Funeral Potatoes: Origins and Recipe

A delicious dish of Funeral Potatoes
(Credit: The-girl-who-ate-everything.com)

With Mother’s Day around the corner, naturally I’m thinking a lot about my mom and her great Midwestern cooking. It makes me miss being home! Hardy potato dishes are very Midwestern and my mom served our Wisconsin family one we called “hash brown casserole.” I’ve recently learned something interesting about its true origin.

The classic Midwestern potato ready for any number of dishes.
(Credit: blisstree.com)

The casserole typically consists of hash browns or cubed potatoes, cheddar or Parmesan cheese, onions, cream soup or cream sauce, sour cream, and a topping of butter and corn flakes or crushed potato chips. It’s a delicious, rich, savory side dish, easy to whip up for any family meal. Traditionally, the casserole was served as a side dish during Mormon after-funeral dinners, earning it the name “Funeral Potatoes.”

These traditional dinners are typically planned by members of Relief Society, a Latter-day Saint auxiliary organization, and follow the traditional funeral service.

Funeral potatoes are also served at other communal meals, potlucks, and social gatherings in areas with a significant LDS population, like Utah. In case you’d like to incorporate this dish into your family’s memorial traditions, or just your next potluck, my mom was kind enough to share our Wisconsin family recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 – 32oz bag of hash browns
• 1 – 8 oz sour cream
• 2 small cans cream of celery (or mushroom) soup or combo
• 1/2 – 1 lb shredded cheddar cheese
• 2-3 cups crushed corn flakes
• 4-6 Tbsp melted butter

Instructions:

1. Mix the sour cream, soup and cheese together.
2. Mix with hash browns and spread out in a 9×13 greased cake pan.
3. Toss the corn flakes with the butter and sprinkle on top.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until hot.

Still hungry? Try these other traditional recipes from SevenPonds:

• Holiday Sugar Cookies
• How to Make Your Own Sugar Skulls