Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

Scalloped potatoes are a classic comfort food made with simple ingredients, layered with cheesy goodness, and baked until golden and bubbly. This cozy side dish is perfect for holidays, family gatherings, or potlucks, and always disappears fast. Creamy, hearty, and satisfying—it’s the kind of recipe everyone asks for after the first bite!

Love More Potatoes Recipes? Try My Hamburger Potato Casserole or this One Pan Cheesy Meat and Potato Skillet next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Hits the perfect balance between creamy and light, thanks to the milk-broth base that keeps it rich without being heavy. The cheesy golden topping bakes to bubbly perfection, giving you that irresistible comfort food vibe without the food coma. A reliable, crowd-pleasing side dish that looks just as good as it tastes!

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Ingredients for the Best Scalloped Potatoes

For the Creamy Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing 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

For the Layers:

• 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced about 1/8-inch thick
• ½ medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1½ cups grated cheddar cheese

Swaps I’ve tried: No veggie broth? Chicken broth works fine. No fresh thyme? Use a teaspoon of the dried stuff. Want to get fancy? Gruyere mixed with cheddar is ridiculously good.

Why These Ingredients Work

Here’s what I learned from my epic potato fail: Yukon Golds don’t turn into mush like russets do, and they’ve got this natural buttery thing going on that makes you think you’re fancier than you actually are. The milk-broth situation was my mom’s suggestion after she witnessed the Great Potato Disaster – it gives you all that creamy goodness without the “oh god I can’t move” feeling you get from straight heavy cream.

And can we talk about grated garlic versus minced? Game. Changer. Grated garlic melts into the sauce instead of giving you those little bites of raw garlic that make your eyes water. Fresh thyme makes people go “what IS that amazing smell?” and sharp cheddar gets all golden and bubbly on top like something from a cooking show.

Essential Tools and Equipment

• Big skillet for the sauce
• Whisk
• 9×13-inch baking dish
• Sharp knife or mandoline slicer
• Aluminum foil
• Box grater

How to Make Perfect Scalloped Potatoes

Step 1: Get Your Oven Ready

Heat oven to 400°F. Butter your 9×13 dish real good – don’t be stingy here.

Step 2: Master the Sauce

Melt your butter in that skillet – don’t walk away because butter goes from perfect to burnt in like two seconds. Dump in the flour and whisk like your life depends on it. Cook it for a minute until it smells kinda toasty. This part used to scare me but now I know it’s what stops your sauce from tasting like paste.

Pour in the milk super slow – I learned this the hard way when I dumped it all in at once and got lumpy disaster sauce. Add the broth, keep whisking. Toss in that grated garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir it around for a couple minutes until it’s thick enough that it sticks to your spoon a bit. Done.

Step 3: Layer Like a Pro

This part’s actually fun once you get the hang of it. Take half your potato slices and lay them in the buttered dish – overlap them a little so it looks neat. Scatter half the onions on top, pour over half that gorgeous sauce you just made, then sprinkle a cup of cheese.

Do the whole thing again – more potatoes, rest of the onions, rest of the sauce, then that last bit of cheese on top. My kids always want to help with this part because it’s like building something edible.

Step 4: The Two-Stage Bake

Slap some foil on top and stick it in the oven for 30 minutes. Then rip off the foil and bake another 35-40 minutes until you can poke the potatoes easily with a fork and that cheese on top looks like something from a restaurant.

Step 5: The Hardest Part – WAIT!

This is where I used to mess up every single time. You gotta let it sit for 20 minutes before you cut into it. I know it’s torture when your kitchen smells amazing and everyone’s hovering around, but if you cut too early, you’ll get a soupy mess instead of nice clean slices. Trust me on this one.

