We're sharing a little secret today. If you want to make the easiest au gratin potatoes ever, our simple pressure cooker scalloped potatoes are the way to go! Enjoy this dish in half as much time as traditional methods by broiling at the end to finish.
Heavy whipping cream, sour cream, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, and of course, potatoes, combine to create the cheesiest and creamiest twist on a classic dish using an Instant Pot.
Scalloped Potatoes in an Instant Pot are the best!
For the quickest and best scalloped potatoes ever, let your Instant Pot do the heavy lifting! With just one minute of pressure cooking, you'll cut so much time off of the traditional baked recipe!
Just pressure cook the sliced potatoes and transfer them to the oven to finish broiling for the perfectly crispy cheesy top everyone loves.
Your whole family will obsess over our Instant Pot au gratin recipe using two kinds of cheeses, plus sour cream and whipping cream for the ultimate creamy and cheesey holiday side dish.
This family recipe is actually a variation of my aunt's "famous" blue cheese scalloped potatoes we'd eat every Christmas with prime rib. So so delicious! We used her recipe as the base for these delicious and easy scalloped potatoes that will appeal to more people (and kiddos!) plus be more versatile as a year-round holiday staple for Christmas or Easter too.
The potatoes are delicious served with our Crock Pot ham recipe and a side like our Brussel sprouts casserole or fall roasted veggies.
What you'll need
- Yukon Gold potatoes - peeled and cut into ¼" slices. Other white potatoes or red potatoes will work, but Yukon Gold will give you the best flavor. You can leave the skin on if preferred, but traditionally you do peel the potato skins.
- Chicken broth or another kind of broth like vegetable
- Heavy whipping cream - reduce the fat content by using half and half or milk
- Sour cream
- Cheddar cheese - shredded
- Parmesan cheese - shredded
- Garlic - minced or powered
- Basics - salt & pepper
Variations
Feel free to include meat such as ham or precooked bacon to make this a complete one-dish meal.
Equipment
A Pressure Cooker - This is the Instant Pot model that we used.
How to make pressure cooker au gratin potatoes
Step 1. Prep your ingredients. Grease a baking dish and set it aside for later. Slice your potatoes into ¼" pieces. Preheat your broiler and make sure the rack is 4" from the top.
Step 2. Pressure cook the potatoes. Place the sliced potatoes into the Instant Pot with 1 cup of chicken broth and cook Manual High for 1 minute (some units call this Pressure Cook). Do a Quick Release of the remaining pressure.
Step 3. Using a slotted spoon, remove the potatoes from the pot and put them into the prepared baking dish. Leave any remaining chicken broth in the Instant Pot (we had barely any left, most absorbed into the potatoes.)
Step 4. Make the scalloped potato sauce. Turn the Instant Pot to Saute. Add the sea salt, ground black pepper, minced garlic, 1 cup of the shredded sharp cheddar, ¼ cup of the parmesan cheese, the heavy whipping cream, and the sour cream to the pot. Save the remaining cheddar and parmesan to top the dish with.
Stir the cheese sauce in the pot until the cheese is melted and the mixture is warm.
Pour the cheese sauce over the top of the potatoes in the baking dish.
Add the remaining cheese to the top of the dish.
Broil the scalloped potatoes in the oven for 3-4+ minutes or until the cheese is starting to brown and the mixture is bubbling. Serve hot with a ham, pork roast, or beef roast and enjoy!
Jenni's tips
- To ensure even cooking of your potatoes, be sure to slice your potatoes as evenly as possible. A mandoline is super helpful, but not necessary.
- We use a 7 x 11 casserole dish for broiling as this creates a great balance between the cripsy top and the soft underside. Feel free to use a 9 x 13 dish if you prefer more of the top layer, but keep an eye as your broiling time may need to be reduced a minute or so.
- Add in ham chunks or top with bacon for an extra special scalloped poatoe dish.
- Leftovers will keep for up to 4-5 days.
