Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Ham is a delicious dish that pairs well with just about anything.
What’s great about this scalloped potatoes and ham recipe is that you can consider it a main dish and just add a vegetable side dish to complete the meal.
A lot of households choose to simply buy their scalloped potatoes from a box at the store, and while there is nothing wrong with that- it just doesn’t taste the same as homemade.
Using a box of dried potatoes and powdered cheese mix doesn’t give you that same cheesy scalloped potato results as homemade.
Making homemade scalloped potatoes isn’t nearly as difficult as you may think.
If you can slice a potato or stir a whisk, you can have a homemade dish with very little culinary skills needed.
The hardest part is waiting for it to finish baking. -That melting cheese smell will have your nose in heaven as it bakes!
Adding ham to your scalloped potatoes is optional, but ham and cheese are a star winning duo that pair well together.
Adding a side of steamed broccoli could also have your tastebuds excited to take that next bite!
What's in Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Ham?
- 3-4 Large Russet Potatoes
- ½ Tbs Crushed Garlic
- 1 Cup Whole Milk
- Cup Heavy Cream
- 1 ½ Cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese * Divided
- 2-3 slices of ham cubed or 1 cup cubed ham
- 1 teaspoon Lawry's Season Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
- 3 Tbs Butter
- 2 Tbs Corn Starch
How to make Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Ham?
- Wash and Peel your potatoes
- Slice Potatoes into ¼ inch thick rounds and place in a bowl
- Toss them with Garlic and set aside
- In a saucepan set to medium heat, melt butter
- In a separate bowl mix Cornstarch with ¼ cup milk and stir
- Add remaining whole milk and cream to melted butter and stir
- Whisk cornstarch slurry into mixture and continue to stir over medium heat until thickened.
- Add 1 cup of cheese and stir
- Your sauce will continue thicken
- Once the cheese has been completely added and your sauce is nice and thick, remove from heat.
- Mix sauce with slice potatoes and cubed ham and stir
- Place potatoes into a springform pan or a 2 tier pan
- add 1 cup of water to your Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot
- Place pan on trivet
- Set to Manual High Pressure for 25 minutes with a 5 minute natural release
- Sprinkle your remaining cheese over the top and place under the crisp lid at 350 degrees for 2 minutes. You can also choose to put it in your oven under broil for 1-2 minutes. Just watch it closely as the cheese melts quickly.
- Serve and enjoy!
What to make with Scalloped Potatoes and Ham?
These easy scalloped potatoes contain ham and in some homes that could make it a main meal, simply add a vegetable side dish and you’re good to go.
Other great additions to the table could include roasted chicken, pork ribs, baked beans, or a cold green salad.
Can I freeze Scalloped Potatoes and Ham?
Potatoes are a very tricky thing to freeze so it’s not recommended to freeze this dish before cooking.
When you freeze a raw potato the sugars inside it will cause the potatoes to turn purple/black and become rubbery. Very unappetizing.
If after baking this dish, you’d like to freeze it, you can. But the potatoes may be slightly dry when its done heating up.
You will have to keep an eye on it as it’s baking to avoid this potential issue.
Two other suggested ways to heat up the dish without it becoming dry is to have it covered in foil as it bakes or top with a few slices of butter.
Both can help the homemade scalloped potatoes to maintain some moisture.
How to cut Potatoes uniform
If you don’t happen to have a mandolin handy, cutting potatoes in uniform sizes could prove to be difficult. You have awkwardly shaped ovals rolling all over the place and a very sharp knife.
In some cases, you may even have children acting as a distraction during the food prep. Here are some tips for cutting uniform potatoes.
Slice a thin vertical chunk off of your potato so that it can lay flat on your cutting board.
Now start cutting horizontal slices of the potato. You’ll notice that the potatoes are sticky (thanks to the starches) and want to stick to your cutting knife.
You can use this to your advantage by leaving them on the side of your knife and having them act as a ruler for cutting the next slice, and so on until it’s done.
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We know this recipe is great, but what about other ideas?
- Spaghetti Squash for the Instant Pot
- Ranch Roasted Potatoes
- Instant Pot Wild Rice Pilaf
- Garlic Roasted Potatoes
- Hawaiian Mac Salad
- Grandma's Classic Potato Salad
Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
Ingredients
- 3-4 Large Russet Potatoes
- ½ Tb Crushed Garlic
- 1 Cup Whole Milk
- 1 Cup Heavy Cream
- 1 ½ Cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese *Divided
- 2-3 Slices of Ham or 1 Cup Cubed Ham
- 1 teaspoon Lawrys Seasoned Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
- 3 Tbs Butter
- 2 Tbs Corn Starch
Instructions
- Wash and Peel your potatoes
- Slice Potatoes into ¼ inch thick rounds and place in a bowl
- Toss them with Garlic and set aside
- In a saucepan set to medium heat, melt butter
- In a separate bowl mix Cornstarch with ¼ cup milk and stir
- Add remaining whole milk and cream to melted butter and stir
- Whisk cornstarch slurry into mixture and continue to stir over medium heat until thickened.
- Add 1 cup of cheese and stir
- Your sauce will continue thicken
- Once the cheese has been completely added and your sauce is nice and thick, remove from heat.
- Mix sauce with slice potatoes and cubed ham and stir
- Place potatoes into a springform pan or a 2 tier pan
- add 1 cup of water to your Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot
- Place pan on trivet
- Set to Manual High Pressure for 25 minutes with a 5 minute natural release
- Sprinkle your remaining cheese over the top and place under the crisp lid at 350 degrees for 2 minutes. You can also choose to put it in your oven under broil for 1-2 minutes. Just watch it closely as the cheese melts quickly.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition Disclaimer
All nutrition values are approximate and calculated by a plugin and are provided as a courtesy. Adding or subtracting ingredients will change the nutritional value.
Peggy
this is really good! but I ended up using both of my 2 tier pots because it was too much to fit in just one. maybe my potatoes were extra large lol. ended up cooking a little longer and skipping the browning, but they came out great!
TERRI OPGENORTH
The flavor of these potatoes was delicious! (I added the peas too) BUT, the potatoes were not all done! We put them back in the pot for another 10 minutes and the were fine then.
Thanks!
Devour Dinner
Hi Terri, thanks for the feedback. Thinner sliced potatoes makes a difference as does the size of pan used. Hopefully that will help you for next time
TERRI OPGENORTH
Great idea bout the peas! I'm making this tonight...so hungry for scalloped potatoes and ha,m. I will be adding onion to mine also--and peas!
Ryan
This looks so much easier and cleaner than other instant pot scalloped potatoes recipes I’ve tried. No more dumping the milk/cheese mix over the cooked potatoes and making a mess. This also would meld the flavors more. Before I make this and I can’t wait to, I’ll be using a two-tier stackable pan. Maybe a stupid question, but am I dividing the mixture between both pans/tiers or using one tier pan. Thank you so much.
Devour Dinner
Hi Ryan!
No question is stupid. I also use a 2 tier pan but I only fill 1 portion for this recipe for this recipe. Hope that helps!
Ryan
Thank you for your helpful reply. I did use the one tier pan and everything turned out perfectly. No more spilled messes and this is a much easier recipe. Next up, I’m going to double the recipe and use both tiers.
Devour Dinner
I love using my 2 tier pan. They work so nicely!
Rose Taylor
I add frozen peas to my potatoes & ham. Makes a yummy casserole.
Devour Dinner
Oh that would be fun and give some good color too!