But the other non-negotiable for me each Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving and — let’s be real — any night of the year that I’m craving some creamy, garlicky, cheesy comfort food?
Scalloped potatoes. ♡
Specifically, these scalloped potatoes (which are technically potatoes au gratin). In my humble opinion, they are simply the best. And in the years since I originally posted this recipe here on the blog, thousands of you have also tried them and agreed! So today, I thought I’d bump this recipe back to the top of the stack for those of you who might be new to the blog and looking for a tried and true recipe to make this weekend. As someone who has made these dozens and dozens of times, I can vouch — they won’t let you down.
Scalloped Potatoes Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Scalloped Potatoes Ingredients:
The ingredients to make this classic scalloped potatoes recipe are pretty simple. You’ll need:
Yukon gold potatoes: I prefer these to Russets because of their nice creamy texture and buttery flavor. Be sure to slice them uniformly — about 1/4-inch thick — so that they will cook evenly.
Shredded cheese: It’s important to have a good melty cheese for these. I have always preferred a nice sharp cheddar (not one that has been aged, since those don’t melt as well). But I have also made these with mozzarella, gouda, fontina and gruyere, and all have been delicious. So feel free to pick your favorite, or use a mix! Plus, some freshly-grated Parmesan is also a must.
Sliced onion: For extra flavor. I always cook the onion in the sauce, and then strain it out and add it to the middle layer of the potatoes, so that there aren’t a bunch of onion slices sitting on the top layer.
Garlic: If you ask me, the more the merrier. The recipe calls for 4 cloves, but I’ve used up to 8 before. :)
Fresh thyme: I’ve always used fresh thyme as my main seasoning for scalloped potatoes, but you could also use a teaspoon of dried thyme instead. Or any other favorite fresh herbs or dried seasoning blends! (I occasionally love adding a teaspoon of Cajun seasoning to my sauce — it’s delicious.)
Cream sauce: In lieu of heavy cream, my sauce for this recipe calls for a roux with butter and flour, whole milk and chicken stock (or vegetable stock).
How To Make Scalloped Potatoes:
To make this scalloped potatoes recipe, simply…
Make the cream sauce. Sauté onion and garlic in butter until softened. Then stir in the flour to form a roux and help to thicken the sauce, followed by the stock, milk, salt, pepper and thyme. You want to cook the sauce until it just reaches a simmer. (Don’t let it boil, otherwise it can “break” and become watery once baked.) Then remove it from the heat until you’re ready to put it to use.
Layer the potatoes. Spread half of the sliced potatoes in an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Top evenly with half of the cream sauce. (I usually strain out all of the onions and add them here too.) Then sprinkle evenly with 1 cupof the shredded cheddar cheese, and all of the Parmesan cheese. Top evenly with the remaining sliced potatoes, the other half of the cream sauce, and the remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese.
Bake: Cover the pan lightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the sauce is all bubbly around the edges. Remove the foil and bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through and the cheese on top is nice and golden. (If the cheese starts to get too brown on top, just lightly cover the top with a sheet of foil again until the potatoes are ready to go.)
Cool. Transfer the pan to a wire cooling rack and sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon of thyme and extra Parmesan.
Serve. This casserole is definitely best fresh out of the oven, so dive in while it’s nice and warm!
Possible Recipe Variations:
There are all sorts of delicious ways that you can customize these homemade scalloped potatoes if you would like. For example, feel free to…
Add bacon or ham: Diced cooked bacon or ham would be a delicious addition here! (Or go for the gold and make scalloped potatoes with ham and bacon!)
Add greens: Fresh kale or baby spinach would also be delicious. Just stir a large handful to the sauce before layering the potatoes.
Add pesto: For an extra herby twist, feel free to stir 1/4 cup of basil pesto into the sauce.
Use half sweet potatoes: I also love making a version of this dish with half Yukon gold and half sweet potatoes. The sweet/savory combo is such a winner.
Use a different cheese: Mozzarella, gouda, fontina or gruyere would also be delicious in place of the sharp cheddar. Or you could also sprinkle some extra crumbled/diced brie, goat cheese, or feta into the casserole.
