These delicious and elegant Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes are the perfect side dish for any family dinner. Filled with a rich and cheesy cream sauce, they are sure to have your guests coming back for more!
When the holidays are near it's time to start breaking out those dishes that feed a crowd. These Easy Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes are the perfect cozy dish to do just that. I decided to stack them vertically instead of horizontally because I really love the way it looks for presentation. Also each piece has a little bit of caramelization which is my absolute favorite part of this dish.
Slicing this many potatoes by hand would take an extremely long time and be very difficult to get all the slices an equal width. I highly recommend using a mandolin as it will take no time at all. I actually got an old mandolin we were handed down for the first time using this recipe. If you can believe it, it was so old that the instruction manual for it was a VHS tape! Rather than using a relic, I recommend using this mandolin. It is compact and comes with a tool to protect your hands from what you are slicing!
We start by buttering a 9 by 12 baking dish. Then we slice the potatoes ⅛th an inch thick on our handy dandy mandolin and stack them vertically until the whole pan is filled. I used Yukon Gold potatoes and I did not peel them. Their skins are so thin I didn't feel it was necessary, plus I wanted this recipe to be easy and quick. The peel is actually where many nutrients like fiber, vitamin C and iron are as well. Keeping the skins not only makes quick work of this recipe but also is a nutritional benefit as well. You can also use Russet potatoes for this recipe as well.
Next, we make the sauce by starting with a roux. Melt your butter in a skillet and add equal amount of flour. Whisk the butter and flour together for about 30 seconds, then very slowly pour in the cream and spices, while still constantly whisking. Then add your shredded cheeses slowly, still while whisking to make sure the mixture does not clump. You should end up with a wonderful thick cheese sauce. I used a combination of white cheddar and gruyere but you can use just about any type of cheeses you want.
The key here is to shred your own cheese and not use preshredded cheese. The preshredded cheeses have starchy additives in them that prevent the cheese from sticking to each other and could cause your sauce to separate. You could even try using smoked cheeses for a wonderful twist of flavor.
Next we pour the cheese sauce over the top of the potatoes making sure each one gets some lovely cheese sauce. Cover the dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Then remove the potatoes from the oven and this is where I like to take a fork and gently separate each potato slightly and let the cheese sauce seep into the cracks. Then return to the oven uncovered for 30 more minutes until golden brown and bubbly. Once done, let cool for 10 minutes before serving and top with fresh parsley or thyme.
For another great side dish, check out these Crispy Balsamic Brussels and Pancetta.
Easy Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients
- 8-10 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese (or any preferred soft cheese)
- 1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese (or any preferred soft cheese)
- 3 tablespoon butter
- 3 tablespoon flour
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit
- Butter the bottom and sides of a large 9 by 12 baking dish.
- With a mandolin, slice the potatoes ⅛th inch thick and stack vertically in the baking dish until filled.
- In a medium sized skillet over medium low to medium heat, place 3 tablespoons of butter. Once melted add 3 tablespoons of flour and whisk together until there are no more lumps for about 1 minute.
- Next, very slowly add in the heavy cream while still whisking constantly.
- Then add the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt and pepper still constantly whisking.
- Next add the cheese, a small handful at a time whisking until it has dissolved in the cream sauce until all cheese has been incorporated.
- Once all the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth, carefully pour over the potatoes making sure each potato has sauce poured over it.
- Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. Then remove from the oven and discard the foil. With a fork, gently separate each potato slice, letting the sauce seep in between each slice.
- Return to the oven, uncovered and continue baking for 30 more minutes until golden brown and bubbly. Let cool for at least 10 minutes and garnish with fresh parsley or thyme.
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