As mentioned earlier, the concept of Funeral Potatoes has historically been based on easy-to-fix casseroles usually containing potatoes, shredded cheese, dairy such as sour cream and canned cream soups. We worked with a professional recipe developer and blogger, Rosemary Mark of http://getcookingsimply.com/our-blog/ and she created a “from scratch” Basic Funeral Idaho® Potatoes recipe and a roadmap for the ultimate customizable Funeral Potato Casserole dish. Follow along for some great ideas:
https://idahopotato.com/recipes/from-scratch-basic-funeral-potatoes
Use either of these charts to create your own Funeral Potatoes with ingredients you have on hand. Text in red is our traditional recipe.
CHOOSE ONE INGREDIENT FROM EACH ROW
CHOOSE one ingredient from each COLUMN. Add-in ingredients are optional, but tasty!
Text in Red is Idaho Potato Commission’s traditional Funeral Potatoes Casserole. Casserole Variations begin with type of potatoes and read left to right.
BASIC INSTRUCTIONS:
Remove potatoes from freezer and let thaw about 2 hours before preparing or thaw in refrigerator up to 12 hours. Dish can be made with frozen potatoes (a little trickier to stir), then add 10-15 minutes to the covered bake time.
Variations –
Extra rich: Some recipes stir ½ cup melted butter will all the ingredients. We think it’s plenty rich without, but it may be tradition for some!
Extra creamy – Use 2 cans condensed soup instead of one. Some recipes wouldn’t hold back on the soup!
Lightened up – Omit soup and sour cream; Stir ¼ cup all-purpose flour into sautéed onions. Whisk in 1 cup chicken broth and 1 cup milk (1% or non-fat if desired) plus ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Cook until thickened; use Greek yogurt in place of sour cream.
Veg it up – stir into potato mixture 2 cups frozen peas and carrots or mixed vegetables; or 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove water. Or 5-6 ounce bag fresh baby spinach or regular spinach, chopped.
Dress it up – options to stir into potato mixture: ½ cup cooked crumbled bacon; one 2-oz can diced chills; ¼ cup thinly sliced green onion or chives; 2-3 cloves minced garlic (sauté with onions if pre-cooking).
Short-cut – omit onion sauté; stir all ingredients together and place in casserole
Slow Cooker – Place all ingredients except topping in slow cooker and cook for 3 hours on high or 5 hours on low. Sprinkle with topping and drizzle with melted butter.
*Scratch Funeral Potatoes
**Topping options:
Crushed Saltine or Ritz crackers
Panko crumbs
Crushed cornflakes
Canned fried onions
Shredded or grated Parmesan cheese