Use cream: Feel free to sub in heavy cream for half of the milk for an even creamier dish.
Make it gluten-free: Just use a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend (in place of the standard AP flour). Or whisk 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into the cold milk before adding it to the sauce.
Make-Ahead Instructions:
Over the years, I’ve had lots of you ask if you can prep this recipe in advance — and the answer is yes! For make-ahead scalloped potatoes, just bake the scalloped potatoes and let them cool completely to room temperature. Then cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 3 days. And on the day you are ready to serve them, bake the pan covered (with foil) at 350° for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are warmed through.
More Potato Recipes:
If you love this recipe, be sure to check out some of my other potato faves including:
4 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes, sliced into 1/8-inch rounds
2 cups freshly-grated sharp cheddar cheese*, divided (feel free to add more cheese if you’d like)
1/2 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
Instructions
Prep oven and baking dish: Heat oven to 400°F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray, and set it aside.
Sauté the onion and garlic. Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onion, and sauté for 4-5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add garlic and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Stir in the flour until it is evenly combined, and cook for 1 more minute.
Simmer the sauce. Gradually pour in the stock, and whisk until combined. Add in the milk, salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon thyme, and whisk until combined. Continue cooking for an additional 1-2 minutes until the sauce just barely begins to simmer around the edges of the pan and thickens. (Avoid letting it reach a boil.) Then remove from heat and set aside.
Layer the potatoes. Spread half of the sliced potatoes in an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Top evenly with half of the cream sauce. (I usually strain out all of the onions and add them here too.) Then sprinkle evenly with 1 cupof the shredded cheddar cheese, and all of the Parmesan cheese. Top evenly with the remaining sliced potatoes, the other half of the cream sauce, and the remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese.
Bake: Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. The sauce should be nice and bubbly around the edges. Then remove the foil and bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through.
Cool. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack, and sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon of thyme and extra Parmesan.
Shredded cheese: As always when melting shredded cheese into a recipe, it’s best if you grate the cheese yourself just before adding it to the recipe. Store-bought shredded cheese usually contains a coating that prevents it from melting smoothly.
I bought 4 pounds of potatoes as the recipe instructed. Recipe directions were very vague about the layering of the potatoes—overlap? It said layer HALF the potato slices in the bottom. Well that would be impossible that would be TWO pounds of slices which is impossible. The video looked like the slices barely overlapped. Now I have two pounds of unused potato slices that went to waste. This recipe needs clearer instructions and LESS potatoes.
Wonderful recipe, glad I found it! I saved this to my favorite recipe bookmarks. FYI, putting in the chicken stock is missing from the step by step section. Thanks!
Second time making this fabulous dish. For what ever reason I haven’t used the 4 lbs of potatoes (probably closer to 3 1/4 lbs of spuds. Also substituted Herbs de Provence for the thyme (didn’t have any). Elegant for such a comfort food. Thanks!
Fantastc! The very best I’ve ever made. I followed the measurements but used shallots instead and I used Rick star aged cheddar and Asiago infused with rosemary and olive oil. I only used one clove of garlic but it was huge. Love the addition of the veggie stock and onions in the roux. I did sprinkle some of the chopped shallots on the layered potatoes. Yum! No need to try any others.
Liked this recipe, but after 1 hour of cooking, brown on top but potatoes inside were not cooked through. I would recommend adding at least 15+ minutes to cook time.
Made these almost exactly as described for Easter dinner. They were an absolute hit and I was told by several people they were the best scalloped potatoes they’ve ever had! The finished product looked exactly like the photos on the website.
My tweaks: I used GF flour 1:1 because of a GF guest. Used maybe half again as much cheddar cheese as called for, just to evenly cover each layer. I put some parmesan on top layer as well. I used an 11×13 pan because I had 15 guests to feed, so scaled up just slightly. I’d say 4lbs of potatoes covered the larger pan just fine. Just needed more cheese and slightly more sauce – just add a bit more flour and a bit more chicken stock. For the cream I did half milk and half 10% cream. For seasoning I added some paprika and herbs de Provence as well as the fresh thyme.
