American · Sides

Creamy scalloped potatoes

Name: Creamy scalloped potatoes
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 10 side servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided; 1 garlic clove, halved; 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick; 2 cups whole milk; 1 cup heavy cream; 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves; 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 4 ounces Gruyère, freshly grated

Tender thin-sliced potatoes baked in garlic-thyme cream beneath a restrained golden Gruyère top.

About 2 hrTotal

About 1 hr 45 minActive

$$Cost

AdvancedDifficulty

Makes 10 side servings

Equipment

Use a similarly sized oven-safe dish; a larger footprint makes a shallower, faster bake.
Best everyday dish
OXO Good Grips 2-Quart Glass Baking Dish with Lid
View at Amazon
Another workable path: Use a similarly sized oven-safe dish; a larger footprint makes a shallower, faster bake.
Paid links. As an Amazon Associate, Kwilt earns from qualifying purchases.
How we chose
Research-backed · reviewed Aug 2026
We compared stated capacity, thermal-use limits, handle safety, cleanup, storage usefulness, stable model identity, and the recipe’s requested footprint. Kwilt has not cooked with this dish.
OXO Good Grips 2-Quart Glass Baking Dish with Lid: Its two-quart capacity closely fits recipes calling for a small casserole dish, while the transparent sides make browning and bubbling easy to monitor. Trade-off: Glass is heavier than metal and this dish is not intended for broiler use, so follow each recipe’s heat method carefully.
Another workable path: Use another oven-safe dish close to the requested capacity; a larger footprint will make the filling shallower and can shorten baking time.
Sources
OXO model 11176200 specifications
Amazon exact product listing

Ingredients

1× recipe · Makes 10 side servings

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 garlic clove, halved
3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 ounces Gruyère, freshly grated

Instructions

Heat oven to 375°F. Rub a with the cut garlic, then grease it with 1 tablespoon butter. Slice potatoes evenly with a mandoline fitted with its hand guard or with a sharp knife; never hold the potato below the guard's safe limit.
Combine potatoes, milk, cream, thyme, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and remaining butter in a wide pot. Bring just to a simmer over medium, stirring gently, then cook 5 minutes until the liquid lightly thickens and potato slices begin to bend.
Transfer half the potatoes and cream to the dish, arranging an even layer. Sprinkle with one-third of the Gruyère. Add remaining potatoes and cream, press slices below the liquid, and top with remaining cheese.
Cover tightly with foil and bake 40 minutes. Uncover and bake 25 to 35 minutes more until a knife meets no resistance in the center, the cream bubbles thickly, and the top is golden; broil briefly only if needed, watching continuously.
Rest 15 minutes before serving so the starch-thickened cream settles around the slices. This is the batch's special-occasion project recipe; the long bake and rest are part of the result, not hidden prep.

North AmericaContemporary North American household cooking

From the table

About this recipe

American scalloped potatoes descend from older layered potato-and-milk bakes; this richer version borrows Gruyère while retaining distinct slices in starch-thickened cream.

In American usage, scalloped potatoes usually means thin potato slices baked in milk or cream; cheese moves the dish toward potatoes au gratin, though modern names overlap. This version keeps cheese restrained and familiar. Briefly simmering the slices in the dairy releases starch and starts them evenly, preventing the common holiday disappointment of browned cream surrounding crunchy potatoes. This Kwilt version follows the reviewed household adaptation: Use the winning par-cook-in-cream method and garlic-rubbed dish, limit the cheese to a supportive Gruyère layer, and label the full two-hour commitment honestly as this batch's one project recipe.

Sources

Dinner does not stop at the recipe