This Party Potatoes Recipe without Canned Soup is a creamy, cheesy, homemade favorite made with frozen hash browns and topped with buttery corn flakes. Family-friendly and perfect for any occasion from casual gatherings to holiday dinners!
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Why We Love These Party Potatoes
- Ultra cheesy and creamy: Total comfort food in every bite with a homemade cream sauce and lots of cheese!
- Simple and fast: Easy to throw together with minimal prep.
- Made with frozen hash browns: No peeling or grating required!
- No canned soup: Homemade recipe with simple pantry ingredients.
- Crunchy corn flake topping: Adds the perfect golden, buttery crunch.
- Family-friendly: Even picky eaters clean their plates.
- Perfect for any occasion: From weeknight dinners to holidays and potlucks this is a winning dish.
- Easy to make ahead: Prep it in advance and bake when ready.
Party Potatoes Recipe Ingredients
- Southern Style Frozen Hashbrowns
- Salted Butter
- Onion
- Unbleached All Purpose Flour
- Milk
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Sour Cream
- Shredded Colby Jack Cheese
- Corn Flakes
Substitution Suggestions
- Hashbrowns: you can use shredded hashbrowns if you like. I like the small diced hashbrowns best. You could also use O'Brien potatoes, which are southern style hashbrowns with onion and peppers.
- Salted Butter: feel free to use unsalted butter. Taste as you go to see if you need to add a little extra salt or not.
- Onion: if you don't want to use fresh onion you can use a tablespoon of dried onion flakes or a teaspoon of onion powder.
- All Purpose Flour: this is used to thicken the sauce. You can use whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour if you prefer.
- Milk: use the milk you keep on hand. We drink 2% cows milk so that is what I use. Whole milk, skim milk or any unsweetened nut milk or soy milk will work.
- Sour Cream: plain Greek yogurt is a great substitute. I use it a lot in place of sour cream.
- Colby Jack Cheese: use your favorite cheese! Cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese, gouda cheese or monteray jack cheese are all great options.
- Corn Flakes: make sure you buy plain corn flakes and not frosted flakes.
What are Funeral Potatoes?
Funeral potatoes or party potatoes is a cheesy potato casserole made with frozen hashbrowns, cheese, creamy sauce and topped with cornflakes. It can be made with canned condensed soup or with a homemade sauce like in my recipe. They're called funeral potatoes because traditionally they were served at funeral luncheons. Now you can find them at potlucks, family gatherings and holiday celebrations.
How to Make Cheesy Funeral Potatoes
- First, preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray or soft butter.
- Next, in a large skillet melt ½ cup butter over medium heat and add the onions. Cook onions until soft and translucent. About 4-5 minutes.
- Sprinkle the flour, salt and black pepper over the onions. Stir it together well and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Now slowly pour the milk into the skillet while stirring at the same time. Stir it well to remove any lumps of flour.
- Bring sauce to a boil and then simmer for 2-3 minutes until the gravy has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Then remove skillet from heat.
- Stir in the sour cream and shredded cheese.
- Stir in the frozen hash browns until everything is evenly combined.
- Spread the mixture evenly into prepared baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, combined lightly crushed cornflakes and ¼ cup melted butter.
- Sprinkle the buttered cereal on top of the potatoes.
- Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes until bubbly and golden brown.
What to Serve with Party Potatoes
This is a great side dish to all your favorite main proteins. From casual meatloaf to a fancy ham dinner, these party potatoes are going to shine! Here are some of my family favorites to have with these potatoes:
- Crock Pot Honey Ham
- BBQ Meatloaf
- Instant Pot Whole Chicken
- Oven Roasted BBQ Chicken
- Spiced Grilled Pork Chops
- Honey Mustard Chicken
Looking for another recipe to use frozen hashbrowns? Don't miss my recipe for the BEST Egg Bake! It's so simple to prep and is the perfect weekend or make ahead breakfast.
Storing Corn Flake Potato Casserole
Storing: Store any leftovers in an airtight container or tightly covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Reheating: Reheat casserole in low oven or in microwave until warmed through.
Make Ahead Instructions
This recipe can be made up to 3 days in advance or you can freeze it.
Make the recipe as directed but don't make the corn flake topping just yet. Cover the casserole tightly and store in fridge until ready to make. While the oven is preheating take the casserole out and let sit at room temperature. This is when you'll make the corn flake topping and sprinkle it over the top of casserole. Bake casserole per instructions. You may have to add 5-10 minutes to the baking time depending on how cold the casserole is when it enters the oven.
Follow the same instructions for freezing except thaw the casserole in the fridge the night before you want to serve it. Then top it with the cornflake topping before baking.
Heather's Favorite Tools for this Recipe
- This is my favorite deep skillet. It's large enough to stir it all together in the skillet.
- I love Pyrex baking dishes and CorningWare baking dishes.
- These glass measuring cups from Pyrex are my favorite to use when measuring liquids!
- A simple box grater is perfect for shredding your own cheese.
Tips for Party Potatoes
- Shred your own cheese. It will melt easier and create a better texture in the sauce. The pre-shredded cheese does not melt well and can leave a grainy texture.
- Go easy on the salt. There is salted butter and cheese in this recipe so don't add too much extra salt.
- Lightly crush the corn flakes. You want there to still be some larger flakes to create the best texture.
More Delicious Potato Side Dishes:
- Au Gratin Potatoes
- Roasted Ranch Potatoes
- Loaded Mashed Potatoes
- Lemon Thyme Roasted Potatoes
- Classic Potato Salad
- Grilled Potatoes in Foil
- Crispy Oven Fries
Did you make this recipe? Rate it!
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Party Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2½ cups milk
- 2 cups sour cream
- 2 cups shredded colby jack cheese
- 2 pounds frozen southern style hashbrowns
Corn Flake Topping
- 2 cups lightly crushed corn flakes
- ¼ cup salted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13 baking dish.
- In a large skillet melt ½ cup butter over medium heat and add the onions. Cook onions until soft and translucent. About 4-5 minutes.
- Sprinkle the flour, salt and black pepper over the onions. Stir it together well and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Slowly pour the milk into the skillet while stirring at the same time. Stir it well to remove any lumps of flour.
- Bring sauce to a boil and then simmer for 2-3 minutes until the gravy has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Remove skillet from heat.
- Stir in the sour cream and shredded cheese.
- Stir in the frozen hash browns until everything is evenly combined.
- Spread the mixture evenly into prepared baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, combined lightly crushed cornflakes and ¼ cup melted butter.
- Sprinkle the buttered cereal over top the hashbrown mixture.
- Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes until bubbly and golden brown.
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