Mashed potatoes

Dear scalloped potatoes, you are amazing. I love your crispy edges and creamy and cheesy center. It feels fancy but is easy to make with very little prep. Potatoes may be my favorite side dish at the holiday dinner buffet. You are a classic! Mashed potatoes are great but have too much texture and taste like a sunrise made with cheddar cheese. Consider this a love letter to you, French fries, because it is.

Why is this casserole called scalloped potatoes? They say it’s from the Old English word “collop,” which means thinly sliced. The starting point for this dish is to thinly slice the potatoes into large coins. While some people place the potato slices perfectly in the pan, I tend to go with the messy tossing and it turns out great every time, IMO.

RELATED: If you’re not making this with a turkey for Thanksgiving or ham for Easter, you might want to learn how to braise steaks or how to grill steaks, baked chicken, air fryer chicken, or air fryer steak. Plus 50+ Christmas dinner ideas!

ingredients

Potatoes Butter Leeks Garlic All-purpose flour Chicken broth – or vegetable broth Milk Salt Black pepper Cheddar cheese Parmesan Chives, thyme or rosemary – or a combination thereof

How to make mashed potatoes

First, wash the potatoes and cut them into uniformly thin pieces. I don’t peel potatoes, but you can if you want. I recommend using a mandoline for slicing, it makes this task much faster and ensures that your slices are uniform even if you don’t have the knife skills of a professional chef.

Next, make the sauce. Start by finely chopping the shallots and mincing the garlic. In a pot or saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Cook the onion for 2 minutes then add the garlic and cook for another minute. Sprinkle flour into the bowl and stir. This will create a thick paste. Add the broth slowly, to obtain a thin gravy consistency. Then slowly stir in the milk. Season with salt and pepper.

Prepare a 9×13 casserole dish by spraying it with nonstick cooking spray or greasing it with a little butter. Put half the amount of potatoes cut into thin slices. Cover it with half the cream sauce. Sprinkle with half the cheese (both cheeses). Then put the rest of the potatoes and pour the remaining sauce over them. Top with remaining cheese. Finally, sprinkle with some fresh herbs like chives, thyme, rosemary, or a combination of both.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake in the oven at 400°F for 30 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

Tips and alternatives

I recommend yellow potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes for this recipe. Russet potatoes (also called bread potatoes) and other varieties can also be used, but I like the soft, buttery texture of Yellow Gold and Yukon. Although I recommend the mandoline (this one comes with different blades and a glove!), you can certainly cut potatoes by hand with a quality knife. If you do this, try to make the slices as even in thickness as possible so they are all baked equally tender. You don’t want some thick cuts that end up feeling undercooked. You can replace the leeks with a third of the yellow or white onion. I like cheddar and parmesan, but you can substitute other cheeses like Gruyere or pepper jack if you like. If you want to make this scalloped potato recipe in advance, simply follow the recipe through to the baking stage (as well as layering and covering with aluminum foil) and then refrigerate until you are ready to bake. You can do this at least a day or two in advance if you need. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 3 days. Reheat in the microwave. I especially love these to reheat the day after the holiday and add a fried egg on top for breakfast. 🙂

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