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This easy scalloped potatoes recipe makes the best potato side dish! Tender slices of potatoes in an easy creamy sauce is a classic favorite!
Scalloped potatoes are an easy, classic favorite potato side dish that is great for a Sunday supper, holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas! It makes the perfect side dish for serving a group. With the exception of mashed potatoes, it is hard to think of a more comforting potato side dish. Even though it seems so elaborate and elegant, it really couldn’t be simpler to make!
Easy Classic Potato Recipe
What is Scalloped Potatoes?
Originating from England, it is a recipe for uniformly and thinly sliced potatoes that are arranged in layers and baked in a creamy sauce. If you add the optional cheeses listed in my recipe, you have technically transformed your scalloped potatoes into Potatoes Au Gratin as traditional scalloped potatoes do not include cheese.
Ingredients
For this recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- potatoes – I prefer to use Russet potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes that have been peeled and sliced to about 1/8-inch thick.
- butter – you can use your preference of salted or unsalted butter in this recipe.
- flour – I use all-purpose flour in this recipe to make the signature creamy sauce for the potatoes.
- milk or heavy cream – you’ll want to use whole milk or heavy cream in this recipe for the proper consistency in the sauce.
- salt – if you are using salted butter, you can reduce the amount of salt called for in the recipe to ¼ teaspoon.
- ground black or white pepper – I love to use black pepper, but for a traditional appearance of scalloped potatoes, white pepper works beautifully.
- cayenne pepper – I love the addition of cayenne pepper in this potato recipe. You can omit it from the recipe if you prefer.
- Optional Ingredients – onion, garlic, or fresh thyme
How to Make Scalloped Potatoes Recipe
Prep. To make my scalloped potatoes, begin by preheating your oven to 350º F. Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
Prepare the Potatoes. Peel your potatoes and then slice them into uniform 1/8-inch thick slices. You can use a food processor with the slicing attachment, a chef’s knife, or even a mandoline.
As you slice your potatoes, place the slices into a large bowl of cold water to keep them from turning brown while making your cream sauce.
When your cream sauce is ready, drain the potato slices from the cold water and layer them in the baking dish.
Make Your Cream Sauce. The cream sauce is so easy to make. You are basically making a roux, which is a creamy sauce from the butter and flour. To this roux, you are adding your milk or cream and seasonings.
To make the sauce, melt the butter in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until well-combined, then whisk in milk, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and any optional ingredients for additional flavors.
Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to whisk until the sauce begins to bubble slightly around the edges of the saucepan and has thickened slightly.
Remove from the heat and pour over the sliced potatoes in the casserole dish.
Bake. Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the top is golden and the potatoes are fork-tender, an additional 45 minutes. For an even more golden top, you can additionally broil for 3 to 5 minutes.
Cool. Remove the Scalloped Potatoes from the oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes. This allows the cream sauce to thicken and the potatoes to set for easier serving. Be sure to allow the potatoes to rest otherwise the cream sauce can be too thick and cause the potatoes to not be as easy to serve.
Au Gratin Potatoes
You may be wondering what is the difference between au gratin potatoes and scalloped potatoes. While traditional Scalloped Potatoes do not include cheese, we love to add it from time to time. If you add cheese, you’ve made au gratin potatoes. Just stir your cheese into the cream sauce once you reduce the heat to a simmer.
I recommend using freshly shredded Monterrey Jack, Gruyere, Fontina, Pepper Jack, or Cheddar Cheese etc. instead of packaged pre-shredded cheeses. They are usually coated with an ingredient to keep the cheese from sticking together in the packaging. This coating causes the cheese not to melt as well, in my opinion.
Make Ahead Scalloped Potatoes Recipe
I love that these scalloped potatoes make a great make-ahead side dish as well!
Bake the scalloped potatoes as directed and allow to cool. Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate for up to 3 days. When ready to serve, cover with foil and bake at 350º F until heated throughout, about 30 minutes.
Can You Freeze Scalloped Potatoes?
Yes! This recipe freezes beautifully!
Meal Prep. If you are preparing them as part of your meal prep, I recommend cooking the first 45 minutes covered with the foil. Allow to cool completely, wrap tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. To serve, you’ll want to thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then bake until fork tender. This may take a bit longer than 45 minutes since the original recipe had hot cream sauce that the thawed from frozen dish does not.
