Last Saturday I was a judge at the Utah’s Own Funeral Potato Cookoff at the Downtown Salt Lake Farmer’s Market.
funeral potatoes fyün-rəl pə-ˈtā-tōz : a baked cheesy potato casserole often served at family gatherings and luncheons following funerals.
I know they make similar potato casseroles around the country, but in Utah we jokingly/fondly call them Funeral Potatoes. Utah’s Own and the Salt Lake Ladies Who Lunch teamed up to host this fun event.
I consider myself somewhat of a Funeral Potatoes expert. Not only have I made this delicious comfort food numerous times, I have also help serve it at many funerals and gatherings held at our church. The ladies working in the kitchen are always amazed at the wide variety of funeral potato recipes the members bring, and of course, we often have the opporunity to sneak a little taste.
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The recipe I usually make is one passed down to me from my sister-in-law and they have crushed potato chips on top. The winning recipe at the Utah’s Owns Funeral Potato cookoff used panko crumbs for a crispy topping.
The winning recipe also used homemade cream of chicken soup in her potatoes, which I’m sure added that little bit of extra creamy, deliciousness that took her potatoes to first place. The next time I make funeral potatoes, I’m giving Jessica’s recipe a try. The next time you need to feed a crowd some delicious comfort food, you should try them too.
Here’s Jessica’s winning recipe:
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Utah’s Best Funeral Potatoes
Ingredients
Funeral Potatoes:
- 1 32 oz. package freshly shredded hash browns
- 2 cups cream of chicken soup recipe below or 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
- 2 cups of shredded Monterrey and Cheddar cheese
- 2 cups Meadow Gold Sour Cream
- ½ cup of diced onion
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup of Meadow Gold Unsalted butter divided
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
Cream of Chicken Soup:
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 medium Spanish onion chopped
- 2 stalks celery with leaves, chopped
- 3 medium carrots chopped
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 3 sprigs parsley
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 ¾ cups cooked diced chicken
- 3 cups Meadow Gold heavy cream
- Freshly ground black pepper to tastes
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
Funeral Potatoes:
- Preheat oven to 350º. Melt ½ cup of butter over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until the onion is translucent.
- Remove from heat. Add the hash browns, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, cheese, salt and pepper and combine well. Add additional salt and pepper if necessary.
- Spread the mixture into a 9 x 13 (or similar) dish. Mix the panko with ½ cup melted butter and top the mixture.
- Bake for 40 minutes covered with foil. Uncover and bake for an additional 5- 7 minutes or until golden brown.
Cream of Chicken Soup:
- Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 12 minutes.
- Add the flour and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes more. Pour in the broth and bring to a boil while whisking constantly.
- Tie the parsley springs, thyme, and bay leaf together with a piece of kitchen twine and add to the soup. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat.
- Whisk the heavy cream into the soup and season with pepper to taste. Remove and discard the herb bundle. Divide among soup bowls, sprinkle the top of each bowl with chopped parsley and serve immediately.
teresa
i love that this has homemade cream of chicken soup. i do love a good pan of funeral potatoes!
Kitchen Belleicious
Love potato casserole but never heard it called funeral potatoes. Using Pablo for the crispy topping us genius. I love how comforting these types of dishes are yet full of complex flavor.
Angie's Recipes
What an interesting name for a potato casserole! Looks very tasty!
Katrina
How fun that there is a funeral potato cookoff. I do love them though. We always make them at Easter (and for funerals, of course.) 😉
Arlene
I, too, call them funeral potatoes after reading about them on Allrecipes.com. I’ve been making my own version for years now and they’re as good at dinner as they are at brunch. The casserole dish is always empty (and looks like it was licked clean).
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc
Great looking recipe!
Lori
Oh my does that ever sound good. And that creamy chicken soup recipe sounds equally delicious. I am so making some of that.
Barbara
It would be a good weekend around here for creamy chicken soup. If you make it soon bring some by. 😉
Deb
The Funeral Potatoes look delicious, but here in California I’d have some explaining to do! The name doesn’t match any potato casseroles we are familiar with! LOL Most definitely an excellent pot luck, gathering type of recipe. Your post was fun to read!
Barbara
I don’t know how they get away with calling them that here either, except that most everyone loves them so much.
Paula
This does look like a delicious keeper. Love potatoes…in any way*, shape or form.
*’cept cold potato salad 🙂
Juliana
I never heard of this potato dish…although the title sounds morbid…it looks delicious with cream of chicken and topped with panko.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend Barbara:-)
gloria
I ve never heard of funeral potatoes by I think look delicious! gloria
Heavenly Housewife
I’ve never heard of funeral potatoes before :D. Is it because you eat so many potatoes that you want to die? LOL
Looks fab!
*kisses* HH
Barbara
Maybe it’s because they taste so heavenly? xoxo
Becki @Becki's Whole LIfe
I love funeral potatoes – I think it’s the onion/sour cream mix that does it for me. This recipe sounds great. I give her lots of credit for making her own cream of chicken soup. I bet you are right, it probably adds a lot of creaminess to the dish. Total comfort food here!
Maria
I’ve never liked funeral potatoes, but I know they are a huge hit in Utah. Looks like it was a fun day!
Bonnie
I love funeral potatoes. They are my weakness. This recipe looks wonderful. Thank you and Jessica for sharing it.
Maris (In Good Taste)
You certainly caught my attention with the name, but am pleasatly suprised how good this looks! Fun event!
Kalyn
I’m not sure there is such a thing as *bad* funeral potatoes. And I know what you mean about the different varieties; I’ve noticed that too when they’re served at a funeral lunch. Sounds like a fun contest.
kelley
It’s all about the homemade cream of chicken soup, I’m sure of it. Looks like it was a success! These potatoes sound delicious, congratulations to Jessica!
Megan
It sure sounds comforting! Sounds like it was a fun event!
Rosa
That looks mighty scrumptious! I love the odd name of that dish…
Cheers,
Rosa