Cheesy Garlic Scalloped Potatoes

This Cheesy Garlic Scalloped Potatoes makes the perfect Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday side dish. Soft and thinly sliced potatoes are layered and covered in a luscious and creamy garlic cheese sauce.

I know you want to dig into this cheesy loveliness, because WHO CAN RESIST?!?

Love potatoes? Don’t forget to also check out some of my other favorites on the blog: Creamy Mashed Potatoes, Potato Casserole with Andouille Sausage, and Crispy Baked Potato Skins.

The BEST Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

This is our go to scalloped potato recipe that we make during the holiday season, and occasionally even for dinner on a weekend (when the cheesy potato cravings hit).

Here are a few reasons why this cheesy garlic scalloped potatoes is so delicious:

• Flavored with garlic – I love my garlic and fresh garlic is used in this cheesy garlic scalloped potatoes to make the cheese sauce incredibly flavorful.
• Chicken broth – you cannot go wrong with potatoes and creamy cheese that is infused with chicken broth. Just like my awesome 15-Minute Queso (Cheese Dip) recipe, which seem like a complete different food item, but in many ways it is not, chicken broth brings another dimension of flavor to the creamy sauce and elevates it.
• Creamy but not crazy heavy – this is a creamy and thick potato dish, but not so much that the cream overpower the potatoes. I like to think that the creaminess and cheese enhances the scalloped potatoes, and not overtake it completely.

Ingredients

Here is the full ingredient list to make cheesy garlic scalloped potatoes:

• potatoes – My favorite potatoes to use for cheesy scalloped potatoes are Yukon gold potatoes, russets or Idaho. Basically middle to high starch potatoes are perfect for this.
• garlic – use fresh garlic because garlic powder is just not as flavorful if you really want the garlic flavors to come through.
• cheese – using three cheeses in this cheesy scalloped potatoes: mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan. You can opt for other cheeses as well.
• butter
• onion – sweet, yellow or white onions
• flour – used to thicken the sauce
• milk – i typically use 2% milk.
• chicken broth – important ingredient for another layer of flavor
• thyme – dried or fresh thyme works fine. Fresh will be more flavorful but it’s not necessary

How to make Garlic Scalloped Potatoes

Next, I’m going to show you how easy it is to make these cheesy scalloped potatoes!

Prepare Potatoes

First, we are going to prepare the potatoes by slicing them into thin slices. Make sure they are nice and thin (~ 1/8 inch in thickness) so that they cook easily and soften quickly.

Here are two reasons why it’s so easy to make garlic scalloped potatoes:

• no boiling potatoes beforehand
• no peeling potatoes

Just make sure you slice those potatoes super thinly and that’s all there is to it when it comes to preparing your potatoes.

Prepare Cheese Sauce

Next we make that delicious garlic cheese sauce, another essential part of our cheesy garlic scalloped potatoes. Gosh I love it so much.

Heat a medium pot to medium heat and add butter.

Once butter is melted, add diced onions and minced garlic. Sauté for a few minutes until they are soft and fragrant.

Add flour and stir to combine. Once combined, add milk, chicken broth, thyme and salt. Whisk mixture continuously as it comes to a boil. It’s important to whisk it so that the flour clumps will dissolve.

Continue stirring and cook for a few minutes, or until sauce thickens slightly.

Turn off heat and add shredded cheddar, shredded mozzarella and parmesan. Stir to combine. 

Remove from heat promptly and set aside.

Next we will be layering the potatoes and cheese sauce to form a casserole dish full of cheesy scalloped potatoes.

Layer Casserole

Here’s how we layer the cheesy garlic scalloped potatoes:

1. place 1/3 of the potatoes in a 9″ x 13″ casserole dish
2. add 1/3 of the cheese sauce
3. repeat 1) and 2) until everything is gone.

Tip: As you layer the potatoes, make sure to spread them out and cover each of them well with sauce to ensure all your cheesy scalloped potatoes are fully cooked. Potatoes not covered with sauce are more difficult to cook through and will not be as soft.

Bake casserole

Once you have three layers of potatoes and cheese sauce, send your cheesy scalloped potatoes to the oven to bake!

When cheesy scalloped potatoes are done, they should be bubbly with a slightly golden brown top. Potatoes should be soft and coated in that rich and creamy cheese sauce.

Cheese. Potatoes. Cheese. Potatoes.

With garlic flavored goodness all around it.

My heart is full. My stomach is full.

The cheese on the top will be slightly brown and crusty. Dig a spoon into it, and the creamy, velvety cheese will ooze out, along with the now tender and soft slices of potatoes.

Okay YUUUUMMMM.

This lovely cheesy garlic scalloped potatoes makes the best side to any main dishes. If you truly must, it can also be consumed by itself.

Storage and Reheat

Cheesy garlic scalloped potatoes are the perfect dish to make ahead. Storage it covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

To reheat, simply cover and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 350℉.

Frequently Asked Questions

DID YOU ENJOY THIS RECIPE? Please comment below and give us a 5-star rating! This will help others find this recipe on Google and Pinterest. We very much appreciate your help! 🤍

Calling all potato lovers!

We heart potatoes. But then who doesn’t? Check out these other awesome potato dishes!

• Garlic Parmesan Hasselback Potatoes
• Cheesy Bacon Potato Casserole
• Roasted Baby Potatoes
• Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes
• Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Roasted Garlic Parmesan Potatoes
• Easy 6-Ingredient Cheesy Potato Wedges
• Stuffed Jacket Potato Skins (by my blogger friend Searching for Spice!)