Cheesy Scalloped potatoes are the perfect comfort food… creamy, rich and cheesy; but they always take so long to cook! Not anymore! This recipe uses a method that will show you how to make this cheesy goodness in about half of the time of traditional scalloped potatoes recipe!
My mom taught me an easy little trick that speeds up the cooking of the potatoes and has them ready on time every time! If you just pop them in boiling water for just a few minutes before you put this together, you will cut down your cooking time by as much as an hour, saving time for delicious main dishes like meatloaf or pork chops!
What Are Scalloped Potatoes
Scalloped potatoes are a classic side dish made with thinly sliced potatoes layered and baked until hot and bubbly. A classic scalloped potato recipe doesn’t include cheese and is made with a roux (white sauce).
While similar to au gratin potatoes, there are some key differences:
- Potatoes au gratin have a cheese sauce (instead of a white sauce), and are most often made with layers of onions and potatoes.
- Classic scalloped potatoes don’t contain cheese sauce or cheese
- Cheesy scalloped potatoes use a white sauce and are layered with cheese
How Do You Make Scalloped Potatoes
Scalloped potatoes are easy to make and delicious but they can take a very long time to cook, not anymore!! In this quick recipe, I have a couple of tips to reduce the baking time from about 90 minutes to 45 minutes!
Tips to reduce cooking time:
- Potatoes: Boiling the sliced potatoes for a couple of minutes makes this recipe quick as the potatoes don’t have to cook as long and they’re already warm going into the oven.
- Sauce: These cheesy scalloped have a quick and easy shortcut white sauce to save time (and effort). I use condensed cream of mushroom soup and layer with cheese and onions! If you’d prefer you can make your own Homemade Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup or use cream of chicken or cream of celery!
To Make Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes:
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PREP:
- Slice the potatoes (I use a mandoline slicer to make it quick) and drop the potatoes into boiling water for 5 minutes (this is a huge time saver).
- Mix the white sauce ingredients together.
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LAYER:
- Layer the sauce, potatoes and cheese in a 9×9 baking dish
- Top with more cheese
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BAKE:
- Bake the cheesy scalloped potatoes until golden and bubbly.
Can You Freeze Scalloped Potatoes
Potatoes can sometimes change texture when frozen, so scalloped potatoes taste best when made fresh. If you plan to freeze them, make sure you have already baked them first. Raw potatoes can still oxidize in the freezer, causing them to turn grey.
Cheesy scalloped potatoes should last up to a month in the freezer. The trick to ensuring they taste great is in the reheating, like most potato side dishes, we prefer to reheat in the oven with a little bit of fresh cheese added on top!
More Perfect Potato Sides
- The BEST Mashed Potatoes – Creamy, dreamy, delicious!
- Scalloped Potatoes Recipe – the classic!
- Scalloped Potatoes and Ham – our favorite during Easter
- Crock Pot Scalloped Potatoes – so easy
- Easy Cheesy Potatoes – the best comfort food
- Easy Oven Roasted Potatoes – crispy and delicious
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds yellow potatoes
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup chicken or celery soup
- 1 cup milk
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- black pepper to taste
- 1 small onion thinly sliced
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375°F.
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Wash potatoes and slice ¼″ thick (no need to peel). Drop into boiling water for 5 minutes. During the last minute, add sliced onions to the water. Drain.
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Meanwhile, combine soup, milk, pepper and garlic powder in a bowl. Microwave until hot.
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Put a little bit of the soup mixture in the bottom of a greased 2 QT casserole dish, a 9×9 pan, or an oven-safe pan. Layer ½ of the potatoes, ½ of the soup mixture, and ½ of the cheese. Repeat layers ending with cheese.
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Bake at 375°F for 45-55 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
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Fun and really good
very easy and super-efficient I love this recipe and I hope that you give some more examples of easy homemade recipes may the lord bless your heart and encourage you to guide you to do more easy recipes and meals.
I love this recipe. Boiling the potatoes first makes them so tender. I made this twice and the second time I diced the onions and sautéed them before adding them to the potatoes layer. The sliced onions were too stringy and overpowered the nice cheesy flavor of the potatoes.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was an hit. I added diced smoked ham and some frozen peas for a one dish meal. The family loved it! I will definitely be making it again.
Can I make this the day before and bake it the next day?
Yes, this can be prepared the day before.
I was really hopping this recipe would help to cut down on cook time when I have so many other items that need the oven for tonights birthday dinner.
Unfortunately the sauce split at some point in the over and thus came out completely separated and watery :(
My partner couldn’t say enough about this recipe, thank you, it’s definitely in my recipe box!!!
Made this for the first time tonight and it was fantastic! Followed the recipe exactly as written; done in half the time, but taste just like Mom’s. I will definitely be making these again – SOON. The only thing I’ll change next time is that I’m going to toss the potatoes and onions in the soup mixture before putting them in the pan for a more even coat.
I’d like to try making this tomorrow, can I use russet potatoes instead of yellow? Do you know if that would still work and if anything like cook time might need to be adjusted?
Russets can be used but they should be peeled first. The texture of russets is a bit starchier and they don’t hold their shape as well but they will still taste good!
Thank you for the recipe. I was gonna share a photo but do not seem to have the option.
Hi Samantha, we would love to see your photo! If you have instagram be sure to tag us @spendpennies so we can check it out!
Where the heck is the recip
Hi Denise, you can find the recipe by using the “jump to recipe” button at the top of the page or scrolling down towards the bottom. Hope that helps!
My husband and I used red potatoes, left the peeling on which makes even easier preparation. Followed the rest of the directions. Turned out great! One recipe change, next time after the potato layer, I will salt and pepper the potatoes, then add the cheese layer. Our next church potluck is getting a new yummy addition.
size of soup can is not specified.
This recipe uses one standard 10.5 oz can of condensed soup Cleon. I hope this helps!
This was absolutely delicious I only had cream of chicken but we all loved it thanks for sharing !!
I made it today for Easter dinner. everyone love it. I used cream of chicken soup. will be in my recipe book.
My first time making cheesy scalloped potatoes and they turned out delicious. Very easy recipe to follow. i I will definitely make this dish again.
These look so delicious. I am trying this recipe for a family cookout this weekend. Can’t wait to try them!
Hello Customer Service Department,
I would like to make the following Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes Recipe, on the recipe it calls for a yellow potato. Is this also called Yukon Gold? Please let me know what the correct name of this potato is called so when I go to the Hy-Vee in Kansas I will know the name of the potato to look for. Thank you, Mary
Hello Mary, Yukon Gold is a variety of yellow potato and will work perfectly in this recipe. Enjoy!