I make this scalloped potatoes recipe every year for our holiday dinners, and everyone always goes in for seconds… and thirds! My version of this classic side dish has thinly sliced Yukon Gold potatoes layered and baked in a rich cream sauce with nutty Gruyère cheese.
Creamy scalloped potatoes pair just as perfectly with a holiday prime rib roast as they do with crock pot honey lemon chicken for a comforting weeknight dinner.
While I make my cheesy potatoes and loaded potato casserole for everyday dinners, there’s something comforting about this scalloped potatoes recipe at the holidays. These thinly sliced potatoes are ultra-creamy, a little cheesy, and loaded with flavor despite very few ingredients. You’ve never had scalloped potatoes like these!
Why You’ll Love These Scalloped Potatoes as Much as I Do
- Rich, creamy sauce. It starts with a buttery base and ends with melting Gruyère cheese. Enough said!
- Easy to prepare. Make the sauce, then slice the potatoes and bake. This potato side dish delivers big flavor without a lot of effort.
- Perfect for holiday dinners. Scalloped potatoes are a favorite side dish at Christmas and Thanksgiving. If they’re not on your menu already, they should be!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Blame it on the moussaka I grew up eating, but a potato casserole holds a special place in my heart. I also love that potatoes are the star here. All you need are simple ingredients to make them shine. I’ve included notes below, and you’ll find the full list in the printable recipe card.
- Butter, Flour, and Milk – These three ingredients combine to make a béchamel sauce. This is the creamy base for our cheese sauce, the same as you’ll find in mac and cheese recipes.
- Vegetable Broth – You could also use chicken stock.
- Gruyère Cheese – Gruyère is a hard Swiss cheese with a mildly sweet, nutty flavor. You might recognize it from French onion soup recipes. If Gruyère isn’t available, good substitutes are Emmental, Swiss cheese, or a good-quality mild cheddar.
- Nutmeg – I use ground nutmeg here, but you can absolutely use fresh nutmeg if you have it. If you’re using fresh, use about half the amount.
- Potatoes – Starchy potatoes are best for scalloped potatoes. My favorite are Yukon Gold potatoes. If you don’t have Yukon Golds, russets are a good option. The starches help to naturally thicken the sauce.
- Onion – I slice up a yellow or white onion to tuck in between the potato slices for more flavor.
- Thyme – Optional, but I love to garnish my scalloped potatoes with fresh thyme sprigs. You could also add the thyme leaves right into the sauce.
Scalloped Potatoes vs. Potato Gratin
The main difference between scalloped potatoes and potatoes au gratin is that, traditionally, scalloped potatoes do not include cheese. Meanwhile, au gratin recipes do, sometimes with a topping of breadcrumbs.
Tradition aside, many modern scalloped potatoes recipes and au gratin recipes tend to overlap, like this one. Melty Gruyère cheese makes these scalloped potatoes a little extra decadent, and I am HERE for it!
Tips for Homemade Scalloped Potatoes
- Cut the potatoes by hand. While I usually swear by my mandolin slicer in recipes like my sweet potato roast or cucumber salad, this is the ONE occasion where I recommend slicing the potatoes by hand. The mandolin slices them too thin.
- Use the right potatoes. I mentioned it earlier, but Yukon Gold or russet potatoes are the best choice. Even though they aren’t quite the same, both work nicely in this scalloped potatoes recipe.
- Kick up the flavor. I like to keep the seasoning simple with salt and pepper, but if you’d like, you can add garlic powder to the sauce for more flavor.
- For a creamier sauce, replace the vegetable broth with more milk or half-and-half.
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Prepare for baking. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch baking dish with cooking oil or butter, then set it aside.
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Make the sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan set over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and cook and stir for 1-2 minutes to eliminate the raw flour taste. Gradually whisk in the milk, stirring until no lumps remain. Add the vegetable broth and simmer the sauce for 3 minutes, or until it starts to coat the back of your spoon.
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Add cheese. Stir in the Gruyere cheese and cook until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste, add the nutmeg, and remove from the heat. Set aside.
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Slice the veggies. Wash and peel the potatoes. Cut the potatoes and onion into 1/8-inch-thick slices.
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Assemble. Stack the potatoes in your hand, then place them in the baking dish horizontally so the edges of the potatoes are facing up. Tuck the onion slices between the potatoes.
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Add the sauce. Pour the prepared cheese sauce over the potatoes.
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Bake. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1½ hours or until the potatoes are tender.
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Finish and serve. Remove the scalloped potatoes from the oven and let them stand for a few minutes. Garnish with fresh thyme and serve.
- Cut the potatoes by hand. The mandolin slicer slices them too thin.
- Instead of Gruyere cheese, you can use cheddar or a mix of these two types of cheese.
- Use Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes for the recipe. Although they have different moisture levels, both work great as baked potatoes.
- For extra flavor, you can add some garlic powder to your sauce.
- You can substitute the vegetable broth with milk if you want to use the milk all the way through the sauce.
Serving: 0.75cup | Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 187mg | Potassium: 604mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 394IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 293mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make This Scalloped Potatoes Recipe
Scalloped potatoes look decadent, but they’re actually very easy to make in just a few short steps. Let’s get started.
- Make the béchamel sauce. Start by melting butter in a saucepan. Add the flour, and whisk while it browns for a minute. Next, gradually whisk in the milk until you have a smooth sauce.
- Simmer. Add the vegetable broth, and simmer the sauce for about 3 minutes. You want it to thicken enough that it coats the back of your spoon.
- Add cheese. Now, stir in the shredded cheese and continue to simmer the sauce while it melts. Give your cheese sauce a quick season with salt and pepper, and add the nutmeg.
- Slice the potatoes. Leave the sauce aside while you wash, peel, and then slice the potatoes to about ⅛” thickness.
- Assemble. While the oven preheats to 400ºF, grease an 8” baking dish. Stack the potato slices in your hand first, and then lay the stack into the baking dish with the edges facing up, ratatouille-style. Tuck your sliced onions in between the potatoes. Lastly, pour the cheese sauce evenly over the potatoes.
- Bake. Bake these scalloped potatoes, covered with foil, at 400ºF for 1 ½ hours. The potatoes are done when they’re fork-tender. Garnish with fresh thyme before serving, and enjoy.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Cool the leftover scalloped potatoes completely, and then store them covered in the fridge for 3-4 days. I don’t recommend freezing potatoes, and especially recipes with dairy, as the texture becomes grainy and mushy when thawed.
- Reheat. Warm up leftovers in the oven under foil again, or you can reheat servings in the microwave.
