Funeral Potatoes – A Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole

Funeral potatoes are the perfect comfort food – a hot,  creamy, cheesy, delicious, hash brown casserole with a crispy, salty topping that feeds a crowd. 

I was recently asked to bring funeral potatoes to a luncheon for a sweet family in my neighborhood after a beautiful service for their loved one. A few days after the luncheon I received the following email:

Sue and Debbie and I are sitting here in presidency meeting and they are raving about your funeral potatoes. So we looked it up on your site and can’t find that recipe…. Have you put it online somewhere? We want it! We must have it! Help us out!

With a fun request like that, how could I resist posting my recipe. So this week I made another pan for my family, so I could share them with you.

Over the years, I’ve tweaked my funeral potato recipe so they’re easy to make, really flavorful, not too soupy, and not too dry, just rich and creamy. I prefer using cream of mushroom soup but since so many others use cream of chicken soup in their potatoes, I add concentrated chicken base to the mushroom soup for the best of both worlds.

Funeral potatoes are usually topped with a crispy topping, often crackers, corn flakes, or potato chips. I grew up eating them topped with potato chips, but the winner of the Utah’s Best Funeral Potatoes used panko bread crumbs, and they stayed crisp longer. So I decided to combine crispy panko crumbs with salty potato chips, for what I think is the perfect topping.

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t enjoy a big scoop of these luscious potatoes, so ignore the name and enjoy them the next time you’re feeding a crowd, or you’re in need of a little comfort food.

Update: Kristen, from Dine and Dish, shared these potatoes on her Facebook page, and said funeral potatoes are one of her favorite foods, but she calls them party potatoes. I love that idea. I think I’ll call them party potatoes now too.

Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole (Funeral Potatoes)

Yield: 12 servings

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 tablespoon chicken base
• 1 pint (16 ounces) sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 2 packages (20 ounce) fresh shredded hash brown potatoes
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated

Topping

• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup crushed potato chips
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a blender, pulse butter, onion, cream of mushroom soup, and chicken base several times to chop onion. Add sour cream, milk, salt and pepper, and pulse just until almost smooth. Stir in dried parsley.

In a very large bowl, combine the hash browns and cheddar cheese. Add the cream sauce and stir until it’s well combined. Pour into 9×13 pan and smooth the top.

Prepare topping: Mix panko crumbs, potato chips and melted butter in a Ziploc bag until well combined. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the casserole.

Bake uncovered for 1 hour until the sauce is bubbling and the topping is golden brown.