If you don’t want ooey gooey cheese covering every single nook and cranny of your scalloped potatoes then look away. These Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes are perfection! If you happen to want an easy Crock-Pot Scalloped Potato, I’ve got ya covered. You may also love my Potatoes Au Gratin with Smoked Sausage.
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
For this recipe, I take a cream sauce and smother it over thick-cut potato rounds. I like to use a mandolin so that our potato slices come out the same every time. This is seriously the most amazing cheesy scalloped potato recipe that I have ever had.
Scalloped Potatoes vs. Au Gratin Potatoes
Why is there so much confusion about scalloped potatoes versus Au Gratin Potatoes? Well, they are very similar. So, we are calling our dish cheesy scalloped potatoes, and let me explain why we can do that. We are basically combining the best parts of both dishes.
A traditional scalloped potato dish consists of sliced potatoes layered in a casserole dish and baked with heavy cream and lots of herbs. A traditional Au Gratin Potato dish, on the other hand, has grated cheese sprinkled between the layers, resulting in a cheesy, more decadent dish. In both dishes, the potatoes are cut into rounds, but the potatoes used in scalloped potatoes are often cut a bit thicker than those in au gratin potatoes.
What Potatoes are Best for Scalloped Potatoes?
When choosing a potato for scalloped potatoes, I recommend a Russet potato (like I used for this recipe) or Yukon Gold potatoes. These two kinds of potatoes are starchy enough to help thicken the sauce and they will also turn out soft and tender. If you choose a more waxy potato, they may not soften up. Also, slice the potatoes as evenly as you can (which is why I recommended a mandoline earlier). Keep the thickness from 1/8 of an inch to 1/4 of an inch to ensure the potatoes are cooked evenly.
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
So many people have asked if this could be combined with Ham. Without a doubt. This would be amazing with the addition of ham! I would maybe cube it and put it in between the rows of potatoes. Really, all you need to do is add it to the ingredients list, it will incorporate with the rest of the recipe just fine. That would take this from a side dish to a knock out the main course!
No matter which way you decide to prepare this cheesy scalloped potatoes dish, you will not be disappointed! Neither will anyone at your dinner table. Seriously? What is there not to love!?
I love to pair this with other holiday favorites like the worlds WORST stuffing, roasted carrots, creamy mashed potatoes and herb butter roasted turkey!
Can You Make Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes Ahead Of Time?
Yes, you can make these cheesy scalloped potatoes the day before! Simply prepare the recipe as instructed, but stop before baking it. Once you’ve assembled the dish and added the cheese sauce, cover it tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store it in the refrigerator. The next day, you can bake it directly from the refrigerator—just be sure to add a few extra minutes to the baking time if needed.
More Side Dishes
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
Equipment
- Medium saucepan I like this one from Kitchenaid!
- Mandoline (optional)
- 2-Quart baking dish I use a glass baking dish like this one!
Ingredients
- 4 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into ¼-inch slices (about 2 pounds)
- 1 yellow onion, sliced into rings
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups whole milk, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups mild cheddar cheese, shredded
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly spray an 8×8-inch casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Arrange the potatoes and onions in the prepared baking dish, staggering potato and then onion.
- In a medium-size saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Mix in the flour and salt, and stir constantly with a whisk for one minute. Stir in milk. Cook until mixture has thickened.
- Stir in cheese all at once, and continue stirring until melted and smooth, about 30-60 seconds.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the potatoes, and cover the dish with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 85-90 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
- For a crisp topping, change the oven setting to broil after the potatoes are baked. Broil until golden brown.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.
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This is just how my mom made them. Throw in some diced ham and now you’ve got a meal!
I can’t wait to make this tomorrow night! How many people does this serve? Also, can I assemble it tonight and bake tmrw or will the potatoes gray?
Great questions!
