Scalloped Potatoes

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

43 Comments

5 from 13 votes
8 servings
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
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Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes are the perfect side dish for the holidays. Made with delicious layers of potatoes, cream, and cheddar cheese.

Serve these creamy Scalloped Potatoes with Perfect Easy Ribeye Steak, Oven Baked Pork Chops, Ultimate Garlic Pork Loin Roast, or with and of your favorite Holiday Recipes alongside your Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey.

Sabrina’s Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes are a potato casserole dish the perfect easy recipe to serve alongside the main course and your classic Green Bean Casserole you know you HAVE to make. Especially when the holidays come around. We know the secret to a great meal is in the side dishes you serve, and potatoes go well with pretty much anything. Plus my youngest loves helping me layer the potato slices in the dish, making cooking a family activity.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Scalloped Potatoes Recipe

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes are the perfect side dish for the holidays. Made with delicious layers of potatoes, cream, and cheddar cheese.
Yield 8 servings
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American with French influence
Author Sabrina Snyder
Potatoes on spatula
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 4 russet potatoes , sliced into 1/4-inch slices
  • 1/2 yellow onion , minced
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt , divided
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese , shredded

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  • Lay the potatoes one on top of each other in rows with half the salt and the minced onions in a 9×13-inch baking dish.
  • In a pot, add the butter on medium heat until melted, then add the flour, pepper, and remaining salt, whisking well for 30-45 seconds.
  • Add in the milk and heavy cream slowly while whisking until thickened, about 2-3 minutes.
  • Add the cream sauce over the potatoes and cook covered in the oven for 45 minutes.
  • Spread shredded cheddar over the potatoes and cook uncovered in the oven for an additional 25 minutes.

Notes

Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 328kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 409mg | Potassium: 546mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 805IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 175mg | Iron: 1mg

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Table of Contents

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Chef’s Notes

This recipe traditionally doesn’t require any cheese and are more simple to make, but you can add cheese if you’re in the mood for cheesy potatoes. If we’re getting technical, Scalloped Potatoes don’t have cheese. Traditionally, they are made with flour, butter and whole milk, also known as a roux, and are slowly baked to make them crisp. While that does sound amazing, everything is better with cheese. In my quick and easy recipe I add just a little bit of cheddar cheese on top for flavor and color, because it makes the potatoes even richer and more flavorful. Other similar potato recipes use a thick cheese sauce poured over the top.

Cooking Tips & Tricks

  • After you sprinkle the top with cheese, you can broil for 2-3 minutes to add a really nice golden brown color on top.
  • It might take a few minutes of whisking to get your sauce to thicken. After you add milk to the flour and butter, bring your sauce to a boil then lower it to a simmer to prevent burning.
  • When adding the flour to the melted butter, whisk until the flour has browned and smells slightly nutty, then add the milk. This gives the creamy sauce a really nice, rich flavor. Whisk continuously so the milk doesn’t curdle.
  • You can make this dish gluten-free by using cup-for-cup gluten-free flour in place of the regular flour.
  • Mince your onions in the food processor to cut down on time.
  • If you don’t want to use cream, you can use half and half to help lighten up the recipe and save calories.

How to Serve and Store

  • Serve: Scalloped Potatoes can be kept at room temperature for up to two hours, but no longer than that.
  • Store: Cooked potatoes will last 3-5 days in the refrigerator. You should always let them cool down to room temperature before you put them in an airtight container and put them away. To reheat them, take the plastic wrap off of the baking sheet and put the whole pan in the oven for a few minutes until it’s heated through, or plate them up and put them in the microwave.
  • Freeze: Potatoes will stay good in the freezer for up to 6 months, but be aware that your creamy sauce will more than likely separate upon reheating.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best way to slice the potatoes?

About ⅛ to ¼ inch thick. Use a mandoline slicer to get consistently thin pieces.

What’s the difference between Scalloped Potatoes and au gratin potatoes?

Traditionally, Potatoes Au Gratin have cheese and Scalloped Potatoes don’t.

Why are my potatoes still hard?

The potatoes are too hard because they’ve been sliced too thick. Keep them thin and they’ll get nice and soft.

Can you freeze these potatoes before baking?

Yes. Make sure to keep the dish tightly wrapped to keep moisture out and you can bake the potatoes when you’re good and ready.

Variations

  • Spices: Play with your favorite flavors to make it your own. Want to add some spice? A bit of cayenne goes a long way. Want a warmer flavor? Add a bit of nutmeg.
  • Cheese: Let’s face it, the best version of this are cheesy Scalloped Potatoes! Sharp cheddar, gruyere. parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese are all great options to make this cheesy.
  • Baked Potato Toppings: Classic flavors like bacon, chives, sour cream, or coarse ground black pepper will match the flavors in this recipe very well.
  • Vegetables: You can also sneak some veggies into this side dish. Try diced cauliflower, thinly sliced garlic or really thin cut peeled zucchini between the potato slices.

More Amazing Potato Recipes

Scalloped Potatoes collage

The following photos were used in the previous versions of this post

Potatoes on spatula
Potatoes being lifted from baking dish
aerial view of finished potatoes

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

    1. Hi Peggy, 9×13 baking dish. Updated recipe card and thanks so much for bringing this oversight to our attention!
      Enjoy!

      Reply

  2. Would it be a big deal to put the weight in?
    Four russet potatoes are a crap shoot…
    Cheesy potatoes recipe looks truly yummy, serves 8, so perhaps BIG potatoes.

    Reply

  4. I am worried. I am making the potatoes. I took one out when I put the cheese on. They are very hard still. I want to turn the heat up because I dont think they are going to be ready. But, what happens to the sauce?

    Reply

  6. These scalloped potatoes are my daughter’s favourite! No mashed potatoes are ever accepted. lol Thank you for sharing a great recipe!

    Reply

  7. This reminds me of a dish that my in-laws serve at every single get-together. They call them “funeral” potatoes. I can never get enough of this ooey, gooey, cheesy goodness! So delicious!

    Reply

    1. I’m making this recipe as we speak. They’re doing great. Can’t wait to eat them with my meatloaf tonight ????

      Reply

  8. Made these potatoes to jazzy up St Patty’s Day dinner along with the cabbage steak and slow cooked corned beef recipes, also found on this site. They were all a big hit, especially these potatoes!! The cheese on top made the dish delectable! I didn’t have whole milk in the house, so used heavy cream and low-fat half and half. Came out extra rich, but still delicious! Making it again for friends tonight and using the low-fat half and half with the whole milk this time to see the difference. I’m sure will be just as delicious!!

    Reply

  9. This looks delicious. I would like to thicken with cornstarch instead of flour. How much cornstarch should I use?

    Reply

  10. Wonderful texture and taste! I make this as a side with your KFC copycat recipe. My family loved it and I will make it again. I definitely would recommend your website to everyone! One of the very best!

    Reply

  12. Is this recipe for an 8×8 pan? I need to double recipe for large family. Looks amazing! I will be doing a gluten free version.
    Thanks!

    Reply