These Easy, Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes are smothered in a creamy cheese sauce and baked to perfection. With a quick shortcut, this classic side dish takes less than an hour from start to finish. They are sure to be a hit at your holiday feast.
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes are our favorite way to make potatoes. My cheesy potato recipe is a perfect side dish to pair with any meal, especially Easy Baked Glazed Ham and the Best Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe. While they are technically au gratin potatoes, you’ll love this recipe no matter what you call it!
EASY, CHEESY SCALLOPED POTATOES RECIPE
My grandma was known for her comfort food cooking. From authentic German Spaetzle and Hungarian dishes to American classics like these Easy Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes, each recipe she cooked was her pride and joy.
In our family she was known for certain dishes, like her Shortcut German Potato Salad and her Zucchini Bread, among others. She never had to follow a recipe – she knew each one like the back of her hand. Which of course leaves us trying to recreate the flavors she made. Thankfully we cooked with her enough that we are usually successful.
I remember the first time I cooked this Scalloped Potatoes recipe on my own. It was for a Christmas party that I was hosting at my home, and it was the first Christmas since my grandma had passed away. My boss was bringing the ham, so I knew I had to make my grandma’s cheesy potatoes recipe. I did and they tasted just like hers…which of course made me cry as I ate them!
How to Make Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
I love this recipe because it’s super easy and tastes better than any cheesy potato casserole I’ve ever had. That could be due to the massive amounts of fresh Cheddar cheese in the rich, creamy sauce, but who knows?
- BOIL THE POTATOES. Most potato casserole recipes I’ve seen (au gratin or scalloped) use raw potatoes and bake the casserole for over an hour, up to an hour and a half or more! The potatoes take quite a while to cook so that lengthy time was necessary. My grandma boiled the potatoes whole and unpeeled for about 20-25 minutes, to cook them most of the way through. Then she would peel them when they were cool enough to handle and slice them with a paring knife.
- MAKE THE CHEESY SAUCE. Make the cheese sauce – a basic bechamel sauce with grated cheddar added – while the potatoes are boiling. Start with a roux (melted butter and flour, cooked until golden), add milk and simmer until thick. Stir in shredded cheddar cheese until it melts. Since this is a cheesy potato recipe, the cheese is important! Make sure you are using fresh shredded off the block sharp cheddar cheese.
- LAYER AND BAKE. Layer the sliced potatoes and cheese sauce in a large casserole dish and top with more grated cheddar and some ground Hungarian paprika for color. I like to add fresh minced parsley as a finishing touch, but either of these garnishes can be left off. Bake as directed until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the cheesy potato casserole is hot throughout.
Recipe Tips and Questions
Since first posting this recipe back in 2016, we get lots of questions and reviews. I tried to address some of the most frequent questions and comments.
Why do you boil the potatoes first?
The par-boiling of the potatoes ensures that the potatoes will be creamy and soft and cooked all the way through in under 30 minutes of baking time. Unevenly cooked potatoes is the most common complaint about casseroles that start with raw sliced potatoes. You won’t have that problem with my Grandma’s Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes!
What type of potato is best?
Russet potatoes or Yukon Golds will work best for this recipe. Both will hold their shape well during cooking and will be easy to slice. I recommend peeling, especially if you’re using russets because the skin is tough, but if you’re using yukons, leaving the peel on would be fine.
Make Ahead and Freezer Instructions for Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
- Freezing the cooked casserole: Cool the potatoes completely and place in an airtight container. You could also freeze them in the pan, then pop them out and wrap them in foil. This applies to a full pan or leftovers. To reheat, thaw in a pan in the fridge overnight. Place into the baking dish and cover with foil to keep them from drying out. Bake as the recipe directs.
- Freeze without baking: Prep the entire recipe right up to the baking, but instead cover tightly with plastic wrap and foil and place the whole potato casserole into the freezer for up to 3 months. To bake, thaw in the fridge for 24 hours, then bake as directed.
- Make Ahead instructions: If you’d like to prep this Scalloped Potatoes recipe a day ahead of time you can certainly do that. Layer the casserole as directed, cover tightly with plastic wrap or foil, and refrigerate overnight. Bake as directed.
