These rich and creamy Scalloped Potatoes will become the little black dress of your dinner table! Fabulous enough for Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas dinner and easy enough for a weeknight meal, you should definitely keep this luscious scalloped potatoes recipe front and center in your arsenal. Because is there anything more cozy and comforting than thinly sliced potatoes baked into a rich, velvety cream sauce?? I think not.
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“Made this for Christmas and it was delicious! Thank you!”
Amy
Ingredients
The beauty of this recipe is its simplicity. You only need a few pounds of potatoes and a few cups of seasoned milk sauce to make it a cozy delight. Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy scalloped potatoes recipe:
- Potatoes: For this recipe, you want a potato that holds its shape when baked, like a Yukon gold, a red, or a russet potato. You can also use sweet potatoes!
- Butter and Flour: Together, these ingredients make a roux, which thickens the milk sauce. Substitute the butter with cooking oil or vegan butter to keep things dairy-free. If you can’t do flour, add the milk to the pan and warm it while you dissolve 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in the chicken stock. Add the chicken stock to the milk and bring to a boil for one minute as you stir constantly. Then add the seasonings.
- Milk: This is the foundation of the creamy sauce in this dish. It’s best to use whole milk, as the less fat you have in the dairy, the more likely the sauce will break or become grainy. If you prefer a dairy-free sauce, substitute the milk with coconut milk, but again, go full fat. You need that fat to help thicken the sauce and add a velvety texture.
- Chicken Stock: Stock adds depth to the milk sauce. You can substitute it with vegetable broth if you prefer.
- Spices: The creamy sauce is flavored with nutmeg, onion powder, and garlic powder to create depth and a pinch of cayenne pepper to add a little heat. You can, of course, substitute these with your favorite spice blend. Add 3/4 teaspoon of the blend and taste the sauce before adding more.
The difference between scalloped and au gratin potatoes
While these recipes are very similar, there are two main differences:
- Although both are relatively thinly sliced, scalloped potatoes are cut about twice as thick as au gratin potatoes.
- Scalloped potatoes are simply potatoes baked in a creamy sauce. Au gratin potatoes are layered with cheese and are also topped with cheese and bread crumbs. That being said, some people do opt to top their scalloped potatoes with a small amount of cheese, but overall there is still much less cheese than au gratin potatoes.
Make it Ahead of Time!
You can make this recipe up to a day ahead of time. Follow every step, but only bake them for 45 minutes. Under-baking the potatoes means when you warm them up the next day, they won’t transform into mush. Cool the potatoes, place plastic wrap or parchment paper right on the surface, wrap the dish well with plastic or foil, and refrigerate. About an hour before you want to serve them, unwrap and bring them to room temperature on the counter, about 20 minutes. Then bake the uncovered dish until a fork inserted into the potatoes meets zero resistance, about 20 minutes. Make sure to rest them for 15 to 20 minutes before serving, so the sauce has a chance to firm up.
Tips For Making The Best Scalloped Potatoes
- Choose the right potato: waxy with thin skins, like Yukon gold, russet, or red. They will keep their shape during baking, so you don’t end up serving mush.
- Slice all of the potatoes to the same thickness, so they cook evenly. Go for about 1/4 inch thick.
- Keep the potatoes under water to prevent browning. Salt the water to add flavor and bring them to a boil for five minutes to help them cook faster in the oven.
- When adding liquid to a roux, in this case, milk and chicken broth, it should be hot to prevent the butter from clumping and creating lumps.
- Only use glass or ceramic casserole dishes. Metal dishes can turn your potatoes gray.
- Even if you’re in a rush, don’t cook the potatoes at high heat. It will cause the milk sauce to curdle. If you’re short on time, blanch the potatoes a little longer before layering them in your dish.
- As soon as you can slip a fork into the potatoes without any resistance, take the casserole dish out of the oven. If you overcook the potatoes, they turn to mush.
What To Serve with scalloped potatoes
These potatoes are so lush and delicious that they’re a great side dish for holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, but they’re also great on chilly winter weeknights. Here are some easy and budget-friendly recipes I think you’ll love with these creamy potatoes:
How To Store and Reheat
Place leftovers in an airtight container with plastic wrap or parchment paper covering their surface. Store them in the fridge for up to 4 days. Scalloped potatoes aren’t the best candidate for freezing as the creamy sauce tends to become grainy upon thawing and reheating.
