Funeral potatoes don’t fill the soul with joy, until you’ve tasted them. There’s lots of food tied to an event that are delicious, and you don’t always have to eat them on that exact day. Birthday cake, Sunday dinner… you get the point?
Funeral potatoes are named thus because they are traditionally served at funerals. But if you are looking for an easy to prepare side dish to cater for the masses (hopefully in happier times) then our Funeral Potatoes recipe should fill the bill.
How To Make Funeral Potatoes
Make no mistake, funeral potatoes are delicious. They are a real homely comfort food. Which is pretty good considering how they are named. The bulk of the dish is made up of hash browns (hence the potato part). But this isn’t what makes it. When you add more than a subtle amount of cheese, cream and even chicken, you’ll create a taste sensation. This is of course all topped with a crispy golden crust.
Our funeral potatoes recipe tastes great, but isn’t particularly complicated. You wont need much except for a square roasting pan and a bowl…
Oh and a can opener, you’ll see why in the recipe.
The best thing about this recipe is that most of the ingredients can be found easily and several can be stored almost indefinitely. The hash browns we use are frozen. We also use canned chicken soup. So aside from the sour cream and shredded cheese everything else will keep for a good amount of time, meaning you can make them pretty much whenever you want.
If you haven’t got hash browns don’t worry as we are going to give you a few alternatives. They might not be quite as authentic, but the taste of the dish will be pretty similar.
Nutrition Facts
16 servings per container
Serving Size1 servings
- Amount Per ServingCalories236
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 22g 34%
- Saturated Fat 13g 65%
- Cholesterol 58mg 20%
- Sodium 514mg 22%
- Potassium 66mg 2%
- Total Carbohydrate 5g 2%
- Sugars 1g
- Protein 4g 8%
- Vitamin A 15%
- Vitamin C 1%
- Calcium 14%
- Iron 8%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Tips and Tricks
- Ok so we promised. If you don’t have hash brown cubes don’t worry. Essentially all hash browns are is grated potato and onion. With that in mind all you need to do is grate 3 large potatoes, wash them in really cold water, squeeze them in a kitchen towel until the moisture has gone and fry them with a finely chopped onion. Allow to cool and then use them in exactly the same way as described in the rest of the recipe.
- If you struggle to fins hash brown cubes then simply buy normal frozen hash browns. After defrosting you can chop them into cubes using a sharp knife. The taste will be identical to our recipe.
- We use cornflakes to create the crispy crust in this recipe. IF you don’t have cornflakes there are other options available. You can use panko breadcrumbs, or as a rustic alternative why not place a couple of slices of white bread into a blender? Another alternative which works well is to use oatmeal. We have even been forced to use crushed tortilla chips on one occasion, you’ll be pleased to know these worked really well too
- You can make this dish in advance. If you choose to this leave the topping until the time that you need to serve it. Otherwise make the dish, allow to cool and then cover and freeze. It will take between 4-8 hours to thaw. Once it is no longer frozen add the topping and bake as normal.
- This recipe is scalable. Our funeral potatoes recipe will easily feed around 16 people. If you need more, simply double up on the ingredients, oh and don’t forget to use a bigger oven dish!
FAQs
Can you freeze funeral potatoes?
I’m always surprised how little is left over after serving these. Yes you can place this inot the freezer for up to 3 months, however it’s not recommended to add the cornflakes. You can add the cornflakes once thawed for optimal results.
How to store funeral potatoes?
The best way to store this is by placing in container that is air locked and then you can leave in the fridge for up to three days.
How do I reheat funeral potatoes?
Reheating is easy, place into the microwave on plate and microwave until reheated right through.
Conclusion
As long as this dish doesn’t bring back bad memories for anyone you are really going to enjoy it. It makes the ideal party food. Just serve the entire oven dish wholesale with a large spoon and some side plates so that your guests can help themselves. (Hint, they absolutely will as it’s super delicious). Our funeral potatoes recipe is a great side dish for grilled meats and fish. It isn’t too strong in flavor so can be used as an accompaniment for almost everything. If you’ve enjoyed it, why not leave a comment below?