You ever get hit with that very specific craving for something warm, cheesy, and just… potato-y? Not fries. Not mashed. Something a little more effort-y, but not fancy. That’s pretty much how I ended up making scalloped potatoes for the first time. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone, just wanted something comforting that didn’t come out of a freezer box. Turned out better than expected—and honestly, not as complicated as people make it sound.
What You’ll Need
I don’t have strong feelings about brands or anything here. Just use what you’ve got, as long as the potatoes aren’t sprouting and the cheese actually melts.
About 4 cups of potatoes, sliced thin (like, really thin. Almost see-through if you can)
3 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of flour
1 and ½ cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
A tiny dash of cayenne if you want a little heat
1 cup shredded cheddar
Another half cup of any grated cheese you like—doesn’t need to match
The Process (aka what I did, with only minor swearing)
Start by preheating your oven to 350°F. Grease up a baking dish—I usually go with butter, but spray works if that’s what you’ve got. You just don’t want the potatoes to stick and become impossible to scoop out later.
In a medium saucepan, melt your butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour slowly so it doesn’t clump (this is your roux—feels fancy, isn’t). Once it’s smooth-ish, add the milk, salt, and cayenne, and whisk the whole thing until it thickens up a bit. Not pudding-thick, but creamy.
Now take half of your sliced potatoes and spread them across the bottom of the dish. Pour on half the sauce. Then sprinkle with half of the cheddar. It won’t look very structured, but don’t worry about that. Do it again with the rest—potatoes, sauce, then cheese.
Cover it up—foil or a lid, either works. I’ve tried baking it uncovered the whole way through and it just got dry and weird around the edges. Covering helps things cook evenly without crisping up too early.
Bake it like that for 45 minutes. Then take off the cover and let it go another 15 to 20 minutes, depending on your oven. You’re looking for golden and bubbling, not burnt.
When you pull it out, give it a few minutes to chill before you serve it. That helps it hold together instead of sliding all over the plate.
So… Are These Scalloped Potatoes or a Gratin?
Honestly? I used to think they were the same thing. Most people use the terms interchangeably, and I don’t blame them—it’s thin potatoes baked in creamy stuff. But if we’re being technical:
- Scalloped potatoes use a white sauce—just flour, butter, milk, like we did above. It’s simple. Clean.
- Potato gratin is the one that’s all in on the cheese, usually Gruyère or Parmesan or some kind of fancy melt-y situation. It ends up more decadent. Richer. A little sharper-tasting, if that makes sense.
Texturally, gratin usually forms a crustier, more structured top, while scalloped potatoes stay a little softer and saucier throughout. Depends what you’re in the mood for. I’ve made both and still don’t always label them right.
Covered or Uncovered—Which One’s Faster?
Okay, this tripped me up the first time. I figured uncovered meant browning would happen faster, and therefore, it’d cook faster too. But nope.
Covering your dish traps the steam, which helps cook the potatoes all the way through. That’s important because slicing them thin doesn’t magically make them fast. You need the moisture in there to soften them properly.
So yeah—start covered. Then in the last 15–20 minutes, take the lid or foil off. That’s when the cheese gets its golden thing going. It’s the best of both worlds: fully cooked on the inside, crispy on top. If you go uncovered the whole time, you’ll either dry it out or have raw potato slices under a burnt surface. Ask me how I know.
There’s not a lot of mystery to scalloped potatoes once you do it once or twice. You can make it look more complicated by adding garlic or switching cheeses or sneaking in some onion. I don’t always measure perfectly, and it still turns out pretty decent.
This recipe came from Appo Recipes originally, though I’ve slightly eyeballed a few things here and there. It works. It fills a baking dish. It smells amazing while it cooks, and unless your oven is cursed, the cheese will bubble up exactly like you want it to.
Oh—and if you’re serving it at a dinner or taking it somewhere, just know it holds heat for a long time. You don’t need to rush. I let it rest for a bit before cutting into it anyway. Keeps the layers from sliding apart.
Anyway. Make it when it’s rainy. Or cold. Or when boxed mac and cheese just isn’t going to cut it.
