These homemade scalloped potatoes are creamy, cheesy, and incredibly easy to make. The potatoes simmer briefly in cream and chicken stock before baking, giving you perfectly tender scalloped potatoes with a fraction of the oven time of traditional recipes.
It’s always around the holidays that I’m reminded of how much food is tied to memories. Just a smell or a taste can evoke such powerful nostalgia. A taste of the dough from my mom’s sugar cookie recipe, and I’m eight years old again at Christmastime. The taste of a fried onion, and I’m a teenager snagging one from the can as my mom put together her green bean casserole for Thanksgiving. Now I have teenagers of my own snagging bits of fried onions as I put together our holiday dishes.
These are the best scalloped potatoes, and they are the perfect recipe for creating more food memories. Made with easy-to-find ingredients, this is a rich side dish with a bold cream sauce and topped with those signature fried onions. This is a classic dish that you can pass down from generation to generation.
I made this recipe tonight and it was a huge hit! My husband said this may be his fav way to eat potatoes even! Thank you for sharing it!
Ingredients
- Russet potatoes: Their high starch content naturally thickens the sauce.
- Heavy cream and chicken stock: This combination makes the sauce flavorful and creamy without being too heavy.
- Onion: Cooking it in butter softens the onion and mellows the flavor, adding a slight sweetness.
- Cheddar cheese: Since these are, in fact, cheesy scalloped potatoes, it is important that we get the cheese just right. Freshly grated from a block melts better than pre-shredded cheese.
- Crispy fried onions: Give the finished dish a savory, crunchy topping.
How to Make Scalloped Potatoes
- For the best scalloped potatoes, slice the potatoes thinly and evenly. I like to use a mandoline for slicing, but it can be done with a knife as well. Then submerge them in the chicken stock and heavy cream while you prepare the rest of the recipe. This will prevent the potatoes from browning as they sit.
- While the potatoes sit, sauté onions in butter and seasonings until they are translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Pour in the potatoes with the stock and heavy cream and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. This will soften the potatoes, making for a short baking time.
- Transfer the potatoes to the baking dish, top with cheese, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the oven, top with fried onions, and return to the oven for five more minutes. Let the dish stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Why Cook the Potatoes Before Baking?
We give the sliced potatoes a head start on cooking by simmering them in the cream and chicken broth before they go into the oven. This also releases some of the starch in the potatoes, which helps to naturally thicken the sauce without needing flour or making a roux. Best of all, it significantly shortens the baking time, so you get tender, creamy scalloped potatoes without waiting more than an hour for the potatoes to soften in the oven.
Best Potatoes for Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
You will note that we are calling for russet potatoes in this recipe. There are a few reasons for this:
- Russet potatoes contain more starch than the average potato. This helps create a really thick and creamy sauce in this recipe without making a roux.
- They are low in moisture, which helps them bake really well, while absorbing the sauces and gravy. This makes them ideal in this recipe.
- Russet potatoes have a mild flavor, which means that they can take on all the other flavors in this dish.
Tips and Tricks
- Using a food processor or a mandoline can help ensure that your potatoes are sliced thin. You want to make sure that they are nice and thin and uniform. Although a bit more time-consuming, it is also possible to do this using a knife.
- There is no need to make a roux. This recipe doesn’t need any flour to thicken it. As the potatoes cook, they release starch that naturally thickens the cream sauce.
- Change up the cheese. I love this with cheddar, as I think it naturally pairs so well with potatoes. That being said, gruyere would be amazing in this or even a smoked provolone.
- Add in some ham. This is a great recipe to make after the holidays if you have leftover ham. The ham goes so well with all of the other ingredients to make scalloped potatoes and ham.
- Skip the baking dish. I love serving this in a gorgeous baking dish as seen here. But you can just as easily skip the baking dish if the Dutch oven you simmered the potatoes in is oven-safe. Top the potatoes with cheese right in there and pop it in the oven.
Scalloped Potatoes vs. Au Gratin Potatoes
Traditionally, scalloped potatoes are made with a thick cream sauce, while potatoes au gratin are made with cheese. Nowadays, the terms are used interchangeably. Many scalloped potato recipes, like this one, include cheese for an extra cheesy flavor.
