Before getting into what in the world funeral potatoes are, if you already know, you can watch the video below or jump to the recipe table. You can also scroll through for step by step instructions with pictures 😊 *DISCLAIMER* I feel like this goes without saying, but I’ve had concerned citizens reach out more than once when I don’t specify, everything in this recipe is vegan! Find your favorite vegan butters, creams, cheeses etc 😊

Funeral potatoes… if you grew up in Utah, you know exactly what I’m talking about. If you didn’t, you may or may not be confused as to what funeral potatoes are. This is a staple at mormon get togethers. If you don’t know what mormons are, they’re a religious cult started in the 1800’s. I was raised mormon, eventually formally leaving it as a young adult. Let me tell you something about mormons, they know how to throw one hell of a potluck. I could never attempt to count the number of these religious potlucks I attended in my life, I just know that it was many.

One of my favorite food items happened to be the funeral potatoes. At mormon funerals, your church “ward” (people who live in the same area as you and attend church together) will prepare food for your family/friends who attend services. There were always a few pans of different variations of funeral potatoes, and I basically loved every single one except for the kind some people made with chunks of ham in it. I’ve never been the biggest fan of ham.

So what exactly are funeral potatoes? Either shredded or cubed potatoes (some even did scalloped) mixed together with a can of cream of mushroom soup, maybe onions and olives, and lots of melty cheese. Most people top it with either crushed crackers (like Ritz) or crushed cornflakes. I know it all sounds really weird, but my god, is it tasty.

With my lack of appreciation for the majority of meltable vegan cheeses, I’d never thought about making it. After using Miyoko’s cheddar shreds for a lot of other delicious creations, it hit me one day that I could probably use it for funeral potatoes. I knew it was going to be quite a process because I was also going to have to make the cream of mushroom soup for it. I am a little sad Miyoko’s is discontinuing their shreds, but the vegan cheese game is getting better and better, and So Delicious would be good here as well.

I recommend thawing your frozen hash browns in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. It just cooks better that way.

First we’re going to make our soup by chopping up 1/4 to 1/2 of an onion (pick your preference!) and then chop up about 1/2 pound of washed mushrooms. You can use one pound of mushrooms if you’re like me and you really love mushrooms.

We’re doing 16 ounces of soup, so add 16 ounces of your broth base, which I made. So I’m mixing 2 cups of water with my better than bouillon.

Once that dissolves, I add in the onions and mushrooms, then press my garlic cloves into the mixture.

Once that is cooked together, we let it simmer for about ten minutes, adding in our half and half before simmering. I use Ripple brand, it works great.

Melt some butter in a pan and mix in the flour to create a roux. Once it’s mixed well, add in seasonings and soup to the roux.

When that’s all cooked together, sit aside and make your potato mixture. To do that, we’re going to melt our butter, then mix it in with our onions, sour cream, seasonings, shredded cheese, soup, and hash browns.

Once it’s mixed together, spread it evenly in a 9X13 baking dish and cook it at 350 degrees (F) for 40-50 minutes.

You can do the first half of cooking time with foil over the top, then remove it for the remaining second half. You don’t have to do this, but with vegan cheese, I feel like it helps it melt better.

A lot of people add crushed cornflakes or ritz crackers to the top, but I didn’t have any, so I omitted that here.

Enjoy your delicious pan of vegan funeral potatoes 😊

Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup (16 oz)

Ingredients 1. 1/4 to 1/2 onion, chopped (personal preference) 2. 1/2 to 1 lb mushrooms, chopped (again, personal preference) 3. 4 cloves of garlic 4. 2 cups of broth (I used 2 cups of water and 2 Tbsp of better than bullion) 5. 1/2 cup of vegan half and half or heavy cream 6. 2 Tbsp butter 7. 3 Tbsp flour 8. 1 tsp thyme 9. 1/2 tsp salt 10. 1/2 tsp lemon pepper or pepper

Directions 1. Chop up onion and mushroom. Can use a food processor, but I feel the mushrooms end up a bit too gritty, so I prefer to chop them. 2. On medium heat, add broth to sauce pan, then add onions and mushrooms, then press in your garlic cloves. 3. Add in half and half or heavy cream, let simmer for about ten minutes. 4. While simmering, in a separate pan, melt butter and add in flour, then whisk together. Once whisked well, add in seasonings, then remainder of soup and mix well. 5. Let simmer for another 15-20 minutes, adding up to another 1/2 cup of water as you go, if necessary (if the soup gets way too thick for your liking).

Vegan Funeral Potatoes

1. 30 oz bag of frozen hash browns (can do about 10 small potatoes shredded or cubed), make sure to thaw in the refrigerator overnight, or for a few hours 2. 2 cups of shredded cheese 3. 6 Tbsp butter, melted 4. 1/4 to 1/2 onion, chopped (personal preference) 5. 1 cup sour cream 6. 1 tsp salt 7. 1/2 tsp pepper Optional 1 cup crushed cornflakes or Ritz crackers

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F) 2. In a large mixing bowl, melt butter and add onions, sour cream, seasonings, 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese, cream of mushroom soup, and hash browns, mix well. 3. Spread evenly in a 9×13 baking dish, top with remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese and crushed cornflakes/crackers 4. Bake uncovered for 40-50 minutes. Notes You can cover with foil for the first 20 minutes, then uncover for the remaining cooking time. This usually helps the vegan cheese to melt better.