Savory Scalloped Potatoes baked in a rich, creamy cheese sauce with bacon makes the perfect side dish for any favorite meal and is a delightful addition to any holiday spread!
If you’re looking for holiday side dishes, be sure to try my Easy Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Green Beans with Garlic and Almonds, Apple Cranberry Walnut Salad, and Roasted Butternut Squash.
Why This Recipe Works
Savory and Saucy: These tender, creamy scalloped potatoes are cooked in a rich white cheddar sauce. Before you ask, yes you can use yellow cheddar cheese, but I highly recommend going for white. There’s something about white cheddar that works wonders with bacon. The bacon adds extra savory flavors and a nice crunchy texture. You can either use freshly cooked and chopped bacon, or real bacon bits if you’re in a hurry. Bacon and cheese and potatoes…. that’s a heavenly combination right there.
Easy to Assemble: A lot of scalloped potatoes recipes are actually complicated to assemble. I made this an easy scalloped potatoes recipe by cooking everything together in a pot and then transferring it to a baking dish and topping it off with a crunchy top layer. Then, you can just let the oven do all of the work! Especially during the holidays, an easy potato side is so important!
Great for Everyone: Even picky eaters will be satisfied and impressed with these cheesy scalloped potatoes! If you have young ones that are obsessed with only mashed potatoes, try giving them this potato side dish instead. They will love it! You can even try to sneak in some vegetables like peas, carrots or spinach.
Ingredients
- Gold Potatoes– Thinly slice the gold potatoes with a sharp knife or a mandolin. If you have russet potatoes, they will work as well but tend to break apart more easily.
- Milk and Half & Half– You can substitute whole milk for the half and half but I would not recommend skim or 1 percent in this recipe.
- Garlic Powder – In this sauce I prefer garlic powder to minced garlic as the minced garlic can interrupt the smoothness of the sauce but minced garlic can definitely be substituted here.
- Fresh thyme – You can also use Italian Seasoning or Herbs de Provence.
- Flour– All-purpose flour is added to thicken the cheese sauce.
- White Cheddar Cheese– Use a block of white cheddar cheese and shred it on your own. It is important to use freshly shredded cheese in this sauce instead of pre-shredded cheese.
- Gruyere Cheese – This is what really gives the cream sauce it’s rich taste and luxuriously smooth texture. Be sure to shred your own and not use pre-shredded cheese.
- Cayenne Pepper – adds depth of flavor, optional.
- Bacon– This is technically optional, but bacon does add a delicious and unique flavor to these potatoes. You can buy bacon bits if you don’t want to cook your own bacon!
- Butter– Melted butter drizzled on top of the crackers will add flavor and depth to the topping.
Here’s How to Make It
Step by Step Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large sauce pan. Whisk in the flour. (photos 1-2)
- Gradually whisk in the milk and half & half until incorporated and smooth, then stir in the salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, thyme, and half of the gruyere cheese. Once cheese has melted, tasted the sauce and add more salt and pepper if needed. (photos 3-4)
- Gradually add in the potatoes and bacon. Transfer everything to a greased baking dish and sprinkle remaining cheeses over the top. (photos 5-7)
- Bake for 45 minutes or until cheese topping is golden brown and potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. (photo 8)
Expert Tips
- You can make these easy scalloped potatoes ahead of time! Transfer the potato mixture into a baking dish, top with cheese and crackers, and cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Once you are ready to bake, pop it in the oven until heated through and gooey!
- Make sure to slice the potatoes evenly to ensure even cooking!
- For extra cheese scalloped potatoes, add a combination of different shredded cheeses like sharp cheddar, gouda and parmesan!
- To make this recipe gluten-free, substitute the flour with corn starch.
- Serve your scalloped potatoes with roast chicken, turkey, or ham during the holiday season! Or, you can make these any time of the year and serve with steak and a simple green salad.
More Side Dish Recipes to Try
- Buttermilk Dinner Rolls
- Best Glazed Ham
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Candied Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole
- Instant Pot Turkey Breast
Did you try this dish? FANTASTIC! Please rate the recipe below and be sure to tag me when you share on social media, I love to see your CDLC creations!
Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients
- 6 cups thinly sliced gold potatoes - approx 2 1/2 lbs
- 8 strips of bacon - cooked til crisp and roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 ½ cups milk - do not use skim milk
- ¾ cup half & half - or whole milk
- 1 teaspoon salt - more to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- dash of cayenne pepper - if you have it
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves - or 1/2 teaspoon Herbs de Provence or Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper - or to taste
- 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese - divided
- 3/4 cup shredded gruyère cheese - divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for a few minutes to cook the ‘raw’ taste out of the flour.
- Slowly whisk in the milk and once smooth remove from the heat.
- Whisk in the half and half, salt, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, thyme leaves and a generous amount of black pepper, along with half the cheddar and half the gruyère cheese. Once the cheese has melted check if you want to add any more salt or pepper to the sauce.
- Gradually fold the potatoes and the bacon bits into the sauce. (If you add them all at once, it will be harder to coat all the potato pieces.)
- Transfer the potato mixture to a large baking dish and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.
- Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.
Notes
Nutrition
Excellent. Always using this recipe since I found it
Thanks for your positive feedback, Kristi! So glad you enjoyed using this recipe.
Hi, Does this recipe include crackers?
Fabulous! I’ve made these a few times now and they turn out perfectly every time. I’ve used brown russet potatoes because that’s what I had on hand and had no issues! I also was a bit generous with the cheese…