A UTAH BATTLE FOR THE AGES! Mashed Potatoes VS Funeral Potatoes for Thanksgiving

Since ancient times, Americans have enjoyed the giant bowl of mashed potatoes that’s served with the turkey during Thanksgiving, but everything changed when Utah got involved.

Here in Utah, we have a different kind of spud dish that we serve with the usual ham or turkey fare with name that betrays the joy it brings.

Funeral potatoes are a hash brown dish covered with cheese and sour cream, and often garnished with Corn Flakes or Rice Krispies. It’s serious stuff.

However, this has caused some conflict at the dinner table since some prefer the traditional mashed potatoes over the funeral variety.

This begs the question, which one is most suited for Thanksgiving? Mashed potatoes or funeral potatoes?

Let’s go over some pros and cons.

MASHED POTATOES

There aren’t many sensations that bear the same weight as a giant bowl of mashed potatoes being passed around the dinner table. Even your grandma holds off on the controversial takes on society in order to get a slap of pureed spuds.

Some advantages that come with the potatoes of mash include the ability to spread the spuds on an entrée or side of your choosing. While some prefer to not mix their food, some put the taters on a roll along with a piece of turkey and gravy to make a sloppy Thanksgiving slider. It’s also very filling, and is often the dish that the kids return to for seconds.

There is a downside though, mashed potatoes usually rely on other condiments to amplify the flavor. Think of gravy, or meat, cheese, chives, and sour cream. Most people eat mashed potatoes with an entrée, which means the spuds have a hard time standing on their own.

FUNERAL POTATOES

This Utah staple is a feed all solution for any occasion. It’s gooey, rich, and has the distinct mystery of disappearing within ten minutes of the dinner bell.

The big advantage funeral potatoes have over their mushy counterpart is that funeral potatoes can absolutely stand on its own as an entrée. This is due to the sheer volume of ingredients required to make funeral potatoes, and it’s often classified as a casserole due to some putting meat and vegetables into the mix.

The disadvantage of funeral potatoes is that they don’t have the instant mass appeal that mashed has. Most will probably play it safe by choosing mashed over funeral at the dinner table due to the safe factor. You’re guaranteed to have a good time with mashed, but those who take the leap into funeral will find more bang for their buck in terms of flavor profile.

BUT NONE OF THAT MATTERS! Because this is about YOU. Which variety of spuds do you prefer during Thanksgiving dinner, and before you bring it up…no, we’re not including sweet potatoes in this debate.

Happy Thanksgiving!