Pittsburgh Potatoes (old fashioned, just the recipe)

If you’ve been looking for your Mom’s Pittsburgh Potatoes recipe, without having to scroll down forever just look at it, you’ve arrived!

Pittsburgh Potatoes is a casserole in which cooked potato cubes are layered with a light cheese sauce and topped with buttery bread crumbs.

Without further ado, here’s the Pittsburgh Potatoes recipe (a more compact, printable version appears below):

Pittsburgh Potatoes Recipe: Ingredients

• 1t. salt (for boiling)
• 3 cups cubed potatoes
• 2T. minced onion 
• 2T. diced pimento 
• 1t. butter
• 1/3c. bread crumbs
• 2c. cold milk
• 3T. flour
• 1/2t. salt (for sauce)
• 1/4t. pepper
• 3 oz. shredded cheese

How to Make Pittsburgh Potatoes

1. Boil the vegetables: bring potatoes, onion, and salt to a boil in 6 cups of water, and cook for 5 minutes. 
2. Stir pimentos into the pot, and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and drain. 
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, while you make the white sauce.  Place milk in pan, and whisk in flour and seasonings. Heat over medium flame, whisking, until thickened. 
4. Shut off heat, and stir in cheese. 
5. Butter a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish, and layer ingredients as follows: sauce/potatoes/sauce/potatoes/sauce/crumbs. 
6. Bake 1 hour or so, until browned and bubbly. 

Pittsburgh Potatoes Printable Recipe

Pittsburgh Potatoes Tips for Success

• Use the cheese you remember best. Good choices are American, Velveeta, mild Cheddar, Colby, or Monterey Jack. Parmesan or Romano are fine, as well; but reduce amount of these concentrated cheeses by half (so, 1/4 cup). 
• Some prefer using roasted red pepper to pimento. 
• The prep can be done using a single pan. After cooking the vegetables, rinse pan and wipe out with a clean dishtowel. Then, use it to melt the butter. Shut off the heat. Stir in the crumbs. Remove to a small dish, and set aside. Now, you can use the pan to make the sauce. 
• Use a good, heavy pot that isn’t made in the place that rhymes with pine-a; such as this well-made one from Brazil (view here). 
• If your memory of this Pittsburgh Potatoes includes any herb, such as parsley or thyme, add at Step 3, using 1T. fresh or 1/2t. dried. 

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