Au Gratin Hash Brown Casserole (AKA Funeral Potatoes)
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Au Gratin Hash Brown Casserole is the definition of comfort food! Shredded potatoes are coated with a rich and creamy sauce then it’s covered with a crispy topping and baked until warm and delicious.
A Different Kind of Hash Brown Casserole
I can’t count how many times I had these at different get togethers growing up. I’m pretty sure that any church dinner party that ever happens in Utah, these kind of potatoes are there.
But honestly they are one of the most popular pot luck foods around here and for good reason – they are so delicious!
The thing I never liked about them though was that cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup that the recipe always had.
So my version is cream of whatever free. It’s just made with a roux and milk mixture instead, then a generous dose of tangy sour cream is mixed in along with a nice cheesy blend of sharp cheddar and parmesan cheese.
And you don’t even need to thinly slice or shred potatoes. It just uses the frozen pre-shredded hash browns.
Ingredients Needed for This Recipe
- Frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
- Butter
- Yellow onion
- Flour
- Milk
- Sharp cheddar cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- Sour cream
- Salt and pepper
- Cornflakes
- Parsley
How to Make Hash Brown Casserole
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Melt 4 Tbsp butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until softened.
- Add in flour and cook 1 minute. Whisk in milk then cook stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil.
- Remove from heat, stir in cheeses.
- Stir in sour cream. Season mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
- Place hash browns in a large mixing bowl then pour in milk mixture and toss to evenly coat. Transfer to baking dish and spread even.
- Crush corn flakes to pebble size bits.
- Add 3 Tbsp melted butter to cornflake mixture and toss to evenly coat.
- Sprinkle cornflake mixture evenly over casserole.
- Bake in preheated oven until hot throughout.
- Garnish with parsley and serve warm.
It may seem like such a random side dish but it really is so good. I crave this stuff. And I don’t think it’s just because I was raised on it.
Those creamy, cheese potatoes layered with crunchy buttery cornflakes – I mean how could it not be good?
Do a trial run for dinner this weekend to see for yourself, you want these on the Thanksgiving menu this year!
More Side Dish Recipes You Might Like
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Au Gratin Hash Brown Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 (30 oz) package frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
- 4 Tbsp butter, diced into 1 Tbsp pieces
- 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 3/4 cups milk (whole or 2%)
- 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 4 cups cornflakes, crushed (nearly 2 cups once crushed)
- 3 Tbsp butter, melted
- 1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Melt 4 Tbsp butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until softened, about 5 - 6 minutes.
- Add in flour and cook stirring constantly, 1 minute. While whisking pour in milk then cook stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil.
- Remove from heat, add in cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese and stir until melted.
- Stir in sour cream. Season mixture with salt and pepper to taste (you want it on the salty side as it will be seasoning the potatoes).
- Place hash browns in a large mixing bowl then pour in milk mixture and toss to evenly coat. Transfer to a 13 by 9-inch baking dish (no need to grease dish) and spread into and even layer.
- Place cornflakes in a gallon size resealable bag, seal bag and crush with a rolling pin to roughly pebble size bits.
- Add 3 Tbsp melted butter to cornflake mixture then seal bag and toss to evenly coat with butter. Sprinkle cornflake mixture evenly over casserole.
- Bake in preheated oven until hot throughout, about 40 - 50 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve warm.
- Recipe source: Easy Cooking Zone