More potato recipes
- Baked potatoes in the air fryer
- Roasted herb potatoes
- Fall roasted vegetables
- Air fryer sweet potatoes
- Instant pot steamed potatoes
- Instant Pot sliced potatoes
If you loved our recipe, please leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review and leave us a comment too! Connect with us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube!
Recipe
Instant Pot Scalloped Potatoes (au Gratin)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 lb Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and cut into ¼" slices
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 cups cup cheddar cheese shredded from a block
- ½ cup parmesan cheese shredded
- 2 teaspoon garlic cloves minced
Instructions
- Butter or grease a baking dish and set it aside for later.
- Place the sliced potatoes into the Instant Pot with 1 cup of chicken broth and cook Manual High for 1 minute (some units call this Pressure Cook). Do a Quick Release of the pressure once the potatoes are done.
- Turn on the oven broiler with the oven rack 4" from the heat source.
- With a slotted spoon remove the potatoes from the pot and put them into the baking dish. Leave any remaining chicken broth in the Instant Pot (we had barely any left, most absorbed into the potatoes.)
- Turn the Instant Pot to Saute. Add the sea salt, ground black pepper, minced garlic, 1 cup of the shredded sharp cheddar, ¼ cup of the parmesan cheese, the heavy whipping cream, and the sour cream to the pot.
- Stir the cheese sauce in the pot until the cheese is melted and the mixture is warm.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the top of the potatoes in the baking dish.
- Add the remaining cheese to the top of the dish.
- Broil the scalloped potatoes the oven for 3-4+ minutes or until the cheese is starting to brown and the mixture is bubbling. Serve hot and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Using a mandoline makes it quicker and easier to get perfectly cut ¼" potato slices. We cut ours by hand with one person peeling while the other sliced. A great task to get help from an older child!
- Feel free to substitute chicken broth for vegetable broth to make it a vegetarian dish.
- We used a 7x11 sized baking dish, any low ovenproof dish will work as long as it will hold the scalloped potatoes casserole.
- To make this a main dish casserole, feel free to add ham or pre-cooked bacon to taste.
Brenda says
Would the cooking time change if I were to cut the recipe in 1/2?
Claudia Wood says
Could you do everything ahead…cook potatoes, make cheese sauce and pour over…then put the cheese on top and bake it? Or do you think it would go soggy?
Holly DeVaul says
Can I use russet potatoes instead?
Wendy says
Had a craving and an instantpot and I found your recipe! Cut up the potatoes and cooked them 1 minutes (actually like 6 by the time they came to pressure) in my steamer basket and then melted the cream and cheese together and pured the mix on the potatoes. Broiled it in the oven, perfect, now I just have to lose the recipe so I'm not making them every week, scallop potatoes go with everything!!! Thank you.
Penny says
Trying this today to serve with Brisket.
Question: would it be possible to make this ahead, refrigerate, then warm under the broiler right before serving?
WholeLottaYum says
I would bake it instead of broiling if you're reheating it from cold. It won't heat all the way through on broil before the top turns brown.
Amy says
I test recipes all the time and wasn’t sure how this would go. Worked great!! The potatoes fell apart a bit when transferring dishes, but who cares? The only adjustment I made was to add a packet of ranch dressing mix (not my usual style but I had a craving soooo). I didn’t need to add extra liquid (sometimes you do w the ranch dressing mix). Delicious. I’m never making scalloped potatoes the old way again. InstantPot for the win!
WholeLottaYum says
The Instant Pot is definitely a win on this recipe! Making scalloped potatoes in an Instant Pot takes SO much time off of the cook time! Thank you for sharing!
Susan says
I didn't have whipping cream so I used buttermilk and I am so pleased with how it turned out. Cut about an hour of my regular recipe and didn't have to run the oven except for a few minutes on broil. So happy!
WholeLottaYum says
Thank you for sharing that buttermilk is a good swap! I'm so glad you enjoyed the pressure cooker scalloped potatoes!
Tammy says
I was taught yo use evaporated milk. Unique flavor. A childhood staple and FAVORITE!