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With tender, thin-sliced potatoes tucked into a rich, creamy sauce, these Instant Pot Scalloped Potatoes are a show-stopping side dish. And while impressive enough for a holiday meal, the Instant Pot makes this dish easy enough to pull off any night of the week.
Inspired by my recipe for Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes, this recipe delivers tender scalloped potatoes with a luscious, cheesy sauce, baked right in the Instant Pot, leaving your oven free to prepare a glazed ham or New York Strip Roast.
Kristen's Keys for Instant Pot Scalloped Potatoes
Making tender, rich scalloped potatoes in the Instant Pot is not hard, but to ensure perfect results, I do have a few things you want to pay attention to.
- Slice the potatoes thin! This ensures they cook evenly. A mandoline or food processor makes the process quick and accurate.
- Opt for starchy potatoes, like russet or Yukon Gold potatoes. I personally prefer Yukon Gold potatoes, as they hold their shape and have a naturally buttery flavor.
- Skip low-fat milk. For a rich and creamy sauce, use half and half, whole milk, or heavy cream.
- Use a pressure-safe 7-inch cake pan. We are using the pot-in-pot method to cook these scalloped potatoes and therefore need a heat-safe pan that fits inside the inner pot. Avoid springform pans that may leak and glass dishes that may break.
How to Make Instant Pot Scalloped Potatoes
Whether you are just learning how to use an Instant Pot, or a seasoned user, this sections walks you through the steps so anyone can achieve success.
Step One: Prepare Potatoes
Scrub your potatoes and peel them if you prefer a smoother texture. Using a mandoline, food processor slicing blade, or a very sharp knife, slice them into uniform ⅛-inch rounds.
Step Two: Prepare The Cream Sauce
It is best to prepare the cream sauce on the stove, rather than using the sauté function on the Instant Pot, as it runs a bit hot and quickly curdle the delicate sauce.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk until it forms a smooth paste. Let it cook for one minute to cook off the raw flour flavor-this gives you a deeper, richer sauce.
- Slowly whisk in the broth and then the half-and-half (or whole milk or cream), keeping the heat gentle. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and fresh thyme. Simmer until the sauce thickens just enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Once thickened, remove the sauce from the heat, and if desired, whisk in 1 cup of shredded cheese until melted.
Step Three: Assemble
Layer half the potatoes in a greased 7-inch cake pan, top with with half the sauce, and gently press down to help sumberge the potatoes into the sauce. Repeat with the remaining potatoes and sauce, and top with a little extra cheese if desired.
👉🏻Cover the pan tightly with foil. This keeps condensation from dripping into your sauce, which can cause your creamy sauce to separate or become watered down.
Step Four: Pressure Cook
Pour 1½ cups of water into the Instant Pot, set in a trivet, and place the potatoes on top. Cook on high pressure for 40 minutes. After the cook time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for 5-10 minutes. Then you can do a quick release of any remaining pressure by using a long utensil to carefully knock the vent knob from the sealed to venting position. Remember to stand back to protect your face from steam released.
Step Five: Broiling (Optional)
If you like a golden, slightly crispy finish, you can remove the foil and broil for 5 minutes.
👉🏻Have an air fryer lid for your Instant Pot? Remove the foil and use the air fryer lid set to 400°F for about 5 minutes to brown the scalloped potatoes.
Recipe Modifications
- Gluten-Free: Use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend in place of all-purpose flour. It thickens beautifully and works exactly the same in this recipe.
- Omit Cheese: Technically, scalloped potatoes do not include the addition of cheese. With or without the cheese these potatoes are delicious.
- Keep it Vegetarian: Swap the chicken stock for vegetable broth.
- Add Ham: Add diced ham between the layers for a salty, savory bite. This is a great recipe for leftover ham.
More Favorite Instant Pot Holiday Recipes
Instant Pot scalloped potatoes are the perfect accompaniment to any holiday meal. Complete your holiday meal with one of my Instant Pot Thanksgiving recipes or browse the a few favorites below.
Instant Pot Scalloped Potatoes
Video
Ingredients
- 4 cups thinly sliced Yukon Gold Potatoes
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, + more for buttering dish
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup low-sodium broth, vegetable or chicken
- ¾ cup half and half, or whole milk
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar, divided and optional
Instructions
- Use about half of a tablespoon of butter to generously grease a 7-inch cake pan designed for pressure cooking.
- Scrub Yukon gold potatoes well. If desired, peel the skin off the potatoes. Using a food processor fitting with a slicing blade, a mandoline, or a sharp knife, thinly slice the potatoes into ⅛-inch thick slices. We are looking for 4 cups of sliced potatoes.
- Over medium-low heat in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter. Once the butter has melted, add in 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, whisking well, to form a thick paste. Allow the roux to cook on medium-low for 1 minute, to toast the flour.
- After 1 minute, slowly whisk in the ½ cup low-sodium broth and ¾ cup half and half, whisking constantly to incorporate. Season the sauce with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg, and 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves. Continue to simmer over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until the sauce has thickened slightly. This should only take 2-3 minutes. Once thickened, remove the sauce from the heat, and if desired, whisk in 1 cup of cheese, until melted.
- Layer half the potatoes into the buttered dish. Pour half of the cream sauce over the potatoes, gently pushing down to submerge the potatoes into the sauce. Repeat the layers. Sprinkle with an additional cup of shredded cheddar if desired. Cover the cake pan tightly with foil.
- Pour 1½ cups of cold tap water into the inner pot of the pressure cooker and place a trivet into the inner pot. Place the prepared scalloped potatoes onto the trivet, place the lid on the pressure cooker, and be sure the vent knob is pointed towards sealed or the lid is locked.
- Set to cook on high pressure by hitting manual or pressure cook and use the +/- buttons to adjust to 40 minutes.
- Once the cooking time has elapsed, allow the pressure to release for 5-10 minutes. Then you can do a quick release of any remaining pressure by using a long utensil to carefully knock the vent knob from the sealed to venting position. Remember to stand back to protect your face from steam released.
- If desired, remove the foil from the scalloped potatoes and broil under high for 5 minutes to brown the top, or use the air fryer lid set to 400℉ for 5 minutes.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These potatoes were SO EASY to make! My family thought that I slaved over this dish for hours because it was so good. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us! Its a keeper!
I absolutely love hearing you all enjoyed it so much and this recipe made you look like a rockstar in the kitchen. It can be our little secret how easy it was to make.
Loved the way these turned out! So easy and delicious.
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing!
These potatoes were so good! The perfect creamy, cheesy blend of goodness. I will be making this one again!
Love hearing this, Andie!
Could I cut this recipe in half? I only have the 3 qt. pot.
Would I adjust the time?
Hi Mary Louise! You can cut this recipe in half, but can you let me know the size of your pan? That would help give me an idea of how long to cook it 🙂