Thank you for the excellent recipe! This one’s going in the recipe book for sure!
I have probably left a review already because this is my favorite potato recipe, just wanted to leave an additional comment. Today was the first time I’ve taken a fully done dish from the fridge and heated it up in the oven. The recipe states it takes 30 minutes at 350 degrees. I think that might be a typo. It’s still cold at the 30 minute mark. Plan on more time for reheating. Maybe an hour? It still wasn’t hot at 45 minutes in, and yes my over is working. 😂
Thank you for making Easter easy!
This is not only fool-proof, it was a hit for even the most finicky eaters in our group.
Absolutely delicious.
I made it one day ahead according to the instructions. It was not only wonderful, it freed up valuable Easter- egg hunt time for the chef.
First time making scalloped potatoes…EVER…per hubby’s request. With what I had on hand (no parm, 1% milk). I just used sharp cheddar which I shredded (I know it’s a pain, but it really adds a layer of flavor), 1 1/2 cups of milk and 1/2 cup of sour cream. I did add 2 extra cloves of garlic (because we LOVE garlic). the rest of the recipe I followed to a “T”. I did have to cook it additionally in increments of 7 minutes (x2) to make sure the potatoes were cooked. Thank you for this! Quoted from the hubby “frickin’ dynamite”! Thank you!
Great recipe! Used various cheeses that I had left over in the frig… Cheddar, swiss, pizza blend cheese, parmeson. I also used a combo of olive oil and butter. Tasted great!
The best scalloped potatoes I’ve made! I for sure went into a food coma after consuming the excessive amount of these potatoes that I did. I used half whipping cream with the milk, added some smoked paprika, & used only parmesan cheese just on the top. Buttery, creamy, cheesy potatoes, what could be better?
I mmade this with slight variations of what I had in the house – only good cooks do this..;-). It was off the charts fabulous, the family loved it! Thank you! I’m going to try it again this weekend but I want to make it as complete of a meal as possible – so to begin, I’m thinking about adding ham. Have you prepared any other variations or have any suggestions as to good “adds” to the recipe?
I was always intimidated by the prospect of making scalloped potatoes but I decided to brave it today. This recipe was super-easy to follow. The prep took me a bit longer (between peeling/slicing potatoes, chopping onions, mincing garlic) but it came together quickly. I didn’t separate the onions as the sauce was fairly thick and I didn’t think it was necessary. i also added the shredded cheese in between the layers of patoatoes and a layer of mozzarella when. I took the foil off at the 25-minute mark. I ended up returning the foil to the top of the pan for the last 10 minutes but the top layer browned nicely anyway. It has an amazing aroma and flavour and I have to resist eating the entire dish before my husband gets home from work. No more “instant” or “frozen” scalloped potatoes for me!! This recipe is a keeper!
I made this recipe swapping out the cheeses for mozzarella, and the thyme for basil, as that is all I had in and I have never seen a dish be gone so fast. There were no leftovers. So delicious, would highly recommend. Thank you!
Hello! Love this recipe and have made it often. Is it possible to assemble it all and then cook in a crockpot instead? Has this been done? What would this time variation look like? I tried scrolling through the comments to find this question/answer but there’s soooo many.
Thanks!
Scalloped potatoes are in the oven. I am fortunate to have fresh thyme in my herb garden, and was thrilled to get to harvest and chop some for this recipe. I taste tested the sauce before assembling. Heavens to Betsy! So delicious. This will be my go-to recipe for scalloped potatoes.
This tasted delicious when I made it! I had to substitute the chicken stock with water mixed with some flavor, and for some reason I ended up with way too many extra potato slices, but I added a third layer and spared some of the sauce to put between them. And since this tasted so good, i can only imagine how scrumptious it would taste when you do it correctly! I made it for 4 people and even though your website says it makes about 10 servings, we ate almost all of it in one meal! Thank you so much, I will definitely be making this again. :)
Hello,
I am trying you recipe at the moment as the comments are really positive.
