We love these homemade scalloped potatoes. You could say our love for potatoes runs in our Idaho genes. This family recipe quickly became our favorite. Plus, it has simple ingredients and comes together quickly and easily. Did I mention there is cheese sprinkled between the layers of potatoes?! If you have a potato lover, I promise they will love this recipe!
Recipe Ingredient Notes
To make our homemade scalloped potatoes, you need the following ingredients:
- Russet Potatoes
- Butter
- Flour
- Milk
- Salt
- Cayenne Pepper
- Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- Paprika
Equipment Needed
For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:
How to Make Homemade Scalloped Potatoes
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small sauce pan, melt butter over low heat.
- Mix in the flour and stir until incorporated. Add the milk and stir well with a whisk.
- Add salt and cayenne pepper for flavor. Continue to cook sauce on low heat until it boils, stirring occasionally with a whisk until you thicken the sauce. Remove pan from heat and add 1 cup of cheddar cheese. Stir well until all the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth.
- Spread half of the thinly sliced potatoes layered in a casserole dish (we used a 9×9″ baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray). Pour half of the cheese sauce over the potatoes. Repeat with the rest of the potatoes and cheese sauce and top with the remaining grated cheese.
- Sprinkle paprika on top and bake uncovered for 1 hour until golden brown. If you do cover to keep warm, make sure to remove the foil and bake to get that crispy brown look. Feel free to add additional salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe Notes
- Try to slice your potatoes thinly so they cook evenly.
- Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil, then store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
We recommend Russet potatoes (like we used for this recipe) or Yukon Gold potatoes.
Au Gratin potatoes contain cheese, whereas Scalloped Potatoes do not and have a cream sauce. Our recipe is Cheesy Scalloped potatoes that contain a creamy sauce and cheese. It’s the best of both worlds.
You can even omit the cheese if it is not on your diet and still enjoy scalloped potatoes. Many scalloped potato recipes do not use cheese.
No, if you are making the recipe and you washed the potato before slicing you do not need to soak them. If you are making the recipe ahead of time you may want to soak them to avoid them turning gray.
Enjoy More Delicious Potato Side Dishes
Need the perfect compliment to your main dish? You’ll want to try these delicious side dishes. Browse our comprehensive collection of simple side dish recipes.
- Air Fryer Roasted Potatoes
- Au Gratin Cheesy Potato Bake
- Cheesy Ranch Potatoes
- Crispy Hasselback Potatoes
- Funeral Potatoes
- Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
- Garlic Roasted Potatoes
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes
- Mom’s Cheese Potatoes
- Pesto Potatoes
- Roasted Parmesan Potatoes
- Skillet Red Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Bacon Cheese Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Cheesy Potatoes
- Smashed Cheesy Potatoes
- Smashed Italian Red Potatoes
- Twice Baked Potato Casserole
Homemade Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients
- 6 Russet potatoes, thinly sliced, about 4 cups
- 3 Tablespoon butter
- 3 Tablespoon flour
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- dash of cayenne pepper
- 1 ½ cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- paprika
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. In a small sauce pan, melt butter over low heat.
- Mix in the flour and stir until incorporated. Add the milk and stir well with a whisk.
- Add salt and cayenne pepper for flavor. Continue to cook sauce on low heat until it boils, stirring occasionally with a whisk. Remove pan from heat and add 1 cup of cheese. Stir well until all the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth.
- Spread half of the thinly sliced potatoes in an 9×9″ baking pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Pour half of the cheese sauce over the potatoes. Repeat with the rest of the potatoes and cheese sauce and top with the remaining grated cheese.
- Sprinkle paprika on top and bake uncovered for 1 hour.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
I moved from Boise, ID 4 years ago. I love Idaho and want to move back so bad. I’ve been to Donnelly several times.
Do these freeze well?
This recipe looks delicious and I’ll definitely give it a try but, it’s actually a recipe for Au Gratin Potatoes and not
Scalloped Potatoes. The difference is au gratin potatoes have a white sauce and cheese but scalloped potatoes are only in a white sauce (never with cheese). Either way, they look yummy! Thanks for the recipe.
Um, yum?! Those look amazing!
I’m an eastern Idaho-raised girl whose grandfather was a potato farmer. I LOVE visiting at harvest time and the smell of the dirt and the potatoes. You’re right, there is nothing better than a freshly dug, then baked potato! We often would even make a fire pit near the potato field and bake them and tailgate a potato bar. SO good. I’m going to give this recipe a try.
We have never froze them. But it should work. The potatoes may go a little dark when frozen. To be honest, we eat them as fast as we make them! 🙂
Idaho Falls here! Well, was raised there. Now I’m a Montana girl enjoying all the wonderful beef!
I agree with Patricia. Real scalloped potatoes don’t have cheese in them. Not that they’re not good with cheese but that’s never been part of it.
How could this be modified to use in Crock Pot or Slow Cooker?
Hi Lois, we have never done this in a slow cooker. So we’re not sure how it will actually turn out. Prepare it how you would for the oven, but place in the slow cooker. As far as how long to cook it in the slow cooker, on average the LOW setting on a slow cooker is around 180 degrees. HIGH setting is around 250 degrees. These temps could also vary by 40 degrees either way depending on the slow cooker. So maybe cook it for a few hours, check often so it doesn’t burn. Keep us posted and let us know how it all turns out! 🙂
We also have a slow cooker Scalloped Potato Recipe on our blog:
Thank you!! I tend to burn water
Silly question – do you boil the potatoes before slicing and cooking them in the sauce?
You do not boil the potatoes first. Just slice them thinly and they will be cooking in the oven for an hour.
Your recipe can also be used for the best mac n cheese i have ever tasted.I just added a little bit of minced garlic with the juice (from a jar)and extra cayenne pepper .I also doubled the recipe for an 11X8 pan and used about 2 and 1/2 cups dried noodles . Boiled noodles for 6 mins .mixed in sauce and baked for 30 min. Awsome!
Forgot to say i added one teaspoon of dry mustard also.
You have a winner here! It’s perfect! Everyone always raves about this dish! It is now my go to Recipe. Thank you so much for sharing!
I think you have it backwards. Au Gratin are with a white sauce and scalloped (hence the name) is “scalloped” with cheese. At least, that’s the way my family always did it.
Made this recipe tonight, but with about half the cheese. I could tell that my potato measurement was off a bit and added just a bit of milk after doing all the layering, because I could remember somewhere in the back of my mind that you couldn’t go wrong with some liquid showing when it went in the oven. It was just like grandma used to make. Simple, flavorful, traditional, DELICIOUS. Thanks for taking me back to my childhood.
It looks great but was hoping for a instant pot recipe. How could I make Escalloped potatoes in a instant pot Thanks
Here is a youtube video we produced on How to Convert any Recipe to the Instant Pot. (including our Scalloped Potatoes!) https://youtu.be/8DKWGgsKY9s
Would a 9×13 pan be large enough if I need to double the recipe?
Excellent post
You will want your biggest and deepest 9 x 13 inch pan if you double this. You don’t want it to flow over into your oven.
would this turn out the same if made the day before and reheated.
Made this recipe with our Easter ham today. The recipe was perfect….. would not change a thing! Yummy
I tweeked your recipe a little. I used potato starch as it’s gluten free,, I also layered a row of fresh green beans, and a layer of sautéed garlic onions with leftover chicken I diced, in between the layers of potatoes. Wish I could send a pic to go along with this, but it turned out beautifully, and delicious.!