Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

Scalloped Potatoes are thinly sliced layered potatoes are baked in a creamy, garlic and herb sauce, making them tender and flavorful. Easy to make these are the perfect side dish to any meal! 

If you’re in need of an easy side dish that is sure to impress then this is the recipe for you! These thinly sliced potatoes bake up extra creamy. The entire dish is so flavorful thanks to the addition of garlic and herbs. Serve this alongside the Garlic and Herb Prime Rib, Beef Tenderloin, Beef Wellington, or this Classic Honey Glazed Ham.

Scalloped Potatoes

Potatoes are basically side dish magic. They can do so many things. And no matter how you make them, they usually end up being the highlight of the meal. These scalloped potatoes are no different. This recipe is easy to make and only needs a handful of ingredients. These potatoes are:

• easy to make
• tender
• creamy
• flavorful
• satisfying

How to make Scalloped Potatoes:

1. Slice the potatoes to a 1/4 inch thickness.
2. Combine the milk and cream in a large pot or Dutch Oven. Whisk in the salt, white pepper, and add in the garlic and herbs. Heat over medium/low heat. We don’t want to bring to a boil, but we want to heat it through.
3. Add the potatoes to the pot and milk mixture. There won’t be enough cream to cover all of the potatoes. And that’s how we want it. Carefully stir the potatoes around so that they all get their chance to swim in the warm cream. This is going to help make sure our potatoes are soaked in the cream mixture, and helps all of our ingredients be at the same temperature when we start baking.  Continue heating the potatoes in the cream for about 5-7 minutes.
4. Spoon the potatoes out and layer into a glass or ceramic baking dish. Remove the herbs from the cream and pour the cream over the potatoes.
5. Top with cheese…if you want. Not required.
6. Bake uncovered in the oven for 50-60 minutes until the potatoes are all fork tender and the top is golden brown.
7. Remove from the oven and let sit about 10 minutes before serving.

Scalloped Potatoes vs. Potatoes Au Gratin

They’re actually different. Although, most people will use the terms interchangeably. Scalloped potatoes are traditionally sliced thinner, about 1/8th of an inch thick. Potatoes Au Gratin will have a thicker slice of 1/4 inch. Scalloped potatoes are cooked in a cream sauce. While potatoes au gratin are cooked in a cream sauce and layered with cheese. If you’re pro-cheese like me, then by all means, add cheese to your scalloped potatoes and call them whatever you want. 

In fact, we’ll be putting some fresh grated parmesan on these potatoes. Cheese and creamy potatoes just go together too perfectly.

What potatoes are best? 

Russet potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes are great choices for making scalloped potatoes. The reason behind that is the starches. This is going to help the sauce thicken and become velvety smooth during baking. Russets have the most starch, Yukon Golds come in close behind. The Yukon Golds themselves bake up a bit creamier than the Russets, but the sauce itself might be a bit thinner. It’s all about what you prefer. 

The best way to slice the potatoes:

The potatoes need to be sliced nice and thin. It’s also important that they are all cut to the same width. If you have some thick slices and some thin slices, the potatoes will bake unevenly. The thicker slices won’t be cooked through and the thinner slices could cook too much and turn into mashed potatoes. 

• Sharp knife: make sure your knife is nice and sharp and you can slice the potatoes easily. 
• Mandolin: if you have one of these on hand it will make the slicing process fly by quickly, just be careful with your fingers. 

Can I substitute another milk or not use the cream? 

No. The reason that cream is used in combination with the whole milk is that you need a high fat content. Otherwise, when baked, the milk will curdle and separate. Using cream prevents the curdling from taking place.

Other Potato Recipes:

• Creamy Potato Soup
• Twice Baked Potatoes
• Perfect Mashed Potatoes

 

Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

Scalloped Potatoes. These thinly sliced potatoes are baked in a creamy, garlic and herb sauce, making them tender and flavorful. Easy to make these are the perfect side dish to any meal! 

• 3 pounds Yukon Gold or Russet Potatoes
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp white ground pepper
• 1 bayleaf
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 cup parmesan cheese (freshly grated)

1. Preheat oven to 350 ℉. Spray a 2 quart glass or ceramic baking dish with non stick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Clean and dry the potatoes. Slice the potatoes evenly into 1/4 inch slices. You can peel the potatoes if you prefer before slicing, but it's not required.

3. In a large pot or dutch oven add the milk, cream, salt and white pepper. Stir to combine.

4. Add in the bayleaf, fresh thyme and garlic. Stir. Heat over medium/low heat just to heat the milk, not to bring to a boil.

5. Add in the potatoes. There isn't enough cream to cover the potatoes. Carefully stir so that all of the potatoes are able to be warmed in the milk mixture.

6. Using a slotted spoon remove the potatoes from the cream and lay in the baking dish in even layers.

7. Pour the cream over the top of the potatoes.

8. Top with shredded parmesan cheese.

9. Bake for 50-60 minutes uncovered at 350℉ until the potatoes are fork tender and the top is golden.

10. Remove from the oven and allow the dish to sit for at least 10 minutes prior to serving, this allows time for the cream to thicken slightly while cooling.

 

from The Recipe Critic https://ift.tt/2M8ekW7