How to make scalloped potatoes and ham in a creamy sauce, baked in the oven. Easy, old-fashioned, homemade, cheesy casserole recipe perfect for a crowd!
I absolutely love a hearty comfort food dish, and that's exactly what this cheesy scalloped potatoes and ham casserole is. It's comfort food at its finest.
Not to mention, this recipe can be designated a main dish for dinner, or a side dish to accompany your main dish, like a CrockPot pork roast. You can feed just your family with it, or rather feed a crowd at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
And if you have leftovers from a holiday meal, ham and scalloped potatoes is a great way to use up any leftover ham you may have. We always enjoy the leftovers when we cook a ham or roast a pineapple ham.
Now the cheese in these scalloped potatoes with cheese is optional, but I do recommend it. We're not layering the cheese; we're just sprinkling it on top of the meat and potatoes toward the end of baking.
The creamy sauce is full of flavor, thanks to ingredients like onion, thyme, and parsley. It provides enough coverage to the thinly sliced potatoes to really infuse a ton of flavor into each and every bite.
And you don't even have to peel the potatoes, making this a truly easy recipe to put together.
WHERE CAN I FIND THE ACTUAL RECIPE CARD?
If you’d rather skip all of my cooking tips, important cooking info for this recipe, and similar recipe ideas – and get straight to the scalloped potatoes recipe – just scroll down to the bottom, where you’ll find a printable recipe card.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SCALLOPED POTATOES AND AU GRATIN?
Scalloped potatoes usually don't have cheese, and that's why I'm including it as an optional ingredient.
However. potatoes au gratin do have cheese. In fact, cheese is a main ingredient, sprinkled between layers. Sometimes an actual cheese sauce is used, as well.
Potatoes au gratin also sometimes have breadcrumbs sprinkled on top. Even the potatoes can be sliced a bit more thinly in au gratin potatoes.
INGREDIENTS FOR SCALLOPED POTATOES:
- Salted butter
- Small yellow onion, diced
- Thyme
- Dried parsley
- All-purpose flour (or a good gluten-free flour)
- Heavy whipping cream
- Milk
- Chicken broth
- Salt and pepper
- Potatoes, washed and thinly sliced – I recommend using Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes.
- Cooked ham, diced
- Cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)
- Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (optional)
Remember, all of the ingredient amounts you’ll need are in the printable recipe card below.
KITCHEN TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT YOU'LL NEED:
Medium Saucepan and Whisk and Heat-Resistant Spatula
Cutting Board and Chef's Knife or Vegetable Chopper
Mandoline Slicer – so helpful for thinly slicing potatoes and for shredding cheese
HOW TO MAKE SCALLOPED POTATOES AND HAM FROM SCRATCH
Before you get started, you'll need to gather and prep all of your ingredients. Do things like dicing the onion and ham, as well as washing and slicing up the potatoes.
Pre-heat the oven to 350° F, and grease your casserole dish with cooking spray.
Make the roux and layer classic scalloped potatoes, in steps…
- In a medium saucepan, cook the butter and onions over medium heat 'til the onions are soft and translucent.
- Add in the thyme, parsley, and flour; cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Then turn the heat to low, and add in the cream and milk a little at a time, whisking between each addition.
- Stir in the chicken broth, and the salt and pepper (to taste), and bring to a boil, cooking for about 1 minute. Remove the white sauce from heat and set aside.
- Begin by layering 1/3 of the thinly sliced potatoes on the bottom of your prepared baking dish.
- Top that layer off with about 2/3 cup of the ham.
- Then add about 1 cup of the cream sauce.
- Repeat these same layers until the dish is full; you should have 3 layers altogether.
Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake at 350° F for about 50 minutes. Then uncover and bake an additional 20-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
If you want to add cheese to the top, add it during the last 15 minutes of baking. Then remove the potatoes from the oven, and allow them to cool at least 20 minutes before serving.
WHAT ELSE CAN I ADD TO SCALLOPED POTATOES?
I might have a few suggestions for you…
- Smoked paprika – This has quickly become one of my favorite seasonings; it's absolutely delicious in Philly cheesesteak sliders. A good sprinkling of smoked paprika would give these potatoes a real kick. It's so good!
- Basil would add a whole other dimension of flavor.
- Use bacon instead of ham.
- My family loves sliced sausage links with potatoes too. Yum!
- Add a layer of chopped spinach right before you add each layer of sauce.
- Add your favorite cheese. Maybe smoked cheddar instead of regular. Or smoked gruyere, smoked gouda, goat cheese, etc.
- Speaking of cheese, add a final layer of parmesan cheese.
CAN I MAKE THIS GLUTEN FREE?
Yes, you can. Be sure to check all ingredient labels to make sure they are definitely gluten-free.
But you can change out the all-purpose flour for a good gluten-free flour. I prefer to use Authentic Foods Classical Blend; it makes a delicious ham gravy.
