Scalloped Potatoes Recipe

Name: Scalloped Potatoes Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 120 min
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 pepper; 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1 cup grated monterey jack cheese; 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Robyn Stone

Published Nov 18, 2024

160 Comments

4.99 from 54 votes

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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 Sunday supper and holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas! It makes the perfect side dish for serving a group. Except for mashed potatoes, it is hard to think of a more comforting potato side dish. Even though it is an elegant dish, it really couldn’t be simpler to make!

Closeup thin slices of potatoes in a creamy sauce served on a white plate.

Easy Scalloped Potatoes Recipe

Originating from England, it is a recipe for uniformly and thinly sliced potatoes arranged in layers and baked in a creamy sauce. If you add the optional cheeses listed in my recipe, you have technically transformed the dish into cheesy scalloped potatoes, or Potatoes Au Gratin, as traditional scalloped potatoes do not include cheese.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Delicious and versatile – Such a delicious potato dish that can be made as scalloped potatoes or as my family enjoys, cheesy scalloped potatoes if you wish to add a little cheese!

Easy with simple ingredients – This family-favorite dish is made with just a few ingredients and a few steps.

Elegant side dish – Perfect dish for entertaining, holidays, or Sunday suppers – And it’s not hard at all to make!

How to Make Scalloped Potatoes

This delicious side dish elevates any main dish it accompanies, yet it could not be any simpler to make! Here’s how you’ll make it.

Ingredients

Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.

For this recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Potatoes, flour, butter, seasonings, milk and shredded cheese ready to be used to make a potato side dish.

Potatoes: I prefer Russet potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes that have been peeled and sliced to about 1/8-inch thick.
Butter: you can use your preference for 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 1/4 teaspoon.
Ground Black 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, fresh thyme, and cheeses

Step-by-Step Instructions

Prep. Preheating your oven to 350º F. Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray or brush with olive oil and set aside.

Sliced potatoes in a glass bowl filled with water.

Prepare the Potatoes. Peel your potatoes and then slice them into uniform 1/8-inch thick slices. You can use a food processor with a slicing attachment, a chef’s knife, or 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.

Two images showing how to make cream sauce for scalloped potatoes.

Sliced potatoes in a white baking dish with cream sauce being spread over the top with a wooden spoon.

Make Your Cream Sauce. The cream sauce is so easy to make. You are making a roux, a creamy sauce from butter and flour. To this roux, you are adding your milk or cream and seasonings.

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.

Baked scalloped potatoes in a white baking 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 broil it for 3 to 5 minutes.

Cool. Remove the Scalloped Potatoes from the oven and allow them 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 not to be as easy to serve.

Scalloped potatoes on a fork on a white plate.

What are Au Gratin Potatoes?

What is the difference between au gratin potatoes and scalloped potatoes? Cheese!

Traditional Scalloped Potatoes do not include cheese, but we love to add it from time to time. Just stir your cheese into the cream sauce once you reduce the heat to a simmer. Then you have made au gratin potatoes or cheesy scalloped potatoes.

I recommend using freshly shredded Monterey Jack, Gruyere, Fontina, Pepper Jack, or Cheddar Cheese, etc., instead of packaged pre-shredded cheeses. Pre-shredded cheeses 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 and Storage Tips

To Make Ahead: 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, cover with foil and bake at 350º F until heated throughout about 30 minutes.

To Store: Cover cooled scalloped potatoes tightly with foil and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat in 350º F oven until heated throughout, about 30 minutes.

To Freeze as Meal Prep: If you prepare them for your meal prep, I recommend cooking the first 45 minutes covered with 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 longer than 45 minutes since the original recipe had a hot cream sauce that the thawed-from-frozen dish does not.

To Freeze Leftovers. Yes, you can freeze any leftover scalloped potatoes. For this, portion the fully cooked leftover recipe into freezer-safe containers. Wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months. To serve, remove from the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Then, remove the foil and cover it with a microwave-safe cover to reheat in the microwave, or leave it to reheat in the oven. Then reheat until warmed throughout.

Reheating Tip

Note: I occasionally sprinkle the leftover recipe with a bit of water before I reheat. This produces steam as the casserole is reheated, which prevents the cream sauce from breaking and adds moisture.

Tips for the Best Scalloped Potatoes

The Potatoes:

Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes have a delicious flavor.
Slice them thinly – Use a slicer on your food processor or a mandoline to get thin, uniform slices so that they cook evenly.
Place potato slices in a large bowl of cold water as you slice them and while you make your roux to keep the slices from turning brown.

The Roux (Cream Sauce):

Simple ingredients like butter, flour, milk or cream, and salt and pepper make a rich roux that tastes amazing.
It’s optional, but the little bit of cayenne added to the seasoning elevates the flavor of the dish.

The Cheese (Optional):

My family likes a little cheese in the cream sauce, and while I know that scalloped potatoes don’t traditionally have cheese in the recipe, mine does sometimes.
When I use cheese in this, I use the options listed in the

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 Ham. But you don’t have to wait for a special event to serve these. This recipe is simple 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.