Easy Scalloped Potatoes with Garlic, Thyme, and Parmesan cheese - delicious, super cheesy potatoes made with white cheese only (no Cheddar cheese in this recipe!).
I love potatoes! They are my go-to side dish whenever I need something quick and simple. Mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes - I make them all. But a special part in my heart belongs to these easy scalloped potatoes. Because this is one of those dishes that looks nice and fancy on a plate but in reality is a breeze to make.
These are really the easiest scalloped potatoes ever! No need to make the creamy sauce in a separate pan, all you do is layer all the ingredients in a medium-sized, deep casserole dish and then bake for about 1 hour. Only one pan is used! The potatoes are creamy and cheesy! Easy and quick clean-up after you're done!
I used 6 yellow potatoes, peeled:
There are 4 layers in this scalloped potatoes recipe. Each layer has thinly sliced potatoes (⅛ inch thick), salt, minced garlic, shredded Parmesan cheese, fresh thyme, and heavy cream:
After layering your casserole dish with the scalloped potatoes, bake, uncovered, for about 1 hour. While baking, the shredded Parmesan cheese melts and combines with heavy cream, coating the potatoes, producing the most delicious, cheesy scalloped potatoes ever!
We are right in the middle of the holiday season, and these easy scalloped potatoes will make a perfect holiday side dish, not only because they are super easy-to-make, they also look so pretty:
Not only are they delicious, easy, and pretty, these scalloped potatoes are gluten free!
Enjoy these cheesy, garlicky, easy scalloped potatoes!
Easy Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 6 yellow potatoes peeled and sliced into ⅛ inch thick slices
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 ¼ cups Parmesan cheese shredded
- 3 tablespoons Thyme fresh
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Grease the bottom of the medium casserole pan with melted butter.
- Spread ¼ of the sliced potatoes in an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the potatoes with ⅛ teaspoon salt, then top with 1 minced garlic clove, ¼ cup of grated Parmesan cheese, ¼ amount of thyme leaves (removed from sprigs). Top with ¼ cup of heavy creamy, pouring it evenly over the potatoes.
- Repeat layers 3 more times (total of 4 layers of potatoes). For the last layer, use ½ cup of shredded Parmesan cheese (or more).
- Bake at 400 F, uncovered, for about 1 hour, or until the potatoes are cooked through.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
What can I use in place of heavy cream?
Hi Diane, you can use evaporated milk or half-and-half instead.
Can you use half and half instead
Since I only have half and half on hand, can I use that?
Hi - want to make these for Christmas dinner. Any changes if I double the recipe? Thank you
Wondering if it can be assembled and refrigerated a day in advance for Thanksgiving? Sounds like a nice change from mashed!
I wouldn’t recommend that (for food safety reasons), but you can bake the scalloped potatoes, let them cool, refrigerate, and reheat them the next day—that should work perfectly!
Wow!!! Excellent recipe! I added 1/2 sliced onion....great choice! I layered the onion in with the potatoes.
Hi Kelly! I really love the addition of sliced onion—it's so delicious! Thank you for your wonderful review!
Can I substitute Gruyere cheese for the Parmesan called for? Thanks!
Yes, Gruyere would work great!
Made these potatoes yesterday and they are SO good. Easy, cheesy and creamy. Much easier than my usual scalloped potatoes and I love the Parmesan in place of cheddar.
So glad you liked these!! Thank you for your review - I appreciate it!
Hello Julia, So far LOVE your recipes. Do have a question: garlic is one ingredient that really bothers my stomach—do you have a suggestion for a substitute besides green onion tops?
Hi Belinda! That's a tough one. Yes, chives, chopped green onions, or shallots would've been great substitutes for garlic (if you can eat those).
What about freshly ground peppercorns (not just pre-ground black pepper). Those can be quite flavorful!
Fresh herbs (thyme, basil, lemon thyme, oregano, marjoram) can add so much flavor, too.
Or, even simply sprinkling a small amount of freshly grated Parmesan cheese over the cooked dish - it always adds a nice flavor.
Or, skipping the garlic might work, too. My recipes usually have quite a few other flavors going on.
I hope this was helpful.
Julia, thank you for the wonderful suggestions. guess I’m just going to have to be more adventurous in using my spice choices. They may not be tradition, but at least interesting—plus I’ll be able to eat them without consequences.
Let me know if you find a great garlic alternative!
I love to make this on a chilly day, and I add sliced sweet yellow onion, some peppers (whatever I have), smoked paprika, and sometimes ham.
Jazz, I love your take on this, especially the addition of smoked paprika and ham!!
I have some russet potatoes. Will the result be the same?
Olga, although russet potatoes are better for mashing and tend to get mushier compared to yellow potatoes, this recipe should still turn out pretty well with the russet potatoes. I would recommend not overbaking and maybe reducing baking times slightly. Enjoy! 🙂
Made for Thanksgiving PotLuck and it was a HUGE hit! Wanted to make for my Christmas Dinner with Prime Rib. Was wondering if I could prep day ahead, cover, put in fridge and then cook the next day? Or would it be better to prep-cook- then refrigerate and re-heat the next day?
Sandy, I am so glad everyone loved this dish at Thanksgiving Potluck! 🙂 Yes, you can assemble the whole dish a day ahead, and keep it refrigerated until ready to bake! (I am sorry for the late response).
You mentioned to an earlier post that for safety reasons you would not recommend putting the unbaked dish in the frig overnight. Which is it? That's important.
This is my new favorite recipe…. YUMMY
I doubled the batch so I’m wondering if I could freeze the other half of it and what is the best way to do so.
Jennifer, I am so glad you loved this dish! Yes, you can freeze this. I would just freeze it in a freezer-safe container.
I used 12 potatoes, uses 1/2 pound of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, one pint of heavy cream, and it was great.
More than enough for 10, with seconds and leftovers.
JD, that's so great to hear! ❤️ Thank you for your feedback and your review!