And again, check labels. Make sure that your ham and chicken broth are gluten-free too; sometimes the glaze on certain hams contains gluten.
CAN I MAKE IT AHEAD OF TIME?
Yes, you can make cheesy scalloped potatoes and ham ahead of time.
- You'll need to go ahead and follow the steps thru the first 50 minutes of bake time.
- Then remove the potatoes from the oven, still covered with foil, and allow them to cool completely.
- Refrigerate them 'til serving time, no more than a day or two.
- Then take them out of the fridge, pre-heat the oven, and complete the baking time. They may need to bake slightly longer than 30 minutes, but bake 'til the potatoes are tender and everything is cooked thru.
CAN I FREEZE SCALLOPED POTATOES?
Yes, you can, but you need to semi-cook them before freezing; otherwise, the potatoes will discolor.
To freeze homemade scalloped potatoes, follow the same instructions above for making ahead of time, cooking them thru the first 50 minutes of bake time, cooling, and freezing in an airtight container.
Don't thaw before cooking, though; you'll likely need to add at least 20-30 minutes on to the cook time, since you'll be finishing the cooking process while everything is still frozen.
MORE POTATO RECIPES FOR SPUD LOVERS:
If your family really loves potatoes, this mashed potato bar will be a BIG hit. You can do the same thing with baked potatoes too, and make it a baked potato bar instead.
Need a good mashed potato recipe? Personally, I love the ever classic potato casserole with Corn Flakes, especially CrockPot hash brown casserole because I can use my slow cooker.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH SCALLOPED POTATOES AND HAM
Scalloped potatoes go well with pork roast and pork tenderloin. They also make a delicious side with meatloaf.
Speaking of pairing, make the potatoes your main dish, and pair them with a good wine, like…
- Chardonnay
- Chenin Blanc
- Rosé
- Moscato
- Pinot Noir
- Merlot
- Riesling
- Zinfandel
The California Wine Club has a great selection of wines you can have delivered right to your doorstep.
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How to Make Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
Equipment
- Mueller Austria Premium Quality V-Pro Multi Blade Adjustable Mandoline Cheese/Vegetable Slicer, Cutter, Shredder with Precise Maximum Adjustability
- Farberware Classic Stainless Steel 3-Quart Covered Straining Saucepan – Silver
- Baking Dishes, Krokori Rectangular Bakeware Set Ceramic Baking Pan Lasagna Pans for Cooking, Kitchen, Cake Dinner, Banquet and Daily Use, 13 x 9 Inches
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour*
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 cups milk*
- 1 cup chicken broth
- Salt to taste
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 3 pounds potatoes* washed and thinly sliced
- 2 cups cooked ham diced
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded, optional
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese shredded, optional
Instructions
- Before you get started, you'll need to gather and prep all of your ingredients. Dice the onion and ham, as well as wash and slice up the potatoes.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350° F, and grease your casserole dish with cooking spray.
- In a medium saucepan, cook the butter and onions over medium heat 'til the onions are soft and translucent.
- Add in the thyme, parsley, and flour; cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Then turn the heat to low, and add in the cream and milk a little at a time, whisking between each addition.
- Stir in the chicken broth, and the salt and pepper (to taste), and bring to a boil, cooking for about 1 minute. Remove the white sauce from heat and set aside.
- Begin by layering 1/3 of the thinly sliced potatoes on the bottom of your prepared baking dish.
- Top that layer off with about 2/3 cup of the ham.
- Then add about 1 cup of the cream sauce.
- Repeat these same layers until the dish is full; you should have 3 layers altogether.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake at 350° F for about 50 minutes. Then uncover and bake an additional 20-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. If you want to add cheese to the top, add it during the last 15 minutes of baking.
- Then remove the potatoes from the oven, and allow them to cool at least 20 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Smoked paprika – This has quickly become one of my favorite seasonings; it's absolutely delicious in Philly cheesesteak sliders. A good sprinkling of smoked paprika would give these potatoes a real kick. It's so good!
- Basil would add a whole other dimension of flavor.
- Use bacon instead of ham.
- My family loves sliced sausage links with potatoes too. Yum!
- Add a layer of chopped spinach right before you add each layer of sauce.
- Add your favorite cheese. Maybe smoked cheddar instead of regular. Or smoked gruyere, smoked gouda, goat cheese, etc.
- Speaking of cheese, add a final layer of parmesan cheese.
- You'll need to go ahead and follow the steps thru the first 50 minutes of bake time.
- Then remove the potatoes from the oven, still covered with foil, and allow them to cool completely.
- Refrigerate them 'til serving time, no more than a day or two.
- Then take them out of the fridge, pre-heat the oven, and complete the baking time. They may need to bake slightly longer than 30 minutes, but bake 'til the potatoes are tender and everything is cooked thru.
- Chardonnay
- Chenin Blanc
- Rosé
- Moscato
- Pinot Noir
- Merlot
- Riesling
- Zinfandel
