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.
Serve. Serve warm.
Notes
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 have made this recipe a couple of holiday dinners and I love it. However, this year, I am very short on oven space. Do you think it’s possible to make in the slow cooker with the same result? Maybe broil in oven before serving?
Quick question, regarding how to do them ahead of time you mentioned baking them and letting them cool and then when you’re ready to use them again putting them in the oven for 30 minutes. Did you mean baking them for the 30 minutes covered and the 30 minutes uncovered or just the first 30 minutes and then when you redo them they would get baked for the second 30 minute segment?
I’m using this recipe for a private event after trying it at home, the only technical part is building the roux with the onion and garlic, using the cheese as it thickens, and not breaking the sauce. Requires eyes on it the whole time. As an additional note, I would mention that better quality ingredients will create a better dish. Thank you so much for making a chef’s job easier.
Followed the directions as stated except only a dash of thyme since I’m not a fan of that flavor. Everyone loved the potatoes! Now this is the only scalloped potato recipe I use.
I have always been hit or miss with scalloped potatoes. Never had a recipe that was fool proof. Dunno, sometimes I didnt sprinkle enough flour, or used too much milk.. anyway. Saw this.. it was a “sauce” recipe, it had all the ingredients I live to flavor with.. I thought, Try this.
Rave reviews. Seriously. “Best I have ever had, including my grammas” was commented several times.
The instructions are step by step, it was a no brainer. Recipe saved as my go to. Two thumbs up, thanks!
I made these for Christmas and they were perfect! So creamy, cheesy, and delicious! I made them vegan by swapping out the non-vegan ingredients with avocado oil, veggie stock, homemade cashew milk, and Daiya cheddar style shreds. I also topped it with some panko bread crumbs that I had tossed in some vegan butter.
I would also like to add that I used this same recipe to make a vegan green bean casserole! Same swaps, just added some mushrooms in with the onions and topped with Daiya shreds and fried onions.
Rhonda Swanson —
I bet that green bean casserole was fantstic!!! I will have to try it.
I made this for CHRISTMAS dinner, and I forgot the cheddar cheese. They were still wonderful! Everyone loved them. I can only imagine how good they would be with the cheese! Best scalloped potatoes ever.
Thank you, for going the extra length! A basic recipe that covers everything and explain the whys, the hows, and whats. Why simmer the milk, how to substitute and what to use for substitution.
Yes! …I made this recipe for Christmas dinner. It was fantastic. Best scalloped potatoes I’ve ever had and everyone said the same. Followed the recipe exactly except added a smudge of
The only thing I did different was use golden and red sweet potatoes, it was gross…I so don’t recommend doing that. I basically ended up with a bowl of mash, greasy mushy too salty just down right gross. If I tried this again I would use reg. potatoes, much less salt, and much less butter.
I made this tonight to go with pork chops which I dredged in flour, fried, deglazed with sherry, topped with extra béchamel from the potato recipe. I cut way back on the cheese because I wanted them to let the pork chops shine. It was amazing and so delicious. I baked it in a Advantium in only 13 minutes- for anyone with a speed oven. I am sure it would be amazing with all the cheese which I plan to do next time when cheese will work better with the flavor profile of my protein. I have never had a really good recipe for scalloped potatoes and I am so grateful for this one. It is a keeper and the way I will always make scalloped potatoes.
I made this last night, using russet potatoes and American Cheese slices – it was a spur-of-the-moment thing – we had a bunch of potatoes to get rid of, but no cheddar cheese, so I had to improvise. It turned out surprisingly well – I thought it was great, actually, but my BF thought the parmesan stepped all over the American and said it wouldn’t have done that to the cheddar. We will definitely make these again, with gold potatoes and cheddar and I’m sure it will be even more outstanding!
Just made this tonight exactly as written. Excellent recipe! Not too cheesy, and no canned soups called for in a lot of other recipes. The thyme adds just enough flavor. Thank you for sharing…. will be making again!
I am in my 70’s now but when I was a kid my mom worked and I had to start dinner before she got home and I remember slicing potatoes, but then I would sprinkle flour on potatoes and put is dabs of butter and a little milk, but this is so much better, than you
So yummy! I made these for Valentine’s Day with a steak and salad. I didn’t include the onion and used dried thyme instead of fresh. Divine!!! Thank you!
