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Our Homemade Scalloped Potatoes are made with creamy, dreamy white cheddar cheese. The sauce is over the top rich and creamy, which makes for a decadent dish that’s perfect for holiday dinners.
What is it about white cheddar that is so dreamy?
The Dreamiest Scalloped Potatoes
You know that little happy dance you do where your butt just kind of spontaneously starts wiggling when you take a bite of something particularly delicious?
Well. These potatoes start a happy dance every time, which makes them perfect for a holiday dinner. The whole family dances.
Holiday meals really are the best meals, partially because calories obviously don’t count on holidays and partially because we just kind of go all out on the sides.
Speaking of going all out, these scalloped potatoes are over the top in the actual best way. The sauce is so rich and creamy, starting with a simple roux that has both milk and heavy cream. Then we stir in sour cream and cream of chicken soup for extra oomph. <— Use my homemade cream of chicken substitute if you don’t like the cans!
Of course, it all gets melted together with piles of fluffy freshly shredded white cheddar cheese to make this decadent cheese bath for the taters. Actual heaven, you guys.
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes:
Now, before you get all angry with me…scalloped potatoes don’t usually have cheese. But, hey, these are cheesy scalloped potatoes and that’s the best kind.
Especially when you use a nice, sharp white cheddar cheese. So much flavor, so creamy and decadent, just seriously the best side dish.
In fact, these are so creamy and cheesy that when you start pouring the sauce over the potatoes, it’s going to seem like overkill.
You’re going to think you’ve overdone it.
Let me tell you a secret: You have not overdone it.
These homemade scalloped potatoes are going to be the most delicious thing on your Easter plate, I can almost guarantee it.
What Readers are Saying!
“EXCELLENT! I only made 1/2 and still a lot! Very creamy! I used food processor to cut potatoes. They were about 1/8 inch thick. I cooked about 10 minutes less. Next time I’ll try smoked Gouda for cheese and bacon bits!” – Ginger C.
Ingredient Notes:
For the Cheese Sauce:
Grated Cheddar – This easy homemade cheese sauce starts with freshly grated sharp white cheddar! You could use any variety of cheddar, but white is my go to in this recipe.
Milk, Butter & Heavy Cream – All that cream and butter is going to make this into a rich and decadent cheese sauce!
Flour – We’ll make a roux, which is just a mixture of fat, flour, and liquid that cooks up into a gravy.
Onion – The cheese sauce also gets flavor from onions. These are totally optional and can be left out for picky eaters.
For the Scalloped Potatoes:
Potatoes – You’ll need peeled and thinly sliced potatoes. I’d recommend using a starchy variety of potato like russet potatoes.
Cream of Chicken Soup – You can use the canned stuff or upgrade this recipe with my cream of chicken substitute! It’s an easy homemade alternative that’s much better than the canned stuff. Our cream of mushroom soup would work well too.
Sour Cream – It’ll add even more creamy flavor and texture to the scalloped potatoes with cheese sauce!
Seasoning – I’m keeping it pretty simple and seasoning with some salt, pepper, and dried parsley flakes. The cheese sauce will do most of the work!
WhY THIS IS THE BEST SCALLOPED POTATOes RECIPE:
- Cheese: These might just be the cheesiest potatoes you’ll ever enjoy!
- Flavor: The creamy sharp white cheddar works well with the potatoes.
- Comfort: These cheesy potatoes are pure comfort food!
- Holidays: You can’t go wrong with scalloped potatoes when preparing holiday side dishes that everyone will enjoy.
Sauce for Scalloped Potatoes:
Onions: I add onions to this recipe so I cook them with the butter for a few minutes before adding the flour. I like them nice and soft.
Flour: Add the flour to your cooked onions and give it a stir to coat the onions in the flour and cook it for just a minute or two. Whisk in the milk and cream and keep cooking, whisking the whole time to avoid lumps, until the mixture thickens up a bit.
Roux: Whisk in the milk and cream and keep cooking, whisking the whole time to avoid lumps, until the mixture thickens up a bit. You’ve just made a roux!
Cheese & Soup: Remove the roux from the heat and stir in the grated white cheddar cheese until it melts and the sauce is nice and smooth. We’re not stopping there! We want these potatoes to be extra creamy and delicious. Add in a can cream of chicken soup (or our cream of chicken soup substitute) and some sour cream.
How To Slice Potatoes:
You’ll need a whole lot of Idaho potatoes. Wash them and peel them. You’ve got a few options for slicing:
- Food Processor – Use the slicer attachment and slice your potatoes into thin slices, about 1/8 of an inch thick. I’ve linked to my favorite processor below.
- Mandoline – Your second option is to use a mandoline slicer. This one has great reviews! This method takes a little longer, but you’ll get even slices in a fairly short amount of time.
- Knife – And, last, is a knife. Obviously, this option is going to take the longest, because you’re slicing the potatoes THIN and EVEN. But, if you don’t have a food processor or mandoline, this is the only way to go.
Food Processor
We use our Breville food processor in all kinds of recipes! It makes short work of chopping veggies and many other other tasks. This is our favorite food processor because it is so heavy duty and it will last!
