Scalloped Potatoes with Cheese — These baked scalloped potatoes are EXTRA cheesy thanks to three cheeses used as well as super rich and CREAMY!! They’re a perfect HOLIDAY SIDE DISH as well as family friendly weeknight COMFORT FOOD!
Easy, CHEESY Scalloped Potatoes
If you’re looking for an easy and ultra-cheesy scalloped potato recipe, look no further than my recipes for the cheesiest scalloped potatoes!
Three different types of cheeses are used — namely Colby Jack, cheddar, and Parmesan. Plus, these potatoes are creamy and indulgent thanks to both heavy cream and sour cream. Diet food they are not but oh so worth it!
Cheesy, creamy scalloped potatoes would make an awesome addition to your Thanksgiving table, as a side dish for any holiday parties you’re throwing, for game day get-togethers, or as a hearty comfort food side dish the whole family will love on a chilly winter weeknight.
This is a naturally vegetarian side dish if you opt for vegetable broth rather than chicken broth.
Ingredients for Scalloped Potatoes with Cheese
Baked scalloped potatoes are made with common fridge and pantry ingredients which is the best kind of recipe for me.
To make these potatoes, you’ll need:
- Russet potatoes
- Onion
- Garlic
- Unsalted butter
- All-purpose flour
- Kosher salt
- Seasoning blend (such as Mrs. Dash, Trader Joe’s 21 Salute, or poultry seasoning)
- Black pepper
- Vegetable or chicken broth
- Heavy cream
- Sour cream
- Colby jack cheese
- Cheddar cheese
- Parmesan cheese
How to Make Scalloped Potatoes with Cheese
Preheat the oven to 400F and to a 9×13-inch casserole dish or baking pan, arrange thinly sliced and peeled potatoes upright in the pan along one of the long edges. Repeat with the remaining potatoes until you have three columns of potato slices and set it aside.
In a saucepan, melt the butter, and add onion and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes.
Add flour, and cook for another minute, stir nearly constantly, or until the flour is lightly golden browned. This is what’s called a ‘roux’ and is important so that later on the mixture properly thickens.
Add the salt, seasoning blend, pepper, broth, cream, and stir until thickened, about 3 minutes.
Turn off the heat and stir in partial quantities of the three cheeses.
Spread the sour cream over potatoes, pour the cheesy mixture evenly over potatoes, and then sprinkle the remaining cheeses over potatoes.
Cover potatoes with foil and bake for 1 hour, check for doneness, remove the foil, and allow the potatoes to bake for an additional 30 minutes, or as desired to brown the cheeses.
Can I Substitute any of the Three Cheeses?
The balance of the Colby Jack, cheddar, and Parmesan is a really nice blend and I think you will really enjoy. it. However, if you’re feeling adventurous or have other kinds of cheese on hand, go for it.
- Mozzarella and provolone are great ooey gooey melting cheeses and would give you that pizza-esque vibe with the scalloped potatoes.
- I also think Gruyere would be amazing in the scalloped potatoes however it’s a pricier cheese but possibly worth the splurge for you.
- If you want a bit of a smokey flavor add smoked gouda. For a little fun bit of spice, add Pepper Jack.
- Pecorino would be a nice swap for Parmesan.
I highly recommend buying a block of cheese and grating the cheese by hand on a box grater. Pre-shredded bagged cheeses never tend to melt as easily as when you do it yourself.
Think of grating the cheese as a mini workout before you indulge in all this rich and gooey carby goodness!
What Are the Best Potatoes for Scalloped Potatoes?
For these scalloped potatoes, I used Russet potatoes. However, you can also try Yukon Gold potatoes. I generally don’t associate red potatoes with scalloped potatoes and they could be a bit waxy but suit your preferences.
What Goes With Scalloped Potatoes
In short, pretty much any Thanksgiving, Easter, or Christmas entree or sides you like! Cheesy potatoes are a star side dish no matter what you serve them with!
Here are some ideas of what to serve with these easy, cheesy scalloped potatoes:
- Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
- Honey Baked Ham
- Traditional Thanksgiving Stuffing
- Red Wine Cranberry Sauce
- Three Cheese Scalloped Potatoes
- Easy Foolproof Roasted Turkey
- Homemade Gravy
- The Best Classic Mashed Potatoes
Tips for the Best Scalloped Potatoes
I sliced the potatoes very thinly, about 1/8-inch. If you have a mandoline, this is a great time to break it out and use it! It ensures that the potatoes are of a uniform thickness which ensures even cooking.
However, if you don’t have a mandoline, don’t sweat it. Use your best using a very sharp knife and take your time!
I lined my potatoes up and arranged them in three long rows in the baking dish. You could arrange the potatoes in a scattered format in your baking dish, making sure that you scatter them well so that you don’t have a ‘log jam’ of potatoes stuck one underneath the next because unfortunately they won’t cook through in an even rate.
These potatoes bake for awhile, about 90 minutes, because we’re talking about 4 pounds of them! I bake them for 1 hour covered, and then remove the foil and bake them for another 30 minutes uncovered.
Be sure to watch your potatoes after you uncover them to make sure the cheese is browning at a rate you like. Depending on your oven, this could happen quickly – or not.
If you are confident cook and know how to use your broiler very well, you could broil them for a few moments at the very end. However, I don’t recommend this unless you know what you’re doing in the kitchen because after all that time, you don’t want the potatoes to burn and broilers are notorious for burning things.
