Easy Scalloped Potatoes

Like most college students, I often find myself searching for meals that taste good, but are friendly for my college student budget, and that are not too taxing on my time as there always seems to be an exam to study for or another paper due. This seems like a long list of qualifiers all for the simple question of “what do I want to eat for dinner?” I was also tired of food I could make out of a box or get in the freezer section, something I’m sure most college students struggle with but don’t know how to combat. I stumbled across this recipe a little bit ago when I had some extra potatoes and wanted something that felt a little more “home cooked”, which can be somewhat rare when you’re a college student. I feel like this recipe of scalloped potatoes fit my long list of requests, it doesn’t take a whole lot of time to prepare, it is definitely budget friendly, it is easily modifiable to fit different needs, and it saves well, meaning it is a dish that I actually enjoy eating the leftovers of. I found this recipe by Christy Denney, on her website “The Girl Who Ate Everything”.

Cost Breakdown

Ingredient	Amount	Unit Cost of Ingredient	Recipe Cost of Ingredient
Potatoes	4 cups (~2 lbs)	$3.48/3 lbs bag	$2.32
Butter	3 Tbsp	$3.18/ 1 lb box	$0.29
Flour	3 Tbsp	$0.94/2 lbs bag	$0.02
Milk	1 1/2 cups	$2.00/half gallon	$0.38
Salt	1 tsp	$0.48/26 oz	$0.01
Cayenne pepper	to taste (a dash)	–	–
Sharp Cheddar Cheese	1 1/2 cups	$1.86/2 cups (8 oz)	$1.40
Paprika	to taste (a dash)	–	–
Total recipe cost			$4.42
Cost per serving			$0.74

This dish doesn’t take much time, but it does require a bit of prep. The part that takes the longest is slicing your potatoes. If you’re not extremely skilled with your knife, that’s okay! If the potato slices aren’t as thin as you’d like, all that means is that you might have to cook the dish just a bit longer until the potatoes are fork tender.

One thing I really love about this dish is how flexible it is! I added in some spices that I like (I used an italian seasoning blend, and some dried chives). Feel free to use whatever you have on hand to spice it up a bit! I also have an extreme sensitivity to gluten, so I simply replaced the regular flour with gluten free flour when making the cheese sauce. And if you are a super cheesy person, don’t shy away! You can always add more cheese on top. Like I said, this dish is SUPER flexible so don’t be afraid to experiment a bit!

I also used a 9×13 pan because that’s what I had on hand. This just made the dish less thick with not as many layers.

Now one thing to note about this recipe is that it does take some time in the oven, so it does take a bit of planning. But with an hour in the oven it is an easy thing to stick in the oven and work on something else while it is cooking. Just remember to set your timer!

Budget friendly tips

1. Buy in bulk (especially with potatoes). If you buy more potatoes, the cheaper they are and potatoes save fairly well so you can buy more
2. Buy generic brands (works great for flour, butter, and cheese). Generic brands will be much cheaper than the name brands, and since the cheese is melted into a roux you really can’t tell a difference
3. Use whatever seasoning you have – I like to use italian seasoning because that’s what I normally have on hand, feel free to use what you already have to season your potatoes
4. Flour and dry milk can be found in USU’s SNAC pantry
5. The recipe can easily be doubled or cut in half if those options are more sustainable for you. You can add in an extra cheese if you have some that might go bad soon, or you can buy potatoes by the pound in smaller amounts as well.

I really enjoy this dish, and it really does fit into the crazy college student life. This dish is also easily customizable. You can add just about any topping you would like. Some ideas include bacon or onions. This dish can easily be paired with some veggies, like broccoli or asparagus if desired, or you could add in some ham chunks to make it a more filling meal and a stand-alone dish. The possibilities are endless, it just takes a bit of creativity!