From midcentury Western kitchens to your Thanksgiving table: How we got funeral potatoes (2024)

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. If you plan on making mashed potatoes, you might want to also put together funeral potatoes.

If you haven’t made them before or consider yourself funeral potato curious, here’s a comprehensive guide to understanding this cheesy dish.

What are funeral potatoes?

Think of funeral potatoes like an everyman’s au gratin or scalloped potatoes. Cheese, cornflakes (or something else carb-filled and crumbly), potatoes, sour cream and condensed soup comprise this delectable dish.

It’s a casserole dish that can feed a crowd. Most of the ingredients are relatively inexpensive, so it’s a good option for a comforting dish when you’re in a pinch.

If you’re a funeral potato purist (the type to stick to the historical origins of the dish), it’s best to use cheddar cheese and cubed potatoes — lest you stray from tradition. But if you’re willing to give the potatoes a twist, you can experiment with different kinds of cheese. Monterrey jack, perhaps? Or you could incorporate something like ham or bacon into the dish to give it a meaty edge.

Maybe you want a healthier version of funeral potatoes. No problem! Halve the amount of cheese and sour cream, and instead add some fresh vegetables like broccoli and spinach. In this way, funeral potatoes can be a vehicle for nutritious produce.

One of the goals of baking funeral potatoes is to get a crunchy top with a creamy, cheesy potato concoction underneath. Once the top is golden brown, you know the potatoes are baked properly.

Like all casseroles, funeral potatoes are meant to be shared. So, make sure when you make them, you have enough to spare.

Why are they called funeral potatoes?

Legend has it that funeral potatoes derive their name from the practice of eating the dish at funerary services.

Since funeral potatoes travel well and are easy to make in batches, it’s convenient to make them for crowds. According to Southern Living, the dish is one you can give to a family who is grieving a loss as a way of sharing love.

Who invented funeral potatoes?

These ooey-gooey potatoes may be named after funerals, because members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints shared them at funerals.

The Relief Society, a global women’s organization dedicated to charitable efforts, is generally seen as the inventor of funeral potatoes. Old Relief Society cookbooks have variations of funeral potatoes within their pages and this dish has been passed down from generation to generation.

When were funeral potatoes invented?

It’s not clear when exactly funeral potatoes were invented, but they boomed in popularity during the mid-1900s, per NPR. It was a time known for reliance on convenience foods due to a busy lifestyle and also because these kinds of foods were affordable. If you’ve picked up a box of mashed potatoes or a can of soup at the store, you know that these kinds of foods can expedite your cooking process.

Think of how funeral potatoes embody this idea.

Shredded cheese? Easy to buy. What about chopped potatoes? Those, too. How about sour cream and creamy condensed soup? Pretty inexpensive grocery store purchases. Combining all these ingredients and then throwing them into the oven is a blend between home cooking and convenience foods.

Jacqueline Thursby, a retired folklore professor, told NPR that members of the Relief Society would often need recipes for quick meals they could throw together as they needed to feed their families or give something to families in need. Funeral potatoes were the solution.

Are funeral potatoes healthy?

The dish isn’t known as the healthiest casserole around. That doesn’t mean there are not ways to make it healthier.

Say you really want to make the dish healthier and not just throw in some broccoli to add nutritional value. You could do half potatoes and half another vegetable like turnip. Instead of using condensed soup and sour cream, you could use reduced fat sour cream. Halve the amount of cheese and consider using whole-wheat breadcrumbs for your topping.

It won’t make the dish as healthy as a simple green salad or anything, but it can be a way to lighten up the calories.

What state is known for funeral potatoes?

The Beehive State is known for funeral potatoes.

Like green jell-o and ambrosia salad, funeral potatoes are a beloved food among Utahns. There was even a pin illustrating funeral potatoes that circulated when Salt Lake City hosted the Olympic Games in 2002.

Whether you visit “Garage on Beck” or “Tradition,” some Salt Lake City restaurants still have this item on their menus.

Are there regional variations on funeral potatoes?

At this point, the divide between funeral potato makers doesn’t seem to be regional. Though there is a rift among funeral potato makers.

You see, funeral potatoes are popular in the West, Midwest and the South. The recipe is basically the same, but people in these regions disagree on two fundamental elements of the dish: Do you use shredded potatoes or cubed potatoes? And do you top with potato chips or cornflakes?

Who’s to say which is correct?

Both kinds of funeral potatoes have their place.

How do I make funeral potatoes?

If you want to make funeral potatoes, here is my funeral potatoes recipe that I previously wrote for the Deseret News.

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Select 8 delectable russet spuds freshly grown in Idaho, rinse them and parboil them in a pot of water seasoned with coarse salt and a touch of garlic powder for immaculate flavor. After parboiling them, use a box grater to shred them. Set your hash browns aside in a large mixing bowl.
3. Finely chop 1 yellow onion. I followBon Appetit’s guideto chopping onions without crying — it’ll help you cook more. Mince 3 cloves of garlic.
4. Shakea Mason jar full of heavy cream until you have butter. No, seriously, it tastes so much better. Drop 2¹⁄₂heaping tablespoons of butter into a cast-iron skillet on medium heat. Saute the onions with the butter until fragrant and then add the minced garlic.
5. Add potatoes into the skillet for 3 to 5 minutes and then remove from heat.
6. Take a large mixing bowl. Put your hash brown and onion potato mixture into the bowl. Using a spatula, begin to add in 1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup (of course, if you would like to make the very best funeral potatoes ever,make your own condensed soup). Add in 1 cup of sour cream. Fold in 2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese. Season with pepper and salt. Mix gently until well combined.
7. Scrape the contents of this large mixing bowl into your favorite casserole dish. Then, take 2 cups of cornflake cereal and crush it into fine pieces. Shred another¹⁄₂cup of sharp cheddar cheese. Spread evenly on top of potato mixture.
8. Bake for 55-60 minutes. Serve with other delicacies likeLion House rolls.

Best funeral potatoes recipes

If my funeral potato recipe doesn’t strike your fancy, here are five others you could try.

1. Easy funeral potatoes from All Recipes.
2. Ree Drummond’s funeral potatoes from Food Network.
3. Funeral potatoes from Spend with Pennies.
4. Best funeral potatoes from Delish.
5. Cheesy funeral potatoes from Tasting Table.