These creamy and delicious Old Fashioned Scalloped Potatoes without cheese are made just the way my Mom and my Grandma used to make them. Made with layers of potatoes and onions, this Old fashioned Scalloped Potatoes recipe is a classic comfort food dish that has been enjoyed for generations.
These scalloped potatoes make a great side dish for a holiday meal and are especially popular at Easter dinner. However, they are great for special occasions or any time of the year. This recipe is a hearty and satisfying side dish that can be served with a variety of main courses and pairs perfectly with my Picnic Ham with Orange Glaze Recipe!
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🥘Ingredients
For this scalloped potatoes recipe, you’ll need the following simple ingredients:
- 8-10 medium potatoes *I use red potatoes
- ½ cup salted butter
- 6 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2.5 tsp salt
- 1.5 tsp black pepper
- 1 litre scalded milk (4 cups) * I use 2%
- 3 onions, sliced in rounds, then cut in half
🔪Instructions
Many recipes call for making a cream sauce in advance, but you don't need to go to all that trouble. Simply follow these directions and you will end up with a scrumptious, creamy sauce!
Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C) and spray a 9x13 casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Wash and peel potatoes.
*TIP: If you want to prep your potatoes a day or two in advance, to keep them from discoloring, just keep the peeled potatoes in a container of cold water in the fridge (but make sure they are completely submerged in the water).
Slice potatoes on medium slicing setting in food processor (I use a #5 on my Cuisinart food processor) or with mandolin. *You can do this by hand but it will take you much longer
Potatoes should as thick as you see in the photo (about ⅛ inch) *This was a #5 setting on my Cuisinart food processor
Scald milk over medium heat (see video) - this step is optional
Spread ⅓ of the potato slices in casserole dish and top with ⅓ of the onions
Dot on half the flour and ⅓ of the butter, then sprinkle on ⅓ of the salt and pepper
Repeat for next layer (adding ⅓ the potato, ⅓ the onion, ⅓ the butter, the remainder of the flour and ⅓ the salt and pepper)
Place remaining potatoes on top, then remainder of the butter, onions, sprinkle salt and pepper. Then pour milk over top of everything.
Bake, uncovered in 13X9 inch casserole dish for 60 minutes - 75- 80 minutes or until fork can easily go through potatoes and they are golden brown on top.
Allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.
Garnish with parsley or green onion or chives, if desired.
Hint: If your potatoes and onions are browning too much on top and they are not quite cooked, just lay a sheet of aluminum foil over top.
*If you want it to cook faster, seal the pan with aluminum foil before baking, then remove foil after 45 minutes. You may have to turn it up to broil (500 degrees F/260 degrees C) for 1-2 minutes at the end, in order to get the browning you desire.
🎥 Video
If you’re not sure how to scald milk, check out this How to scald milk video!
❔ Do you really need to scald milk?
Well, technically, you don't need to scald milk. This is an old recipe so it calls for scalded milk, as many older recipes do. The reason is that in many recipes, especially older ones passed on from generation to generation, scalding the milk was for health and safety reasons (in the days before milk was pasteurized.) But if you're buying your milk from a store, scalding milk isn’t really an issue.
And this is why my Grandma scalded the milk (she lived on a farm and used unpasteurized milk from her cattle) and my Mom didn't scald her milk for this recipe.
The reason you should scald milk is that it serves as a flavor carrier in many recipes, bringing flavor into the final dish. It also helps warm up the ingredients prior to cooking and thereby reducing cooking time. You can read more about whether you really need to scald milk HERE.
💭 Top tip
If your scalloped potatoes don't turn out the way you had hoped, check out this article on scalloped potato mistakes and how to fix them.
📖Variations & Substitutions
- Butter - you'll want to use salted butter for this recipe, but if you only have unsalted, you may need to increase the salt (by ½ tsp) that you put in the recipe or on the dish when you serve it
- Potatoes - * I use red potatoes, but you could use russet potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes. Red potatoes do take a little longer to cook, but they hold their shape, are less waxy, and have such great flavor!
- Milk - You need to use 2% or whole milk - do NOT use 1% or skim milk- it won't thicken up enough
- Lactose-free - use lactose-free butter and milk
- Garnish - you can garnish with fresh or dried parsley, paprika, or with fresh thyme instead of parsley. You could also sprinkle on a little Everything Bagel Seasoning.
🍽Equipment
You will need either a food processor or a mandolin for slicing potatoes for this classic dish. You could do it by hand, but it will take you a lot longer. You will also need a 9x13 casserole dish (affiliate links).
I used my Cuisinart food processor and set the slicing thickness to 5.
🥗 Main Dishes to serve with scalloped potatoes
If you're looking for a main course to serve with scalloped potatoes, I recommend the following:
- Picnic Ham with Orange Glaze Recipe (shown)
- Old Fashioned Gluten free & Dairy free Meatloaf (without eggs and milk)
- Smoky Mesquite BBQ Slow Cooker Beer Ribs
- Easy Cornish Hens with Rosemary Wine Sauce
- Apple Sage Pork Chops
If you're looking for the perfect dessert to serve with this meal, try my Old Fashioned Lemon Pie!
🌡️Storage
Keep leftover scalloped potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also make this recipe a couple of days in advance. This recipe can be frozen for up to 3 months.
👪 Serving Size
This Homemade Scalloped Potatoes recipe makes 10 servings, so a serving size is 1/10 of the whole dish. However, you can half, double or triple the recipe by clicking on the blue serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
🦺Food safety
- Cook scalloped potatoes to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F (74 degrees C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
- Never leave cooking food unattended
❔ Frequently Asked Questions
The main difference between au gratin and classic scalloped potatoes is that classic scalloped potatoes do not have cheese.
So if you're looking for the perfect side dish for your holiday table, then give these Old fashioned Scalloped Potatoes a try!
And if you're looking for additional potato recipes, give my Potatoes Romanoff or my Chipotle Mashed Potatoes a try!
📋 Old Fashioned Scalloped Potatoes without cheese recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8-10 medium potatoes
- ½ cup butter
- 6 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2.5 teaspoon salt
- 1.5 teaspoon pepper
- 1 litre scalded milk 4.2 cups
- 3 onions, sliced in rounds, then cut in half
Instructions
NOTE: The instruction images will NOT print by default. If you want them to print, you'll need to check the box beside "images" on the print page
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F ( 176 degrees C) Wash and peel potatoes.
- Slice potatoes on medium slicing setting in food processor (I use a #5 on my Cuisinart food processor) or with mandolin. *You can do this by hand but it will take you much longer.
- *You'll want them to be about ⅛ inch thick (#5 on my Cuisinart food processor)
- Scald milk (see video) - this step is optional
- Spread ⅓ potatoes in pan and top with ⅓ of the onions
- Dot on half the flour and ⅓ fo the butter, then sprinkle on ⅓ of the salt and pepper
- Repeat for next layer (adding the potato, onion, butter, flour and salt and pepper)
- Place remaining potatoes on top, then remainder of the butter, onions, sprinkle salt and pepper.Pour milk over top.
- Bake, uncovered in 13X9 inch casserole dish for 60 minutes - 75-80 or until fork can easily go through potatoes and it's browned on top.*If the top is browning too fast and the potatoes aren't cooked, lay a piece of aluminum foil over the top to prevent burning.*If you want it to cook faster, seal the pan with aluminum foil before baking, then remove after 45 minutes. You may have to turn it up to broil (500 degrees F/260 degrees C) for 1-2 minutes at the end, in order to get the browning you desire.
- Allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.
Garnish
- Garnish with parsley or green onion or chives, if desired.
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