Scalloped potatoes are a classic comfort food that everyone seems to love and they’re the perfect side dish for family dinners and holiday celebrations. Whether you’re making this dish for the first time or looking to perfect your technique, this recipe, along with its expert tips for success will walk you through creating scalloped potatoes that are golden brown, bubbling, and irresistibly delicious.
Notes From the MGC Kitchen
Search the internet or your personal cookbook collection, and you’re bound to find a wealth of scalloped potato recipes with various cooking instructions and ingredient ratios. We’ve tried many of them over the years, but this simple, oven-baked version is still our favorite because it turns out right every time.
Key Ingredients
This is an overview of the key ingredients for this recipe. Please see the printable recipe card below for the complete listing, including quantities.
- POTATOES: Yukon Gold potatoes are a favorite of ours when making scalloped potatoes because their creamy yellow flesh has a naturally buttery flavor.
- FLOUR: All-purpose flour works well here, as does 1:1 ratio gluten-free flour.
- BUTTER: We always opt for unsalted butter in our cooking to give us better control over seasoning, but scalloped potatoes do need to be salted quite well before cooking, so in this case, salted butter would be just fine.
- MILK: We use whole milk for scalloped potatoes, but if you like them richer, you can use half-and-half instead. We don’t recommend using reduced-fat milk.
How to Make Scalloped Potatoes
This is an overview of how this recipe is prepared. Please see the printable recipe card below for detailed step-by-step instructions.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN: Preheat the oven to 400°F and generously butter a 3-quart casserole dish.
LAYER THE POTATOES: Arrange a single layer of potato slices in the bottom of the casserole dish with their edges overlapping slightly and season with salt and pepper. Add a little flour to a small, fine-mesh strainer and dust the potatoes as evenly as possible (like you were sprinkling powdered sugar). Add another layer of potatoes, season, and dust with flour, then scatter a few pieces of butter over them.
ADD THE MILK AND CONTINUE LAYERING: Heat the milk in the microwave then pour a small amount evenly over those first two layers of potatoes. Repeat the above process with the remaining potato slices. Make sure you have some butter left to dot the top layer. How much milk you need will depend on the shape and size of your casserole dish. The level should come about 3/4 of the way up the height of the potatoes, so if you need more than the initial 1 cup, add it in small increments and be careful not to add too much.
BAKE THE POTATOES: Butter a piece of aluminum foil, cover the casserole tightly, and bake until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife. Remove the foil, tilt the dish, and spoon some of the liquid over the top of the potatoes. Return the casserole to the oven uncovered until the liquid has evaporated, and the top layer of potatoes is golden brown. Let stand for a few minutes before serving.
Tips for Success
Making a delicious casserole of scalloped potatoes is an inexact science that often requires more common sense than precise measurement.
There are a number of variables that can affect the outcome, so we recommend that you use our recipe as a guideline for quantities and follow the tips below to ensure success.
- Cut the potatoes into 1/8-inch slices. Using a food processor or mandoline makes this job a lot easier.
- Be sure to season every layer of potatoes liberally because you can’t adjust the seasoning once the dish is cooked.
- Use a fine-mesh strainer to evenly dust each layer of potatoes with flour. Don’t go too heavy with this. You still want to be able to see the potato slices, not a blanket of flour.
- Use only whole milk or half-and-half – don’t use reduced-fat or skim.
- The milk level should come 3/4 of the way up the height of the potato layers. Don’t exceed this recommendation or your potatoes could be runny.
- Cover the casserole tightly with foil for the first half of the cooking time. This essentially steams the potatoes in milk until tender.
- Once the potatoes are tender, return them to the oven uncovered so that all the milk is absorbed and the top layer is nicely browned.
- Let the scalloped potatoes stand for a few minutes before serving to allow the last of the remaining liquid to be absorbed.
Recipe Variations
In addition to being positively delicious when made according to this classic recipe, scalloped potatoes lend themselves pretty well to some flavor variations and we’ve got two for you to try.
