Whole Food Potato Filling Recipe

I’ve got another new series for you today. This series will be one of my Grandma’s recipes each month. This month, I’m sharing her potato filling recipe.

What exactly is potato filling? It is a Pennsylvania dutch potato side dish. There are many variations but most have bread, eggs and onions added to mashed potatoes. Then cooked in the oven. I didn’t remember ever eating this dish from my heritage.

My Grandma passed away in August of 2011. She was a great cook. One of the things I inherited from her was her collection of recipes. I couldn’t be happier with my inheritance. I told some of my relatives, I would try to put together a recipe book with their favorite of her recipes. I decided that I would let you all in on my journey as well.

This month the journey to recreate this recipe was one of the most terrifying cooking experiences I have had in a long time. I love cooking, but I am very much so a cook who needs a recipe. A recipe with measurements and directions.

The version of this recipe that I had written down when my Grandma was alive was to saute celery and onions in butter. Add them to mashed potatoes with 2 eggs, milk, onion salt, parsley. Put butter on top and cook for one hour. My cousin had a completely different recipe. My mom had another version of the recipe.

Ummm…. I was totally confused and not sure what to do. Finally, after comparing all three, I called my cousin. She lived closer to my Grandma for much longer than I had the chance. She was able to fill me in a little bit. The recipe had indeed changed over the years. As my Grandma got older, the sauteing onions and celery got replaced with onion salt and/or celery salt. For some reason just knowing that it didn’t matter so much that all of our recipes matched put me at ease and the idea of making my Grandma’s potato filling became fun.

I decided to make my version of my Grandma’s potato filling using only whole cooking ingredients (the least processed as possible). That is how I like to cook. I took 4 slices of bread diced them and toasted them. That way instead of soaking bread crumbs, I could just add the toasted fresh bread (tastes so much better). I chopped the onion, celery, and fresh parsley. I used a lot of butter. That is the way my Grandma made it…so I did, too.

I cooked my potatoes until fork tender. While the potatoes were cooking, I sauteed the onion and celery in butter. Once everything was ready, I mashed the potatoes in the same pot in which I had cooked them. I then added 2 eggs, milk, butter, the toasted bread cubes, sauteed onions and celery, parsley, salt, and pepper. Mixed it well and put it in my 9 x 9 pan (which was my own glass etched pan). I have the full recipe for you below (with measurements and such!).

Fresh out of the oven! I don’t remember ever eating potato filling before, though my mom says we ate it every Thanksgiving. I know her recipe was different from this with no bread added into it among other things.

Yummy! Potato filling served on Grandma’s plates. The potato filling is really good. Both of my girls gobbled it up! Even, Snowflake who doesn’t normally like mashed potatoes. I will be making Grandma’s potato filling again. I’m sure my relatives will want me to bring some to Thanksgiving as well. 🙂

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I hope you enjoy my Grandma’s potato filling recipe as much as we did. It turned out to be a fun experience to make and I am proud of myself for making it even though working with no recipe scared me. I also enjoyed remembering my Grandma and feeling closer to her for a few moments. I miss her.