Pressed For Time? Make Your Scalloped Potatoes In The Microwave

When you're making a tray of classic creamy scalloped potatoes, you may need to account for quite a bit of time when it comes to cooking. You'll need to mix up a cream sauce on the stovetop, arrange the dish, then bake the potatoes for up to an hour and a half. While the resulting dish might be delicious, it may not be super practical if you're looking to cook up a quick side for a weeknight dinner.

Fortunately, with the help of a different appliance, your scalloped potatoes can be done much quicker. Simply grab a microwave-safe dish, arrange your sliced potatoes, and top them off with butter, flour, milk, and your preferred seasonings. Once the dish is ready, microwave it in 5-minute intervals, stirring in between. You'll know the potatoes are done when they're soft enough to stick a fork into smoothly. This will likely be around 20 minutes, which is just a fraction of the time they'd need in the oven.

As it turns out, microwaves can work surprisingly well when it comes to cooking up potatoes. Some even come with a designated "potato" setting. You can use the microwave to cook up baked potatoes, soften potatoes before mashing, and even make homemade potato chips. However, if you do plan to microwave scalloped potatoes, there are a few ways you can ensure success.

First, you'll want to use the right kind of potato. Russet potatoes are the starchiest, which means they will be the fluffiest after they're cooked up. This also makes them adept at soaking up liquids, so they can take on the taste of the seasoned milk when they're cooked up as scalloped potatoes.

As you slice the potatoes, you'll also want to try to get the slices as evenly-sized as possible. This will ensure that every slice cooks at the same rate, and you won't wind up with some undercooked and some overly mushy bites.

One drawback of making scalloped potatoes in the microwave is that you might find yourself lacking a crispy, crunchy topping. An oven's heat is essential for browning and crisping up foods, like the melted cheese topping, and microwaves lack that circulating heat. Fortunately, there are a few ways to achieve that texture in the microwave.

If you want your scalloped potatoes extra crispy, you can toss them in the oven for a few minutes to broil. Broiling the potato dish could help it to get the cheesy topping brown and crispy, while still the potatoes stay soft on the inside. You can even keep the oven door open while broiling to encourage airflow, which could keep the rest of the dish from cooking any further, aside from the top portion.

Alternatively, you can simply add an extra topping to the dish to up the crunch factor. While your scalloped potatoes are cooking, you can crush up some potato chips as a creative way to cook with the snack. You could also use seasoned croutons or cheesy crackers. A breadcrumb topping may also be a deliciously crunchy topping option. You can spread breadcrumbs on a baking tray and allow them to crisp up in the oven, or toast them in a pan on the stovetop. Whatever you decide to top off your scalloped potatoes with, you can simply sprinkle on a little extra crunch once they're out of the microwave.