How To Make Scalloped Potatoes:
Potatoes: Spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick spray and place half of the potatoes in the dish. It’ll be a nice thick layer of potatoes.
Cheese Sauce: Top the scalloped potatoes with half of the cheese sauce. Now, I know that it seems like a LOT of cheese sauce. That’s because it is. Just trust me.
Potatoes: Add the rest of the potato slices…
More Cheese: And dump the rest of that glorious cheese sauce over the top.
Bake: When you’ve finished preparing the homemade scalloped potatoes for baking cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes and then remove the foil and continue baking for another 45 minutes or so. We want those potatoes nice and tender and the cheese sauce good and bubbly.
Can I Make Scalloped Potatoes Ahead?
To make cheesy scalloped potatoes ahead of time you’ll do only a partial bake. Follow the instructions to prepare the scalloped potatoes and bake covered with foil for 30 minutes.
Remove it from the oven and let it cool on the counter before refrigerating for up to 3 days. To serve finish baking the cheesy potatoes uncovered for 45-60 minutes or until they’re cooked through and tender!
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
- 10.75 ounces condensed cream of chicken soup
- 8 ounces sour cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 8 cups thinly sliced peeled potatoes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
- Add the butter to a large sauce pan over medium heat and melt. Stir in the onions and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle the flour over the onions and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
- Pour in the milk and cream while whisking the mixture constantly. Continue cooking over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to thicken, about 3 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the grated cheddar. Stir until cheese has melted and mixture is smooth.
- Stir in the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, salt, parsley, and pepper until combined.
- Place half of the potatoes in a thick layer in the prepared 9×13. Pour half of the cheese sauce over the top. Repeat the layers.
- Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the foil carefully and continue baking for 45 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information:
Brittany says
These were so good- I love all the cheesy, creamy goodness! I made these for dinner, and the next morning, I was craving them. So, I cooked them on the stove top with some ham and eggs and put them in a tortilla for breakfast burritos. Yum!
Karly says
So glad you enjoyed these! Your breakfast burrito sounds great!
Ginger Childress says
EXCELLENT! I only made 1/2 and still a lot! Very creamy! I used food processor to cut potatoes. They were about 1/8 inch thick. I cooked about 10 minutes less. Next time I’ll try smoked Gouda for cheese and bacon bits!
Karly says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! I’m sure it will be great with gouda and bacon!
Clora O Brien says
These were amazing, the addition of the chicken soup and sour cream made such a difference. The only little thing I did different was I added lots more pepper because I love fresh ground pepper and I added one teaspoon Dijon mustard and thyme. Would you reheat these in the oven or microwave? I made the full recipe so we have a lot to eat yet but I’m not complaining. We ate it with a tomato, bean and sausage casserole absolutely perfect. Thanks for the lovely recipe xxxx
Karly says
So glad you enjoyed the recipes! Sounds delicious with dijon and thyme. 🙂
We normally reheat these in the microwave, but they should do fine in the oven, covered.
rick reed says
What is the difference between Au Gratin and Scalloped potatoes ? Keep telling stories to.
Karly says
Well, I just googled and it looks like au gratin potatoes have cheese and scalloped potatoes are baked in a creamy sauce…so technically these are au gratin potatoes! 😉
Lynn says
This tastes great,but next time I make it I will add a little more flour because l like sauce a little thicker. This was too juicy but delicious. Thank you and please keep cooking.
MaggieMom1 says
Not a scallop spud fan, sooooo…just one further word: CARNITAS!!!!
Venoice Hayes says
Great story, Antiepatch!! It fit perfectly with Karly’s husband’s idea!!! 🙂 🙂 I will share both stories with friends who have great imaginations and they will probably try them this weekend!! 🙂
Auntiepatch says
One year, when I was a child, we heard some banging on the back door. We found a note from the Easter Bunny that said, “I’ve hidden a dozen eggs in your backyard. Happy Easter!” It took us about 20 minutes to find the first 11 eggs but we couldn’t find the last one! Even with the dogs helping, we couldn’t locate that last egg. We hunted for hours with no luck. Finally, the neighbor lady next door took pity on us and told us that her husband had only hidden 11 eggs. He was in his house watching us and rolling on the floor laughing!
Rochelle says
A quaint little story, but I fail to see how this relates in ANY way, to the recipe presented!
Karly says
It actually does relate to the blog post if you read it. That said, I’m not sure why you’d take the time to comment negatively on something another reader said. If you don’t like it, just move on.
Rochelle says
The recipe was in NO WAY connected to ANYTHING relating to an Easter Egg hunt. I took the time to comment b/c some readers, like yourself, use a recipe comment section to vent about any and everything, EXCEPT… the topic at hand. I’m all for readers’ comments on how their preparation of the recipe presented, turned out. That said… have a nice day.
Jacqueline says
Sounds like someone needs to sing a Christmas carol. Or an Easter carol.
Jacqueline Howard says
She wrote about the joke her Husband had suggested they play on their kids because April fools Day and Easter fell on the same day? Maybe read the first paragraph again.
Karly says
Oh goodness, I can just picture that!! Haha – bet he got a kick out of that. 🙂