Storing Leftovers
Leftovers of this scalloped potatoes recipe should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for four to five days. When you want to eat leftovers, only take out the portion you would like to eat, as leftovers shouldn’t be reheated more than once. Warm them in the oven or microwave on low heat.
Making Ahead and Freezing Scalloped Potatoes
Making Ahead
This recipe can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Follow the recipe until you reach step five. Do not top the dish with cheese, but transfer it to a baking dish, cover it, and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours. When you are ready to bake, remove it from the refrigerator, top it with cheese, and proceed with the recipe. Keep in mind that the potatoes will be cold and will need a longer bake time than 10 minutes. Bake for 10 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender, and then proceed with topping the potatoes with the fried onions and putting it back in the oven.
Freezing
If you plan on freezing this side dish before baking, I suggest transferring it to a disposable baking dish. This way you can bake it right from frozen. Do not top it with cheese. Wrap it several times with plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to three months.
When ready to bake, remove it from the freezer, and allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Remove the plastic wrap, and put it in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, covered with foil. Then remove it from the oven, top it with cheese, and return it to the oven, following the recipe as written.
What to Serve with Scalloped Potatoes
These homemade scalloped potatoes are the perfect side dish for so many different recipes, but here are a few of my favorites for the holidays. These are great main dishes that require very little time.
- Prime Rib: This is our favorite holiday dinner. While the meat can be expensive, we like to ask our butcher when it will go on sale and grab one or two for Christmas. This recipe is perfect!
- Bone In Pork Loin Roast: This looks like an absolute showstopper when it is finished, but it couldn’t be easier to make. It has only 10 minutes of prep time.
- Crockpot Turkey Breast: If you are having a smaller holiday this year, make this! It is as simple as can be, and the slow cooker yields the most moist turkey ever.
- Easy Lamb Chops: If this makes you nervous, fall back on my simple recipe. It really couldn’t be easier, and it results in these perfect little lamb chops.
If you make this recipe for scalloped potatoes with cheese and onions or any of my other recipes, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
Recipe Video
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes peeled and sliced thin, about 1/4 to 1/8 an inch (1133.98 grams)
- 1 cup chicken stock (236.588 ml)
- 1 cup heavy cream (236.588 ml)
- 1 onion diced small
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (28.25 grams)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup cheddar cheese freshly grated (113 grams)
- 1 cup crispy fried onions such as French's (56 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 1 1/2 quart baking dish with cooking spray.
- As you peel and slice your potatoes, put the potatoes in a large bowl filled with the chicken stock and heavy cream. This will prevent them from browning as you prepare the rest of your recipe.2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, 1 cup chicken stock, 1 cup heavy cream
- Over medium heat in a large Dutch oven, melt the butter. Add in the onion and season with garlic powder, salt, thyme, and black pepper. Cook until translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes.1 onion, 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Add the potatoes, cream, and stock to the Dutch oven and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and can be sliced with a small knife with little resistance.
- Transfer the potato mixture to the baking dish and smooth it into an even layer. Top with the cheddar cheese and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the fried onions. Bake for an additional 5 minutes, keeping an eye on the dish so the onions don't burn.1 cup cheddar cheese, 1 cup crispy fried onions
- Let stand 10 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.
did you make this
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
Recipe lightly adapted from America’s Test Kitchen
Marg says
Doesn’t the cream curdle when you boil the potatoes in it?
Heavy cream has a high enough fat content that it will not curdle when boiled. That being said, we aren’t boiling it, we are just bringing it to a simmer.
Bridget says
I have made these once before and they were a huge hit with my family. I am making them again tonight, but I was wondering if I could put them in the oven at 375°F instead of the 425°F temperature in the recipe because I am cooking a pork loin roast to go with it and it has to be cooked at 375°F. Do you think, if I cooked them at the lower temperature for longer, that would work?
I haven’t tested that, but I think it will work.
Marg says
Do you have a recipe to make Crispy Fried Onions at home?
I’m so sorry, I don’t.
Cat says
So easy!! I used to use a recipe where your parboiled the potato slices, but this is much more efficient. it used to be unless you sliced the potatoes so thin, they’d be crunchy even after an hour in the oven. I made this recipe in an air fryer at 350°, and I did cover with foil until the last 10 or 15 minutes to crisp up the cheese. Turned out perfectly!
I’m so glad this was a hit for you!