This Scalloped Potatoes recipe is one of the best and the easiest ever. Thinly sliced potatoes nestle in a bath of cream, half and half, and butter, resulting in creamy, tender potatoes, that are a perfect side dish for roast or grilled meats. No cheese or flour required!
A must-make for Easter Dinner, these spuds are perfect alongside Slow Cooker Ham and Air Fryer Asparagus. They are a true comfort food, definitely a dish you’ll want to put on repeat.
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Friends, meet the Best Scalloped Potatoes on the planet. I’ve been making these for over twenty years. If you’ve never made scalloped potatoes, let this be your first and only recipe!
This potato dish is easy to make, great to serve with ham, and there are rarely leftovers. If there are, I wake up early in the morning to eat them for breakfast when no one’s looking – or even awake!
They are that good.
Why Make This
It’s delicious. A classic scalloped potatoes recipe, this one is the best you will ever have. Seriously. Cream-baked potatoes are amazingly tasty, the perfect foil for Roast Turkey Breast, ham, or a slow cooker pot roast. My kids have always loved these potatoes, making it one of our favorite kid-friendly Thanksgiving Side Dishes.
This is an easy recipe! Unlike other scalloped potato recipes, you don’t need to make a cheddar cheese sauce or even precook the potatoes. Instead, this dish is truly “scalloped”, layered potatoes baked in a cream sauce.
They are gluten-free. If you struggle to find festive holiday dishes that are gluten-free, this is it! No need for substitutions because these are naturally gluten-free scalloped potatoes.
You only need 6 Ingredients for the Best Scalloped Potatoes!
This truly is a simple recipe to make! Here’s what you’ll need:
potatoes – Choose a potato that is high in starch and low in moisture, such as russet potatoes. They cook evenly and hold their shape well, creating a smoother and creamier texture. Avoid using waxy potatoes like red or fingerling potatoes as they won’t break down as easily and can result in a firmer, less desirable texture. Yukon Gold potatoes, while not as starchy, are still a good option if you don’t have russets.
salt and freshly ground black pepper – You’ll season each layer of potatoes pretty simply with salt and pepper.
half-and-half – A combination of equal parts milk and cream that have been homogenized, half-and-half is a little cheaper than cream but still brings that rich flavor. You can make your own for this recipe if you can’t find it locally.
butter – A few pats of butter help brown and crisp the top layer of potatoes.
cream – You’ll finish the potatoes with cream, adding it in the final cooking time. So good!
optional garnish: You can enhance the presentation of your scalloped potatoes and make them look even more mouthwatering with a sprinkle of fresh herbs, chopped green onions, or grated Parmesan cheese.
Variations
- While true scalloped potatoes don’t require cheese, you can add it if you like. If you’re dead set on cheesy scalloped potatoes, add shredded parmesan cheese to each layer of potatoes. Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes are also a delicious option.
- If you prefer cheesy mashed potatoes to thinly sliced potatoes, try our Mashed Potato Casserole.
How to make Scalloped Potatoes without Flour or Cheese
Grease a 9x-13-inch baking dish. Preheat the oven to 325 °.
Overlap the potato slices in the prepared dish, seasoning with salt and pepper every few layers.
Pour over the half-and-half and dot the surface with the butter. Bake for 45 minutes, uncovered.
Pour the heavy cream over the potatoes and bake another 45 minutes until cooked through and golden brown.
FAQs
Scalloped requires layering slices of potatoes with cream or a creamy sauce in a casserole while au gratin or gratinee is a dish topped with buttered breadcrumbs or cheese and then browned.
Since you want your scalloped potatoes to melt in your mouth, it’s better to peel them before slicing them thinly and layering them in a baking dish.
These scalloped potatoes are gluten-free, with just six ingredients. Other recipes may call for a white sauce that often requires a flour-based roux that would not be gluten-free.
More Great Potato Side Dishes
These are all great sides to serve with ham.
Tell us what you think!
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Scalloped Potatoes Recipe
Equipment
- chef's knife
- cutting board
- food processor
- 9×13-inch baking dish
Ingredients
- 3 lb russet potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
- salt
- black pepper
- 1 ½ cup half and half
- 2 tablespoon butter cut into small pieces
- ½ cup cream
Instructions
- Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Preheat the oven to 325 °.
