I have a strong love for Scalloped Potatoes but honestly my entire life I have always had them out of the box and I have never had the pleasure of eating and making them from scratch. Once I seen a recipe very similar to this one, I knew instantly that I really needed to give it a try and see what is better. Usually homemade is always better than boxed items, but I am bias towards the boxed Scalloped. So I fired up the stove and got to cooking and to be completely honest.. homemade is in a completely different ball game! It was super amazing and delicious. I do not know if I can go back to boxed ever again.
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 small white or yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 2 cups milk (I recommend 2% or whole milk)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, divided
- 4 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes, sliced into 1/8-inch rounds
- 2 cups freshly-grated sharp cheddar cheese*, divided (feel free to add more cheese if you’d like)
- 1/2 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
- Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat.
- Add onion, and sauté for 4-5 minutes until soft and translucent.
- Add garlic and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Stir in the flour until it is evenly combined, and cook for 1 more minute.
- Gradually pour in the stock, and whisk until combined.
- Add in the milk, salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon thyme, and whisk until combined.
- Continue cooking for an additional 1-2 minutes until the sauce just barely begins to simmer around the edges of the pan (avoid letting it come to a boil) and thickens. Then remove from heat and set aside.
- Spread half of the sliced potatoes in an even layer on the bottom of the pan.
- Top evenly with half of the cream sauce. (I usually strain out all of the onions and add them here too.)
- Then sprinkle evenly with 1 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese, and all of the Parmesan cheese.
- Top evenly with the remaining sliced potatoes, the other half of the cream sauce, and the remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese.
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. The sauce should be nice and bubbly around the edges.
- remove the foil and bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through.
- Transfer the pan to a cooling rack, and sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon of thyme and extra Parmesan. Serve warm.