Crock Pot “Funeral Potatoes” for the Masses

We call them “funeral potatoes,” and they are made in many ways. Have a funeral at a Mormon church, and invite the Sisters of Zion to bring pans of funeral potatoes, and you will get quite a smorgasbord. Some with cubed hashbrowns and some with shredded. Some with cream of chicken, some with cream of mushroom. Some topped with cheese and some topped with Corn Flakes (personally, I’m pro Corn Flakes). I’ve even seen some with tortilla chips or French fried onions on them (no thanks to both). 

As a young wife, I had to make a big decision… what kind of funeral potatoes do I make? I needed to find my recipe and commit to it. I ended up looking around the internet, and I found an article from Deseret News from a very long time ago (I tried to find it now and can’t). Our local newspaper had a funeral potato taste test/contest, and they published the winning recipe. I tested it, found it acceptable, and that’s the recipe I’ve used ever since. 

Several times in the past six months, I’ve been tasked with making funeral potatoes in mass quantities. I have it down to an art. So if you, for some strange reason, need to make funeral potatoes to serve 120 people, I gotchu! Here is how to do it.

First, you need some kind of vat. Perhaps a Sterilite container. Make sure it's super clean for food prep. This is so much easier than mixing up smaller batches (I've done it that way). 

Tip: thaw your hashbrowns. If you mix your funeral potatoes while they are still frozen, the sauce freezes to the hashbrowns. You can do it that way, but things go a little smoother if you thaw your hashbrowns. 

Tip: use shredded hashbrowns (that's my personal preference). 

Tip: if your local Costco sells this big box of hashbrowns, this is the best deal! In our area, I have only found them at the Salt Lake location. As of December 2025, this box is $21.98 (the equivalent from Walmart at today's price would be $49!) This box has six bags of hashbrowns (approximately 16 cups per bag). 

This batch is twelve recipes of funeral potatoes and will do approximately 120 (1/2 cup) servings. 

In your vat of choice, dump:

• 72 cups of shredded hashbrowns (4.5 bags from the Costco box) (additional information - a 30 oz bag of hashbrowns is about 7 cups)
• 24 cups of shredded cheese (about 5 lbs)
• 12 (10.5 oz) cans of cream of chicken soup (or I use 5 (50 oz) cans from Costco - which is a little more than the recipe calls for but makes for easy measuring)
• 6 cups of milk
• 6 sticks of melted butter (or 3 cups) (sometimes I reduce the butter by up to half)
• 12 cups of sour cream (a 3 lb sour cream container is about 5 cups)
• 4 tbs salt
• 1 tbs pepper
• 4 tbs dehydrated onion (optional)

Give everything a stir. You might want to cackle like a witch depending on your vat. You will feel slightly insane, but it's also a bit of a rush. 

Divide the mixture into Crock Pots. I can fit this into four (I have a variety of 6-8 quart slow cookers). Don't forget to spray them with non-stick spray first. I frequently forget this step. 

Cook them on low for 3-4 hours. It doesn't hurt to stir them up a few times during cooking (this helps the heat get to the center quicker and helps prevent burning at the edges). I usually start them on high just to get the heat going and then turn them to low. Then I put them back on high for about 30 minutes right before serving because I want them to be piping hot! You can top them with additional cheese right before serving if you want. I don't put corn flakes on mine when I do them in the Crock Pot because A) most people don't like corn flakes on their funeral potatoes (though I firmly believe they haven't even tried it!) and B) I think the Crock Pot will make them soggy, and I am not okay serving soggy corn flakes.

If I were to add corn flakes, I would put them on right before serving and put the crock under the broiler in my oven for a minute, and I would only put them on one batch (due to the haters). But I haven't done this yet. I also don't have corn flakes measurements, but I would crush them and mix them with melted butter according to my best judgement. 

For informational purposes, I have made an additional small Crock Pot of gluten free funeral potatoes each time I've made them lately. I just use gluten free cream of chicken soup and keep everything sterile and separate. 

So, there you have it! Funeral potatoes for the masses!

Now what the heck are these events that I've been making potatoes for? Missionary farewells and homecomings and to feed the theatre kids (108 of them). 

Fortunately, no funerals. 

Here is a graphic of the recipe for a normal batch:

The original recipe is done in the oven, but I've adapted it for the Crock Pot because they're easier to keep hot for pot lucks and crowds and you can pile a lot of potatoes in a Crock Pot.