- Overlap the potato slices in the prepared dish, seasoning with salt and pepper every few layers.3 lb russet potatoes, salt, black pepper
- Pour over the half and half and dot the surface with the butter. Bake for 45 minutes, uncovered.1 ½ cup half and half, 2 tablespoon butter
- Pour the heavy cream over the potatoes and bake another 45 minutes until cooked through and golden brown.½ cup cream
Notes
Nutritional values are approximate and based on ⅛ the recipe. optional garnish: You can enhance the presentation of your scalloped potatoes and make them look even more mouthwatering with a sprinkle of fresh herbs, chopped green onions, or grated Parmesan cheese.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on April 18, 2012. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Colleen
Can white flesh Hannah sweet potatoes be used doe this recipe? I am trying g to avoid nightshades. Thanks, Colleen
Jessica Fisher
I have never made this with white flesh sweet potatoes, so I don’t know. I would imagine that it may not need as long to cook. The flavor will be sweeter, so you may want to add more salt.
Shari S Staat
Can this Scalloped Potato recipe be frozen since using cream?
Jessica Fisher
I would not recommend that. Neither the cream or the potatoes will freeze well.
Pat
Those potatoes look so yummy! We will be so ready for home cooked meals again after this week!! On the list!
Cathy
Do these reheat well? I want to make them for Christmas Eve but we will be gone all day. I was wondering if I could make the day before and just reheat prior to serving.
Jessica Fisher
We devour the leftovers, but the texture is not the same as fresh from the oven.
Rebekah
Oh, no!!! What is step 3?!?
Jessica Fisher
Haha. There isn’t one. It was a renegade code. Thanks.
Denise
I only have one oven and our main dish will have to cook at 400. Do you think I can manage to bake this at a higher temperature? I can’t wait to try them! Love your site & thanks!
Jessica Fisher
THAT is the tricky part. I can’t remember what I did last year to accommodate the ham and the potatoes at the same time. I just decided in the last hour that the ham will have to go in the crockpot tomorrow.
Belinda
I’m not sure what your views are on microwave cooking? Electricity is ridiculously expensive here, so I often part-cook dishes that bake for long in my microwave, and then just bake for the last 5-10 minutes in the oven, or under the grill, to get some golden colour.
Anyway, if you don’t mind microwaving, I always make my scalloped potatoes in the microwave, and they come out superbly, in a fraction of the time 🙂
Belinda
Which I’m thinking might help you with the need to bake more than one dish at the same time, Denise?
Marea
Oh my! I thought life got lost in the translation when I could not find a scalloped potatoes recipe that did not have cheese in it. When it had cheese, I’d known that to be Potatoes Au Gratin. I was looking for a stand-alone scalloped potato recipe. Thank you.
I do scalloped potato with pork chops casserole my mother handed down, which relies on milk, flour and butter layered in. Sliced onions are layered in as well. It isn’t as creamy as this version should be, but then it is centered around the meat in the dish and simply tasty. Brown flour-dredged chops and when assembling the casserole in a 13 x 9 pan, butter is dotted in with flour and milk among the potato and onion slices that will thicken the milk and meat juices as it bakes. Its always been a family favorite.
MissMOE
These are exactly how my mom makes them–with the addition of a couple cups of cheese!
Chris
In Australia we don’t have ‘half and half’ – what is it exactly? Do you have any ideas on a substitute?
Jessica
It’s half cream, half whole milk. So you can make your own.
Sandi
Interesting that you don’t cheese your potatoes. I’m not sure I’ve ever had scalloped that did not have cheese at least sprinkled across the top. Never mind that, though, I want to know what you did to that cauliflower on the right side of the plate. I’m not a big cauliflower eater, but the kid likes it and that looks scrumptious.
Jessica
@Sandi, believe me, you won’t miss the cheese! Sharing the cauliflower tonight on Life as MOM. 😉 And it was scrumptious!
Kasy
@Sandi,
Au Gratin potatoes have cheese, Scalloped potatoes don’t.