Best Box Scalloped Potatoes for Your Cheesy Cravings

If you’re looking for a tasty, filling, and (most importantly) easy side dish to round out a meal, it’s hard to beat boxed scalloped potatoes. Because, while they start out as a box of dried potato slices and powdery cheese sauce, if you simply add some boiling water, butter, and milk, you’ll get a deliciously cheesy dish that looks like you spent hours baking it. And, even better, it only takes 25 minutes and just one dish, making it only slightly more difficult than instant oatmeal. Or, if you’re going the refrigerated or frozen route, it’s just as easy as popping it in the microwave. 

Now, if you peeked at the list, you may be asking, “What’s with all this ‘au gratin’ stuff?” Well, scalloped potatoes is just the American name for the French dish “potatoes au gratin,” although we Americans tend to leave out the original recipe’s breadcrumbs. You’ll find similar dishes under both names on store shelves, so we’re judging them all together. 

What we looked for in the best scalloped potatoes: 

• Overall flavor: Potatoes au gratin should be savory, creamy, and indulgent. And it should taste real—even if it’s coming from a box. No artificial cheese flavor, please. 
• Sauce: It should certainly be creamy and we’re also looking for some tangy cheese notes. 
• Potato texture: We want soft and tender, not crunchy and hard.

Using those criteria, here are our picks for the best box scalloped potatoes (and the best boxed au gratin potatoes)—shelf stable, refrigerated, and frozen. Yes, that includes the best gluten free boxed scalloped potatoes. 

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Best Gluten Free Scalloped Potatoes

Idahoan Scalloped Homestyle Casserole

Walmart

You’d think a dish that’s basically just potatoes and cheese sauce would be naturally gluten free, but almost all of the mixes we tested had wheat in them. But the Idahoan scalloped potatoes box sports a gluten free label and I can happily report it doesn’t affect the flavor one bit. What makes these gluten free boxed scalloped potatoes more “casserole” than any of the other boxed scalloped potatoes? I’d say it’s the creamy sauce, which gave me hints of buttermilk and sour cream. And there’s still plenty of cheesy goodness, with a mix of cheddar and blue cheese. It’s not as “cheese heavy” as some of the others, but it’s still got plenty of dairy goodness.

Credit: Merc / Walmart

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Best Buttery Scalloped Potatoes

Great Value Au Gratin Potatoes

Walmart

The source of the buttery taste of the cheese sauce in this box of scalloped potatoes is pretty obvious: the recipe calls for twice as much butter (2 tablespoons) than any of the other sauces. But that extra butter pat gives an extra richness to the sauce’s heavy cheddar flavor, making it taste less like a powdered mix and more like real, melted cheese. It can be a little weird to describe anything you find on Walmart shelves as “decadent,” but the store’s brand of boxed au gratin potatoes comes pretty close.

Credit: Merc / Walmart

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

Kroger Au Gratin Potatoes

Ralphs

It’s a small thing, but the instructions on this scalloped potatoes box suggest whipping the mix before adding in the potatoes, and I think that’s why it ended up being a little creamier than the other mixes. It’s got a really tasty sauce, which is also heavy on the cheddar, but with a bit of onion and garlic to give it all a bit of extra bite. Would definitely recommend as some of the best box scalloped potatoes, especially if you regularly shop at a Kroger-owned store. 

Credit: Merc / Kroger

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Refrigerated Scalloped Potatoes

Reser’s Main St. Bistro Baked Scalloped Potatoes

Costco

This heat-and-eat refrigerated box of scalloped potatoes can be cooked in a microwave or an oven. Since I’m impatient, I used the microwave, and in only four minutes I was rewarded with a really tasty dish with a cheesy sauce mixed with cheddar, parmesan, romano, sour cream and a bit of onion to round out the flavor. They even pre-browned the top so you still get that extra-cooked topping that’s often the best part of your potatoes. So, if you can’t wait twenty minutes for your potatoes, this is probably your best option. Plus, you can find these premade scalloped potatoes at Costco, so you can buy in bulk.

Credit: Liv Averett / Costco

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

Chef’s Cupboard Scalloped Potatoes

Instacart

This brand of scalloped potatoes in a box probably has the most interesting mix of flavors of any of the scalloped potatoes I tried. Like some of the others, it includes a mix of cheddar and blue cheese, but with some added onion, paprika, and celery. The closest I can come to describing it is: a combination of Ruffles Cheddar Chips and Ruffles Sour Cream and Onion chips. That is to say, it is really, really good.

Credit: Merc / Instacart

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Frozen Scalloped Potatoes

HomeBake 425/:30 Loaded Scalloped Potatoes

Instacart

While you might assume you could just toss some frozen scalloped potatoes into a microwave, this is designed to be cooked in an oven for 30 minutes. But that extra time is worth it, as it really softens the potato slices. As for the “loaded” toppings, it’s a mix of mozzarella and cheddar that provides a great cheesy flavor and the bacon, sour cream, and green onions give you all the flavor of a classic baked potato. While it’s described as a “side,” this was the dish that most felt like a meal to me, but that might be because I ate the whole thing by myself.

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Betty Crocker Scalloped Potatoes

Walmart

This scalloped potatoes box produces some classic scalloped potatoes—just like my grandma used to make… when she bought this same Betty Crocker boxed scalloped potatoes decades ago. It’s got a nice, thick sauce with a mellow, aged cheese flavor, again with cheddar and blue cheese. There’s also some good traditional savory seasonings in it, like onion and celery, and even some chicken broth to round it out. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to devour some more, while I miss my grandma.

Credit: Merc / Walmart

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Other boxed scalloped potatoes we tried:

Amazon Grocery Scalloped Potatoes, Amazon Grocery Au Gratin Potatoes, Betty Crocker Au Gratin Potatoes, Betty Crocker Cheesy Scalloped Casserole Potato Bake, Chef’s Cupboard Au Gratin Potatoes, Idahoan Au Gratin Sliced Potato Bake, Idahoan Cheesy Scalloped Sliced Potato Bake, Marie Callender’s Scalloped Potatoes in a Creamy Cheese Sauce With Ham, Signature Select Scalloped Potatoes