Is the 400 degrees Fahrenheit the fan forced setting or do I reduce it for fan forced oven?
We are very excited to try this recipe
Thanks very much.
These potatoes are the yummiest I’ve ever made. I made them twice now and just to say how much I love them. I laminated it the printed recipe. I followed the recipe precisely, the only thing I changed I made them a few hours ahead and put them in the refrigerator and before I baked them I added about a quarter of a cup to a half cup of chicken stock. I baked them for about an hour and a half to 2 hours in an enameled 9-in saute frying pan with a heavy lid. Baked covered for about an hour and a half uncovered and baked about 15 to 30 minutes more. They turned out golden brown and totally yummy. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
I’ve used this recipe several times and it’s my go-to recipe that I use as a side for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Super yummy and a crowd pleaser! Easy to follow recipe.
Your recipe comments at the top says to slice the potatoes 1/4 inch thick, while the recipe instructions say to slice them 1/8 inch thick. I’m assuming 1/8 is the proper measurement?
Thank you!!!!!
Absolutely spectacular!
I may have done the unthinkable in drying out a ham while reheating it, but these scalloped taters definitely redeemed me.
A keeper for sure, even cold!!!!
Excellent! Now my “go to recipe ” for scalloped potatoes. It would be nice if you could add a metric conversion function someday, but it’s not a deal breaker. Thank you.
These were absolutely delicious! We cooked covered until the potatoes were fork tender and then watched them turn into a gorgeous cheesy delight. Made with extra garlic and some onion powder instead of onions because my mother doesn’t eat them, and a pinch of dried thyme and rosemary because we didn’t have fresh thyme, but can’t wait to try as written when I make them again. They were loved by all. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
I like the recipe but the instructions are a little disorganized. I removed the onions before making the sauce.
I couldn’t whisk while onions in the pan.
Anyway it is a good recipe. Went well with sweet ham slices.
You’re right, this is the best one I’ve tried. Love your recipe! I’ve made it twice so far and it’s been a a hit with my family and friends. They love it! Always good to feel like a rock star in the kitchen. Lol
I bought 4 pounds of potatoes as the recipe instructed. Recipe directions were very vague about the layering of the potatoes—overlap? It said layer HALF the potato slices in the bottom. Well that would be impossible that would be TWO pounds of slices which is impossible. The video looked like the slices barely overlapped. Now I have two pounds of unused potato slices that went to waste. This recipe needs clearer instructions and LESS potatoes.
This the best recipe I have found. I added oregano instead of thyme. I added ham to it. Perfect recipe…Thanks…from Fla.
Can you freeze these potatoes after they have cooled down
Can this be made and frozen?
Can you prepare these ahead?
In one place you say 1/4” slices and In ingredients you say 1/8” which is it
Wonderful recipe, glad I found it! I saved this to my favorite recipe bookmarks. FYI, putting in the chicken stock is missing from the step by step section. Thanks!
My family and I love this recipe! I’ve made it for several holiday meals !
Second time making this fabulous dish. For what ever reason I haven’t used the 4 lbs of potatoes (probably closer to 3 1/4 lbs of spuds. Also substituted Herbs de Provence for the thyme (didn’t have any). Elegant for such a comfort food. Thanks!
Fantastc! The very best I’ve ever made. I followed the measurements but used shallots instead and I used Rick star aged cheddar and Asiago infused with rosemary and olive oil. I only used one clove of garlic but it was huge. Love the addition of the veggie stock and onions in the roux. I did sprinkle some of the chopped shallots on the layered potatoes. Yum! No need to try any others.
Liked this recipe, but after 1 hour of cooking, brown on top but potatoes inside were not cooked through. I would recommend adding at least 15+ minutes to cook time.
Delicious! We also love your chocolate chip cookie recipe. Happy Easter from the NW
Ok I made this today for Easter and found it to be very dry. I would definitely double the sauce next time.
