Cream Cheese Scalloped Potatoes are an easy, cheesy potato recipe! Perfect for holidays or for weeknights – these scalloped potatoes make a great side dish!
For me, figuring out the side dishes is the most difficult part of planning our holiday meals. The side dishes need to taste great and have to compliment whatever the main dish is.
These cream cheese scalloped potatoes are a no-brainer, though. They go well with turkey or ham, and they are more substantial than mashed potatoes,.
So they are a good offering if you have family and friends who are vegetarian. Oh, and they’re ridiculously delicious – total cheesy potato perfection.
Ingredients and substitutions
Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe.
Milk: You can use any milk, from skim to whole milk, in this recipe. Whole milk will make for a richer dish.
Mustard: The dry mustard adds some extra flavor to the sauce. You can reduce or omit the mustard if you prefer.
Thyme: The thyme can be omitted if you prefer.
Cheddar cheese: I like to use sharp cheddar, but you could use white cheddar or another type of shredded cheese instead of the sharp cheddar.
Cream cheese: You can use regular or reduced-fat cream cheese. I don’t recommend using fat-free cream cheese.
How to make
In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter.
Stir in flour, and cook for 1 minute. Add milk, and whisk to combine.
Stir in mustard, salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook until milk thickens (it will be the consistency of a cream soup), stirring occasionally.
Reduce heat to low, and stir in cheese.
Place half of the sliced potatoes in prepared casserole dish.
Pour 2/3 cup of cheese sauce over potatoes.
Repeat layer with remaining potatoes. Dot cream cheese over potatoes.
Cover cream cheese and potatoes with remaining cheese sauce.
Cover and bake for about 60 minutes.
Storage
The potatoes will keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
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Cream Cheese Scalloped Potatoes
Equipment
- Saucepan
- 1 ½ quart baking dish
Ingredients
- 5 medium baking potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 ½ cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 4 ounces cream cheese cubed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 1 ½ quart casserole dish; set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter.
- Stir in flour, and cook for 1 minute.
- Add milk, and whisk to combine.
- Stir in mustard, salt, pepper, and thyme.
- Cook until milk thickens, stirring occasionally. It will be the consistency of a cream soup.
- Reduce heat to low, and stir in cheese.
- Place half of the sliced potatoes in prepared casserole dish.
- Pour 2/3 cup of cheese sauce over potatoes.
- Repeat layer with remaining potatoes.
- Dot cream cheese over potatoes.
- Cover cream cheese and potatoes with remaining cheese sauce.
- Cover and bake for about 60 minutes.
Video
Notes
- Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe.
- Milk: You can use any milk, from skim to whole milk, in this recipe. Whole milk will make for a richer dish.
- Mustard: The dry mustard adds some extra flavor to the sauce. You can reduce or omit the mustard if you prefer.Â
- Thyme: The thyme can be omitted if you prefer.Â
- Cheddar cheese: I like to use sharp cheddar, but you could use white cheddar or another type of shredded cheese instead of the sharp cheddar.Â
- Cream cheese: You can use regular or reduced-fat cream cheese. I don’t recommend using fat-free cream cheese.Â
- Nutrition values are estimates.Â
Nutrition
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Originally published 12/19/12. Updated with video, additional photos, and tips 4/1/21.
Reader Interactions
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Comments & Reviews
Cheryl says
Good Morning, I was wondering about how many “pounds” of potatoes did you or others who tried actually used??? I’m also thinking of using Boursin garlic & fine herbs cheese instead of the cream cheese, it’s the same consistency of cream cheese, but with lots more flavor… Thank You…
Kate says
Good morning! It ends up being about 2.5 pounds of potatoes. I use that Boursin sometimes when I make mashed potatoes, and it’s fantastic. =)
Cheryl says
Thank You for the quick reply… Now I know that I will need to double the recipe for my big family get-together… Merry Christmas!!!
Kate says
Oh good! I’m glad it helped. =) My family loves these potatoes, and I hope that yours will, too! Merry Christmas!!!
Ashlee says
These are some of the best potatoes I’ve ever eaten! They’re the perfect blend of creamy and cheesy.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you liked them. They’re a favorite at my house for just that reason. =) Thanks for commenting!
Sarah says
Fantastic! The potatoes are SO good!!! Thanks for the recipe!
Kate says
Thank you! Glad you liked them!
Mikaela says
I came across this recipe after I had some hashbrown type side dish at brunch one day. It definitely had cream cheese in it. I did like the hashbrown style of the potatoes though. Do you think that style potato would still translate into this recipe? Thanks!
Kate says
Maybe? I’ve never tried it with hash browns, so I’m not sure. I have another recipe you may want to check out instead – funeral potatoes. It uses hash browns. Hope that helps!
Mikaela says
Fantastic! Thanks for those, I may just try them all! :)
Kate says
Any time! If you have any other questions, please let me know! =)
Jane says
Could I add ham to this or would that mess with the flavor?
Kate says
I don’t see why not! I serve it alongside ham at Christmas and Easter, and the flavors go really well together.
