Recipe: Mormon Funeral Potatoes
Mormon Funeral Potatoes
Kate Holbrook, a PhD candidate at Boston University, is a guest on Good Food this week. She and Evan talk about the Mormon food tradition, including the extensive pantries and Mormon funeral potatoes. Recipe follows…
6 cups diced potatoes
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup sour cream
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated, divided
1/4 c. grated onion (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine soup, butter, sour cream, 1 c. cheese, onion, salt and pepper. Mix well. Add the potatoes and stir gently until combined.
Place potato mixture in a 2-3 quart casserole dish or 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Top with the remaining 1 c. cheese.
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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You lost me at "condensed cream of chicken soup."
Wait a minute, that looks a lot like corn flakes or broken up potato chips on top.
Is it called funeral potatoes, because eating will cause major heart attack?
The best version uses potatoes which are boiled, then shredded & green onions. Many people do use crunched up corn flakes or potato chips, but cheese is much better. This is definitely an unsophisticated dish, easy to ridicule. But after the funeral of a member (hence the name), we provide a luncheon to the extended family – which can number 20 – 150 people – & this is relatively easy & feeds quite a few. It's meant to be literally comfort food & is offered, with the rest of the meal, as a symbol of our care & concern. Of course, all that fat & starch make it a favorite at family meals & church parties, too.
I would normally never eat something like this, but it is so good!
10 years ago I had the left overs of this casserole while babysitting. I loved it, but had no idea what it was or what was in it except cornflakes, sour cream and cheese. Today I came home excitedly telling my husband that I found this recipe in a catalog. He laugh and said, "Oh funeral potatoes." So I google it and find out that it's a whole sub-culture. I've been Mormon my whole life and never even heard of funeral potatoes until today. LOL
I had to laugh at Christine's comment. The same thought popped in my head when I read the ingredients. I'm excited to try this again, but it won't find it's way on the table often.
Our family switched the name to "Church potatoes" because we have it on Easter and Christmas. Yes it's not that great for you but don't let the soup fool you it's delicious! Our family favorite!
forget the soup and the chips it tastes better with out them!! also cook and shredd the potatoes dont dice.
I see why it is called funeral potatoes; if you eat like this, you will die. Or sit on someone else and kill them.
But they are delicious and cannot beat the flavor. Not a regular dish but it is a wonderful potluck dish. Sharron
I have had these potatoes at different pot locks before but never heard them referred to as funeral potatoes. Party potatoes yes, but never funeral potatoes until today. I was put in charge of planning a potluck for a an awards dinner at church and when I asked one of ladies what she would like to bring she told me funeral potatoes. All I could think was no, bring something good. So I came home and googled it and viola!
It's called Funeral Potatoes because it is a dish that Mormons usually bring to funerals for the meal after. Google Mormon Funeral Potatoes and you will find recipes with slight variations.
Love this recipe. I actually use half the butter and sometimes a bit less cheese. I also recently made it with broccoli added to the potatoes too. Dice and cook the potatoes (and broccoli, should you choose) and then mix all the ingredients. I also use closer to half an onion. Good with Ritz crackers on top. Certainly many ways to make this a bit more healthy, without losing out on the awesome, comforting flavor!
wow …. thanks.. I really want to make a meal of Mormon food tradition…
looks very delicious .. I'll try to make it ….
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i used velveeta cheese instead of grated chedder cheese. it turned out really good
You can use reduced fat soup Healthy Request soup and you can use low fat cheese 2% variety.
And the topping can be crackers instead of corn flakes.
You eat enough of those and you'll need a funeral!
Looks like it has corn flaks on it. But I don't see corn flakes in the recipe.
Yes, eating this every day would probably put you in the grave hovever, this is one of those "comfort foods"…I can't think of a better time to have them than a family gatering after a funeral. They are YUMMY!!
If you pass on these because they have "condensed cream of chicken soup" you are really missing out on something wonderful. ENJOY!!
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Evan Kleiman has been the host of Good Food on KCRW since 1998. A longtime restaurateur and owner of Angeli Caffe on Melrose. She was the founder of Slow Food, Los Angeles and is an avid gardener.
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