7-Ingredient Company Potatoes
Our favorite 7-Ingredient Company Potatoes (AKA Funeral Potatoes) is a true crowd-pleaser at potlucks, tailgate parties, holiday meals, and any family gathering.
Funeral Potatoes Recipe… For More Than Just Funerals.
With all the new recipes we create and test each month, you’d think we never have time for repeats. However today’s 7-Ingredient Funeral Potatoes Recipe is a dish I’ve been making for over 20 years!
This is a recipe I must credit to my mother-in-law Sue. When Lt. Dan and I were first married he would sometimes slip and tell me no one was a better cook than his mother.
Although my mom had taught me quite a few tricks in the kitchen, her cooking style was quite different than Sue’s cooking style. So there were dishes Dan wouldn’t touch because his mom never made them.
I decided if my new husband was ever going to believe I could cook as well as his mom, I was going to have to learn to make some of her recipes.
Today’s Funeral Potato Casserole, AKA Company Potatoes, is a recipe I learned to make years ago, and is just as appealing today!
Our Family’s Company Potatoes Recipe
Each time we visited Dan’s family, I would take notes on Sue’s recipes and write them down in a little kitchen journal.
I started making her top chicken recipes, her lasagna, and this simple potato bake she called Company Potatoes.
Over the years I’ve noticed comparable potato dishes online with less appreciative names like… White Trash Potatoes, Redneck Potatoes, and Ghetto Potatoes. Really?
Just because this dish is made with less than chic ingredients doesn’t mean it is low quality.
Easy Hash Brown Casserole
However, there are also similar potato recipes called Funeral Potatoes and Hash Brown Potato Casserole.
Each of these recipes involves frozen hash brown potaotes, butter, cheese, and other ingredients to make a creamy base. Most have a crunchy top made out of corn flake cereal!
Some recipes include cream of chicken canned soup, as the base. However, I always prefer to skip canned soups (just a personal preferrence) and use fresh ingredients instead!
The most popular name “Funeral Potatoes” refers to the fact that this reicpe is commonly served at after-funeral gatherings, as well as being a easy freezer dish one would bring to a family who had just lost a loved one.
Easy Potato Casserole Made In ONE Dish!
Sue’s Company Potatoes side dish has morphed over the years in our house. I’ve started substituting salsa verde (or green enchilada sauce) and sour cream for the cream of chicken soup… To kick it up a notch.
And unbelievably, Lt. Dan approves!
Using frozen Potatoes O’Brien (potato chunks with onions and peppers) instead of plain shredded hash browns offers three ingredients in one.
Sour cream, salsa verde, shredded cheese, and chicken base are mixed to create the creamy base.
They can be mixed in the baking dish with the hash brown for easy clean up.
Then corn flakes are crumbled and mixed with butter to sprinkle over the surface, creating the icon golden crunchy top.
Our 7-Ingredient Company Potatoes Recipe makes a large deep pan of zesty, creamy, cheesy potatoes that can feed many people, and is a wonderful side dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas with holiday turkeys and hams.
But you don’t have to wait for the holidays. Give it a try for Sunday dinner!
Potato Casserole Ingredients
That’s right, you only need seven items to make this rich comforting dish… And several of them are pantry staples.
- Frozen Potatoes O’Brien Hash Browns – Thawed. This is a blend of cubed potatoes, onions, and peppers. (Or swap an equal amount of freshly diced yukon gold potatoes or russet potatoes.)
- Sour cream – For the creamy base.
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese – I like to use sharp cheddar cheese, shredded off the block, but pre-shredded cheese is fine.
- Salsa Verde – Jarred. Or you can use green enchilada sauce.
- Chicken Bouillon Base – Powdered, paste, or cubes.
- Corn Flakes – For the golden crispy top.
- Melted Butter – To toss with the corn flakes.
How To Make Hash Brown Casserole
- Mix. Pour the hashbrowns, sour cream, salsa, shredded cheese, and chicken base in a 3 quart casserole dish. Mix well, and spread the mixture out evenly.
- Shake. Place the cornflakes in a plastic zip bag. Crush the corn flakes. Then pour in the melted butter and toss to coat.
- Sprinkle. Shake the buttered cornflakes evenly over the top of the potatoes.
- Bake. Bake until golden and bubbly!
Get the Full Easy Funeral Potatoes Recipe + Video Below!
Recipe FAQ & Swaps
Can I Sprinkle Something Else (Other Than Corn Flakes) Over The Top Of The Potatoes?
Don’t love the idea of corn flakes? Try topping the potatoes with:
- Crushed Potato Chips
- Crushed Saltine or Butter Crackers
- Panko Breadcrumbs
- French Fried Onions
- Or bake them naked!
Can I Add Extra Ingredients To The Potato Mixture?
Sure you can! Consider adding in green onion, onion powder, garlic powder, green chiles, cubes of cream cheese, or any type of shredded cheese that melts well.
Are Company Potatoes Gluten Free?
Some versions are not, but THIS recipe is!
As long as you buy a brand of corn flake cereal labeled Gluten-Free you are in the clear.
Can You Freeze Hash Brown Potato Casserole?
Absolutely! The term “Funeral Potatoes” comes from the fact that this dish was traditionally made to take to families who had just suffered a loss, or have sick family members.
It’s a fabulous dish to make in foil pans, wrap well, and freeze for later use, or to take to friends.
Freeze for up to 3 months. Take the pan out of the freezer the night before baking and thaw in the refrigerator. Then bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Can I Make Company Potatoes Ahead Without Freezing?
Sure thing! You can make this recipe up to 3 days in advance, before baking. Do not add the crunchy topping until you are ready to bake.
Cover the top with foil, and refrigerate. Then sprinkle the top with corn flakes once the oven is preheated.
What Goes With Funeral Potatoes?
- Mom’s Best Pot Roast
- Tavern Fried Chicken
- Perfect Baked Chicken Thighs
- Steak Fingers and Country Gravy
- Coca-Cola Spatchcock Chicken
- Honey Orange Roasted Chicken
- Balsamic Steak Sheet Pan Dinner
- Almond Cursted Baked Ham
More Dazzling Potato Recipes
- Easy 2-Ingredient Roasted Potatoes
- Perfect Mashed Potatoes
- Baked Crispy Hash Browns
- Rosemary Hasselback Potatoes
- Mom’s BEST Potato Salad
- Spicy Mesquite Twice Baked Potatoes
- Duchess Potatoes
Company Potatoes Recipe (Funeral Potatoes)
Ingredients
- 2 bags frozen Potatoes O’Brien mix, thawed (28-ounces bags)
- 24 ounces sour cream (could be low fat)
- 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 cups salsa verde, or green enchilada sauce
- 1 tablespoon powdered chicken base, paste, or 3 bouillon cubes
- 3 cups corn flakes, crushed
- 1/4 cup melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Pour the potatoes, sour cream, salsa or enchilada sauce, shredded cheese, and chicken base in a 3 quart baking dish. Mix well, and spread out evenly.
- Place the cornflakes in a plastic zip bag. Zip closed and crush the corn flakes. Then pour in the melted butter and toss to coat.
- Sprinkle the buttered cornflakes evenly over the top of the potatoes. Cover the pan with foil.
- Bake covered for 45 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake another 10-15 minutes, until bubbly. Serve warm.
Do you dissolve bullion cubes? If yes, in how much water? I don’t see water in the ingredients.
Hi Graz,
If you are using bullion cubes instead of the base, you can just crumble them into the recipe. No water needed. :)