Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

This recipe starts with a simple roux to get max creamy factor. If you have never made a roux before, it is whisking equal parts of melted butter/fat and flour over medium heat, and then adding cream.

Then you whisk until it is nice and thick, kill the heat, and add cheese. The above photo is how thick mine is after I have added the cheese and allow it to cool for a few minutes. If yours is a little thinner than mine, it will still work great. It doesn’t have to be perfect! Just nice and creamy and thick.

Slice your potatoes about this thick. Try to make them all the same thickness or as close as you can.

Then its as easy as layering potatoes, cheese sauce, a little more shredded cheese, and repeat! I like to do 3 layers of potatoes. You will end with the cheese sauce and top it with more shredded cheese.

You bake it in a 375 degree oven for about an hour. I like to cover it with aluminum foil and then take the foil off halfway. That way I get the delicious browned cheese on top. If you don’t want the bits of browned cheese, just leave the foil on until the last 10 minutes.

Creamy Scalloped Potatoes Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 1/2 cups half & half
• 2 1/2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese, divided use
• 6-7 medium russet potatoes
• Salt
• Black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a saucepan, melt the butter and then add the flour. Whisk constantly for 3 to 5 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper. Then add the half & half. Whisking constantly, simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened but is still pourable. Turn off the heat and stir in 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese and whisk until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
3. Peel, rinse and slice the potatoes. Be sure to thinly slice them fairly equally. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you want it as close as possible.
4. Layer the dish. First, place an even layer of potato slices. They can over lap a little but make sure they aren’t directly on top of one another. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt & pepper (I do about 1/8th a teaspoon each).
5. Now pour about 1/2 cup of the sauce onto the potato slices. Spread evenly.
6. Sprinkle on 1/4 cup shredded cheese evenly across the sauce layer. Repeat this process until you have 3 layers of potato slices, and end with the top layer being cheese sauce. Sprinkle on the remainder of the shredded cheese on the top.
7. Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes, then take the foil off. Bake for another 2t to 30 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. I usually test it with a toothpick. If the toothpick is easily inserted through the potatoes, it’s done!