Creamy Scalloped Potatoes
This post may contain affiliate links, and I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
Tender Yukon Gold potatoes and sweet onions bake in a rich, creamy sauce until fork-tender, topped with sharp cheddar and Romano for a golden, crispy crust. These Creamy Scalloped Potatoes are the type of side dish that always steals the spotlight!
This dish is incredibly versatile, working as a standout potluck side or an elegant addition to holiday mains. Slicing the starchy potatoes and sweet onions thinly ensures a fork-tender texture that’s suspended in a creamy sauce, thickening as the dish rests before serving.
The melted cheese topping, while a slight deviation from the classic version of scalloped potatoes, adds another level of flavor and irresistibility that you won’t want to skip!
Join me in preparing these creamy scalloped potatoes for Easter Sunday celebrations or a midweek dinner!
What are scalloped potatoes?
These creamy scalloped potatoes are the ultimate comfort food side dish! Thin layers of buttery Yukon Gold potatoes and sweet onions are baked slowly in a rich, creamy sauce until they are fork-tender. The layers are finally completed with a generous blanket of sharp cheddar and Romano cheese that melts into a golden, crispy crust, giving way to the soft, savory layers underneath.
Why you’ll love these creamy scalloped potatoes
- Assemble this dish the night before and simply pop it in the oven when you’re ready – saving you precious time and stress on Easter Sunday or any special occasion.
- Thinly sliced potatoes and sweet onions are baked in a luxuriously thick sauce, blanketed with sharp cheddar and Romano cheese for a flavor combination you won’t be able to resist.
- This is the side dish that steals the show. Every time we serve it, someone asks for the recipe!
Ingredients needed to make creamy scalloped potatoes
- Yukon Gold potatoes: Their buttery flavor, creamy texture, and medium starch content make them ideal for absorbing the milk sauce while holding their shape during baking.
- Sweet onions: As they bake, they soften and release their natural sugars, adding a delicate, sweet depth of flavor without the sharpness of raw onion. Vidalia sweet onions, Walla Walla, Maui, or Texas sweet onions are great options.
- Whole milk: Serves as the rich, creamy base of the sauce that slowly cooks the potatoes and thickens into a luxurious gravy.
- Flour: Whisked into the cold milk, it acts as an essential thickener, creating a stable, creamy sauce that isn’t watery.
- Salt and pepper: For seasoning each layer of potatoes and onions, enhancing the flavors of this dish as it cooks.
- Shredded cheese: I’ve used a combination of sharp cheddar cheese and Romano cheese for sprinkling over the top of the assembled dish. Melted on top and throughout, it contributes an overall cheesy flavor and gooey topping.
- Parsley: Sprinkled on at the end, it adds a pop of fresh color and a mild, herbaceous note that brightens the completed dish.
How do you make creamy scalloped potatoes?
Prepare the layers:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
- Arrange a single layer of the sliced potatoes along the bottom of the prepared pan, allowing them to overlap slightly, if needed.
- Evenly distribute half of the sliced sweet onions over this potato layer, then season with 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper.
- Add another layer of potatoes on top, followed by the remaining half of the onions, another 1 teaspoon of salt, and another ¼ teaspoon of pepper.
- Place the final layer of remaining potatoes over the onions and give it just a light sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Pour the milk mixture:
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour into the 3 cups of whole milk until smooth.
- Pour this milk mixture evenly over the layered potatoes in the pan. The liquid should almost, but not completely, cover the potatoes (add a splash more milk if needed).
- Sprinkle the top evenly with the grated Sharp cheddar cheese, the grated Romano cheese, and the fresh chopped parsley.
Bake and rest:
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and crispy.
- Once baked, allow the scalloped potatoes to rest for 15-20 minutes before serving to ensure a rich, thickened sauce and prevent a watery dish.
Serving
Serve these creamy scalloped potatoes for Easter Sunday, or any time of year alongside an equally impressive Holiday Crock Pot Ham, Cornish Game Hens, Panko Crusted Cod (with Mayo), Crusted Pepper Prime Rib, or Skillet Lemon Chicken.
They pair beautifully with other sides, such as Roasted Carrots with Whipped Feta, Green Beans with Bacon and Onions, or Pea and Asparagus Salad.
If you plan to enjoy these creamy scalloped potatoes along a main course for Easter Sunday, consider completing the feast with Carrot Cake Bars with Cream Cheese and a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Sandy’s tips and substitutions:
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. They are amazing if you have any leftovers, served the next day in scrambled eggs. You can also reheat these leftover scalloped potatoes in the oven before serving again.
- Make ahead: Easy to make the day or 2 before and store in the fridge. When ready to bake, remove from the fridge for about an hour before popping into the oven to bake.
- Slicing tool: Make sure to use a mandolin for consistency. I like the potatoes to be sliced to around ⅛-inch thickness.
- Double the recipe: I’ve used a large baking pan, usually a 9×13-inch pan for this recipe, but you can even double the recipe if you are serving a larger crowd.
- Rest before serving: It’s important to allow the baked scalloped potatoes to rest for 15-20 minutes to allow the creamy sauce to thicken and prevent a watery potato dish.
