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Mennonite Scalloped Potatoes (with Farmer Sausage)

Scalloped potatoes is the perfect comfort food! But this is a scalloped potato recipe with a mennonite twist. Warm and creamy, cheesy potatoes with the smokey flavor of the mennonite farmer sausage, this recipe is sure to warm your belly and your heart.

Being fostered in more of an old school Mennonite home in Grunthal, Manitoba in the ’90s, we had pretty much the same types of meals my whole childhood. And even when we would go visit my foster cousins, meals always consisted of some sort of meat and potato dishes, usually some type of soup, or potatoes and farmer sausage with schmaunt fat. But when I would go to school, my friends would talk about the different suppers that they would have and I would long to have the type of variety that the other kids got, but never actually got. Sometimes, if we begged a lot, my foster mother would try to find a recipe for it. And if she couldn’t find one, she would either refuse to make it, or try to make her own version of it (which usually ended up being a failure). I always looked forward to church potlucks because then I could go down the line trying out all of the exciting new foods in hopes that I could convince my foster mother to find out who made what dish and get the recipe. (Most of her recipes in the recipe drawer were written out on old church bulletins). But then again, she very rarely, if ever, made any of those dishes.

When I was about 10, my foster sister was taking care of us for a few days while my foster mother was away. And one day, for supper, she made us scalloped potatoes. Now, I had heard other kids talking about having scalloped potatoes for supper and how delicious it was, so I was so excited to experience this new dish myself. And just as I had expected, it was creamy, and cheesy, and as a kid used to eating boiled potatoes with schmaunt fat, or mashed potatoes with ketchup, this blew my mind! To me, this was next level! Boiled potatoes, with schmaunt fat, on STEROIDS!! And we never had it again. I had asked my foster mother for scalloped potatoes numerous times after this, but she would always respond with ‘well, we can have potatoes and schmaunt fat?’ and I would say ‘no mom, that’s not the same. Scalloped potatoes has cheese on the top!’ and she would say ‘well then put some cheese on top of your potatoes and schmaunt fat!’ and I would say ‘ but that’s still not the same mom!’, (and really, she was far too frugal and would NEVER have let us ‘waste’ the cheese by putting it on top of our potatoes and schmaunt fat!) And I never really understood why she wouldn’t make scalloped potatoes. What did she have against it? I remember that she would go through all of the trouble to slice up potatoes to make homemade french fries, so I don’t think the answer was that it was too much work. And just now, out of curiosity, I went through all of her old cook books, and every single one has a recipe for scalloped potatoes in it! So the reason for me not getting scalloped potatoes as a child can’t be because she was too scared to make it! (because boy do I have stories of her diy pizza, spaghetti, stir fry and even pizza pops. And don’t even get me started on her ‘sloppy joe’s’!)

So when I moved out onto my own, I decided that I was going to make scalloped potatoes myself. And eat it all myself! But I didn’t actually know how to make them. Nor did I own a recipe book (or have access to the internet for that matter). So I threw a bunch of ingredients that I thought would work into a roasting pan, and made my own scalloped potatoes. I figured that because potatoes with schmaunt fat, farmer sausage and mixed vegetables are one of my favorite meals, I would slice up the farmer sausage and throw it in with the scalloped potatoes, and it would be amazing! And it was!

My kids also love this meal and have now named it Mennonite Scalloped Potatoes. Sometimes I substitute Mennonite style farmer sausage for ham, or regular farmer sausage, but I prefer to use the Mennonite Style farmer sausage. Sometimes I throw in some fresh, sliced mushrooms. Really, anything you think would be good with potatoes and cream gravy you can throw into the mix. We usually only make scalloped potatoes if we have a lot of cream gravy left over from a previous meal because any good Mennonite knows that nothing should go to waste.

I realized when I was writing this post, that I barely took any pictures, and therefore wasn’t going to even post this. But I feel like this meal is just too yummy to ignore and I have to share it with you.

I love hearing from you all, and enjoy reading your own personal stories about the recipes that I post. I have finally figured out how to check my email (two years later lol) and will try my best to respond back to everyone that messages me. So please leave a comment or send me a message. Also, if you have a recipe that you would like for me to try, and possibly feature, let me know and I will try my best to make it!

Cheers, Lance

Mennonite Scalloped Potatoes (with Farmer Sausage)

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Ingredients
  

  • 5.5 cups thinly sliced potatoes 1/4" thick
  • 2 cups thinly sliced onions 1/8"-1/4" thick
  • 1 ring farmer sausage 1/4"-1/2" thick (it's easier to slice when frozen)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 3 cups table cream
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 4.5 Tbsp flour
  • to taste salt
  • to taste pepper
  • 1 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions
 

  • Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a saucepan on medium heat.
  • Once the butter is melted, add the garlic and sautee for 2 minutes
  • Add 3 tablespoons of flour and whisk continuously until it is thick and consistent.
  • Slowly add the cream while continuing to whisk the gravy.  Add salt and pepper to
    taste.
  • Whisk continuously on medium heat until the gravy begins to boil and starts to get
    thick.  Remove from heat.
  • Spray a medium roasting pan with non-stick spray and spread a layer of potatoes along
    the bottom of the pan, overlapping a bit.
  • Place a layer of onions on top of potatoes.
  • Place a layer of farmer sausage on top of onions and shake some salt and pepper on
    top of that.
  • Spread a thin layer of cream gravy on top of that, and repeat layers until potatoes, onions, sausage and gravy is gone.
  • Sprinkle cheese on top of everything, cover with a lid, and bake at 375° F for 1 1/2 hours.

17 Comments

  2. Happy to see a new post; your stories make me think of Mum & Dad (who lovingly fostered a lot of kids, and adopted one girl), long gone now.

  3. Your stories are wonderful. My grandparents were traditional Mennonites so your stories and recipes bring back so many special memories. I have passed on many of the Mennonite “recipes” to my daughters who in turn are passing to my grandchildren….we really must keep them alive and with the stories of ancestors who overcame much. Please keep sharing your stories

  4. I just found your website. Thank you for your recipes. I am going to try the homemade
    Artisan Bread but with G.F. flour mix from the Bulk store. This scallop potato recipe is
    similar to how I make my Scallops but I have never put in sausage, that I will try!
    It sounds yummy and with the cheese almost a complete meal in it self~ adding vegetables
    on the side of course!

    • Thank you so much giving me a shout out! I was wondering where all of the new traffic was coming from.

  6. I was looking for a new way to use farmer sausage and this recipe came up. Gotta love a combination of scalloped potatoes and farmer sausage. It was really good. I used 7 potatoes and melted the cheese in the sauce. One question – is it 1/4 cup or 1/3 cup butter? I ended up making three layers. Next time I will cut the onions smaller.

  7. Sorry I’m late to the party, but could you please tell me, by weight, how much farmer’s sausage I need?

    Thanks, I enjoy your recipes and stories.

  9. Just a couple notes:
    1) I had to start over a couple times because the garlic was burning. Worked much better after mincing the cloves.
    2) Was way too much volume for a family of 4 not big eaters. I could have cut the recipe in half.
    Overall, we loved it and will make it again with above lessons learned

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