The BEST Tater Tot Casserole (AKA Upgraded “Funeral Potatoes”)

Do you want to hear something kind of dark? I had no idea people called this casserole funeral potatoes until I was… at a funeral. Ironic, yes? This recipe, however, is not traditional funeral potatoes. I have absolutely no idea who gave us this tater tot casserole recipe, but my mom has been making it for as long as I can remember and everyone who I make it for wants the recipe. I’ve tried plenty of other people’s funeral potatoes and I’ve had Cracker Barrel’s hash brown casserole (which is admittedly one of my faves), but this casserole is just superior!!!

Why Are They Called Funeral Potatoes?

From what I’ve gathered/learned, funeral potatoes are often associated with Mormon culture because they are often served at Mormon church potlucks and (you guessed it) funerals. They generally contain cubed potatoes, cream of something (celery, mushroom, or chicken), sour cream, onions, and cheese. They also normally have a topping of potato chips or cracker crumbs. Where mine is a little bit different is using tater tots instead of shredded or cubed hash browns and skipping the crumb topping. I think it has to do with the flour on the coating of the tater tots that gets this casserole so yummy and crispy, which is why you don’t need a crumb topping!

Throughout the years of making this recipe for potlucks, holidays, and get togethers, we changed things a bit: altered the amount of butter, trying out different crumb toppings (and then nixing them altogether), cooked the onions in the butter before adding, adding green chiles, adding bacon, adding garlic. After years of these tweaks, this is where the tater tot casserole has ended up.

And yes, I do make it (or my chicken pot pie) for people who are grieving but also happy things like new babies!!!!! I’ve found that food is sometimes the best thing I can do for a friend going through a big life event, and there’s nothing better than something warm and comforting. And what’s more comforting than cheesy potatoes?

P.S. If you like this recipe, you will probably like my Jiffy Cornbread Casserole recipe!:

Jiffy Cornbread Casserole with Compound Butter

How to Make the Best Tater Tot Casserole

1. Preheat oven to 375℉
2. Into a large bowl, begin crumbling the thawed tater tots with your hands. You don’t have to completely crumble them into such fine pieces so that the casserole turns to complete mush, but you also want everything to get incorporated well! To thaw the tater tots, I will generally just leave them in the refrigerator overnight. However, in a pinch, you can use the defrost feature of a microwave to thaw.
3. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and then add diced onions. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent. Then add the garlic powder and let cook for an additional minute before removing from heat to let cool slightly.
4. Into the bowl with the crumbled tater tots, add cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, shredded cheese, slightly cooled butter/onion mixture, black pepper, salt (if needed) and green chiles and/or bacon crumbles(if using). Stir until everything is well combined.
5. Transfer to a greased 9×13 baking dish, spreading the mixture out evenly in the dish.
6. Transfer to oven and bake for 45 minutes-1 hour or until a bit crispy on top.

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