- Don’t rinse the potatoes: Unlike with some potato dishes, you want to retain the natural starches on the surface of the Yukon Gold slices. This starch will help thicken the milk sauce as it bakes, contributing to that creamy consistency.
- Slice the onions paper-thin: Very thin onion slices will soften and practically melt into the sauce as they bake, rather than leaving crunchy or bulky pieces between the potato layers.
- Grate your own cheese: Pre-shredded bagged cheese contains starches and anti-caking agents that prevent it from melting smoothly. Grating your own Sharp cheddar and Romano from a block will result in a much creamier, more cohesive, and flavorful topping.
- Check for doneness: Ovens can vary. At the one-hour mark, test the center by piercing it with a thin knife or skewer. It should slide through the potatoes with little to no resistance. If it’s not quite there, bake for another 5-10 minutes.
- Cover if browning too quickly: If the cheese on top is getting too dark before the potatoes are tender, loosely tent the baking dish with aluminum foil for the remainder of the baking time.
Variations:
- Add crunch: Sprinkle breadcrumbs (regular or gluten-free), crushed Ritz crackers, or lightly salted potato chips over the top of the cheese for extra golden brown hue and for a crunchy factor.
- Consider adding aromatics: For an extra flavor boost, you can tuck a couple of fresh thyme sprigs or a bruised garlic clove into the milk while you whisk it, then remove them before pouring. Or, mince a clove of garlic very finely and sprinkle it into one of the onion layers.
- Make it gluten-free: Replace the all-purpose flour with an equal amount of gluten-free all-purpose flour blend or cornstarch. Be aware that cornstarch can create a slightly glossier, more translucent sauce.
- Make it dairy-free: Substitute the whole milk with unsweetened oat milk or full-fat canned coconut milk (for a subtle sweetness) and use dairy-free shredded cheese alternatives. The dish may be slightly less rich and the cheese may not brown exactly the same way.
- For a kick of heat: Add ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes to the flour-milk mixture, or layer thin slices of jalapeño with the onions.
- Swap the cheese: You could change the cheeses in this recipe to suit your preferences. Swiss, Gruyère, Jack, or Gouda work beautifully for different flavor twists.
If you love the idea of comforting layered potatoes, you won’t want to miss these Irish Nachos or classic Potatoes Au Gratin.
More potato-inspired recipes you may want to try:
- Crispy Smashed Potatoes
- Potato Cheese Bread
- Mashed Potato Cups
- Baked Potato Bar
- Sweet Potato Fritters
Get the Recipe:
Creamy Scalloped Potatoes
Tender Yukon Gold potatoes and sweet onions bake in a rich, creamy sauce until fork-tender, topped with shredded cheese for a golden, crispy crust. These Creamy Scalloped Potatoes are perfect for Easter, potlucks, or any weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 5-6 cups thinly sliced Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced to around ⅛-inch thickness (use a mandolin for consistency)
- 2 cups very thin sliced sweet onions
- 3 cups whole milk
- ⅓ cup flour
- 2-3 teaspoons Kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1 cup grated Sharp cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup grated Romano cheese
- 2 tsp fresh chopped parsley
Equipment
- mandolin for slicing the potatoes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
- Arrange a single layer of the sliced potatoes along the bottom of the prepared pan, allowing them to overlap slightly, if needed.
- Evenly distribute half of the sliced sweet onions over this potato layer, then season with 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper.
- Add another layer of potatoes on top, followed by the remaining half of the onions, another 1 teaspoon of salt, and another ¼ teaspoon of pepper.
- Place the final layer of remaining potatoes over the onions and give it just a light sprinkle of salt and pepper.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour into the 3 cups of whole milk until smooth.
- Pour this milk mixture evenly over the layered potatoes in the pan. The liquid should almost, but not completely, cover the potatoes (add a splash more milk if needed).
- Sprinkle the top evenly with the grated Sharp cheddar cheese, the grated Romano cheese, and the fresh chopped parsley.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and crispy.
- Once baked, allow the scalloped potatoes to rest for 15-20 minutes before serving to ensure a rich, thickened sauce and prevent a watery dish.
Notes
Sandy’s tips:
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. They are amazing if you have any leftovers, served the next day in scrambled eggs. You can also reheat these leftover scalloped potatoes in the oven before serving again.
- Make ahead: Easy to make the day or 2 before and store in the fridge. When ready to bake, remove from the fridge for about an hour before popping into the oven to bake.
- Slicing tool: Make sure to use a mandolin for consistency. I like the potatoes to be sliced to around ⅛-inch thickness.
- Double the recipe: I’ve used a large baking pan, usually a 9×13-inch pan for this recipe, but you can even double the recipe if you are serving a larger crowd.
- Rest before serving: It’s important to allow the baked scalloped potatoes to rest for 15-20 minutes to allow the creamy sauce to thicken and prevent a watery potato dish.
Calories: 271kcal, Carbohydrates: 38g, Protein: 11g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 28mg, Sodium: 758mg, Potassium: 829mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 309IU, Vitamin C: 31mg, Calcium: 273mg, Iron: 2mg
Did you make this recipe?Tag @reluctantentertainer on Instagram and hashtag it #reluctantentertainer!
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
