If you’re looking for a warm, comforting side dish or just a great snack, cheesy potatoes are for you. Creamy, tender potatoes cooked in cheese sauce until bubbly and golden. Perfect for holidays and big dinner parties, or whenever you need more cheese in your life.
If you love potatoes and cheese, this is the best potato casserole. It is perfect to serve with ham, chicken, pork or beef. Heck, I even eat it just without protein. It’s comforting, filling, and the best comfort side dish there is: hearty and filling, yet delicious enough to enjoy with company.
What are cheesy potatoes?
Cheesy potatoes are potatoes that are cooked until tender and then baked in a creamy cheese sauce. The potato casserole turns bubbly and hot and the top turns golden brown and delicious. The cheesy potatoes are like Normande potatoes but with diced potatoes and a thicker sauce. They are also so much easier to make!
There are plenty of cheesy potato recipes that use canned condensed soup as a base, but making your own cheese sauce is simple and much more satisfying.
What makes them so good?
Potatoes are the perfect comfort food and when you pair them with a creamy cheese sauce, they are simply indescribable. Think chewy, hot, steamed potatoes in a flavorful gooey cheese sauce that has flavors of garlic and onion and a hint of sour cream. SO GOOD.
How to make cheesy fries
- Cook the potatoes. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the potatoes until tender, then drain well.
- Make a roux. While the potatoes are cooking, make a roux by melting butter in a saucepan. When melted, add the flour and spices and stir until just combined.
- Add the milk. Slowly pour in the milk, stirring so that the sauce is smooth and creamy. When you have finished adding the milk, allow the sauce to simmer until thickened.
- Melt the cheese. Add cheese and some sour cream and stir until melted and creamy.
- Add the potatoes. Add the drained potatoes and mix everything together. Have a bite or five!
- Cook. Place the potatoes in a baking dish and top with cheese, cook until bubbly, then dig in.
What are the best potatoes for cheesy fries?
There are only two types of potatoes that are perfect for cheesy fries: Yukon Gold (my absolute favourite) and Russets.
Yukon Gold Medalists They’re great for cheesy potatoes because they’re a little starchy, nicely yellow, and have a rich buttery potato flavor. It’s a dense potato with a thin skin, and when you use them, you get a more luxurious casserole.
Russets (or Idaho) potatoes They’re those big, dusty potatoes that most people use for baked potatoes. They’re also great for cheesy potatoes – chewy, dry and starchy, when fully cooked. For us, these are a good second option. Russets are the softer of the two potatoes I recommend and if you like your potatoes lighter and fluffier they are a cheesy potato with a more delicate, crumbly texture.
- Yukon Gold Medalists: dense, buttery, rich, with more potato flavor, the sauce won’t be as thick but the potatoes will hold their shape.
- Redheads: The light, delicate, fluffy, soft potato flavor will thicken the sauce, but it will make it more crumbly.
If you want the best of both worlds, you can use a mix!
What kind of cheese for cheesy fries?
The classic is cheddar with its familiar orange glow, but you can also switch it up and use any type of melted cheese. Some cheeses that will work are: Swiss, Marbled, Tex-Mex, Parmesan, Gruyere, Mozzarella, Harvarti. Any melted cheese will work just fine.
you have to peel the potatoes
It is completely up to you. There are a lot of nutrients in the skin of the potatoes and it’s an extra step, but I like to peel them so all the potatoes have the same texture. If you’re a fan of potato skins, just give them a good rub and leave them in place.
what size pan
You’ll want to use a 2-quart (8-cup) baking dish or casserole dish. It can be 8 × 8 inches or 11 × 7 inches. As long as it’s an 8-cup capacity baking dish, you’re good to go.
What to serve with cheesy fries
Get ahead
Cheesy potatoes are the perfect make-ahead preparation. – you can make the entire dish and wait for it to cook OR you can go ahead and cook the dish ahead of time, then reheat it, covered with foil, in a 350°F oven until very hot, about 15 to 30 minutes.
How to store
Wrap the potatoes well and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
how to reheat
Simply reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until heated through, or heat covered with foil, in a 350°F oven until heated through, about 15-30 minutes.
I can’t wait for cheesy potato season, cheesy potatoes are life!
steph-xox
PS pro tip, I love to add things on top afterwards, sliced green onions, anything bagel spiced, Tajin, or even an extra dollop of sour cream and bacon bits!
potatoes with cheese
Cheesy potatoes are hearty, intimate, and delicious enough to serve with company.
Serve 8
- 2 kg potatoes
- 3 soup butter
- 3 soup all purpose flour
- 1 coffee spoon garlic powder
- 1 coffee spoon onion powder
- 1/2 coffee spoon dry mustard powder
- 2 taxes milk
- 2 taxes grated cheese split
- 1 taxes Cream
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Heat oven to 350°F. Peel and cut the potatoes into 1.5- to 2-inch pieces. Put in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender, 13 to 15 minutes. Drain well.
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Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, add the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, and dry mustard, until smooth and incorporated.
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Pour the milk into the saucepan in a thin stream while whisking, until smooth. Keep over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sauce bubbles and thickens, 3 to 5 minutes. Add half of the shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream and stir until melted and creamy.
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Add drained potatoes, stir until coated. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
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Spread the cheesy potatoes in a baking dish and top with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Remove, let cool slightly and enjoy!
nutritional intakes
potatoes with cheese
Amount per proportion
calories 336
Calories from fat 191
% Daily value*
Fat 21.2g33%
saturated fat 13.2g83%
Cholesterol 59 milligramstwenty%
Sodium 257 milligramseleven%
Potassium 578 milligrams17%
The carbohydrates 25.2g8%
2.9g fiber12%
Sugar 4.5g5%
Protein 12.3g25%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
