These easy, homemade scalloped potatoes are the ultimate side dish for special occasions—rich, comforting, and impossible to resist.
Scalloped potatoes are the kind of cozy, creamy side dish that steals the show at any holiday table. Elegant enough for special occasions, yet easy enough for weeknight comfort food, this recipe is always a crowd-pleaser and earns glowing reviews every time.
While traditional scalloped potatoes are baked in a classic béchamel sauce, this simplified version skips the roux and lets the natural starch from the potatoes thicken a luscious blend of milk and cream. The result? A velvety, melt-in-your-mouth texture that feels indulgent without being heavy. A crunchy topping of crushed potato chips and melted cheese adds the perfect crispy finish. Pair this with a Fig Glazed Baked Ham and it will be an incredible combination.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Skip the Roux – No need for flour or a separate white sauce—this recipe lets the natural starch in the potatoes thicken the cream and milk for a rich, silky finish.
Faster Cook Time – Pre-cooking the potato slices in the cream mixture before baking cuts down the oven time significantly. That means less waiting and more eating.
Make-Ahead Friendly – This dish can be assembled in advance, making holiday prep that much easier.
Pairs With Everything – From glazed ham to roast chicken or even a crisp green salad, this dish is the ultimate versatile side.
Ingredients
- Potatoes: Of course, you can use any type of potato for this recipe, but I highly recommend using gold potatoes. They have a medium starch content, so they keep their shape really well and have a delicious buttery flavor. Russet/baking potatoes tend to get mushy and fall apart a lot more.
- Onion & garlic: The addition of sauteed onion and garlic in this recipe really elevates the flavor of this dish. The sauce has so much savory, rich flavor that you just can't achieve with onion powder and garlic powder alone.
- Milk & heavy cream: This combo creates the perfect creamy base without needing a flour-based sauce.
- Grated cheese: Use any cheese that melts well, such as mozzarella, cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby, Muenster, Swiss, Gruyere, etc.
- Crushed potato chips: This is the secret ingredient that takes the dish to the next level. Sprinkling crushed chips on top adds a salty crunch that contrasts beautifully with the creamy layers underneath—and it ties in the potato flavor in a fun, unexpected way.
The complete list of ingredients and their exact measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
How To Make Scalloped Potatoes
- Prep all the ingredients: Peel and slice the potatoes into thin slices. Finely chop the onion, mince the garlic. Grate the cheese.
- Saute the onions and garlic: In a large heavy bottomed pot, melt the butter and saute the onions and garlic on medium heat, seasoning with salt and pepper, until tender and slightly golden.
- Cook the potatoes: Add the potatoes, milk, heavy cream, dry herbs and bay leaf. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook on medium-low heat until the potatoes are about ¾ way cooked through, 10-15 minutes. Make sure to stir frequently, so nothing burns or sticks to the bottom of the pot.
- Transfer the potatoes to a 13 X 9 inch baking pan: Discard the bay leaves. Spread everything out evenly, then sprinkle with the grated cheese and crushed potato chips on top.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, in a preheated oven (350 degrees Fahrenheit) until bubbly and cheese is melted and golden. After 15 minutes, I like to increase the temperature to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for an additional 5-8 minutes, so the cheese gets more color.
- Serve: Cool for about 10-15 minutes before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 5 days.
What to Serve With Scalloped Potatoes?
Since this dish is so rich and creamy, I like to serve something fresh and light to go along with this dinner, like Garlic Green Beans, Tomato Avocado Salad or a Spinach Strawberry Salad. For a more Slavic touch, these Garlic Dill Cucumbers are a perfect pairing.
For a main entree pairing, ham is a perfect option. Learn how to bake a spiral ham with a delicious fig glaze - I share all my tips there. We also love Grilled Lamb Chops with a chimichurri sauce or a cast iron roast chicken with this creamy potato side dish.
Meal Prep
One of my favorite things about this recipe—especially around the holidays—is how easy it is to make ahead. When you’re juggling multiple dishes (and guests!), having one less thing to worry about is a total game-changer.
Here’s how to prep it in advance:
- Cook the potatoes on the stovetop in the cream mixture as directed.
- Transfer to a baking dish, then top with shredded cheese and crushed potato chips.
- Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
When you’re ready to bake, let the dish sit at room temperature for at least 15–20 minutes before putting it in the oven. Since it’s starting out colder, you’ll want to add an extra 5–10 minutes to the bake time to ensure everything is heated through and bubbly.
Since this dish is so rich and creamy, I like to serve something fresh and light to go along with this dinner, like Garlic Green Beans, Tomato Avocado Salad or a Spinach Strawberry Salad. For a more Slavic touch, these Garlic Dill Cucumbers are a perfect pairing.
Recipe FAQs
Scalloped potatoes are thinly sliced potatoes cooked in a creamy sauce, topped with cheese.
These two recipes are very similar. Both are really rich and creamy, with thin slices of potato that gets baked in the oven until bubbly and tender, with a golden crisp topping. Au gratin potatoes often have cheese insterpered among the layers of potatoes while scalloped potatoes usually have the cheese only on top. Sometimes au gratin potatoes also have a breadcrumb topping. I made my crunchy topping be potato chips instead, which I tried in a restaurant many years ago and loved.
Add some chopped ham, or cooked bacon to the potatoes to add some additional protein and make it even more hearty and satisfying. You can also add some sauteed mushrooms, peppers, broccoli for more flavor variations.