These potatoes will last several days in an airtight container in the fridge. You can reheat a large portion in the oven at the same temperature until hot, or in the microwave for individual portions.
Keep in mind that any time you are baking a casserole straight out of the fridge, it may be necessary to add baking time. To avoid this, let the casserole sit out at room temperature for 20 minutes before baking.
Hey! These Are Au Gratin Potatoes
Technically, that is correct. Scalloped Potatoes are made with a creamy sauce while au gratin potatoes are covered with cheese. However, since we kind of combine these two methods, I feel confident calling them Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes. Plus, that’s what Grandma always called them, and we don’t mess with Grandma!
This Easy Scalloped Potatoes recipe was a hit at my dinner party, and they’re sure to be a hit at yours. They are delicious with ham, turkey or even as a fancy side for your favorite steak. They also pair well with a beautiful London Broil.
Here are some more delicious potato recipes to check out:
- Easy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Garlic & Herb Butter Baby Potatoes
- Twice Baked Potatoes
- Perfect Baked Potatoes
- Roasted Red Potatoes
And for more amazing side dishes, try these:
- Slow Cooker Creamy Corn
- Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Parmesan Rosemary Rolls
- Sour Cream Salad
- Creamy Scalloped Corn Casserole
Easy Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds russet potatoes
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups nonfat milk or half & half
- Salt & pepper
- 2 1/2 cups freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- Paprika for garnish
- Fresh chopped chives or parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degree F and grease a 13"x9" baking pan with cooking spray.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Scrub potatoes and place them, whole, into the boiling water. Cook for about 20 minutes. Remove from the water and let sit until cool enough to handle.
- Meanwhile, make the cheese sauce. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, until flour is golden brown; about 2 minutes. Stir in milk and cook, stirring often, until thickened; about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in shredded cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
- Gently peel potatoes and slice into 1/8 inch rounds. Place 1/3 of the
- potatoes overlapping in a single layer in the baking dish, seasoning with salt and pepper. Spoon about 1/3 of the cheese sauce on top of the potatoes.
- Repeat for two more layers. Pour all of the remaining cheese sauce over the top layer of potatoes. Spread to ensure all of the potatoes are covered.
- Sprinkle with 1/2 cup shredded cheddar (if desired) and paprika (about 1/8 teaspoon, just for color).
- Bake in the 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until sauce is bubbly.
- Garnish with fresh chopped chives or parsley, if desired. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
For all side dishes go HERE and for the Recipe Index go HERE
These were great! I added tarragon to the cheese sauce and then topped with shredded provolone just to change it up a bit and it was great. It would have been great with the original recipe as well. Great directions and such a great idea to par boil the potatoes – that’s a new one for me and will do it each time now. Thank you!!
Hello Jody, Thank you so much for sharing your positive feedback.
Wow, lovely recipe, looks great, tastes great, and even more I have very happy children, definitely one of our favourites
Thank you
You are so welcome Sharon! Thank you for the awesome feedback.
I made this recipe for my family and they loved it. For a more creamy sauce I used half and half and heavy cream. It was absolutely delicious.
That’s awesome Jim! Thanks for stopping by.
Easy and Yummy!
Thank you for this recipe! My dad used to make it, and I never learned the recipe before he passed away. I didn’t know it was a German recipe but that makes sense, my dad’s ancestry is German. I’m making this today!!!
Love that it provided a good memory for you, Amy!
Such good memories! Also, I can’t seem to stop making it! 😂 As soon as I make a batch, it gets eaten. So I have to make more. Thank you for bringing back a recipe I thought was gone forever, and for helping me pass it along to my children.
Made these tonight for our family Christmas to go along with my ham. They were easy to make and were amazing. I added some spices that I like such as garlic and some green onion on top. Very easy to customize and I loved the pre boiling potatoes so I didn’t need to worry that they were cooked through. Just waited for the cheese to start lightly browning on top. I made and assembled placed in fridge and cooked few hours later and they were great!
That’s awesome Jennifer! Thanks for sharing.
Can you use regular milk instead of the nonfat or half and half?
Yes, you can use any combination of milk products you like.