Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Ham — 🧀🥔🧡 Take scalloped potatoes to the next level with this recipe for creamy, CHEESY scalloped potatoes with diced ham! The silky smooth cheese sauce makes this a guaranteed family FAVORITE side dish for family dinners or holiday celebration meals like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter or any time in between when you’re craving comfort food! Also a great recipe to use leftover ham.
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Old-Fashioned Ham Scalloped Potatoes
No holiday dinner is complete without at least one potato side dish! Or if you’re my family, we may have a few.
This is a no-frills, old-fashioned recipe for ham scalloped potatoes. I used my favorite Three Cheese Scalloped Potatoes as a jumping off point when creating this recipe, and this ham version is even easier to prepare!
Thinly sliced potatoes are layered with salty chunks of ham, and it’s all coated in a creamy cheddar cheese sauce. Extra cheddar cheese is sprinkled on top before being baked to golden brown perfection for pure comfort food in every bite.
Pair the ham scalloped potatoes casserole with your favorite holiday dishes like Classic Roast Turkey, Easy Citrus Roasted Turkey, The Best Stuffing, and Apple Cranberry Sauce.
Ingredients for Ham Scalloped Potatoes
You’ll need the following basic ingredients to make the easy scalloped potatoes recipe with ham:
- Butter – I prefer unsalted for this recipe
- Onion – use yellow or Sweet Vidalia
- Garlic
- All-purpose flour
- Milk – 2% or whole milk are my recommendations, don’t use skim! I’ve never tried this with a plant-based milk although I can envision cashew milk would be a good sub
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
- Shredded cheddar cheese – see the FAQs for more cheese chat and tips
- Russet potatoes
- Ham
- Fresh parsley – optional, for garnishing
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Scalloped Potatoes with Ham
The recipe steps for this ham and scalloped potato casserole are straightforward. Here’s an overview of the recipe steps:
- Cook the onion and garlic in butter until soft. Add the flour, taking care to cook it for a full minute.
- Slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly. Season with salt and pepper, then cook until the mixture has thickened. You’ve now made what’s called a roux which helps the sauce thicken later.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese into the cream sauce.
- Scatter HALF of the thinly sliced potatoes in the bottom of a greased 9×13-inch baking dish. Layer with HALF of the ham and then HALF of the cheese sauce. Repeat the process using the remaining ingredients.
- Top with additional shredded cheddar cheese and bake, covered with aluminum foil, for 50 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Total time in the oven will vary and you want to bake until they’re tender, however long that takes! Garnish as desired and serve.
Recipe FAQs
This is a great recipe to bookmark for using up that leftover ham sitting in your fridge like my Honey Baked Ham, but it can also be made using a large-ish piece of unsliced ham from the deli section of your local grocery store. You want to use cooked ham from a whole ham, not thinly sliced deli ham in packages (like you would use to make ham sandwiches). Then, just dice the larger piece of ham it when you get it home. You want 2 cups of cubed or small-diced ham, and if you have a bit more to use, add it.
Russet potatoes are my top suggestion, but Yukon Gold potatoes will also work. I don’t peel them, but you can if you prefer.
Cut the potatoes so they’re roughly ⅛-inch thick. They don’t have to be perfect, but try to slice the potatoes to an equal thinness so they cook at the same rate in the oven. The important thing to note here is that they’re thin enough so you don’t have hard or crunchy potatoes. (see below)
Crunchy potatoes means you sliced them too thickly and/or you didn’t bake them long enough. Slice the potatoes so they’re roughly ⅛-inch thick (a mandoline makes quick work of this!) and cover the pan for the first 50 minutes of baking to trap the steam and help cook the potatoes evenly and then for about 20 minutes uncovered – or as long as necessary so they are soft, tender, and fully cooked.
The fastest and easiest way to thinly slice the potatoes is by using a mandoline. If you don’t own a mandoline and don’t want to purchase one, a sharp chef’s knife and some patience will work just as well.
