Rich, cheesy and creamy hash brown potatoes topped with buttery cornflakes and baked until golden and crispy! Perfect for any dinner, holiday or potluck, and guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser. With make ahead directions and an alternate “no canned soup” version, this side dish has something for everyone!
Having a potluck or cookout? Be sure to check out my Perfect Potato Salad, Raspberry Fluff Jello Salad, and Fizzy Pineapple Punch recipes!
CHEESY POTATO CASSEROLE
Do you have one of those go-to side dishes? A dish that no matter the occasion, it’s perfect for? That everyone… both kids and adults, love? I have a few, and this is totally one of them.
There are many versions of this dish, and it goes by a variety of names, but it’s beloved by all!
HOW TO MAKE FUNERAL POTATOES
To start making this cheesy potato casserole, grab a bag of thawed hash brown potatoes. You CAN make this using frozen potatoes, but the texture won’t be as smooth.
In a big mixing bowl, mix up the melted butter, cream of chicken soup and sour cream. Add your seasonings, hash brown potatoes, and cheese. Give it a big stir then transfer it to a greased baking dish. Top the casserole with some additional shredded cheese.
Toss some lightly crushed cornflakes with some more melted butter, then scatter on the top. Bake, enjoy, and get ready to come back for seconds!
THE NAMES
In some parts of the US, these potatoes are called “funeral potatoes”, and in other parts, they’re simply called cheesy potato casserole.
From what I can gather, the “funeral” part of the name comes from this side dish being a popular dish to serve at a post-funeral lunch or wake, as they’re pure comfort food, easy to prepare ahead of time, and will feed a lot of people.
TYPES OF POTATOES FOR CHEESY POTATO CASSEROLE
There are two main camps when it comes to the type of potato used in this potato casserole; diced or shredded.
Personally, I like it both ways, but I tend to gravitate towards the diced version. I like the extra texture.
Generally I pick up a bag of frozen hash brown potatoes, but sometimes I’ll go for the variety that has diced onions and/or peppers.
You can bake these funeral potatoes using frozen potatoes, but for the best texture, thaw them out in the refrigerator first!
MAKING FUNERAL POTATOES AHEAD FOR A PARTY
As with most casseroles, this potato casserole is perfect to make ahead of time! Just assemble the casserole, leaving off the cornflake topping, cover with foil and refrigerate 1-2 days.
Let the baking dish sit on the counter while the oven preheats, add the topping, and bake as directed. You may find you need to add an extra 10 minutes or so if the dish is still pretty cold when you add it to the oven.
FREEZING FUNERAL POTATO CASSEROLE
Pulling a fully assembled casserole out of the freezer is like finding a $20 bill in your pocket. You just feel so together and prepared, plus… there’s way less work to do!
You can definitely freeze these funeral potatoes, just don’t add the topping. I like to use an aluminum pan (those disposable ones), and cover it really well, at least 2 sheets of foil. You can freeze this casserole for about 2-3 months.
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, add the topping, then bake as directed, adding 10-15 minutes if needed.
USING CONDENSED SOUPS
Whew. This is a hot button issue isn’t it? Some people use them all the time, and some are vehemently opposed to them. Personally, we use them about half the time.
This recipe, in it’s traditional form, uses cream of chicken soup, but I’ve added an alternative version (right below the recipe card) that uses NO “cream of” soups.
I’ve got ya covered 😉
TOPPING OPTIONS FOR FUNERAL POTATOES
My favorite part of these cheesy potatoes isn’t the creaminess, the cheese, or the actual potatoes… it’s the buttery, crunchy topping! I allllways go for the crunchy topping, of anything and everything.
My version uses cornflakes tossed with melted butter (mmm so good!), but here are some other alternatives.
- Coarsely crushed Ritz crackers with melted butter
- French Fried Onions
- Buttered panko
- Just a layer of cheese on top
WHAT GOES WELL WITH CHEESY POTATO CASSEROLE
I mostly think about making this casserole for holiday meals or potlucks, even though it could absolutely be used as a side dish for a family dinner. Here are some of my favorite main course recipes to serve with this potato casserole.
- Copycat HoneyBaked Ham
- Shredded Italian Beef (slow cooker meal)
- Ginger Honey Glazed Pork Tenderloin
- Slow Cooker Rotisserie-Style Chicken
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 cups sour cream
- 10 oz can cream of chicken soup
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 32 oz frozen diced hash brown potatoes, thawed
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I prefer medium or sharp)
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
TOPPING
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 3 cups cornflake cereal, lightly crushed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease a 9x13 or 3 quart baking dish and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add 1/2 cup melted butter, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and smoked paprika. Stir well.
- Add in thawed hash brown potatoes and the cheddar cheese and stir well to combine.
- Transfer to prepared baking dish, and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine 1/4 cup melted butter and cornflakes, stirring well. Spread evenly over the top of the casserole.
- Bake uncovered, 45-50 minutes, until hot and bubbly and cornflakes are golden brown.
