Personally, we think this scalloped potatoes recipe is the best recipe for breakfast. It’s easy, it reheats well, and it’s wholesome.
Let’s get to know more about this delicacy, shall we?
Scalloped Potatoes and Au Gratin Potatoes
If you’re familiar with the Pixar animation “Ratatouille”, you may have seen the delicate but straightforward dish that the “chef” makes at the end. It’s one of the “gratin” dishes, which refers to thinly sliced veggies neatly arranged in a baking dish and then baked in the oven, with toppings of choice.
Similarly, a “Potato au Gratin” is made by baking thinly sliced potatoes, skin-on. Then, they are dolloped with cream, sprinkled with cheese and put into the oven. Since the slices are thin, they only take about 15 minutes to cook and the presentation is more delicate.
Scalloped potatoes are a bit different. The slices are thicker, and they’re cooked in a rich sauce made of butter, garlic, diced onions, and chicken stock, thickened with flour. It is considerably more fragrant than its French alternative.
Pre-Boiling Scalloped Potatoes?
If you’re afraid that the slices won’t cook through because they’re too thick, fear not.
The sauce in the baking dish will help with the baking, and since we cover the dish with foil, it will cook even more thoroughly.
Pre-boiling your potatoes sounds logical at first, but overall, it doesn’t save you time, and it adds another item to your dishwasher.
To test whether your potatoes are cooked through, you can plunge a toothpick into the potato. You can tell if it’s ready when the toothpick goes through the potato with ease. If it doesn’t, put it back in the oven and leave it for another 10 minutes.
Prepping Scalloped Potatoes the Night Before
The morning routine can be overwhelming, and more often than not you have no time to cook. But don’t worry. There is a way to enjoy freshly baked scalloped potatoes in the morning without all the fuss.
First, we don’t recommend pre-slicing the potatoes the night before. Potatoes turn dark fast when exposed to the open air. Instead, you can bake the dish (without the cheese) and preserve it in the fridge until you need it.
If you refrigerate the whole baking dish, it’s not a good idea to place the dish immediately into the hot oven. A sudden change in temperature can crack the material leaving you with a mess in the morning, and an item to add to your grocery list.
Instead, transfer the potatoes into another room-temp baking dish. Sprinkle cheese on it, and leave it in the oven at the same temperature for 10-15 minutes. There you have it, a quick meal for a busy morning.
What Goes Well with Scalloped Potatoes
Scalloped potatoes recipes can come in handy as a wholesome meal for any time of the day. In this recipe, we’re viewing it as a main dish for breakfast, and we think all it needs is a smoothie to fuel your morning:
Scalloped Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 2.2 lb russet potato sliced
- 1/2 tbsp butter
- 4 oz onion finely chopped
- 2 tbsp garlic minced
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/4 tsp thyme dried
- 1 cup unsalted chicken broth
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 3 oz mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Melt butter over medium heat in a pot, then sautée onions and garlic for about 3 minutes or until translucent.
- Stir in flour, salt, pepper, chicken stock, milk, cream and cook for 3 minutes or until it starts to bubble.
- Arrange the potato slices in the casserole dish in even layers and pour the sauce over. Using a spatula, fill all visible gaps with onion bits to get a nice flat surface.
- Cover with tin foil and bake for 1 hour.
- Uncover and sprinkle shredded cheese on top. Broil for about 3-4 minutes, or until it is golden brown on the surface.
- Serve.
Nutrition
YUM! This looks so rich and creamy and beyond comforting — perfect for this cool weather. I love it!
I was stunned too! What a great creamy combination that lingers for days :P.