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Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Caramelized Onions, the ultimate holiday side dish. These potatoes are creamy, cheesy, and seasoned simply for a potato casserole that everyone really loves. The thinly sliced potatoes melt into a creamy, cheesy sauce. The top brown up in the oven adding a bit of crunch. Together these creamy crunchy potatoes are so delicious. They’re simple to make and always a crowd favorite.

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Caramelized Onions | halfbakedharvest.com

Monday potatoes in prep for Thanksgiving next week! Is everyone getting excited for the big feast? I talked about this yesterday, but it feels as though we’ve skipped over Thanksgiving and moved right on into Christmas.

I mean, to a point! I’m still here sharing out as many Thanksgiving recipes as possible before the 25th rolls around. And these potatoes will add another delicious item to our Thanksgiving menu.

What’s funny about these potatoes is that as simple as these are, they really took me a while to perfect. I’ve struggled with scalloped potatoes for the longest time. I just could never get them to cook all the way through.

After a few rounds of these I figured out the secret. A lower oven temperature, plenty of liquid, and lots of time in the oven.

So while these do take a while to make, the prep is simple, and the rest is mostly hands off.

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Caramelized Onions | halfbakedharvest.com

Here are the details

Before I slice the potatoes, I always caramelize the onions. A lot of potato casseroles call for onion powder. But I wanted to add a little more of a fresh onion flavor that wasn’t over powering, but just right.

I love to use caramelized onions for an onion flavor that’s more mellow.

I caramelize them down in a bit of butter and add wine to help them caramelize a little faster. Then just a little fresh thyme, salt, and pepper.

While the onions are cooking, I mix the cream, milk, and the two types of cheese together. Most scalloped or au gratin recipes will call for you to cook the milk and cheese together on the stove, creating more of a cheese sauce.

I’ve found that the cheese sauce didn’t help the potatoes cook. It left me with a drier potato, and not in a delicious way.

So I skip cooking the sauce.

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Caramelized Onions | halfbakedharvest.com

Slice the potatoes using a super sharp knife or a mandoline. Using a mandoline is ideal as you’ll get even slices and it’s much quicker too.

Layer the potatoes in a baking dish with the cream/milk/cheese mix and onions. I layer this up similar to a lasagna to ensure every potato gets evenly seasoned.

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Caramelized Onions | halfbakedharvest.com

Once assembled, you bake

The baking time for these potatoes is long. I cook mine a full two + hours to ensure that the potatoes are really cooked and turn tender. I then remove the foil, add a little more cheese, and bake until the cheese is bubbling and browning on top.

It might seem simple, but that browned, golden top really adds another layer of deliciousness to the potatoes that makes everyone want more.

Serve these up warm with a little added fresh thyme for color.

I’m excited to have this recipe to share with not only you guys, but family and friends as well. I actually served them earlier in the month to my oldest brother Creighton. He said they’re probably one of his favorite potato dishes.

When you win over the brothers, all is good!

The next question is, what will you be pairing these cheesy potatoes with? The obvious answer for Thanksgiving is turkey. But come December, over here it will be my roasted beef tenderloin.

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Caramelized Onions | halfbakedharvest.com

Looking for other easy Thanksgiving sides?? Here are my favorites: 

Make Ahead Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Crispy Parmesan Thyme Sweet Potato Stacks

Crispy Cheesy Potato Stacks

Sweet Potato Casserole with Sweet ‘n’ Savory Bacon Pecans

Lastly, if you make these Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Caramelized Onions, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Caramelized Onions

Author: Tieghan Gerard
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 478 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
    2. Melt together the butter and onions in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 10 minutes. At this point, you'll want to add the wine and continue to cook another 5 minutes until the onions are deeply caramelized.
    3. Add the garlic and thyme, then season with salt and pepper. Cook another 2 minutes, then remove from the heat.
    4. Butter a 9x13 inch casserole dish. In a large glass measuring cup, combine the cream, milk, a pinch of cayenne, salt, and pepper. Then add the Gruyere cheese. Pour 1/3 of the milk mix into the bottom of the baking dish. Layer in 1/3 of the potatoes, and 1/2 of the onions. Add another 1/3 milk mix, then 1/3 of the potatoes, and then the remaining onions. Add the remaining potatoes, then pour over the last of the remaining milk mix. Try to get the potatoes in an even layer.
    5. Cover and bake 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours. Remove the foil and top with cheddar cheese. Bake another 20 minutes, until the cheese is golden and melty. Serve the dish warm, topped with fresh thyme.

