In this scalloped potatoes recipe, I layer tender potatoes with a creamy sauce and cheddar cheese. It's a comforting, delicious holiday side dish!
Scalloped potatoes always make me think of Easter. My family had them at our holiday dinner every year when I was growing up. Cheesy, rich, and comforting, they were my favorite part of the meal. I’d happily skip the Easter ham and go back for a second serving of scalloped potatoes instead!
Since this classic dish is one of my Easter favorites, I wanted to share a recipe for it this spring.
Finally—after lots of testing and tweaking—it’s here: my favorite scalloped potatoes recipe. It features tender potatoes baked in a creamy sauce with fresh thyme, onions, and cheddar cheese.
Hearty and flavorful, it’s a show-stopping addition to any meal. I think you’ll love it!
Scalloped Potatoes Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this scalloped potato recipe:
- Potatoes, of course! I love using russet potatoes for baked potatoes and French fries, but they’re not my #1 pick for this recipe. Instead, I recommend Yukon Gold or other yellow potatoes. Their creamy texture and buttery flavor are so delicious here!
- Butter and flour – The create a roux that thickens the sauce.
- Vegetable broth and whole milk – The sauce’s base! When I was developing this recipe, I tested a version with all milk and no broth, and I found that it felt too rich in the final dish. The combination of broth and milk makes the sauce lightly creamy and more flavorful.
- Garlic and onion – For savory depth of flavor.
- Fresh thyme – It adds fresh, unexpected notes to this comforting casserole. In a pinch, dried thyme works too.
- Cheddar cheese – For tangy, nutty flavor.
- And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Scalloped potatoes vs au gratin
I know some readers will point out that because this dish includes cheese, it’s technically potatoes au gratin. Traditional scalloped potatoes are baked in a milk or cream sauce without cheese.
However, the dish I grew up calling “scalloped potatoes” always contained cheese, so I chose to include it in this recipe. You can call these au gratin potatoes, potatoes au gratin, or cheesy scalloped potatoes if you prefer. They’re delicious any way you cut it!
How to Make Scalloped Potatoes
You can find the complete scalloped potatoes recipe at the bottom of this post, but for now, here’s an overview of how it goes:
Start by slicing the potatoes into 1/8-inch-thick slices. You could use a mandoline slicer for this step, but I actually prefer to do it with a knife. Just be careful to slice the potatoes thinly and evenly so that they cook through at the same rate.
Next, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a medium skillet, and then sprinkle in the flour and whisk to make a roux. Whisk continuously as you slowly add the milk followed by the broth.
Add the garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook until the sauce lightly coats the back of the spoon, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir often and reduce the heat as needed—you don’t want the sauce to come to a boil, or it could split.
Then, assemble the casserole. Layer half the potatoes and onions in an oiled 9×13-inch baking dish. Top with half of the sauce and 1 cup of cheddar cheese.
Repeat the layers with the remaining potatoes, onion, sauce, and cheese.
Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 400°F. Uncover and bake until the potatoes are tender and the cheese on top is browned, 35 to 40 minutes.
Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before slicing and serving. Finally, dig in!
Make-Ahead Instructions
As delicious as this recipe is freshly made, I secretly think it’s better leftover! When I prepare it for holidays and gatherings, I often make it ahead.
Here’s how to do it:
- Fully assemble and bake the scalloped potatoes according to the recipe.
- Let them cool to room temperature.
- Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
- When you’re ready to serve, let the potatoes stand at room temperature while you preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake them, covered, for 30 minutes, or until heated through.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat them in a 350°F oven or the microwave.
What to Serve with Scalloped Potatoes
Scalloped potatoes are a comforting side dish for holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Pair them with your favorite holiday dishes, or serve them as part of a festive spread with dinner rolls, green bean casserole, and a simple green salad.
Want to make these cheesy scalloped potatoes for a regular dinner? Serve them with your favorite protein and a bright salad like my fennel salad or spinach salad. Enjoy!