This will serve about 6 people as a side (you can stretch it to 8 if there’s a lot of other food). And yes, you can absolutely assemble it the night before. Just make sure all the potatoes are well coated in the sauce and not exposed. Press them down a bit, cover it tightly, and refrigerate.
They can darken slightly if exposed to air, but if everything is coated, you’ll be totally fine. And once it’s baked, no one will ever know anyway. I do this all the time and it actually turns out even better the next day!
This will be my 3rd time making this dish. It’s become a family favorite for special dinners. So easy to prepare the day before and it’s ready for the oven the next day. This is a great recipe. Try it and you will definitely agree.
Hi! I tried your recipe (twice now) and it was an overwhelming success!
My wife has fallen in love with my scalloped potato dish.
Thank you for the help! I’ve decided to triple the recipe. Same oven temperature, same cook time? Also, I have a 13 by 9 by 2 glass baking dish. Should that be big enough or do I need something bigger? If so, is an aluminum pan okay?
I think we need to double it for that size pan. I m making for easter and need to feed a lot of people and will probably have to make the recipe X4
HELP PLEASE!!! So I decided to add rosemary, just because a friend of mine told me if would add to the flavor. I wet out and bought two containers of fresh rosemary. I am tripling the recipe. I don’t have a clue what to do with the rosemary, how much to use, where to put it, etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Now knowing how to cook can be painful! Happy Easter in advance. 🙂
Hi there,
Happy Easter! 😊
Adding rosemary is a nice idea.
Since you’re tripling the recipe, I recommend using 2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh rosemary total. I am not a fan of rosemary overwhelming a recipe, so my recommendations are for less.)
Here’s the easiest way:
Finely chop the rosemary.
Stir half into the sauce while you’re making it.
Sprinkle the other half between the layers of potatoes and a little on top.
That should give you a nice subtle flavor without overpowering the dish. You can absolutely use more if you are a big Rosemary fan!
You’ve got this! Let me know how it turns out.
Amanda
I’d be cautious and not overdo the rosemary. Fresh rosemary could overpower the dish if you add too much. Maybe add it to half of the pan, so there is an option without rosemary. Just my 2 cents.
Can you bake this in an air fryer instead of conventional oven?
I am going to use this to make scalloped potatoes for 16. I doubled the recipe using the app, but I notice the size of the containers doesn’t change. I can figure it out, but it would be useful if the app changed the container sizes when the numbers double.
Hi Sheila,
Thanks so much for trying the scalloped potatoes recipe!
When you double a recipe in the app, the cup measurements do scale automatically! However, the pan/container sizes and some of the gram/ounce weights that I add by hand for every single recipe and don’t change with the scaling tool. That’s a limitation of the plugin I use on my website.
For doubling this recipe to serve 16, you’ll want to use a larger baking dish. I recommend either two 9×13 pans or one very large/deep 10×15 (or similar) pan so the potatoes aren’t too crowded and cook evenly.
Sorry for any confusion on that! Let me know if you have any other questions as you make it.
Do you have any recommendations for freezing this? I’m visiting my son and want to make an extra dish for him to save for later.
You can freeze it, but just know the texture may change a bit due to the creamy sauce. For best results, I recommend baking it first, letting it cool completely, then wrapping it tightly and freezing.
When ready to use, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and reheat covered in the oven until warmed through. You may notice the sauce separates slightly, but it will still taste great.
Happy Easter! Can’t wait to try your recipe, it sounds amazing. Silly question but do you stir everything together in the 2 quart pan after adding the cheese sauce? I was confused if I do bc the layering of the potatoes and onions.
No stirring needed. 🙂 Just layer the potatoes and onions in the dish, then pour the cheese sauce evenly over the top. I like to gently press everything down a bit so the sauce settles into the layers, but don’t mix it all together. It bakes up beautifully that way!
Happy Easter! Have you ever cooked it in a crockpot? Just wondering if i should do anything different to the recipe?
I have a recipe 🙂 https://iamhomesteader.com/crockpot-scalloped-potatoes/