Notes

To make Ahead: prepare and bake through step 5, but stop cooking after 2 hours. Let chill, then cover, and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. Before baking, bring the dish to room temperature, add the cheddar cheese, and bake another 20-30 minutes.
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Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Caramelized Onions | halfbakedharvest.com

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Comments

  1. I made these potatoes and the milk curdled , I had the oven at 350. I usually cook my milk and make a cream sauce beforehand, I think I’m going to try this again but cook the sauce before hand.

    Reply

    2. I tried this and it’s such a delicious recipe, I love that it’s hands off for the time that you can prepare the rest of the meal
      In the text it says you mix both types of cheese in the cream and milk mixture but in the instructions it’s just the gruyère.. which one is the best method ?

      Reply

      1. Hi Keren,
        Wonderful! I really appreciate you giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! Both cheeses are great! xTieghan

        Reply

  2. 5 stars
    Excellent! Husband said that hardly belongs in the scalloped potato category because this is so much better! Thanks for another great recipe! I was totally lazy and mixed it all in a bowl and dumped it in the pan instead of layering and it still came out great!

    Reply

    1. Hey Jenna,
      Fantastic!! I am so glad that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try. Have the best week! xTieghan

      Reply

  3. I made this for the first time on Christmas Eve and it was a hit! Living in Wisconsin my entire family loves cheese so this made the cut! Definitely a keeper!

    Reply

  4. 5 stars
    Made this for the first time yesterday and they were so tasty! All of our guest also said how amazing these were. Thank you for a great recipe

    Reply

    1. Hey Hannah,
      Awesome! I love to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a go! Happy New Year!? xTieghan

      Reply

  5. 5 stars
    I made this recipe for Christmas dinner and everyone agreed it was the better than our tried and true scalloped potato recipe from years passed. Thank you!

    Reply

  6. 5 stars
    This dish was AMAZING. My mom and I made 2 of these, one for christmas eve dinner and saved the other for christmas day. Our family fought over the last helping both nights hahaha
    We used half & half instead of whole milk, mozzerella and cheddar for the cheese & sauv blanc for the wine. It was seriously so easy and delicious. I also really appreciate how much this makes, not too much, not too little. A new favorite!

    Reply

  7. 5 stars
    These potatoes were amazing! The cooking technique was perfect. I lept them warm while roasting a beef filet. This recipe is definitely a festive holiday dish or for a special dinner.

    Reply

    1. Hi Pam,
      Awesome!! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Happy Holidays!? xT

      Reply

  8. 5 stars
    Made this for Sunday dinner, paired with a meatloaf. Superb, my wife is looking forward to the leftovers tonite, she now wants me to make these pretty often.

    I did early prep through Step 5, as advised, finished ‘em off at dinner time. No prob. Like others, I doubled the onions (2 mediums), as we like ‘em and your technique for caramelizing is the fastest, easiest and best-tasting I’ve ever done.

    Also — very important — brought every ingredient up to room temp before cooking. I think a lot of home cooks are hesitant to do that and unaware of what can happen when you pull something out of a 33-degree fridge and suddenly shock it to high heat.

    Another slam-dunk, Tieghan, thanx much.

    Reply

  10. 2 stars
    These are NOT creamy scalloped potatoes. Made them for Xmas yesterday. There is no thickening agent, such as flour, and so it’s watery and the flavors do not meld at all. Caramelizing the onions adds nothing. Just bland and runny.

    Reply

  11. 1 star
    So sad these did not turn out for us for our Christmas dinner yesterday.

    Was a curdled unpleasant looking dish and unfortunately I had no back up for our potato side dish:(

    Not sure what went wrong, but with other scalloped potato dishes I have made I always make a beschamel sauce and found it strange that this didn’t call for that.

    Any idea what went wrong?

    Reply

    1. Hi Peg,
      So sorry to hear this. Was there anything you may have adjusted in the recipe? Please let me know how I can help! xTieghan

      Reply

  12. 5 stars
    Made this for Christmas Eve dinner to pair w prime rib. The entire family loved it! The carmelized onions made the dish for me. Can’t wait to make again. Impressive dish for company!

    Reply

  13. 5 stars
    This was a huge hit at my Christmas Eve dinner last night. Thank you! Loving your Christmas casserole dish in the pictures with the tiny trees. Please can you share where it’s from?

    Reply

    1. Hi Jodi,
      Thank you so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! It’s old from Anthropologie. Merry Christmas!?? xT

      Reply

  14. 1 star
    Yep mine curdled too even though I had read the comments and brought it all to room temp. Needed wayyyyyyy more salt, pepper and cheese.

    Reply