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Danish creamy scalloped potatoes with onion and thyme.

Flødekartofler (Danish Scalloped Potatoes)

5 from 6 votes
These creamy potatoes are an amazing side dish to any type of meat or main protein, or can be served on their own with a salad and some bread. They are so simple, yet so delicious!
Servings 8 servings
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1.4 kg potatoes (corresponds to about 10 medium sized potatoes; we like to use gold potatoes, but you can use whatever potato you prefer!)
  • 1 medium to small onion
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • Salt to taste
  • Pepper to taste
  • A pinch of nutmeg
  • 475 ml heavy cream
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
  • Grated parmesan (optional)

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 375 F (190 C).
  • Wash and peel your potatoes.
    Peeled potatoes.
  • Slice the potatoes into about 1/8 inch pieces. We slice off an edge so that the potato lays on the cutting board without rolling around, and then set aside that piece along with the end pieces to layer on the bottom of the baking dish, since they are more irregular! We like to leave the potato slices in the order that we cut them on the cutting board so it's much easier to "shingle" the potatoes into the dish later. If your potato pieces are a little thicker, don't worry too much - they just may take a little bit longer to cook through!
    Slicing potatoes into thin slices.
  • Peel and cut your onion in half. Then thinly slice your onion as well, between 1/8" and 1/4" in thickness.
    Slicing an onion.
  • Butter the bottom of a baking dish. Feel free to use a different size (ours is about 12inches long and about 9 inches wide). Depending on your dish, it may end up changing the cooking time slightly.
    Buttering the bottom of a baking dish.
  • Add all the end pieces/irregular pieces in a single layer on the bottom of the dish.
    Adding the end pieces to the bottom of the dish.
  • Arrange 1 layer of potatoes over the end pieces, following the curve of the dish and overlapping the potatoes slightly so it creates a shingle effect. We end up creating one ring around the edge and a smaller ring in the middle, with a few pieces added to the center to complete the layer.
    Creating a layer of potatoes over the end pieces.
  • Follow by layering half of your sliced onion on top. We like to make the curve of the onions follow the curve of the potatoes, but this is definitely optional! This layer will be hidden by another layer anyway.
    Adding a layer of onions over the potatoes.
  • Repeat those steps one more time, adding potatoes in a single layer, and then followed by the other half of the sliced onions.
    Adding the last layer of potatoes.
  • Again, we like to curve the onions in the same direction as the round edge of the potatoes, but you can arrange the layer however you would like!
    Adding the onions to the top.
  • Add together your heavy cream, thyme, nutmeg, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a bowl or liquid measuring cup (makes for easy pouring over the potatoes!). Remember that you are salting 3 pounds of potatoes, so you may need more salt than you initially think! We do recommend tasting the mixture. It should be quite salty, so if you really can't taste much salt, be sure to add more!
    Adding thyme to the cream.
  • Mix the heavy cream mixture together well, so all the seasoning is evenly distributed.
    Mixing together the cream.
  • Pour the cream mixture over your potatoes and onions. If using a different dish, just make sure that you can see the edge of the cream peeking up the sides (it should cover about 75% of the potatoes). You may need a little bit more cream if it's too low in the dish!
    Pouring cream over the potatoes and onions.
  • Cover with foil and bake for about 45 minutes.
  • After 45 minutes, uncover the potatoes.
    Uncovering the potatoes after they have baked covered.
  • Top with shredded parmesan if you want, and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
    Adding cheese to the top.
  • The potatoes are done when the top is golden and the potatoes are fork tender. If it needs more time, just be sure to cover the potatoes again if it's getting too dark on the top. Enjoy!
    Potatoes after cooking.

Video

Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Danish
Keyword: hearty, nutmeg, onion, pastry cream, potato, rich, thyme
Difficulty: Beginner