More Delicious Potato Recipes
If you love these cheesy scalloped potatoes, try one of these tasty potato recipes next:
- Best Mashed Potatoes
- Perfect Baked Potato
- Crispy Smashed Potatoes
- Oven Roasted Potatoes
- Hasselback Potatoes
Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 4 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced ⅛-inch thick
- ½ medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1½ cups grated cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- In a medium skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute, then slowly add the milk followed by the vegetable broth, whisking continuously. Add the garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook, whisking often, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the sauce lightly coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat.
- Layer half of the potatoes at the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with half the onion, then half the sauce and 1 cup of the cheese. Repeat the layers with the remaining potatoes, onion, sauce, and ½ cup cheese.
- Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the cheese on top is browned. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.
OH MY! This is a great recipe for scalloped potatoes. The only thing I changed was 2 cups half&half instead of whole milk and a little more cheese. My husband loved it and my mom said it was the best scalloped potatoes she has ever eaten. 2 Thumbs UP! Thank you for sharing such a great recipe. 🙂
I did ginger instead of garlic, and a three cheese, 2% milk. Just the stuff on hand and it is great.
We made this last night for dinner. I’ve never been able to make scallop potatoes absolutely perfect 🙁 it’s a curse! A few notes on this recipe. Use only 1 tsp salt, the butter and cheese add salt. I used sea salt, maybe kosher would have been better? The sauce to potato/onion ration is low so I only used 2.5lbs potato. It turned out very good, some people at the table love salt so they were very happy, I am salt sensitive so I could tolerate it and the other flavors were delicious.
Just made this recipe and I can tell you that it’s the best that I ever had and I will definitely be making this again. I have been cooking for 40 yrs, ever since I was 19 yrs old.
Leaves something to be desired. 3 tips – carmalized the onions, add way more salt and if making ahead don’t put the top cheese layer on until reheating.
Pretty easy. Definitely start with half the salt! I’m thinking how to make it less salty because it made my eyes twitch a little.
You may have used table salt. Sea salt measures different. Sea salt is flakey and leas dense.
Made this last night for dinner & it was a hit! I may use the whole onion next time I make this, but that’s personal preference. Super easy to customize (we don’t like thyme, but I put a pinch of nutmeg in the bechamel) This was easy to make and absolutely delicious. Definitely a keeper!
Hi Amanda, I’m so glad you loved it!
Excited for this! About how far in advance can it be prepped? (Planning ahead for holiday meal)
Hi Jo, if you scroll up in the post just a bit there are make ahead instructions. I hope you enjoy!
This recipe looked good and simple, though I did make a few adjustments to it. I didn’t have any vegetable stock so I used 3 cups half and half instead. For the cheese, I used sharp white cheddar and smoked gruyere for the topping along with some diced cooked bacon and garnished with more thyme. I sliced a whole sweet onion into rings and layered according to the recipe. For the potatoes, I chose Yukon golds washed and left the peals om. My roux came out a bit thin though, as I backed off the flour to an 1/8 cup. All in all, very easy to make, and was a hit with my relatives along with the ham I cooked and had bacon wrapped asparagus for the side. Desert was Maple Butternut Squash pie, very tasty meal! My aunt at 93 years of age, was thoroughly satisfied! As were my dad, my uncle, my wife and my cousins. Thanks for the recipe, I will make it again. I like regular cheddar, though it is a bit salty to me, hence the switch to the white cheddar. The smoked gruyere and bacon added an extra richness, not that it needed any with the fresh thyme I used.
Hi Red, that sounds like an incredible meal! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
This recipe was delicions!
I used salted butter then only added salt to taste as I went along (a few pinches in the cream then a pinch on each layer of potatoes). I had not previously read the other comments about it turning out too salty, but I knew I would be using salted butter instead of the unsalted that the recipe calls for so I went easy on the added salt. Using this method, I found that the salt amout was perfect.
Personally I would love it to be a bit more cheesy, so next time I would add at least two cups of shredded cheddar instead of 1.5 cups.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Really easy – ingredients from the pantry. I would recommend using half the salt in the recipe to start with and as needed!!
It was easy and yummy….no cheese?…on a low sodium diet, but it was still yummy!!