This was by far my favorite dish growing up. My mom made it for easter one year and as a picky kid who “hated mushrooms” I was very hesitant to give this a go. Thankfully I did because I was hooked and asked for it for every birthday dinner, and any other chance I could.
I haven’t had it in years but with Easter coming up I started to get a hankering for it and came to discover it is the easiest recipe ever - from Campbell’s no less. Or as many of you may know it - funeral potatoes. I tried to tweak it, tried to elevate it, “make it better” but it’s truly just perfect as is.
It’s out there, it’s not unique, but it is nostalgic and so freaking delicious so I wanted to share a piece of that with you.
It’s basically a dump and bake, only chopping 1 onion and grating a bit of cheese.
It’s absolutely not light, and not for the faint of heart, but I promise you I don’t think there’s a soul that would dislike this.
It’s almost like a major cheater potato gratin. But no one will know how easy it actually is.
creamy hashbrown casserole aka funeral potatoes
time: 1 hour (10 minutes prep + 50 minutes baking)
serves: 6
vegetarian, brunch, GF, side dish, serves a crowd
things I definitely would NOT do for this recipe:
try and sub out the soup: it’s what gives it the creaminess. You can swap out cream of chicken if you hate mushrooms or have an allergy - but know that I used to hate mushrooms and LOVED this. It’s actually how I fell in love with mushrooms.
try and “lighten this up”: it won’t work just trust me. I tried.
prep ahead: assemble the filling and place in your casserole dish. Cover and keep in the fridge for up to 24 hours. When you’re ready to bake, top with remaining cheese and cornflake mix, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, then bake uncovered for another 35 minutes.
storing: keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
reheating:
the best way: cover with foil and reheat in a 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes until warmed through, then uncover for the last 5 minutes to bring the topping back to life. If it looks a little dry, add a small splash of milk before covering.
the easy way: microwave individual portions for 2-3 minutes. The topping loses its crunch but honestly it’s still incredible. Alternatively, the air fryer at 350°F for 8-10 minutes does a surprisingly good job of re-crisping the top.
make it GF: ✅
make it DF: ❌ hard no on this one - it’s pretty much all dairy sorry.
For the main:
800 g bag frozen cubed hashbrowns
2 cans full fat cream of mushroom soup
2 cups full fat sour cream
1 white onion
2 cups grated cheddar, divided
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan
salt and pepper
For the topping:
2 cups roughly crushed cornflakes
2 tbsp butter
To garnish:
1/4 cup finely chopped chives
prep your base
preheat oven to 350F
dump everything except the cheddar into a large bowl: 1 bag frozen cubed hashbrowns, 2 cans full fat cream of mushroom soup, 2 cups sour cream, 1 finely diced onion and a pinch of salt and lots of pepper. Mix well.
grate and divide cheddar in half. Mix half into the bowl and save half for topping.
dump everything into a 9X11 casserole dish.
make your topping
dump cornflakes into a bag and roughly smash (you want bigger pieces - not too fine).
add to a bowl with 2 tbsp melted butter and mix well.
top your casserole with remaining cheese, then top with cornflake mix.
bake on the lower rack for 50 minutes, (cover with foil if your topping starts to get too brown).
let cool for a few minutes, top with fresh chives, and serve right from the dish.
Drop a comment and let me know if you make this!!
We grew up with something very similar (shredded hashbrowns, potato chip topping) that we affectionately called JC Casserole because we only make it on Christmas lol. Always a hit!
I think I've only had these once in my life at a church potluck. They were so good. I need to make this for my family but I'll have to make it dairy free.