Nothing beats a good potato bake. Soft and fluffy potatoes in a cheesy and creamy sauce would have to be the ultimate side dish. This cheesy potato bake is as good as it gets, and it all comes down to the way to potatoes are cut.

The potatoes in a potato bake are typically sliced, but the key to this amazing potato bake is to instead cut the potatoes into small cubes. The potatoes are first boiled until they begin to soften, and are then baked in the delicious cheesy sauce.

The end result is soft chunks of potato that have soaked up that creamy cheese sauce. It really is the perfect winter side dish. I especially love this potato bake served with a traditional roast dinner.

More great side dishes

• Mashed potato casserole
• Roasted parmesan sweet potato
• Easy potato salad
• Roasted sweet potato soup
• Sauteed mushrooms
• Best ever roast potatoes

Tips for making the perfect bechamel cheese sauce

The bechamel cheese sauce used in this potato bake is well worth mastering. It can be used as the base in vegetable bakes, pasta bakes or as a sauce poured over cooked vegetables. The following tips will help make sure your cheese sauces turns out amazing every time.

• Prepare and measure out your ingredients before making a start. I find this cheese sauce is one of those recipes that moves fast, so it’s a good idea to have all of the ingredients you will need prepped and ready to go.
• Add the milk slowly. This is one of the most important steps in making a cheese sauce. You want to add the milk a tiny bit at a time, and make sure it’s fully incorporated into the butter and flour mixture before adding the next lot of milk. If you don’t go slowly there is a good chance your sauce will end up with lumps of flour.
• Make the sauce over a low heat. This sauce may involve around 10 minutes of standing at the stovetop stirring, but it’s well worth the effort. If the heat is too high, the milk will begin to stick to the bottom of the saucepan and will burn quite quickly.

Ingredients and substitutions

• Potatoes – Using a floury, starchy variety of potato, such as desiree or sebago, wil give the best results. However when I make these potatoes, I usually will just use whichever potatoes I have on hand.
• Butter – Salted butter was used in this recipe, however unsalted butter can also be used.
• Brown onion – Substitute with a white or red onion, or if you don’t feel like chopping onion, instead use 1 teaspoon of onion powder.
• Plain flour – Used for thickening the sauce.
• Milk – Full cream milk was used in this recipe, however lower fat varieties can also be used.
• Dijon mustard – This can be substituted with 1/2 teaspoon dried mustard powder, or omitted all together.
• Chicken stock powder – This can be substituted with vegetable stock powder.
• Tasty cheese – Substitute with any other variety of grated cheese, or a combination of a few varieties.
• Salt and pepper – Season to your taste.

Storage

Store this potato bake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat using the oven or microwave. This potato bake is not suitable for freezing.