If any extra moisture collected on the bottom of your casserole dish, it’s possible that you used too small of a pan. You need to use a 9×13-inch baking dish for this recipe so there’s enough exposed surface area for the excess moisture from the potatoes and ham to evaporate.
I like sharp cheddar cheese but use your favorite type of cheddar from mild to extra sharp. If you can, I recommend buying a block and shredding it yourself using a box grater because sometimes bagged pre-shredded cheeses are resistant to melting. You and also use half the quantity of gruyere cheese (1 1/2 cups gruyere + 1 1/2 cups cheddar) if you want to make this super elegant tasting. Also sprinkling 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese on top before baking will add another layer of flavor and more cheesiness!
You can prep this recipe in advance up to 12-24 hours ahead of time. When you get it assembled and you’re at the point of baking it, stop, cover tightly with foil, and refrigerate. When you’re ready to bake, make sure to set the baking dish on your counter for 30-45 minutes beforehand so you’re not putting an ice cold dish into the oven. It will just drag out the baking process unnecessarily.
This is tricky because people consistently mis-name or confuse one for the other! Scalloped potatoes consist of thinly sliced potatoes layered in a casserole dish, with a cream sauce that’s sometimes infused with herbs and garlic, and baked. Potatoes au gratin use grated cheese sprinkled between the layers and are often topped with breadcrumbs. It’s a bit like splitting hairs and I wouldn’t get too caught up in the name – especially when it’s a warm, comforting, and decadent potato recipe!
Yes, yes, and yes. All good! Use 2 cups (or a little more) of the protein of your choice, or simply omit it if that’s the goal (for vegetarian scalloped potatoes).
What to Serve with Ham Scalloped Potatoes
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Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Ham
Equipment
- 1 mandoline optional for slicing potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup white or yellow onions, diced small
- 2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups milk, 2% or whole recommended
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 3 pounds russet potatoes, thinly sliced to 1/8th-inch (make sure they're not too thick or they will take longer to cook. I don’t peel them but you can)
- 2 cups cooked ham, cubed or diced small (see the FAQs about what kind of ham to use)
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely minced; optional for garnishing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F, and spray a 9×13-inch baking dish or casserole dish with cooking spray; set aside.
- To a large skillet, add the butter and heat over medium-high heat to melt it, about 1 minute; stir with a wooden spoon to help it melt faster.
- Add the onions and saute for 4-5 minutes, or until soft and translucent; stir frequently.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute; stir nearly constantly.
- Sprinkle the flour over the top, stir and toss with a wooden spoon, and cook for 1 minute; stir nearly constantly. Tips – You are essentially creating a roux here by combining melted butter with flour, which later the roux helps the sauce to thicken. Don't shortcut this step because your roux won't be properly created, and because you want to be sure to cook the flour sufficiently so you don't have any traces of a raw flour taste in the cheesy cream sauce later.
- Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly as you add it.
- Add the salt, pepper, and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 3-5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens some.
- Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of shredded cheese until smooth and silky.
- Place half of the potatoes in the bottom of your pan. Top with half of the ham. Pour half of the sauce over the top, then sprinkle 1 cup of cheese on top. Repeat the process with the potatoes, ham, sauce, and cheese. Tip – If you're prepping/making this 12-24 hours in advance, stop here, cover tightly with foil, and refrigerate. The next day, bake off as directed below, making sure to take the baking dish out of the fridge at least 30-45 minutes before you pop it in the oven. An overly cold baking dish will unnecessarily lengthen the baking time.
- Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes, covered. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes, uncovered, or until done. Tip – Make sure that the potatoes are buttery soft, fork tender, and very done. If in doubt, bake longer. Baking times could range quite a bit in this recipe depending on your oven, baking dish, how thick or thin your potatoes are, if you have other things in the oven, etc. Add another 5 to 15 minutes to the uncovered baking time, or as needed to make sure they're done. If the cheese is starting to brown too much, cover it again with the foil to shield it.
- Optionally garnish with freshly parsley and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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