Made these almost exactly as described for Easter dinner. They were an absolute hit and I was told by several people they were the best scalloped potatoes they’ve ever had! The finished product looked exactly like the photos on the website.
My tweaks: I used GF flour 1:1 because of a GF guest. Used maybe half again as much cheddar cheese as called for, just to evenly cover each layer. I put some parmesan on top layer as well. I used an 11×13 pan because I had 15 guests to feed, so scaled up just slightly. I’d say 4lbs of potatoes covered the larger pan just fine. Just needed more cheese and slightly more sauce – just add a bit more flour and a bit more chicken stock. For the cream I did half milk and half 10% cream. For seasoning I added some paprika and herbs de Provence as well as the fresh thyme.
Thank you for the excellent recipe! This one’s going in the recipe book for sure!
I have probably left a review already because this is my favorite potato recipe, just wanted to leave an additional comment. Today was the first time I’ve taken a fully done dish from the fridge and heated it up in the oven. The recipe states it takes 30 minutes at 350 degrees. I think that might be a typo. It’s still cold at the 30 minute mark. Plan on more time for reheating. Maybe an hour? It still wasn’t hot at 45 minutes in, and yes my over is working. 😂
While they were delicious I found them to be very salty
Thank you for making Easter easy!
This is not only fool-proof, it was a hit for even the most finicky eaters in our group.
Absolutely delicious.
I made it one day ahead according to the instructions. It was not only wonderful, it freed up valuable Easter- egg hunt time for the chef.
Thank you!
First time making scalloped potatoes…EVER…per hubby’s request. With what I had on hand (no parm, 1% milk). I just used sharp cheddar which I shredded (I know it’s a pain, but it really adds a layer of flavor), 1 1/2 cups of milk and 1/2 cup of sour cream. I did add 2 extra cloves of garlic (because we LOVE garlic). the rest of the recipe I followed to a “T”. I did have to cook it additionally in increments of 7 minutes (x2) to make sure the potatoes were cooked. Thank you for this! Quoted from the hubby “frickin’ dynamite”! Thank you!
Great recipe! Used various cheeses that I had left over in the frig… Cheddar, swiss, pizza blend cheese, parmeson. I also used a combo of olive oil and butter. Tasted great!
The best scalloped potatoes I’ve made! I for sure went into a food coma after consuming the excessive amount of these potatoes that I did. I used half whipping cream with the milk, added some smoked paprika, & used only parmesan cheese just on the top. Buttery, creamy, cheesy potatoes, what could be better?
Ali,
I mmade this with slight variations of what I had in the house – only good cooks do this..;-). It was off the charts fabulous, the family loved it! Thank you! I’m going to try it again this weekend but I want to make it as complete of a meal as possible – so to begin, I’m thinking about adding ham. Have you prepared any other variations or have any suggestions as to good “adds” to the recipe?
Thank you,
Richard
I was always intimidated by the prospect of making scalloped potatoes but I decided to brave it today. This recipe was super-easy to follow. The prep took me a bit longer (between peeling/slicing potatoes, chopping onions, mincing garlic) but it came together quickly. I didn’t separate the onions as the sauce was fairly thick and I didn’t think it was necessary. i also added the shredded cheese in between the layers of patoatoes and a layer of mozzarella when. I took the foil off at the 25-minute mark. I ended up returning the foil to the top of the pan for the last 10 minutes but the top layer browned nicely anyway. It has an amazing aroma and flavour and I have to resist eating the entire dish before my husband gets home from work. No more “instant” or “frozen” scalloped potatoes for me!! This recipe is a keeper!
I made this recipe swapping out the cheeses for mozzarella, and the thyme for basil, as that is all I had in and I have never seen a dish be gone so fast. There were no leftovers. So delicious, would highly recommend. Thank you!
Hello! Love this recipe and have made it often. Is it possible to assemble it all and then cook in a crockpot instead? Has this been done? What would this time variation look like? I tried scrolling through the comments to find this question/answer but there’s soooo many.
Thanks!