Leftover. Yes, you can definitely freeze any leftover scalloped potatoes (if you have any leftovers!). For this, portion the fully cooked leftover recipe into freezer-safe containers. Wrap well and freeze up to 3 months. To serve, remove from the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Then, remove the foil and cover with microwave-safe cover to reheat in the microwave or leave the foil to reheat in the oven. Then reheat until warmed throughout.
Reheating Tip!
Note: I occasionally will sprinkle the leftover recipe with a bit of water before I reheat. This produces a bit of steam as the casserole is reheated which prevents the cream sauce from breaking and adds moisture.
What Can I Make To Serve with Scalloped Potatoes?
These potatoes are always a favorite side dish on our holiday table served with Roasted Turkey or Cola Glazed Ham. But you don’t have to wait for a special event to serve these. This recipe is simple to make and can even be made ahead, so enjoy them any time! Enjoy them with Skillet Rib Eye Steaks, Baked Chicken or a meatless meal alongside green beans or a House Salad.
More Favorite Potato Recipes
Potatoes are so versatile, readily available, and most of all delicious! Here are a few more favorite potato recipes to try:
Here’s my Scalloped Potatoes recipe. I hope you love it as much as we do!
Scalloped Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 large Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes sliced thinly to 1/8-inch thick
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk or heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black or white pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Optional Ingredients
- 1 cup grated Monterrey Jack cheese
- 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray 9×13 casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Place potato slices in a bowl of cold water to keep from turning brown while making cream sauce.
Make Cream Sauce
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Whisk in flour until well-combined, then whisk in milk, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper. Reduce heat to simmer and continue to whisk until sauce bubbles slightly around the edges of the saucepan and has thickened slightly.
- If you are adding cheese (making Potatoes Au Gratin), stir them in at this point.
Make Casserole
- Drain cold water from the potato slices and arrange the slices in the 9×13 casserole dish. Pour cream sauce over potato slices and cover the casserole dish with foil.
Cook
- Bake covered for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the top is golden brown and the potatoes are fork-tender. If additional browning is desired, you may broil the casserole for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken for easier serving. Serve warm.
Notes
Bake the scalloped potatoes as directed. Allow to cool, cover tightly with foil and refrigerate for up to 3 days. When ready to serve, bake covered with the foil, at 350º F until heated throughout, about 30 minutes.
Nutritional Information
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
From the Add a Pinch recipe archives, originally published 2013.
Huge hit with my family. They all asked for it again. Even delicious after 3 days in the fridge.
So glad everyone in your family loved these potatoes, Gabriella. They are a favorite at my house, too.
I think I have made this over 20 times. Everyone loves it. My step dad who is also an avid cook mentioned to me that he puts onions it his. I’m sure his is wonderful. Sometimes the basics is all you need though.
I thought this was a great recipe also and I am not that crazy about scalloped potatoes. The presentation was perfect and I plan to make them again for Christmas. I had a similar ? To another woman, what weight of potatoes do you use? It is hard to find large Yukon golds in my area.
I use the size of Russet or Yukon potatoes that you would use for baking. The usual weight is about 8-10 ounces.
So easy and so delicious! Very creamy. The family loved it.
Hi. Can I prepare this without baking and refrigerate and then bake roughly 6-8 hours later?
Jill, look at my Make Ahead Scalloped Potatoes Recipe notes in the post. Bake the scalloped potatoes as directed and allow them to cool. Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate for up to 3 days. When ready to serve, just the scalloped potatoes bake, covered with the foil, at 350º F until heated throughout, about 30 minutes.. I have found that they do much better made ahead this way.
Extended family staple at the holidays and I’ve been making this recipe at least once every month or two since you first posted it. Out of curiosity, why are you having the potatoes covered with foil now? Your original recipe did not call for that. My family’s favorite part of this recipe is the crusty dark brown edges and top of the casserole. We still always add the cheese as your original recipe called for the cheese. Why the change in directions?
Jenny, I put foil on the potatoes when they first start baking so they will become more tender. You can then remove the foil and bake to that crusty brown edge and top you and your family like. I like it both with and without the cheese.