Allow the potatoes to warm at room temperature for about 20 to 30 minutes before placing them in a preheated 350°F and baking them until they start to steam. You can also warm up leftovers in a microwave at 50% power. Depending on the microwave and portion size, it should take 2 to 4 minutes. Just look for the steam.
Scalloped Potatoes
Servings 9 cupsIngredients
- 3 lbs Yukon gold potatoes (6 to 8 medium potatoes)* ($3.59)
- 6 1/2 tsp salt, divided ($0.18)
- 5 Tbsp salted butter* ($0.70)
- 5 Tbsp All-purpose flour* ($0.04)
- 2 cups milk* ($0.50)
- 1 cup chicken broth* ($0.16)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground ($0.01)
- 1/4 tsp onion powder ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.03)
- 1 pinch nutmeg ($0.01)
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper ($0.01)
Instructions
- Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 350°F. Grease a 9×9 casserole dish. Fill a large pot with a gallon of water and add 6 teaspoons (2 tablespoons) of salt. Peel and slice potatoes 1/4 inch thick, add to the salted water, and boil for five minutes. Strain the potatoes.
- Mix the milk and chicken stock in a microwave-safe dish and warm the liquid until it's barely steaming. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, constantly stirring, until the paste begins to bubble.
- Add the hot milk and chicken stock mixture, stirring as the sauce thickens. Bring it to a boil.
- Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. Lower the heat, and cook the milk sauce for two minutes more. Remove from the heat.
- Layer half of the potatoes in the pan and cover with half of the sauce.
- Repeat the layering process for the final layer.
- Spread the sauce on top of the potatoes in an even layer, from edge to edge. Cover the dish with aluminum and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the aluminum and bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are bubbly and golden brown and a knife inserted into the potatoes meets no resistance. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Glass Casserole Dish
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Scalloped Potatoes – Step by Step Photos
Preheat your oven to 350°F and place a rack in the center. Grease a 9×9 casserole dish or any 2-quart baking dish well. Next, fill a large pot with a gallon of water and add 6 teaspoons (2 tablespoons) of salt. Peel and slice 3 lbs potatoes to 1/4-inch thick rounds (try to make them as evenly sized as possible!), and then add them to the salted water to stop them from turning browning. Bring the potatoes to a boil and blanch for 5 minutes before taking them off the heat and straining.
Combine 2 cups milk and 1 cup chicken stock in a microwave-safe container. Place it in the microwave and heat for 1 minute, or until it’s barely steaming. Melt 5 tablespoons of butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, then add 5 tablespoons of flour. Cook, constantly stirring to make a paste, until the paste bubbles but does not brown, about 2 minutes.
Pour the microwaved hot milk and chicken broth mixture into the pan with the roux. Stir everything together as it thickens and bring it to a boil.
Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon onion powder, a pinch of nutmeg, and a pinch of cayenne pepper to the sauce. Lower the heat, and cook for two minutes more. Keep stirring constantly to prevent burning. Remove from the heat.
Pat the drained potatoes dry before layering half in the casserole dish. Top with half of the milk sauce.
Add the final layer of potatoes to the casserole dish and top with the remaining sauce.
Distribute the sauce evenly over the top of the potatoes, making sure they are covered edge to edge. Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Covering them helps trap steam, so the potatoes cook evenly.
Remove the foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are bubbly and golden brown and you can easily insert a knife into the potatoes with no resistance. To create more patches of golden brown (for photography purposes), I sprinkled a teaspoon of shredded mozzarella over the center of the dish, 10 minutes before I pulled it from the oven. Allow the potatoes to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. It’s optional, but I like to garnish the dish with a tablespoon of chopped Italian parsley. Get ready to start collecting compliments! This recipe is a win!
More Easy Potato Recipes
This Scalloped Potatoes recipe was originally published 4/21/23. It was updated and republished 12/20/24.
I need easy fast 4 or 5 ingredient’s no more
Made this for Christmas and it was delicious! Thank you!
Monti, what do you think about using 2% evaporated milk in place of whole? I never buy whole milk since we don’t like drinking it.
That could probably work. :)
Sweet potatoes fries recipe please
You can easily make these and just leave out the spices if that’s not your thing! https://www.budgetbytes.com/spicy-sweet-potato-fries/
Love scalloped potatoes I usely put cheese on mine.