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Chef Tips
NO CONDENSED SOUP VERSION
Omit the cream of chicken soup and melted butter.- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream
MAKE AHEAD DIRECTIONS
Assemble casserole WITHOUT the cornflake topping, cover tightly, then refrigerate for 1-2 days or freeze for up to 2-3 months. Thaw, if frozen, then bake as directed, adding 10-15 minutes to the cook time.Video
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Andrea says
Really excited to try these for Christmas Eve dinner. How do you think they would reheat if I made them in advance and then reheated after we get home from Mass? Want them to be hot but don’t want to wait the full time after mass with hungry kiddos. Or do you think they would be good in the crockpot without the topping? Thanks!
The Chunky Chef says
I think this recipe reheats well, but I haven’t tried it in the slow cooker, so I can’t say how well that would work. I feel like it would be fine though 🙂
Eileen says
can these potatoes be made ahead
The Chunky Chef says
Please see the section of the post titled “making funeral potatoes ahead for a party”.
Nikki Gregory says
Great comfort food!! Made it for a baptism and was so delicious.
Andrea says
I made this today. Super delicious! My only problem is that the potatoes are still a bit hard. I’m 99% sure it’s because I put the dish in the fridge for a couple hours and didn’t let it properly come to room temperature. Do you agree?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, that’s likely the culprit 🙂
Patric Nissen says
I’ve made these for years!! We used to make for church potlucks. Nowadays, we really like these as a meal by adding shredded/chopped chicken, or like today (two days after Thanksgiving), shredded/chopped turkey! And, these are GREAT as leftovers for breakfast…warm them up, put them on a flour tortilla, add some salsa, and you have a perfect breakfast burrito!
Jake says
Be careful doubling, i made 3 trays of double batches for a large graduation party that was basically cheesy potato soup. I baked it for 90 minutes trying to get it to firm up but finally had to give up or the corn flakes were going to be black. Reasonably tasty recipe otherwise.
Megan says
Made this tonight and it was a big hit! Made chicken apple sausage to go with it and together they were so yummy
Kathy says
I’m making ahead of time. Do I bake before I freeze them or just mix together and freeze?
The Chunky Chef says
All the freezing instructions and tips are found in the post in the section titled, “freezing funeral potato casserole”.
Meg says
Who doesn’t love Cheesy Potatoes?! 🤤🥰 I am going to try making your No Condensed Soup version today for thanksgiving on Thursday.
My ‘secret ingredient’ for cheesy potatoes casserole is the topping: I like to use either Sour Cream & Onion OR Cheddar & Sour Cream Chips, pulverize them in a ziploc bag and then mix some melted butter in. Sprinkle this mixture generously over the top and rake in the compliments!! Seriously! Everyone loves these potatoes, especially with that topping.
Thanks for the ideas
Stacy says
I’m planning to make these for Thanksgiving. I haven’t thawed the potatoes yet but just curious if you drain any water first once thawed. TIA
The Chunky Chef says
I don’t notice I have much water, but if you do, then yes I would drain them 🙂
Michelle says
Hi! I’m making these for Easter tomorrow. I used the frozen shredded potatoes and simply set them out at room temp (still bagged) to thaw while I prepped a separate dish. Everything combined really well, I’d say they were still pretty cold and barely stiff/almost frozen (not completely squishy potatoes like if I would’ve thawed them longer) but based off of what I did, would you be concerned about bacteria or food poisoning, etc? I read after-the-fact that it’s best to thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and I’m just worried since that’s not what I did. 🙁 Thanks for your help!
Michelle says
P.s. I set them out at room temp for just under an hour. Not a super long time if that’s helpful to know.
The Chunky Chef says
I wouldn’t worry about it, since you’ll be cooking the dish, any *possible* bacteria will be killed. I’m usually in a hurry and thaw on the counter too 🙂
Kristen says
This recipe is great!!! I do use a bag of the frozen diced “potatoes o’brien” for convenience along with a can of the “cream of chicken with herbs” and it kicks up the flavor another notch! As always, great job on a simple yet delicious dish! 😄
Melody says
Hi! If I make these to freeze to I thaw the hash browns before assembling and then re-freeze or do I leave them frozen and then thaw the whole thing when I’m ready to cook them? Thanks!
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Melody 🙂 I usually thaw them before assembling, that way it mixes together a bit easier. But technically you could do it either way 🙂
Joan says
I can’t get frozen hash potatoes anywhere… would refrigerated diced potatoes work?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes that would work just fine 🙂
Randi Kubit says
scrumptious and so easy to make. I added red onions and yellow pepper for some color.
Gail Stelick says
This is a family favorite!
Kim Liptak says
Hi Amanda, I love this recipe and my family loved it too which is saying a lot. Thanks
Jennifer says
Generally speaking I’m not big on Cheesy Potatoes but this healthy version of it was amazing!!! I made it for Easter dinner and it was the first thing gone… some guests were upset that I didn’t make more.
Easy to make and way butter by far than other cheesy potatoes I’ve ever tasted.
Leigh Anne Olinik says
My family has this every year on Christmas, it’s always a hit. I actually dice onions and mix it in and we top ours with crushed up potato chips. Yum!