Saunya says
Hi Kate, thank you for sharing that awesome recipe! I had a little cream cheese I wanted to use with potatoes today and this recipe peeked my interest. I work full time during the day and student in the evenings, so I am really into one dish meals. I chopped potatoes pretty thick, laid them on top of a sliced onion and dotted with cream cheese. Seasoned and browned chicken breast while the sauce was thickening. Poured half the cheese sauce over potatoes, added chicken on top followed by fresh green beans and poured the remainder of the cheese sauce over it all. I double heart this quick, easy, and tasty!! Oh… I read one comment about thyme which I am not overly found of either. I though dill goes well with potatoes and ground mustard, right? It was worth a shot… paid off! THANK YOU!!!
Kate says
I’m so glad that you liked it! And it’s awesome that you were able to change it to suit your needs and tastes! It sounds like you made some tasty additions. Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a comment! =D
Bethany says
Found this recipe by searching for recipes with cream cheese and potatoes. I had everything on hand except thyme and ground mustard. I subbed a fancy Italian blend in a grinder and Dijon mustard. I also added the cream cheese to the milk and cheddar cheese because I didn’t want to get cream cheese under my nails.
I covered in foil and baked for 60 minutes. When I pulled it out the potatoes weren’t soft at all. I had to bake another 20 minutes. Not sure what I did wrong.
It was totally worth 80 minutes in the oven. They are delicious, I think adding that cream cheese takes them out of the stratosphere! My husband raved, my best friend wants to bathe in them. She’s weird.
Anyway, just want to say thanks for the recipe.
Kate says
I’m so glad that you all liked it! Dijon is a great sub for the ground mustard. It may have just been the thickness of the potatoes. When I’ve sliced them a little thicker, they take a little longer to bake. Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a comment! =)
Kristen says
Just tried these tonight, and though I was so looking forward to them, not a single member of my family enjoyed them! There was just too much thyme in this recipe. Is 1/2 tsp of thyme correct? I’ll be trying this again without any thyme. I’m so disappointed; it smelled phenomenal! :( sorry!
Kate says
I’m sorry that you and your family didn’t enjoy the potatoes! Yes, the amount of thyme is correct. Maybe my family just enjoys thyme more than your family does! Omitting the thyme would certainly be an easy fix, and I hope that your family likes the potatoes next time!
Deborah Campbell says
What does #11 mean in the directions? Dot with cream? What cream? Do you mean the cream cheese or is heavy cream a part of the recipe?
Kate says
Yes, that should be “Dot with cream cheese.” Thanks!
Lisa says
I have these in the oven right now :) I can’t wait to try them!
Kate says
Awesome! I hope you enjoy the potatoes!! =)
Josh says
just made these there in the oven baking now it was a nice easy recipe anyone can follow and have done in in 20 mins
Kate says
Thanks! I’m glad that you found the recipe easy to follow. I hope that you enjoy(ed) the potatoes!! =)
Dixie Crabtree says
Love your recipes and I would like to know if I may share your site of wonderful recipes on my news feed and I have a shares list that would help you share more of your recipes to my family and friends
and I hope we could be friends and maybe I can subscribe to your site. Thank you so much for taking time to share my interest ! Your friend Dixie Crabtree!!!!!******************************************
kateheartseating says
Thanks so much, Dixie! Underneath all of my recipes, there is a bar of social media buttons. One is a Facebook share button, and that should let you easily share it on Facebook. Thanks for coming by! =)
Happy Valley Chow says
I absolutely love scalloped potatoes, but usually I’m to lazy and just make the box kind haha. Definitely will have to give this a try!
Happy Blogging!
kateheartseating says
No judgment here! That’s why I think side dishes are hard; I run out of energy by the time I’ve made the main dish and dessert (priorities!). Hope you enjoy the potatoes!! =)
Emily @ Sweet Bella Roos says
Yum! I loveeeee scalloped potatoes! Thanks for sharing at Pin It Thursday, I featured you here :
kateheartseating says
Thank you so much!! I really appreciate the feature =)
Food Done Light (@FoodDoneLight) says
These sound like great comfort food. I can just imagine how creamy the cream cheese makes these. Thanks for sharing on Thursdays Treasures.
kateheartseating says
Thanks for hosting! And thanks for stopping by!!
Miz Helen says
Thanks for sharing all your wonderful recipes with Full Plate Thursday in 2012. Wishing you and your family the very best in 2013.
Happy New Year!
Miz Helen
kateheartseating says
Thank you! Happy holidays to you, too!
Lori says
These sound delicious!
kateheartseating says
Thanks!! Hope you enjoy them!
Natosha Zachary says
I love scalloped potatoes! Thanks for the recipe.
kateheartseating says
Me too! Hope you enjoy them!
Amanda @ The Taste Tester says
Mmmmmmmmmmmm! I love cream cheese with potatoes. :) I am going to have to give these a try!
WordPress.com Support says
Me too!! I hope you enjoy them!
aparna24 says
That look so yummy! Will have to try that out!
kateheartseating says
Thanks!! I hope you enjoy them! =)