I know that historically I didn’t read or rely on recipes, I would create my own. But now, I cannot cook very well. I am still recovering, just over two years now, from an aneurysm exploding in my brain, resulting in strokes, so it is a slow go in recovery, but looking for a recipe that will taste like my old recipe was my goal. I found that exactly, right here, Thank you for sharing this with us.
Sooooo tasty and so easy too!
I Found this on a google search and so glad I did. I had been looking for an easy recipe. I have an alergy to onions so it’s hard to find a recipe that has enough flavour without them. The layered flavours of this recipe are so good you don’t miss them.
I’ve added this to our family recipe book and plan to only use only it in the future!
PS the ony changes I made were changing the cheese from sharp cheddar the marble (it’ what I had) and of course no onion. Yummy!
I made this recipe for the first time today and it was amazing! Great recipe, easy to make. Instructions were clear and concise. I’ll definitely make this again! Thank you!!
Looks and tastes great but it separated. No creamy deliciousness. What went wrong? I followed directions exactly, and I’m a pretty decent cook to begin with so I didn’t walk in completely knowing nothing.
I have made this recipe a couple of holiday dinners and I love it. However, this year, I am very short on oven space. Do you think it’s possible to make in the slow cooker with the same result? Maybe broil in oven before serving?
Hi there,
Approximately how many potatoes or 4 pounds?
Thanks!
Delicious!
do you peel the yukon gold potatoes or do skin on?
Up to you! I usually leave the skin on. :)
Can you prep this ahead of time and leave it in the fridge for 4-6 hours? And then bake?
Thanks!
Quick question, regarding how to do them ahead of time you mentioned baking them and letting them cool and then when you’re ready to use them again putting them in the oven for 30 minutes. Did you mean baking them for the 30 minutes covered and the 30 minutes uncovered or just the first 30 minutes and then when you redo them they would get baked for the second 30 minute segment?
I’m using this recipe for a private event after trying it at home, the only technical part is building the roux with the onion and garlic, using the cheese as it thickens, and not breaking the sauce. Requires eyes on it the whole time. As an additional note, I would mention that better quality ingredients will create a better dish. Thank you so much for making a chef’s job easier.
Furthermore I would add that I only use a very tiny portion the cheese in the sauce I use the rest of it simply grated in the layers
As you moderate this I apologize I only add the parmesan cheese into the sauce and just a tiny portion of that
Wow !!!! It was amazing thx so much!! Cooked it with baked ham !!!
Easy to make and super delicious! The extra garlic compliments this dish, if you are a fan of garlic. I will make this dish again for sure!
Followed the directions as stated except only a dash of thyme since I’m not a fan of that flavor. Everyone loved the potatoes! Now this is the only scalloped potato recipe I use.
This is so super yummy!! A new family favorite!! I cut it in half to fit our needs. Thank you for the recipe ? ?
Ssssooo good! Can’t tell you how many people have asked me for this recipe. It’s one of my new favorites!
Liked it, but a bit bland. Definitely needs salt and pepper. I will probably also add more sharp cheddar next time.
I have always been hit or miss with scalloped potatoes. Never had a recipe that was fool proof. Dunno, sometimes I didnt sprinkle enough flour, or used too much milk.. anyway. Saw this.. it was a “sauce” recipe, it had all the ingredients I live to flavor with.. I thought, Try this.
Rave reviews. Seriously. “Best I have ever had, including my grammas” was commented several times.
The instructions are step by step, it was a no brainer. Recipe saved as my go to. Two thumbs up, thanks!
I made these for Christmas and they were perfect! So creamy, cheesy, and delicious! I made them vegan by swapping out the non-vegan ingredients with avocado oil, veggie stock, homemade cashew milk, and Daiya cheddar style shreds. I also topped it with some panko bread crumbs that I had tossed in some vegan butter.
I would also like to add that I used this same recipe to make a vegan green bean casserole! Same swaps, just added some mushrooms in with the onions and topped with Daiya shreds and fried onions.
I bet that green bean casserole was fantstic!!! I will have to try it.
I made this for CHRISTMAS dinner, and I forgot the cheddar cheese. They were still wonderful! Everyone loved them. I can only imagine how good they would be with the cheese! Best scalloped potatoes ever.
Thank you, for going the extra length! A basic recipe that covers everything and explain the whys, the hows, and whats. Why simmer the milk, how to substitute and what to use for substitution.
