Cheesy Potato Casserole (Funeral Potatoes)
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Cheesy potatoes are a popular dish for any get-together, whether you’re heading to a friend’s BBQ or a holiday celebration. But if you’ve ever searched the internet for a good cheesy potato casserole recipe, you know that so many of these dishes are made with processed soups and other pre-packaged ingredients.
Gluten-Free Cheesy Potato Casserole
Made with a handful of pantry staples, this recipe for cheesy potato casserole is completely gluten-free and completely delicious. Be sure to check if your items are, in fact, gluten-free.
History Behind Cheesy Funeral Potatoes
The dish itself is believed to have originated in the 1950s and 1960s, when Mormon women began experimenting with recipes that were easy to prepare, affordable, and capable of feeding large crowds.
The term “funeral potatoes” first appeared in community cookbooks in the 1970s, though the dish itself predates this naming convention by at least two decades. The name reflects practical community traditions rather than any connection to death itself.
The name derives from its longstanding role in post-funeral “mercy meals” for grieving families, a practice in which church members delivered ready-to-eat dishes to offer support. These traditional dinners are typically planned by members of the Relief Society, a Latter-day Saint auxiliary organization for women, and follow the traditional funeral service.
The dish is widely attributed to the creativity of LDS Relief Society members, who prepared it as an easy, comforting meal for communal events. Funeral potatoes became closely associated with the Relief Society in the mid-20th century, when members began preparing the dish for post-funeral luncheons to provide comfort and support to grieving families. This practice aligned with the Relief Society’s emphasis on charitable service, making the casserole a practical choice for its ease of preparation in large quantities and its portability to church buildings or homes.
Since funeral potatoes travel well and are easy to make in batches, they’re convenient to prepare for crowds.
Variations of the dish have existed across the United States for over a century, often appearing in church cookbooks and community recipe collections under different names. Some call it cheesy potatoes, hash brown casserole, or simply potato bake. Despite these variations, the name funeral potatoes stuck and became the most recognized term.
During the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, funeral potatoes had their own commemorative pin, and for several years at the Utah State Fair, people entered their versions into a contest where the best potato dish would win.
While the origins of funeral potatoes might be somber, the dish is now associated with family, comfort, and Thanksgiving dinner.
Cheesy Potato Casserole
The first step in making your own cheesy potato casserole is to create a condensed-soup replacement for the sauce. To make a delicious cheese sauce for your casserole, start by combining cold milk and cornstarch in a small bowl.
Whisk the two ingredients together until well combined and all the cornstarch lumps have been smoothed out.
Mix Cornstarch and Milk
Then, pour the milk and cornstarch mixture into a small saucepan and add the butter, salt, pepper, and paprika. Heat the mixture over medium heat until it begins to boil, whisking frequently to prevent lumps from forming. My favorite heavy-duty whisk: OXO Stainless Steel Whisk
When the liquid starts to boil, reduce the heat to low and allow it to simmer for a few minutes. As the sauce simmers, whisk constantly to prevent the milk from boiling over or burning on the bottom of the pan.
The Sauce Will Thicken
The sauce will begin to thicken as it simmers. When the desired thickness is reached (usually after about 1 minute of simmering), remove the sauce from the hot burner and add half the cheese. Stir the cheese into the milk mixture until it has fully melted and is incorporated into the sauce.
Combine Ingredients
Set the cheese sauce aside and pour your diced potatoes into a large bowl. Add the cheese sauce to the bowl and stir to coat all the potatoes. Then, add in the sour cream and stir again to incorporate it into the potato mixture.
Grease The Casserole Pan
Grease a casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray, then pour the potato mixture into it. Place the dish into a preheated oven and bake uncovered for 35 minutes.
But you’re not finished yet! After 25 minutes, remove the potatoes from the oven and add the remaining cheese on top. Then, put the dish back in the oven to bake for the remaining 10 minutes.
After the cheese has melted, remove the casserole from the oven and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Then, scoop out a big spoonful of this delicious side dish and enjoy!
Cheesy Potatoes Recipe
- 1 cup of milk
- 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 2 cups shredded/grated sharp cheese, divided (save 1 cup to sprinkle on top)
- 1 32 -ounce package of frozen diced potatoes
- 1 cup sour cream
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Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C) and spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set the pan aside.
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In a small saucepan, whisk together milk and cornstarch. Add the butter, salt, pepper, and paprika.
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Heat the mixture over medium-low heat until it comes to a boil, whisking frequently.
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Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for one minute, then remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup of cheese.
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Now, place the frozen diced potatoes in a large bowl. Pour the cheese mixture over the potatoes and stir to mix.
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Add the sour cream to the bowl and stir to combine all ingredients.
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Pour the potato mixture into the prepared baking dish. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes.
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When 10 minutes remain in the baking time, remove the casserole from the oven and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Return the casserole to the oven and continue baking for the remaining 10 minutes.
Why Are They Called Funeral Potatoes?
In Utah, whenever someone dies, neighbors are asked to make certain foods to serve the family after a funeral. They typically have a luncheon after the services and burial for close family members, particularly those who have traveled to the funeral. Hence, they’re called funeral potatoes. It’s funny, in Utah, these are made for just about any church function or neighborhood party.
Another Funeral Potato Recipe by Linda
Grow Potatoes. They Are Easy-Even In Pots
Final Word
I hope you try this cheesy potato casserole. If you do, please let me know! It’s all about cooking from scratch and using food from our pantry, freezer, and food storage stash. Thanks for prepping and being prepared for the unexpected. May God bless this world, Linda
Hi, Linda! I love that you make your funeral potatoes with dices. Most everyone up here makes them with hash browns and that just isn’t right. *BG* I make mine very similar to the way you make yours. I just dice potatoes, rather than using the frozen, and I toss in some onion and peppers, sweet peppers, not jalapenos, for funeral potatoes. I just add a small amount of the onion and peppers for a little flavoring. It’s easy to overpower these potatoes if you add too much.
