Layers of thinly sliced Yukon gold potatoes covered in a creamy herbed sauce and baked until soft and golden brown. These scalloped potatoes are the perfect comforting side dish to any meal this Fall or Winter season. 

Layers of thinly sliced Yukon gold potatoes covered in a creamy herbed sauce and baked until soft and golden brown. These scalloped potatoes are the perfect comforting side dish to any meal this Fall or Winter season. 

Here we are — just two weeks away from Thanksgiving! It’s by far my favorite culinary holiday. My family always cooks the best dishes for Thanksgiving, and I love returning to the table every year to feast on trusty favorites (like cucumber salad and green bean casserole) and trying new recipes. 

We are also just two days away from our due date! I will give a disclaimer and say that I wrote this post about a month ago. I wanted to be prepared to take a “blog maternity leave”, so I cooked about 12 recipes in two days with my fabulous Mom as my assistant back in September. I’ve scheduled them all throughout the next couple of months. SO that means if baby came early, she COULD be here by now. You’ll have to check my Instagram to find out. :) 

Layers of thinly sliced Yukon gold potatoes covered in a creamy herbed sauce and baked until soft and golden brown. These scalloped potatoes are the perfect comforting side dish to any meal this Fall or Winter season. 

Today’s recipe takes thinly sliced Yukon gold potatoes — and I’m talking thinly sliced. You’ve got to get them down to 1/8th inch slices in order for them to cook through and to get that authentic scalloped potato feel. I use my mandolin slicer on the 1/8 inch setting, and it works wonderfully. Yukon gold potatoes are my favorite, for their creamy texture and golden color. They just have so much more flavor than your russet potato. 

Layers of thinly sliced Yukon gold potatoes covered in a creamy herbed sauce and baked until soft and golden brown. These scalloped potatoes are the perfect comforting side dish to any meal this Fall or Winter season. 

The sauce is a whole milk roux thickened with butter and flour with a bunch of herbs and spices thrown in — garlic, onion, salt, pepper, oregano, parsley, thyme. I even added a little bit of Parmesan for a subtle savory flavor. 

However, that technically makes these potatoes au gratin, which means “potatoes with cheese” instead of traditional scalloped potatoes. But since the cheese amount was so little I decided to keep calling them scalloped potatoes (the sauce is like 90% milk based with a hint of cheese). 

Layers of thinly sliced Yukon gold potatoes covered in a creamy herbed sauce and baked until soft and golden brown. These scalloped potatoes are the perfect comforting side dish to any meal this Fall or Winter season. 

These scalloped potatoes would be perfect to serve alongside Thanksgiving dinner if you feel like switching it up from your traditional mashed potatoes. 

Here’s the recipe for Perfect Creamy Herbed Scalloped Potatoes: 

Perfect Creamy Herbed Scalloped Potatoes

Layers of thinly sliced Yukon gold potatoes covered in a creamy herbed sauce and baked until soft and golden brown. These scalloped potatoes are the perfect comforting side dish to any meal this Fall or Winter season. 

Author Emily Weeks, RDN, LD

Ingredients

  • 3.5 lb yukon gold potatoes sliced thin (1/8 inch) - no need to peel
  • 9 Tbsp flour
  • 6 Tbsp butter
  • 1 qt whole milk
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/8 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/8 tsp dried parsley
  • 1/8 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/3 cup shaved parmesan

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Add the sliced potatoes to a large stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, until the potatoes become slightly flexible (don't let them get too soft!). Drain and set aside.

  3. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for 2 minutes. Pour in the whole milk and whisk until the sauce thickens, about 3-4 minutes. Add the minced garlic, black pepper, salt, onion powder, thyme, parsley and oregano. Remove from heat and stir in the parmesan.
  4. Layer the potatoes in a single layer in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Add 1/4 of the sauce on top and spread evenly. Repeat for 3 more layers, until the potatoes and sauce is used up.
  5. Cook covered at 425F until the sauce boils (about 20 minutes) and then reduce the heat and cook at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

Layers of thinly sliced Yukon gold potatoes covered in a creamy herbed sauce and baked until soft and golden brown. These scalloped potatoes are the perfect comforting side dish to any meal this Fall or Winter season.