9 Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole and Funeral Potatoes Recipes, One Cheese-Free

Cheesy hash brown casserole has more names than any dish I know—funeral potatoes, hash brown casserole, cheesy hash browns, party potatoes, company potatoes, Cracker Barrel potatoes, hash brown baked potatoes, taco potato casserole, hash brown potatoes, company potato casserole, cheesy potatoes, and many others. 

Call it what you will, this serious comfort food dish has graced the tables of holidays and funeral luncheons, and the pages of community cookbooks and family recipe boxes for years. Southern BBQ joints serve it alongside their sloppy ribs and coleslaw. And hash brown casserole makes a weekly appearance on senior dining and school lunch menus across the US. 

For the last month or two on my podcast, Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens, I’ve been asking you to share your recipe for funeral potatoes or hash brown casserole with me. Thank you, Kalli Reisetter, Aimee Bastian, Amanda Runia, Kathy Rasmussen, Betsy Ziegler, Marie Mergenthal, Heidi Thomssen, and Christianne Beringer for sharing your recipe with us. 

Take a listen to episode 19 in the link below or wherever you get your favorite shows. 

In addition to sharing our recipes and the stories behind them on this episode, I share everything from what the common ingredients are and how people change things up like adding taco seasoning or not even using cheese, to how to prep, cook and store funeral potatoes, how to make them in advance, and how much to make for a crowd. 

And be sure to listen all the way to the end for my announcement of a special guest on episode 20—New York Times and international bestselling author Ashley Rhodes-Courter.

Why are they called funeral potatoes?

Depending on who you ask, many regions claim to have created or named cheesy hash brown casserole Funeral Potatoes. You’ll hear the dish referred to funeral potatoes heavily in Utah’s Mormon community. It is very common to serve it at funeral luncheons there. 

But read articles and recipes from states in the Southern US, and you’ll see it called funeral potatoes. And then look around the Midwest and you’ll hear it here too.

No matter where you go, the reason for the name Funeral Potatoes is the same in all places—it’s a popular dish to serve at funeral luncheons or to share with a grieving family. 

If you listened to episode 1, I shared why I used the name in my podcast. It’s about the comfort food and the sense of community and generosity the dish evokes. Plus, I wanted a podcast name that would catch people’s attention. 

What’s in funeral potatoes or cheesy hash brown casserole?

The ingredients most of the recipes have in common include frozen shredded or cubed hash brown potatoes, cheese, sour cream, cream soup, onion or onion flakes, butter and corn flakes cereal.

Ingredients:

Soup: use whatever “cream of” soup you like best, like cream of mushroom, cheddar, chicken, broccoli, celery. I usually use cream of onion soup but if I’m doubling the recipe, I use a can of cream of chicken and one cream of onion. 

Cheese: Cheddar is the common cheese used in funeral potatoes. But choose your favorite—Amanda Runia’s mother-in-law uses shredded Velveeta, my friend Aimee Bastian uses Colby Jack, my sister-in-law Betsy Ziegler adds a little zip to her hash brown casserole by using fiesta cheese blend, and Judy Thomssen’s recipe for company potato casserole doesn’t even have cheese in it. 

What would be even better? Smoking the cheese for your cheesy hash brown casserole! Here’s my recipe.

Sour cream: most of the recipes I’ve seen contain sour cream. But you could probably substitute it with Greek yogurt. 

Hash Browns: shredded frozen hash browns are the star of the dish. Well, maybe the cheese is. At any rate, people also use cubed hash brown potatoes. You could even use Southern style O’brien hash browns which contain diced onions and bell peppers. I have learned over the years that it’s easiest to thaw the hash browns before stirring because they are often in a frozen clump. 

Can I use freshly shredded hash browns? Yes.

Butter: the amount of butter used in everyone’s family recipes varies. I prefer salted butter.

Topping: Some people use a topping—I do, and some people don’t. My sister Kalli’s hash brown casserole is delicious, and I’ve never even noticed she doesn’t use a topping. The most common are crushed corn flakes cereal, butter crackers like Ritz, crushed potato chips, and panko crumbs. I’d like to try it sometime with crispy or French fried onions like we use on green bean casserole. 

Can I use topping if I’m making cheesy hash brown casserole in a slow cooker? Yes. I made cheesy hash browns in a crock pot for the first time last Christmas. I cooked it without the topping for a couple of hours and adding the crushed corn flakes and butter toward the end.

How to make cheesy hash brown casserole.

Use a large bowl. Thaw the hash browns. Stir together the sour cream, soup, melted butter, and seasonings first. Next add the shredded cheese. Lastly, stir in the hash browns. 

Storing and cooking leftover cheesy potatoes.

Store leftovers in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator and eat it within four days. Or, store leftovers in the freezer up to 4 months.

To reheat leftovers, bake in the oven or heat it in fry in a frying pan. It makes a great breakfast side with bacon and eggs!

What do I pair with hash brown casserole?

Hash brown casserole is a popular dish to serve at holiday meals. So, it pairs nicely with protein like ham, turkey, roast beef, steak, chicken and pork. Which also means it makes a great weeknight side dish, especially if you have meat in a crock pot and cheesy hash browns ready in the fridge ready to bake. Or vice versa. 

You can do like Kathy does and add her cooked ground beef directly to the dish. For example, you could make cheesy hash browns with bacon or sausage (or ham like Betsy does), and serve it in the morning alongside eggs and fresh fruit..

Hash brown casserole is a heavy dish, much like mashed potatoes and gravy, so lighter accompaniments like steamed vegetables and a light salad will complement it well.

Additionally, people enjoy company potatoes at summer picnics alongside grilled hot dogs, brats, and hamburgers. And without a doubt, cheesy potato casserole tastes really good with BBQ dishes like shredded pork and BBQ ribs.

How much cheesy hash brown casserole should I make for a crowd?

Most of the recipes I’m sharing feed approximately 12 people so you can adjust from there. For instance, for a party of 25 people, you will want to double or triple the recipe. Tripling will likely give you leftovers, which is great for breakfast the next morning. 

If you’re feeding 50 people, I’d quadruple or 5 times the recipe. For 100 guests (like maybe a graduation party), I’d probably make 8-10 batches. 

This was fun! What recipes would you like to see people share next? I’d love to hear your ideas for podcast episodes and guests so email me at staci@randomsweets.com.

Be sure to listen wherever you get your favorite shows, and let’s continue building this heartwarming community—please share with your friends and all the nice people you know who embrace the warm and cozy sprit of the upper Midwest.

Thank you again to those of you who shared your family’s recipe with us.

Sweet wishes,