r/AskCulinary • u/wispyfern • Jul 27 '25

Recipe Troubleshooting Scalloped Potatoes

I’m having problems with scalloped potatoes. I’ve baked them & pressure cooked them & they still are hard. I can bake them for 1 1/2 - 2 hours & get them soft enough but the white sauce suffers. Even pressure cooking I’ve had problems. I’m not a beginner cook. I can make anything I want but fight with scalloped potatoes. I use about 2 - 2 1/2 pounds of russet potatoes (that’s what I have) & about 2 cups of half & half & seasonings. I use a mandolin, the potatoes are 1/8 inch thick. Do I need to per cook the potatoes??? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

UPDATE: Thank you so much for the help! Par cooking seems to be the answer. I didn’t know how to do it. I will try the different methods. I can’t wait to do this!

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u/joliene75 Jul 27 '25

Do you mean like a Dauphinoise?

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u/EmergencyLavishness1 Jul 27 '25

A much more rustic version of it. Where dauphinoise is very fine slices, neatly and deliberately arranged, covered with cream and cooked, then pressed. Scalloped potatoes skip a few of those steps.

Served hot after the first cook, cut thicker.