Perfect tender potatoes in a creamy gourmet cheese sauce. This au gratin recipe is so easy yet flavorful you won't believe your taste buds. It's the perfect side dish all year round- with family gatherings, parties, holiday dinner or BBQ's. Such a crowd pleaser.
What are Au Gratin Potatoes?
AU GRATIN potatoes is a dish with thinly sliced potatoes and a cheesy cream sauce. The cheese typically is a gruyere cheese, which I use, plus a little cheddar. The difference between Au Gratin potatoes and Scalloped potatoes is scalloped is just a cream sauce with no cheese. But we LOVE cheese, so we're throwing that in there!
Why Au Gratin Potatoes Work
- They are crowd pleaser. Potatoes plus cheese is a combination that very few people dislike. Its great to serve for everyone.
- It's easy to make gluten-free! I show you how below.
- It's a simple two step recipe yet it taste gourmet
Ingredients for this au gratin potatoes recipe
- potatoes (russet or yukon gold, on the smaller side)
- cheese (gruyere and sharp cheddar)
- butter, milk and flour (for roux, can use GF flour and the entire meal will be gluten-free)
- chives- you can use green onions, but I prefer chives because they are much smaller and milder in flavor.
- parsley- fresh is best but use a dash of dried if you are in a pinch will do.
- bacon
Where do I find Gruyere Cheese?
You will not find gruyere in the shredded cheese isle, it will be in the specialty cheese section of your grocery store. Often, in the US, this is by the Deli.
What can I sub for Gruyere Cheese?
If your store doesn't have gruyere cheese a few other options can be Parmesan cheese or Swiss cheese.
Creating an easy cheesy au gratin creamy cheese sauce.
We start by making a roux.
- Melt your butter.
- Whisk in your flour. Let it bubble for just a minute or two so the flour taste will cook out.
- Add in your milk and bring to a boil so it will thicken.
- Next add in your flavor. Bacon...
Can I make these gluten-free?
I have used gluten-free flour (cup-4-cup) and had great success! so yes! because it's only a small amount of flour I think most gluten-free 1 for 1 flour will work great.
Add in your flavor
While the pan is still hot (on medium heat, you don't want the milk to boil and scald), whisk in the milk. When the texture is smooth turn the heat down and add in your mix-ins
- chives
- parsley
- bacon
- cheeses
Prepare your potatoes
STEP ONE: scrub your potatoes nice and clean. If desired you can peel your potatoes too. I love the texture of potatoes skins so I choose to leave them on.
STEP TWO: thinly and evenly slice your potatoes. If you have a mandolin use it! Those are great for evenly, quickly cutting your potatoes. Otherwise using a sharp chef knife works great and helps you keep control of the large stiff potatoes.
How do I lay the potatoes?
Grease you pan, just to ensure your potatoes won't stick.
You can lay the potatoes two ways.
- Lay them flat and create layers with the cream sauce.
- Stand them up (as pictured)
Make sure the sauce is spread throughout the potatoes.
If you are laying your potatoes flat just layer a little sauce through the plates.
If you are standing your potatoes up, like pictured, I gently separate the potatoes to let the sauce seep in-between some of the potatoes.
Bake the potatoes and serve hot! Feel free to top with more chives, bacon and cheese. never too much cheese.
Top your potatoes with more bacon, cheese and herbs
Bake your au gratin potatoes
Because your potatoes are sliced very thin they don't take very long to bake! You will bake in the oven, covered with foil, for 25 minutes at 400. Remove foil and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked thru.
Yes, You can make this ahead of time but assembling and covering so it is air tight. Refrigerate if it will be more than a few hours. Before baking bring to room temp.
Store leftovers in an airtight container for 7-10 days in the fridge.
While the dishes are very similar the difference is scalloped potatoes have a cream sauce, while au gratin potatoes have a creamy cheese sauce.
The biggest reason for your potatoes not cooking thru is that your potatoes are too thick, or your pan is packed too densely. You want to make sure your potatoes are ¼ inch thick or less, and make sure that there is sauce in between each potato slice.
Yes! In your slow cooker - layer the potatoes and sauce. Line the lid of the slow cooker with paper towels to absorb some of the excess moisture. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 4-6 hours or until potatoes are tender. Let sit 20 minutes before serving.
What should I serve these au gratin potatoes with?
These au gratin potatoes would go great with
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Gourmet Au Gratin Potatoes
Ingredients
- 5 cups sliced thin Potatoes (¼ inch or thinner) about 5-6 medium potaotes
- 3 tablespoon butter
- 3 tablespoon flour can use gluten free flour
- 2 cup milk 2%
- 1 cup shredded Gruyere Cheese
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese ½ cup for sauce, ½ cup for topping
- ½ teaspoon Garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup chopped fresh Parsley
- ½ cup chopped chives reserve a little for topping
- 5 pieces bacon cooked and crumbled, reserve about ¼ cup
Instructions
- Scrub potatoes and cut out any impurities. Slice potatoes thinly, mandolins are handy for this. Make sure they are ¼ thickness or thinner.
- In a sauce pan or skillet, melt butter and whisk in flour. Let bubble for 1-2 minutes on med heat.
- Whisk in milk.
