Scalloped Potatoes Recipe

When the holidays rolled around at my grandmother’s, the smell of creamy scalloped potatoes filled the air. She layered Yukon Gold slices with onions and a rich sauce, baked until golden. This scalloped potatoes recipe carries that same comfort, perfect for family dinners or festive spreads.

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What is Scalloped Potatoes Recipe?

A scalloped potatoes recipe features thinly sliced potatoes baked in a creamy sauce, sometimes topped with cheese. Unlike potatoes au gratin, which uses breadcrumbs and more cheese throughout, scalloped potatoes focus on tender layers and a velvety sauce.

For another cozy potato dish, try our Swamp Potatoes Recipe for a Cajun twist.

Why You’ll Love This

From Sunday roasts to Christmas dinners, creamy scalloped potatoes deliver timeless appeal. They pair beautifully with roasted meats, turkey, or even vegetarian mains. The recipe is also easy to adapt add ham for a heartier bite or swap cheeses for your favorite flavors.

These potatoes also reheat beautifully, which makes them one of the best make-ahead sides for the holidays. You can assemble the whole dish the evening before, cover it tightly, and slide it into the oven straight from the fridge on the day you need it. The flavors actually deepen overnight as the cream soaks into the potato layers. If you enjoy make-ahead comfort food, you will find this recipe fits right alongside other crowd-pleasers like a classic stuffed casserole that needs almost no morning effort.

The texture is what keeps people coming back. Thin potato slices cooked low and slow in seasoned cream develop a silky, almost melt-in-your-mouth quality that thick chunks never achieve. Every forkful delivers both the soft potato and the golden cheesy crust on top, making each bite a complete experience rather than just a side dish filling space on the plate.

How to Make Scalloped Potatoes

Quick Overview

1. Make the sauce with butter, flour, milk, and broth.
2. Layer potatoes, onions, sauce, and cheese.
3. Bake until tender and golden.

Ingredients

• 3 lbs Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese (or Gruyère/Gouda)
• Salt & pepper to taste

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Step-by-Step

Preheat oven to 400°F and grease a 9x13-inch dish. In a skillet, melt butter, whisk in flour for 1 min, add milk and broth gradually. Stir in garlic, thyme, salt, pepper; cook 3 min until thickened. Layer half the potatoes, onion, half the sauce, and 1 cup cheese. Repeat with remaining layers, ending with ½ cup cheese. Cover, bake 30 min; uncover, bake 35–40 min until tender. Rest 20 min before serving.

What to Serve with Scalloped Potatoes

These potatoes shine alongside roasted chicken, glazed ham, or a fresh green salad. Warm dinner rolls or crusty bread complete the experience.

For a complete holiday spread, scalloped potatoes sit naturally beside a green vegetable that adds color contrast. Roasted asparagus with lemon, steamed green beans with butter, or glazed carrots all work because their brightness balances the richness of the cream sauce. If you are building a weeknight dinner plate, a simple garden salad dressed with vinaigrette cuts through the creaminess and keeps the meal feeling lighter.

Scalloped potatoes also pair well with baked proteins that cook at a similar oven temperature. You can slide salmon fillets or seasoned chicken breasts into the oven alongside the potatoes during the last thirty minutes and have everything ready at once. That kind of oven efficiency is what makes this dish so practical, not just delicious.

Top Tips for Perfecting Scalloped Potatoes

• Use starchy potatoes for a creamy texture.
• Slice potatoes uniformly for even cooking.
• Let them rest before serving so the sauce sets.

For more potato inspiration, check out our Mashed Potato Cheese Puffs another great side dish.

Slice your potatoes uniformly, ideally between one-eighth and one-quarter inch thick, using a mandoline if you have one. Uneven slices cook at different rates, which means some layers turn mushy while others stay underdone. A mandoline makes this step take two minutes instead of ten and delivers perfectly consistent results every time.

Season every layer, not just the top. A light pinch of salt, pepper, and nutmeg between each layer ensures the flavor penetrates the entire dish rather than sitting only on the surface. Nutmeg is the secret ingredient in classic French potato gratins and adds a warm, subtle depth that most people cannot identify but immediately notice is missing when it is left out.

Cover the dish for the first thirty to forty minutes of baking, then uncover it for the final fifteen minutes to develop the golden crust. Baking uncovered the entire time dries out the top before the interior cooks through. The covered phase traps steam and helps the cream sauce set, while the uncovered phase creates that irresistible browned cheese layer every good scalloped potato recipe delivers.

Storing and Reheating Tips

Cool completely, cover, and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Reheat covered at 350°F until warmed through. Freeze in portions for up to 2 months; thaw overnight before reheating.

For longer storage, scalloped potatoes freeze reasonably well once fully cooked and cooled. Cut individual portions, wrap each tightly in plastic wrap, then place them in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to two months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating in a 350-degree oven covered with foil until heated through, about twenty minutes. The texture softens slightly after freezing but the flavor holds well, making frozen portions a good option for quick weeknight meals later in the month.

FAQs

Scalloped Potatoes Recipe

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Classic creamy scalloped potatoes with tender layers of Yukon Gold and Russet potatoes baked in a velvety sauce and topped with golden cheese.

Prep time

20 minutes

Cook time

70 minutes

Total time

90 minutes

Yield

8 servings

Ingredients

3 lbs Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes, sliced thin

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 cups whole milk

1 cup vegetable broth

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp thyme

1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese (or Gruyère/Gouda)

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F and grease a 9x13-inch dish.
2. Melt butter in skillet, whisk in flour for 1 min.
3. Slowly add milk and broth, whisk until thickened.
4. Add garlic, thyme, salt, pepper; cook 2–3 min.
5. Layer half the potatoes in dish, then onion, half the sauce, 1 cup cheese.
6. Repeat layers with remaining ingredients, ending with ½ cup cheese.
7. Cover and bake 30 min; uncover and bake 35–40 min until tender.
8. Rest 20 min before serving.

Notes

Use starchy potatoes for the creamiest texture.

Slice uniformly for even cooking.

Add diced ham for a hearty twist.

Nutrition

Calories

280

Fat

15g

Saturated fat

9g

Sugar

4g

Sodium

320mg

Protein

10g

Carbohydrates

28g

Fiber

3g