Although, if you do know what your way around the kitchen and are comfortable turning on your broiler, broiled cheese has so much incredible almost nutty flavor that is just to-die-for!
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Baked Scalloped Potatoes with Cheese
These scalloped potatoes are EXTRA cheesy thanks to three cheeses used as well as super rich and CREAMY!! They're a perfect HOLIDAY SIDE DISH as well as family friendly weeknight COMFORT FOOD!
Ingredients
- 4 pounds Russet potatoes, peeled and sliced to 1/8-inch thick
- 1 large white or yellow onion, diced small
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt, or to taste
- 2 teaspoons seasoning blend such as Mrs. Dash, Trader Joe’s 21 Salute, or poultry seasoning*
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1.5 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese, divided
- 1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F and to a 9×13-inch casserole dish or baking pan, arrange the potatoes upright in the pan along one of the long edges. Repeat with the remaining potatoes until you have three columns of potato slices; set aside. Tip - If you have a mandoline, use it here!
- To a saucepan, add and melt the butter, add the onion and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes; stir frequently.
- Add flour, and cook for another minute, whisking nearly constantly, or until the flour is lightly golden browned. This is what’s called a ‘roux’ and is important so that later on the mixture properly thickens.
- Add the salt, seasoning blend, pepper, broth, cream, and stir until somewhat thickened, about 3 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and stir in 1 cup each of the Colby Jack and cheddar cheeses and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan; set aside momentarily.
- Spread the sour cream over potatoes and pour the cheesy mixture evenly over potatoes.
- Evenly sprinkle the remaining one-half cup of each of the three cheeses over potatoes.
- Cover potatoes with foil and bake for 1 hour, remove from the oven, and check for doneness. The potatoes should be fork tender and not at all hard. If they're not cooked through yet, recover with the foil and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or as long as necessary so they cook through.
- After the potatoes have cooked through completely, remove and discard the foil, and allow the potatoes to bake uncovered for an additional 30 minutes, or as desired to brown the cheeses. In the final moments of baking the potatoes uncovered, keep a close eye on them so you know exactly how fast the cheese is browning**
- Allow potatoes to cool momentarily before serving, about 5 minutes.
Notes
*Poultry seasoning tends to have sage in it whereas Mrs. Dash doesn't and sage can be a noticeable so you may want to cut back on the quantity of seasoning if you're sensitive to sage and using poultry seasoning.
**If you are confident cook and know how to use your broiler very well, you could broil them for a few moments at the very end. However, I don’t recommend this unless you know what you’re doing in the kitchen because after all that time, you don’t want the potatoes to burn and broilers are notorious for burning things.
Although, if you do know what your way around the kitchen and are comfortable turning on your broiler, broiled cheese has so much incredible almost nutty flavor that is just to-die-for!
Storage: Potatoes will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months; reheat gently in a low oven or the microwave.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 649Total Fat: 36gSaturated Fat: 22gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 107mgSodium: 1516mgCarbohydrates: 60gFiber: 7gSugar: 6gProtein: 23g
More Potato Side Dishes:
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The Best Classic Mashed Potatoes — Buttery, creamy, PERFECT mashed potatoes that rival your favorite restaurant’s version but EASY and ready in 45 minutes!! The quintessential holiday side dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or a great family-friendly weeknight comfort food side dish!!
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Honey-Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Honey-Cinnamon Dip – The honey glaze and the creamy cinnamon dip make these potatoes irresistible!
Parmesan and Herb Roasted Potatoes – Easiest potatoes ever and packed with so much flavor! Olive oil, herbs, and everything is better with cheese! A family favorite that everyone loves!
Crispy Parmesan Ranch Roasted Potatoes – The BEST roasted potatoes you’ll ever eat!! Tender potatoes seasoned with ranch mix and topped with a CRISPY Parmesan breadcrumb topping! So DELICIOUS you don’t even need a main course!!
Cheesy Loaded Scalloped Potatoes — All the fixings of loaded baked potatoes are baked right into these tender, comforting, creamy, cheesy potatoes.
It’s looks gorgeous this recipe. I have made scalloped potatoes with cheddar cheese before, but for sure it does look with that color. My question is what do you use and what name it is that you use to achieve this color? Can you be very specific? Thank you!
I use the shredded cheeses that I list in the recipe.
You need to make sure your oven is baking properly, and at temperature, to get that golden cheese look. Also I do edit the photos to deepen and enhance colors and contrasts.
Made this recipe for Christmas and everyone loved it! But I have a question: why spread the sour cream over the potatoes before pouring on the melted cheese mixture? Why can’t I just whisk the sour cream into the cheese mixture before pouring? I noticed little bits of sour cream in my finished potatoes as we were eating them and I wasn’t a fan of the way it looked.
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad everyone loved these! You could whisk it in just as you said, that’s a great idea. I have always just made it the way I wrote it but your method sounds like a winner.
These look fabulous! As a vegetarian, I kind of struggle to find new things I’m genuinely excited to eat during Thanksgiving (have tried every kind of roasted vegetable and pasta imaginable). Will definitely try this.
I completely understand and am glad that this looks like it will work for you! There’s only so much pasta one can eat on Thanksgiving (been there in the past)!
Hi~
This recipe looks delicious! Can you prepare ahead of time and bake the following day? Thanks!
I have a feeling the potatoes could turn color once peeled if you don’t just prep it and then bake, but I haven’t tried. Perhaps buried under the cheese and cream mixture would protect them but I am not sure.