I hope all is well. Take care and big hugs, Mare
Linda, have you used your dehydrated potatoes in with this recipe? Any adjustments?
Looks scrumptious, and want to try it soon!
Hi Paulette, yes all the time. You just need to hydrate them before. You will love them! Linda
Hi Linda, looks great but can I use fresh potato and do I need to cook them first?
Hi Lynda, frozen potatoes are not cooked, so depending on how thin you cube or slice then absolutely, just adjust the time as needed.Linda
I’m actually making this for dinner tonight.
Hi Jess, oh I love hearing this!! Linda
Okay Linda – I just have to ask – Why are they called funeral potatoes? They sound delicious and I’ll definitely be making them, but the name has me puzzled.
Hi Pat, I should go and explain why they are called funeral potatoes!! In Utah, whenever someone dies we are asked to make certain foods to serve the family after a funeral. They typically have a luncheon after the services and burial for close family members. Hence they are called funeral potatoes. It’s funny in Utah these are made for just about any church function or neighborhood party. Thanks for asking, Linda
Do you top them with anything like crushed corn flakes , or crushed potato chips?
Hi Cheryl, I didn’t on this post. But my regular funeral potatoes I crush Frosted Flakes, everyone asks me why mine taste better than others they have tried! LOL! It’s the Frosted Flakes! Linda
I need to redo this post with better pictures. I may do them tomorrow. Thanks for reminding me. https://www.foodstoragemoms.com/cheesy-potatoes-food-storage/
My mom used to make something very similar but she topped it with bread crumbs browned in butter. Always from scratch and in the “fancy” casserole dish of course! I haven’t made it for ages, definitely giving it a go this week.
Hi Alice, I think this recipe has been around for many years. The one in Utah most people use Campbell’s Cream of Chicken soup. My other recipe I crush frosted flakes and brown them in butter. Sounds weird, but every time I take it to a funeral people want the recipe! I just say, it’s the Frosted Flakes and we all laugh. We were out of corn flakes one time and all we had was frosted flakes. We all know how to substitute ingredients, right? LOL! Linfe is good, Linda
To be more frugal, I will use real potatoes. In a pinch the frozen ones surely would be convenient.
I have stopped using Campbell’s soup because they now prominently display “bioengineered” food on their ingredient label…along with a plethora of other chemicals. Not sure when that happened, but “cream of mushroom soup” type soups are just what you described in the recipe. I use flour, cornstarch or a combination and put in a can of mushrooms along with seasoning. Bingo. Inexpensive with no chemicals. Easy to vary….even in the base for this recipe.
We pipe a LOT of funerals. All of us lived in the police/fire/military realm so we have a different aspect to funerals. We are there to provide comfort to the mourners. We we are generally not mourners and with our backgrounds, we cannot psychologically crawl into being that. We are there to do a job.
So, after the funeral when we head elsewhere for a meal, we celebrate. We call it putting the “fun” in funeral. We all have tragedy in our past. I was there when police officers were made dead. I was fortunate to not be one of them.
Today I piped for the flagging at a huge cemetery where all the veteran’s graves now have flags on them. Monday I pipe for 2 big events to honor those who were lost.
This is what we do.
I’ll make your potatoes for the next big “do.” They will comfort and feed at the same time. Thank you.
I am so excited to get this recipe, because I LOVE these potatoes, even though I rarely eat potatoes in general! C. Addison, just so you know, Pacific Foods makes very good line of CLEAN, “cream of” soups, mushroom, chicken, even celery!! There are probably more flavors, but I cannot remember right now and am in a rush today.
Thank you so much for the tip. Sometimes it’s just hard to beat opening a can and dumping it into the pan! Those are the 3 flavors I use most. I’ll see about getting some in.
Hi Jess, thank you for the 5 stars, my sweet friend. Linda
Hi CAddison, thank you for the 5 stars, my sweet friend. The world is a better place because you are piping at the various events and funerals. When I go to a funeral, my table is usually giggling. Not a disrespectful laugh, but I know the person who died would want us to celebrate. Even my dad’s funeral, I said, he would want us to laugh and tell funny stories about him. This potato casserole is truly a comfort food. Linda
Oh my, My sibs and I called it Dead Mans casserole but we’re weird in my family. I think it’s because we would not see that dish unless there was a funeral growing up. I use the frozen O’Brien potatoes (with peppers and onions added), a can of cream of chicken soup, a bag of shredded cheese and about a half a cup of sour cream. Mixed up and in a greased/sprayed casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees till done.
Hi Kathy, oh my gosh, this is the best, Dead Mans casserole! I bet they served ham and jello, right? You recipe sounds like the one I typically use. I will have to try the Potatoes O’Brian! Linda
Yup you’re right, ham and turkey sliders(rolls with sliced cheese) and 2-3 kinds of jello salads and a couple of pasta salads with the casserole. Plus veggie and pickle/ olive trays.I like the O’Brien potatoes because they have the peppers and onions in the package or I’ll use the “Southern” style diced potatoes if some can’t have onions or peppers
HI Kathy, what you were served ham and turkey sliders? You had an upgrade! LOL! Those sound great. Oh yeah, the veggie trays and pasta salads! Nailed it! I loved going to those funeral luncheons so I could see people I hadn’t seen in years. Life is good! Now I want to make some sliders! Great idea! Linda