These cheesy scalloped potatoes are a classic and staple at any holiday dinner. They are creamy, cheesy and absolutely delicious! Your guests will go crazy over this recipe!
I am a HUGE fan of potatoes! While I love a classic baked potato, I’m always looking for new ways to serve them. I love making these easy scalloped potatoes, cheesy potatoes, twice baked potatoes, mashed potatoes and potato skins.
I love all things potato! Especially during the holidays, it’s an absolute must to serve a potato dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. These scalloped potatoes make the perfect holiday side dish and are always gone so fast!
They are creamy, cheesy and taste amazing. The flavors bake perfectly together and create the most delicious, tender potatoes. Plus the cheesy top gets nice and golden brown…making every bite to die for! Believe me when I say you need to add this recipe to your holiday menu!
What kind of potatoes to use?
When making scalloped potatoes, I tend to use either russets or Yukon golds. Both will turn out delicious, so you can choose based on what’s available at the store, looks the most fresh or is on sale.
Russets are a bit starchier than Yukons, which makes the sauce a tad creamier. So I typically will use russets since I prefer a creamier sauce. You could also use sweet potatoes, but I prefer my savory scalloped sweet potatoes for those.
How thin should scalloped potatoes be?
The key is to make sure you slice your potatoes super thin. Each slice should be about 1/8″ thick. This will help them to cook evenly and become tender.
Using a mandoline to slice the potatoes makes it quicker and easier, however you can definitely still use a regular knife. Just try to slice them equally in size so that they cook at the same speed.
The key to extra cheesy scalloped potatoes
I LOVE adding lots of cheese to my scalloped potatoes. That’s the best part, right?! I always grate my own cheddar cheese. When it’s freshly grated, it makes it extra creamy and perfectly bubbly on top.
To go lighter on cheese: You can cut down on cheese if you prefer. I wouldn’t cut the cheese from the sauce, but you could cut it from adding as much to the top. But since it’s the holidays, you might as well go all out. ;)
How to make scalloped potatoes
This dish is simple to make and tastes amazing. Follow the simple steps below to get started.
- Preheat oven and butter pan. Preheat oven to 350°F and butter your pan. Then line half of the potatoes on the bottom of the pan.
- Make the roux. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter and then add in garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Whisk in flour, salt and pepper and cook another minute.
- Let simmer, then add cheese. Next, slowly whisk in milk until smooth. Bring to a light simmer (to thicken) and then stir in 3/4 cup cheese until melted. Remove from heat.
- Assemble in pan. Pour half of sauce over potatoes and then sprinkle cheese over top (about 1/2 cup). Then line remaining potatoes on top and add remaining sauce and cheese.
- Bake in oven. Bake for 50-60 minutes (uncovered) until they are fork tender and golden on top.
NOTE: If you like your potatoes with onions, add 1/2 cup chopped onions when cooking the butter. You can also turn this into a meal by adding leftover chopped ham to the middle layer.
Can you make this dish ahead of time?
Sure! You’ll still want to bake them first if making ahead of time, however you’ll cut the baking time in half. I’ll typically cover with foil and bake them for about 30 minutes. Then I’ll remove from the oven and let them cool. Once cooled, I’ll refrigerate overnight.
When ready to serve the next day, remove from the fridge and let sit at room temp for 30 minutes. Then bake uncovered for about 20 to 30 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and the cheese is golden and bubbly.
More holiday side dishes:
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Creamed Corn
- Easy Corn Casserole
- Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese
- Roasted Butternut Squash
Scalloped Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds potatoes , thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese , divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 8x8" or 7x10" pan. Then line half of the potatoes on the bottom of the pan.
- Melt the butter in a small sauce pan over medium-heat. Add in the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Whisk in flour, salt and pepper. Let cook another minute.
- Turn heat to medium-low. Slowly whisk in the milk and whisk until smooth. Bring to a light simmer to allow to thicken. Then stir in 3/4 cup cheese until melted and remove from heat.
- Pour half of the sauce over the potatoes. Then sprinkle about 1/2 cup cheese over top. Line the remaining potatoes over top. Then add the remaining sauce and cheese over top.
- Bake uncovered for 50-60 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender an the top is golden brown.
Video
Notes
- If you like your potatoes with onions, add 1/2 cup chopped onions when cooking the butter. Then cook 2-3 minutes.
- You can also turn this into a meal by adding leftover chopped ham to the middle layer.
- Add a little crunch by adding 4 pieces cooked and crumbled bacon to the top.
This is an excellent recipe. I did add sliced onions between the potatoes, because I love potato and onions. We ate every bit of it.
Sounds delicious! I’ll have to try that next time. I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
It turned out really good. I even added chunks of ham into it too. Thank you so much for sharing.
Sounds delicious! I’m going to have to try that next time!
Made this because I had a bag of potatoes that were starting to go bad so had to do something right away beside breakfast potatoes or mash potatoes… I had some marinated chicken in fridge so I thought this would be a good side dish. Followed receipe and the only thing I did differently is add a little more salt and a layer of spinach (because that was almost going bad too😉). But it was good 😋
Sounds delicious!! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
This recipe is incredible! It’s a must…
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This was fantastic, I used Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese instead of Mild, but it was just bursting with flavor, we loved it!
So glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!
Really good and good explanations
These look amazing!!
When growing up, this was called “Potatoes Au gratin because of the addition of cheese to the White Sauce.
We did, however, sautee diced onion in the butter before adding garlic and then the flour. This dish is a hit every time and there is no need to wait for the holidays to enjoy it.
This is also excellent when you add leftover ham and serve with Brocolli sauteed with olive oil and garlic!
The ham and broccoli sound like amazing additions! I’m definitely going to give that a try next time. Thanks for sharing! :)
These are so yummy! Somehow I had never made scalloped potatoes before (although I’ve eaten them plenty of times). This recipe was really easy to follow and I was very pleased with the result. I will definitely make them again!
Seriously amazing