This recipe is Great! I used peeled russet potatoes and it turned out perfectly.
Yes! …I made this recipe for Christmas dinner. It was fantastic. Best scalloped potatoes I’ve ever had and everyone said the same. Followed the recipe exactly except added a smudge of
The whole family Loved these! I added chives but otherwise kept the recipe as is.
Excellent!!!
The only thing I did different was use golden and red sweet potatoes, it was gross…I so don’t recommend doing that. I basically ended up with a bowl of mash, greasy mushy too salty just down right gross. If I tried this again I would use reg. potatoes, much less salt, and much less butter.
Omg…they loved it…even with brown flour
Was a simple and delicious side for our Christmas ham dinner. Making it again today!
I made this tonight to go with pork chops which I dredged in flour, fried, deglazed with sherry, topped with extra béchamel from the potato recipe. I cut way back on the cheese because I wanted them to let the pork chops shine. It was amazing and so delicious. I baked it in a Advantium in only 13 minutes- for anyone with a speed oven. I am sure it would be amazing with all the cheese which I plan to do next time when cheese will work better with the flavor profile of my protein. I have never had a really good recipe for scalloped potatoes and I am so grateful for this one. It is a keeper and the way I will always make scalloped potatoes.
I made this last night, using russet potatoes and American Cheese slices – it was a spur-of-the-moment thing – we had a bunch of potatoes to get rid of, but no cheddar cheese, so I had to improvise. It turned out surprisingly well – I thought it was great, actually, but my BF thought the parmesan stepped all over the American and said it wouldn’t have done that to the cheddar. We will definitely make these again, with gold potatoes and cheddar and I’m sure it will be even more outstanding!
Really really delicious!
What if I don’t have a 9 x 13 baking dish ? Can I use something else ?
Just made this tonight exactly as written. Excellent recipe! Not too cheesy, and no canned soups called for in a lot of other recipes. The thyme adds just enough flavor. Thank you for sharing…. will be making again!
Absolutely delicious. The best Scalloped Potatoes ever.
We don’t use flour so I thickened the chicken broth with arrowroot powder. Then added the milk. Turned out great!
Since I found this recipe it is the only one I use for scalloped potatoes. It is delicious! Thanks!
I am in my 70’s now but when I was a kid my mom worked and I had to start dinner before she got home and I remember slicing potatoes, but then I would sprinkle flour on potatoes and put is dabs of butter and a little milk, but this is so much better, than you
That is suppose to be Thank You :)
So delicious. I make a half batch, otherwise I will eat way too much. It really is as easy as it sounds.
Came out just perfect! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
So yummy! I made these for Valentine’s Day with a steak and salad. I didn’t include the onion and used dried thyme instead of fresh. Divine!!! Thank you!
Awesome! Best recipe ever!
I know that historically I didn’t read or rely on recipes, I would create my own. But now, I cannot cook very well. I am still recovering, just over two years now, from an aneurysm exploding in my brain, resulting in strokes, so it is a slow go in recovery, but looking for a recipe that will taste like my old recipe was my goal. I found that exactly, right here, Thank you for sharing this with us.
Best scalloped potatoes ever!
Two thumbs up from my 96 year old mother…….
Thanks Ali
That’s the best ever! I just made and ate them. I’ll never make them any other way! Geez…. I had them with lamb .
Never made scalloped potato’s before, this recipe was soooo good, followed exactly, my family loved them. This recipe is a keeper!
Sooooo tasty and so easy too!
I Found this on a google search and so glad I did. I had been looking for an easy recipe. I have an alergy to onions so it’s hard to find a recipe that has enough flavour without them. The layered flavours of this recipe are so good you don’t miss them.
I’ve added this to our family recipe book and plan to only use only it in the future!
PS the ony changes I made were changing the cheese from sharp cheddar the marble (it’ what I had) and of course no onion. Yummy!
I made this recipe for the first time today and it was amazing! Great recipe, easy to make. Instructions were clear and concise. I’ll definitely make this again! Thank you!!
I forgot to mark the stars in my last comment! Definitely a 5 + star recipe!
Looks and tastes great but it separated. No creamy deliciousness. What went wrong? I followed directions exactly, and I’m a pretty decent cook to begin with so I didn’t walk in completely knowing nothing.
Very delicious awesome
Hi, could this recipe be prepared the night before?