Or if you don’t want to serve up these scalloped potatoes as a side dish, make it the main event with a few little additions. I’m using chunks of leftover baked ham, buttery fried onions and 3 different cheeses. It’s carblicious, ultra cream and cheesy, and probably a million calories (I’ll work it out and include in the recipe card), but who cares when it tastes this good? We start by frying up slices of onion in a pan (1) with butter, garlic, salt, pepper and a little garlic salt. Five or six minutes is enough to get sweetly softened light brown onion, but you can cook for 8-10 minutes more than that if you love really caramelized onions. Turn off the heat. Make the sauce by melting butter in a saucepan, then stirring in flour to form a roux (2). Heat for a minute to cook out the flour, then while stirring with a whisk, slowly add the milk, a good splash at a time (3). When all of the milk has been added, stir in the cream and cheddar cheese (4). Arrange a layer of potatoes (no need to pre-cook them) in a greased baking dish (5), and top with half the onions, half the ham and a good pinch of salt and pepper (6). Spoon over half the sauce (7). Repeat the layers once more (7, 8, 9, 10), then top with cheddar, Gruyere and red Leicester (11). Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 75-90 minutes, until the potatoes are tender throughout (12). Remove the foil and cook for a further 15-20 minutes until the cheese is browned and bubbly. Top with fresh thyme before serving.
What’s the difference between potato dauphinoise and scalloped potatoes?
Potato dauphinoise is a French dish of thinly sliced potatoes (not usually pre-cooked), baked with cream and/or milk, a hint of garlic (more for the aroma than the flavour) and sometimes a little nutmeg. Cheese may or may not be added.Scalloped potatoes - Scalloped potatoes are often argued to be cooked with cream, garlic and onion, but without cheese. Many recipes do call for the addition of cheese though (including mine!). The potatoes are usually sliced a little thicker than with potato dauphinoise.
Can I cook the potatoes first?
You can cook the sliced potatoes in milk or stock for 10-12 minutes first if you wish. This will speed up the overall cooking process, meaning the dish will only need around 30 minutes in the oven (uncovered).I prefer not to pre-cook the potatoes as I find draining the potatoes too messy, and I’m too impatient to wait for the potatoes too be cool enough, so I can handle them when I layer them up in the pan.
Suggestions for swaps:
If you want to change up this recipe, you could swap out the ham for bacon or even pepperoni or chorizo (salty meats work best).
Most often a curdled sauce is due to the temperature of the oven being too high. So it’s a good idea to ensure your oven isn’t running too hot, Stick to potato amount in the recipe. Potatoes have a certain amount of acidity in them, and going overboard on the potatoes can cause the acidity to curdle the milk or cream. Full fat milk and cream are best. Reduced fat milk and cream have a higher tendency to split (curdle) than full fat. This recipe uses flour in the sauce, and this will also help to ensure your sauce won’t split.
You can also replace some or all of the potato with sweet potato or slices of butternut squash (like this squash and potato gratin)
More Creamy Comfort Food Ideas:
Creamy Chicken Pot PieTuscan Style Stuffed Mushrooms in Creamy Sun Dried Tomato SauceRich and Creamy Slow-Cooked Pork CasseroleCreamy Chicken and Mushroom One Pan CasseroleCreamy Tuna Pasta BakeRoast Chicken with Creamy White Wine & Garlic Sauce (plus sauté potatoes!)Creamy Tuscan Chickenmy Easy Salmon Recipe with Creamy White Wine SauceChicken Casserole
The Ham and Potato Bake Video:
Note – I previously worked with Elmlea to create a video of this recipe for an Instagram post. That video has been re-edited especially for this post. This post has not been sponsored. Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
