Cooking Lesson #527: Funeral Potatoes (also great for weekday & holiday dinners!)

The 2022 Holidays Recipe Collection 

How you doin’?  It’s that time of the year! Before you know it, Thanksgiving will be here and then it’s a quick slide into the year-end festivities. To help you prepare for Thanksgiving, we’ll be blogging holiday recipes every weekday for the next two weeks. You’re welcome!
 
So… Funeral Potatoes… no, this isn’t a joke and it isn’t a belated Halloween dish. Best of all neither you (nor any of your loved ones) have to be dead to enjoy them! I saw this recipe on my Allrecipe feed and thought it was worthy of sharing, with a few changes of course. While funeral potatoes may be a bit unsettling, once you know the whole story it makes perfect sense. 
 
In Utah and surrounding states where Mormons tend to make up a large percentage of  the population, potluck luncheons are a standard practice after funerals. Cooking for many grieving mourners (Mormon or otherwise) is never easy. Crowd-feeding (not funding) dishes that can be simply made are a godsend during times of grief.

Funeral Potatoes are a cheesy potato casserole made with all convenience foods—canned or frozen... perfect for the novice cook. If you’re not on the keto diet this is a great comfort food for the tearful broken hearted. 
 
It's hard to say exactly when that dish became "funeral potatoes," though it's easy to believe that the designation arrived organically over time. There's evidence of the term's use online dating back to at least 1996, though this dish has probably been considered "to die for" for a fair amount longer. 
 
This is a great dish while at funerals where it is known as Funeral Potatoes. But during other happy times it might be named Christmas Potatoes, Thanksgiving Potatoes or even Easter Potatoes. Want to make them during the week?... just call ‘em Mom’s (or Dad’s) Best Potato Casserole.
 
Prep time:  5 minutes
Cook time:  10 minutes
Yield:  8 to 12 servings
 
Ingredients 
1 (16 ounce) jar store-bought cheese sauce
1 cup sour cream
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
1-1/4 cups water
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (2 pound) package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup broken potato chips
 
Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 325⁰ F.
2. Butter a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the cheese sauce, sour cream, mushroom soup, celery soup, water, 1/2 of the butter and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Place the potatoes in the prepared dish, add soup mixture and mix well.
5. Mix the crumbs and potato ships with remaining melted butter and sprinkle over top of potato casserole.
6. Bake at 325⁰ F for 40 to 50 minutes or until casserole is bubbling and crumbs are lightly browned. If browning too quickly, put a sheet of foil over the top.
7. Allow the casserole to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

ChefSecret: You can use fresh cubed potatoes or tater tots in place of frozen hash browns—whatever you have in your freezer or pantry.

Quip of the Day: A consultant’s prayer—“Lord keep your arm around my shoulders and your hand over my mouth.”
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America.

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