Substitute some of the heavy cream for chicken broth. I have made it with 1 ½ cups chicken broth, 1 ½ cups cream, 1 cup milk and it was really delicious too. It won't be as creamy and rich, but will still taste amazing. Add less cheese, or a cheese that has less calories.
You can use any type of potato for this recipe, but I highly recommend using gold/yellow potatoes. They have a medium starch content, so they keep their shape really well and have a delicious buttery flavor. Russet/baking potatoes tend to get mushy and fall apart a lot more.
More Holiday Sides
If you tried this Easy Scalloped Potatoes recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating or a comment below. I love hearing from you!
Easy Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 pounds potatoes gold/yellow, sliced into ⅛ inches
- 1 medium/large onion finely chopped
- 3-6 garlic cloves minced
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 Tablespoon dry herbs & spices granulated onion/garlic, dry chives, green onions, parsley, thyme, etc.
- 1-2 dry bay leaves
- 1 cup milk
- 3 cups heavy cream
- salt, ground black pepper to taste
- 1 cup grated cheese Mozzarella, Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Gruyere, Parmesan, Provolone, etc.
- 1 cup potato chips crushed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prep the ingredients. Peel and slice the potatoes into ⅛ inch thin slices. If you have a mandoline or a slicing option on your food processor, now is the time to use it, or just use a knife. Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic. Grate the cheese.
- Melt the butter over medium heat in a large pot. Add the minced onion and cook until tender and slightly golden, seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add the potatoes, milk, heavy cream, dry herbs & spices, bay leaf and season with salt and pepper, about 2-2 ½ teaspoons salt, ½ teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
- Cover the pot and cook on medium-low heat until the potatoes are about ¾ way cooked through, 10-15 minutes. Make sure to stir the potatoes frequently, so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.
- Discard the bay leaves. Pour everything into a 13 X 9 inch baking dish and spread it out evenly. Top with crushed grated cheese and crushed potato chips.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, in the preheated oven, until bubbly and cheese is melted and golden. After 15 minutes, I like to increase the heat to 425 F and continue baking for an additional 5-8 minutes so the cheese gets more golden and crisp.
- Serve hot, waiting 10-15 minutes for it to cool off. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, tightly covered.
Notes
This is an updated version of the Scalloped Potatoes recipe that was published originally on April 30, 2012. The recipe is the same; I updated the photos, added a video and clarified the instructions.
1 Tablespoon dry herb mixture - I am not sure what this would be? and even listing chicken seasoning?
You can use any type of herbs and spices that you like, such as dry Italinan seasoning, Herb de Provence, dry parsley, thyme, rosemary, granulated onion and/or garlic, paprika, etc. I added chicken seasoning because it usually has a great variation of dry herbs and spices that work really well for this recipe.
Hi Olga, I love all of your recipes. I have a question. I remember before there was a recipe on your site now I cannot find it. It was a potato dish. The potatoes were cut into like sticks and on top it was covered with meat and cheese. Do you know what I'm talking about? I'm not sure if you took the recipe off or I saw it somewhere else. But I'm pretty sure it was your recipe. Please let me know. Thank you
Hi Ruslana,
Here is the recipe: Potato and Chicken Casserole
Thank you so much 🙂
Best scalloped potatoes i ever had! Thx!
Finally a good recipe for scalloped potatoes! Loved it! Thank you!
Olga,
After I saw for the first time your cheese filled pastry recipe, I started to browse and found many great recipes that I saved. Like, scallop potatoes. I have made the ones from Natasha's Kitchen several times and my husband loves it. Now, I can't wait to try yours.
But from the main page, the title states 'Scalop Potatoes with Ham'? I thought it was cool and unique but couldn't find ham in your ingridients or description. Maybe I missed it. If I were to use ham to give a dish a little meaty flavor, when do you think I should use it? Sprinkle small chunks of ham, then chips, then cheese on top of it? All that before I place it in the oven or ham goes last, somewhere in the middle of baking? How would it affect the salt amount in the recipe since ham is usually salty already? I want to go all 9 yards with the recipe and try the full version.
Please explain or share your opinion on that?
Thank you!
I'm not sure what you mean by Scalloped Potatoes With Ham. I never posted a recipe with ham. Maybe it was from a post for Easter, where I talked about serving a Glazed Holiday Ham With Scalloped Potatoes? If you want to include ham in the Scalloped Potatoes, I would just chop some up and add it to the potatoes before putting it in the oven.
The salt amount is completely up to you. Yes, ham is salty, but I don't think it would give the potatoes too much saltiness.
Hi Olga, what kind of herbs you had in the herb mixture you used?
Thank you for your recipes they are delicious! 🙂
I use a Chicken Seasoning mix. I add it to many different dishes.
Thank you for the sweet comment, Liya.
Awesome recipe! Thank you Olga!
Hi Olga, can these potatoes be reheated in the microwave in the glass dish? Will they taste differently if reheated in the microwave. I'd like to bake them the night before and reheat them the following day at a location where a microwave is only available for reheating. There is no oven or stove on the premises.
Yes, they can be reheated in the microwave, Natalie. Most potatoes can be reheated that way:).
Hi Olga,
This might be a silly question but if I make this before church and leave it out to cool (2-3 hours) while we go to church and Come back with guests and bake it than, do you that will be ok? Won't go bad? Since i won't have a chance to put it away In the fridge.
It shouldn't spoil, Yuliya. If you can, wrap it up in a heated blanket, so that it stays as warm as possible. Also, you can pre make it the day before serving it, and simply bake it when you come home from church.
Perfect comfort food!