Scalloped potatoes are in the oven. I am fortunate to have fresh thyme in my herb garden, and was thrilled to get to harvest and chop some for this recipe. I taste tested the sauce before assembling. Heavens to Betsy! So delicious. This will be my go-to recipe for scalloped potatoes.
These are au gratin, not scalloped, potatoes. Scalloped do not have cheese.
It’s been almost 2 hours and my potatoes (I only did 2 pounds!) are still not cooked 😵💫
Hi,
Could I make this the day before and reheat?
Thank you,
Laurie
Made these twice and used pepper jack cheese in lieu of Parmesan. My family loves this recipe!
Please note this is a recipe for Au gratin potatoes, a true scalloped potato recipe does not have cheese.
This tasted delicious when I made it! I had to substitute the chicken stock with water mixed with some flavor, and for some reason I ended up with way too many extra potato slices, but I added a third layer and spared some of the sauce to put between them. And since this tasted so good, i can only imagine how scrumptious it would taste when you do it correctly! I made it for 4 people and even though your website says it makes about 10 servings, we ate almost all of it in one meal! Thank you so much, I will definitely be making this again. :)
Hello,
I am trying you recipe at the moment as the comments are really positive.
Is the 400 degrees Fahrenheit the fan forced setting or do I reduce it for fan forced oven?
We are very excited to try this recipe
Thanks very much.
These potatoes are the yummiest I’ve ever made. I made them twice now and just to say how much I love them. I laminated it the printed recipe. I followed the recipe precisely, the only thing I changed I made them a few hours ahead and put them in the refrigerator and before I baked them I added about a quarter of a cup to a half cup of chicken stock. I baked them for about an hour and a half to 2 hours in an enameled 9-in saute frying pan with a heavy lid. Baked covered for about an hour and a half uncovered and baked about 15 to 30 minutes more. They turned out golden brown and totally yummy. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
With the amount of cheese these are most decidedly NOT scalloped potatoes; they are Au Gratin potatoes. Please title your recipe properly.
Who cares? It’s delicious. Quit your liberal complaining and try to be happy in life meat. Go and be bitter on another site.
I’ve used this recipe several times and it’s my go-to recipe that I use as a side for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Super yummy and a crowd pleaser! Easy to follow recipe.
Just put it in the oven anxious to taste it
Your recipe comments at the top says to slice the potatoes 1/4 inch thick, while the recipe instructions say to slice them 1/8 inch thick. I’m assuming 1/8 is the proper measurement?
These aren’t scalloped potatoes, they are au gratin.
Excellent, thank you.
Thank you!!!!!
Absolutely spectacular!
I may have done the unthinkable in drying out a ham while reheating it, but these scalloped taters definitely redeemed me.
A keeper for sure, even cold!!!!
Absolutely love this recipe.
Recipe delicous!!!…But it is Au Gratin potatoes….because the addition of chese makes it so
I’m wondering if this recipe freezes well and can be reheated at a later date?
Best scalloped potato recipe ever! Scalloped potatoes always take longer than recipe calls for….lots of factors to consider. Excellent!
Excellent! Now my “go to recipe ” for scalloped potatoes. It would be nice if you could add a metric conversion function someday, but it’s not a deal breaker. Thank you.
These were absolutely delicious! We cooked covered until the potatoes were fork tender and then watched them turn into a gorgeous cheesy delight. Made with extra garlic and some onion powder instead of onions because my mother doesn’t eat them, and a pinch of dried thyme and rosemary because we didn’t have fresh thyme, but can’t wait to try as written when I make them again. They were loved by all. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
I like the recipe but the instructions are a little disorganized. I removed the onions before making the sauce.
I couldn’t whisk while onions in the pan.
Anyway it is a good recipe. Went well with sweet ham slices.
Recipe looks fine, for au gratin potatoes.
You’re right, this is the best one I’ve tried. Love your recipe! I’ve made it twice so far and it’s been a a hit with my family and friends. They love it! Always good to feel like a rock star in the kitchen. Lol
Thank you, ALI! :)
This recipes is amazing! We made it for Christmas dinner and the entire family loved it.