Pryjomski says
I have been making these potatoes since the 1970s. It was one of my mother’s recipes. And it was simply called CHEESY POTATOES. They are not called Funeral Potatoes
Karly says
Hi Cecilia! There are different names regionally. They may not be called Funeral Potatoes in your home, but that doesn’t make it true across the nation. 🙂
Cecilia M Pryjomski says
I totally understand that, Karly. It’s just interesting how an old recipe can be renamed to whatever you want it to be named when the original name was simply CHEESY POTATOES!
Carla says
I keep asking Karly for gluten-free recipes, to no avail. I can modify Karly’s recipes as I have cooked, first for myself and then my family and more recently just for my husband and me for nearly 64 years.
Karly says
Hi Carla – As I’ve always replied, we don’t have any experience with gluten free recipes. Our website doesn’t focus on special diets and we have no intent of changing that. Most of our audience is not interested in gluten free recipes and it’s not something I personally cook in my home, so it just isn’t something you’ll be seeing on our site. There are loads of amazing gluten free bloggers out there that have tried and tested recipes you may love though! It does seem like you come here and just get disappointed again and again, so I’m not sure why you don’t seek out a gluten free blog so that you can find recipes that suit your needs.
Merlene Hurst says
What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet. I have known this dish by several names including: Funeral Potatoes, Cheesy Potato Casserole, Yummy Potatoes, “That” Potato Casserole, Mormon Potatoes . . . . A potato by any other name would taste just as delicious!
Penny says
I love, love, love this recipe!! I have been looking for it for awhile, so I was happy to see this email.
Karly says
So glad you found it, Penny!
Lynn Calloway says
Southern girl here. I’m in my 60’s and I’ve always known these as Funeral potatoes.