I Thought I’d Perfected Funeral Potatoes—Until I Discovered This Genius Upgrade

Funeral potatoes are synonymous with comfort. There’s a reason the beloved potato casserole is a staple at Latter-day Saints funerals (where its name was coined) and other potluck-style functions. The dish—typically a combination of  frozen hash browns or cubed potatoes, a creamy soup, sour cream, and shredded cheese topped with crushed Corn Flakes or potato chips—always comes to mind first when I need something crowd-pleasing to bring to any gathering, and I was pretty sure my recipe was flawless. 

But thanks to Reddit, I recently discovered a brilliant upgrade that can make any Funeral Potato recipe even more flavorful. 

The 1-Ingredient Upgrade to the Best Funeral Potatoes

In a Reddit Cooking (r/Cooking) post, a user asked “What cooking decision have you made in desperation only to find out it’s frickin delicious?” Redditor FleetwoodSacks replied with a swap for sour cream swap: French onion dip.

“I was out of sour cream when making funeral potatoes but used leftover French onion chip dip. It’s the only way I make it now,” wrote FleetwoodSacks.

French onion dip is the perfect replacement for sour cream in funeral potatoes. The party favorite serves double duty: It gives the casserole a dose of creaminess, while also adding umami-forward, caramelized onion–enriched flavor. So if you mix in French onion dip instead of sour cream, you can also omit the chopped, dehydrated, or powdered onion from your recipe.

Redditor Excusemytootie agrees with the upgrade: “Totally makes sense. You can make some amazing French onion dip with a container of sour cream and a packet of dry Lipton onion soup mix. It’s better if it has time to sit overnight.”

How to Use French Onion Dip in Funeral Potatoes

The process is so simple.

1. Make or buy the dip. You can easily throw together French onion dip with a package of Lipton mix and a tub of sour cream. Let it sit for at least an hour or ideally overnight.
2. Whip up your funeral potatoes. When you’re making the recipe of your choice, swap out the sour cream and onion (fresh, dehydrated, or flavoring) for the dip! For example, in our popular Easy Funeral Potatoes recipe, use a pint of French onion dip in place of the 1/2 cup of dehydrated onion and pint of sour cream.
3. Eat the rest of the dip (optional). If you have any leftovers, scrap it out of the tub with some potato chips.