SCALLOPED POTATOES WITH FONTINA, ONIONS, AND SAGE
In addition to the ingredients in the basic recipe, you’ll need:
- 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1-1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves
- 1 cup coarsely grated Fontina cheese
Before assembling the scalloped potatoes, sauté the onions over medium heat until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and sage and continue cooking until the garlic is fragrant, 2 minutes more.
Follow the instructions above for preparing the layers of potatoes, scattering the onion mixture and a few tablespoons of cheese over every other layer. Be sure to reserve some cheese for the top.
SCALLOPED POTATOES WITH SOUR CREAM, HAVARTI, AND DILL
In addition to the ingredients in the basic recipe, you’ll need:
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 1/2 cup coarsely grated Havarti cheese
Whisk the sour cream and dill into your milk and proceed with the basic recipe for Scalloped Potatoes above. When the potatoes are tender, and you’re ready to uncover the casserole, scatter the grated Havarti on top and continue baking until bubbly and lightly browned.
Also, for a bit of a twist on this cooking method, check out our Skillet Scalloped Potatoes. That version (an adaptation of a Julia Child recipe) is a little less time-consuming than this one but makes fewer servings.
Classic Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon flour, plus more if needed
- 4 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 1 cup whole milk or half-and-half, plus more if needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and generously butter a 3-quart casserole dish.
- Arrange a single layer of potato slices in the bottom of the casserole dish with their edges overlapping slightly and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the flour to a small, fine-mesh strainer and dust the potatoes as evenly as possible (like you were sprinkling powdered sugar). Add another layer of potatoes, season, and dust with flour, then scatter a few pieces of butter over them.
- Heat 1 cup of the milk in the microwave for 1 minute, then pour 1/4 cup evenly over those first two layers of potatoes. Repeat the above process with the remaining potato slices. Make sure you have some butter left to dot the top layer.
- How much milk you need will depend on the shape and size of your casserole dish. The level should come about 3/4 of the way up the height of the potatoes, so if you need more than the initial 1 cup, add it in small increments and be careful not to add too much.
- Butter a piece of aluminum foil, cover the casserole tightly and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife.
- Remove the foil, tilt the dish, and spoon some of the liquid over the top of the potatoes. Return the casserole to the oven uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes longer, or until the liquid has evaporated, and the top layer of potatoes is golden brown.
- Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Cut the potatoes into 1/8-inch slices. Using a food processor or mandoline makes this job a lot easier.
- Be sure to season every layer of potatoes liberally because you’re not able to adjust the seasoning once the dish is cooked.
- Use a fine-mesh strainer to evenly dust each layer of potatoes with flour. Don’t go too heavy with this. You still want to be able to see the potato slices, not a blanket of flour.
- Use only whole milk or half-and-half – NO reduced-fat or skim.
- The milk level should come 3/4 of the way up the height of the potato layers. Don’t exceed this recommendation or your potatoes could be runny.
- Cover the casserole tightly with foil for the first half of the cooking time. This essentially steams the potatoes in milk until tender.
- Once the potatoes are tender, return them to the oven uncovered so that all the milk is absorbed and the top layer is nicely browned.
- Let the scalloped potatoes stand for a few minutes before serving to allow the last of the remaining liquid to be absorbed.
- 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1-1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves
- 1 cup coarsely grated Fontina cheese
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 1/2 cup coarsely grated Havarti cheese
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I never made scalloped potatoes before, but I did a good job using this recipe. The instructions on how much milk to add helped because I would have added way more. I’ll be making them again.
Hi Ashlee,
I’m glad your potatoes turned out well and that you didn’t add too much milk. That can make a huge mess in the oven too. Thanks for taking the time to let us know you enjoyed them.
These scalloped potatoes turned out better than any of the past recipes I’ve tried. I think using the Yukon gold potatoes makes the differenct.
Hi Elli,
Glad you had good luck with the recipe. I choose Yukon golds for scalloped potatoes because in addition to working well with the cooking method they have a buttery flavor all on their own.