You Must Know

After my watery potato nightmare, I learned to pat those potato slices completely dry with paper towels. Sounds silly, but wet potatoes equal soggy casserole, and nobody wants that tragedy on their dinner table.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

• Get obsessive about slice thickness – I’m talking 1/8-inch, people. Too thick and the centers stay crunchy; too thin and you get potato mush soup.
• Don’t skip the roux step – cooking that butter and flour for a full minute gets rid of the weird raw flour taste that ruins everything.
• Overlap those potato slices like you’re shingling a roof. It looks pretty and makes sure everything cooks evenly.
• The foil is your friend – cover first to steam the potatoes, then uncover to get that gorgeous golden top that makes everyone think you’re a kitchen genius.

Common Mistakes That’ll Ruin Your Day

• Cutting the resting time short (your beautiful layers will turn into slop when you serve it)
• Using russet potatoes (they fall apart and get all starchy and weird)
• Making the sauce too thick (it should pour easily, not plop)
• Cramming too many potato layers (give them space to breathe, for crying out loud!)

Flavor Variations

Herb crazy: Throw in some rosemary or sage with the thyme. My neighbor does this and her house always smells incredible.

Bacon everything: Cook up some bacon, chop it up, toss it between the layers. Because bacon makes everything better, obviously.

Fancy cheese situation: Mix some Gruyere in with the cheddar. Sounds bougie but it’s actually amazing.

Lighter version: Use half-and-half instead of whole milk. Still tastes great, slightly less guilt.

Make-Ahead Options

You can totally make this ahead – I do it all the time when I’m having people over. Bake the whole thing, let it cool down, stick it in the fridge for up to two days. When you want to eat it, just cover with foil and reheat at 350°F for like half an hour.

Want to prep even more? Put the whole thing together without baking it, cover it tight, and leave it in the fridge overnight. Just add about 10 extra minutes to the covered baking time since it’s cold when it goes in.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

Your sauce should be about as thick as heavy cream – thick enough to coat stuff but not so thick it won’t pour. If it gets too thick, add a splash more milk. Too thin? Let it cook a bit longer while you stir.

Make sure your oven’s actually at 400°F before you put the dish in. I used to be impatient about preheating and wondered why my cheese never got golden right.

If you’re slicing potatoes ahead of time, stick them in cold water so they don’t turn brown. Just make sure you dry them off really well before you start layering.

Serving Suggestions

These go with pretty much any protein you can think of – roasted chicken, holiday ham, grilled steak, whatever you’re making. I usually serve them with a simple salad and some green vegetables because let’s be honest, this dish is rich enough on its own.

For holidays, they’re perfect next to green bean casserole and cranberry sauce. For regular dinners, just grill some chicken and throw together a quick salad.

Want to make them look fancy? Sprinkle some fresh chives on top or add a few thyme sprigs. A tiny bit of paprika adds nice color too.

How to Store Your Scalloped Potatoes

Room temp: Good for about 2 hours max before you need to refrigerate.

In the fridge: Keeps for 4 days in a container with a lid. Actually tastes better the next day.

Reheating: Microwave for quick portions, or stick the whole thing back in a 350°F oven covered up until it’s hot.

Freezing: Don’t. Just don’t. They get all watery and gross when you thaw them.

Allergy Information

Has: Dairy, gluten from flour

No dairy? Use plant butter, oat milk, and fake cheese. Works okay.

No gluten? Swap the flour for gluten-free flour blend or use cornstarch – about 3 tablespoons instead of the ¼ cup flour.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Can I use different potatoes?

Yukons are really the way to go. Russets get mushy and weird. Red potatoes stay too firm.

Why are mine watery?

You didn’t dry the potatoes after slicing, or you cut into it too soon. Both will give you soup instead of slices.

How do I know it’s done?

Stick a knife through the potatoes – should slide right through. Top should be golden and bubbly around the edges.

Can I make two pans?

Yep, just use two 9×13 pans instead of trying to cram everything in one huge dish. Same baking time.

💬 Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and rating below! I love hearing about your kitchen successes and any creative variations you come up with.