- When sauce is smooth, add in ½ cup sharp cheese, all of the Gruyere cheese, salts, parsley, bacon, chives (if you want to top potatoes with bacon and chives reserve little bit for topping).
- Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Place potatoes in. Pour sauce over. Slighty shift the potatoes to help cream evenly distribute and coat the potaotes. You want sauce in between each potato.
- Top with ½ cup remaining cheese plus any bacon or chives you reserved.
- Bake covered with foil at 400 degrees F for 25 mins. Uncover and bake for an addition 15-20 minutes until potatoes are cooked thru and cheese is bubbly.
- Serve warm.
christie says
Would you suggest making this in a glass casserole dish, or could I use a foil travel pan to make it easier to transport? Would that change the cooking time do you think? Thank you!
Desarae says
Since foil pans are really thin, the potatoes are more likely going to be over cooked, kinda dry and stuck to the pan on the outside and undercooked in the middle. I would stick with a casserole dish either glass or non glass.
Tristen says
Loved this. 10 out of 10 would recommend! I wish it would let me do a pic! Came out beautiful!
Kim says
What can we use in place of the Gruyere cheese please
Kadee says
Gouda works great!
Dusty says
Hi I have a question about the potato’s, could you use the refrigerated Simply potatoes instead?
Kadee says
Yes you can, but reduce your cooking time by half because those potatoes are already cooked.
Kelly says
What type of potatoes are best for this recipe?
Kadee says
Russet or Yukon Gold
Kayla V says
Easy to follow recipe, great flavor! Everyone enjoyed them. Will definitely make again!
Julianne says
This is it! This is the recipe that will make you insist on bringing the potatoes every year because you know there is none greater. I sliced the potatoes really thin and ended up cooking it about 40 minutes. I also added carmalized onions to the sauce. Perfection!
Brianne says
The flavor was great, but even after 40 minutes of cooking they were not done. I was very upset and disappointed. I cut the potatoes as thin as in the pics and pre boil would 100% be beneficial.
Kadee says
Hi Brianne, we are so sorry that your cooking time took longer than ours. We always want people to be successful at our recipes. We try so hard to make them easy and delicious at the same time. We are adding a covered baking time to the recipe to try to help this. After testing we feel that the density of the pan has a lot to do with the cooking time. If the potatoes don't have sauce in between them then the cooking time needs to be extended. We hope you'll give this another try and give us another change.
Brianne Binford says
Thank you so much! Definitely will try again. The flavor was great. I would also suggest being a tad clearer on the cheese, I didn’t realize to save for the top! Thanks again!
Kadee says
Thanks so much! I’ll reword the cheese. The cheese does go in the sauce. So you did do that right. We just put a little extra on top.
Michelle Murphy says
The flavor of the sauce was great but the potatoes were practically raw being cooked at 400 for 20 minutes.
Kadee says
Hi Michelle - thank you for your feedback. There are so many variables with different ovens. We decided to add a covered baking time to help even this out for people. After testing we feel that the density of the pan has a lot to do with the cooking time. If the potatoes don't have sauce in between them then the cooking time needs to be extended. The potatoes also need to be 1/4 inch thick or less. We hope you'll give this another try and give us another chance.
Monique McColgan says
Tried this recipe today and potatoes were nowhere near done after 25 minutes. I used a sliver which gave me way thinner slices but came out basically raw after the recommended cooking time. I didn’t have much space between the slices though so maybe that was my downfall.
Kelly says
Same! Added an extra 25 minutes of cook time… hindsight should have taken some potatoes out to spread/space it all better
Kadee says
Hi Kelly, thank you so much for your comment. We tested this out. There are so many variables with different ovens. We decided to add a covered baking time to help even this out for people. After testing we feel that the density of the pan has a lot to do with the cooking time. If the potatoes don't have sauce in between them then the cooking time needs to be extended. We hope you'll give this another try and give us another change. We try so hard to make our recipes easy and delicious. Please give us another chance.
Robin says
Has anyone tried prepping these the night before and making them in a slow cooker? Id like to make them for Thanksgiving tomorrow, but fear I wont have enough oven time, and I have plenty of roasters and slow cookers even a 9x13.
Kimberly Holien says
I literally was just thinking this. When I read other ideas they said to cook on high and to use paper towels like on lid to help absorb some moisture to crisp them up. I am going to try this way too, so good luck.
Desarae says
You can try following the directions- for the sauce and slicing the potatoes thin. Layer the potatoes and sauce. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 4-6 hours or until potatoes are tender. Let sit 20 minutes before serving. Let me know if it works!
Kindra says
Does the recipe include cheese on top? Or should I do extra than the measurements listed?? Thanks!! Trying it for thanksgiving and wondering how much to add on top of dish!
Des says
Thanks Emily! The original recipe did not top with cheese, but I always do and recommend so I adjusted the recipe to reflect that.
Des
Michelle Harrison says
Hi there - Excited to try this recipe! I need to assembly then refrigerate the dish for approx. 18 hours. Will that be ok? What are your thoughts?
Desarae says
Hi Michelle! yes you can assemble before had. I would let it come to room temperature before baking- that will help it cook more evenly and insure the potatoes cook till fork tender.
Morgan says
Can you freeze this?
Kadee says
We don't recommend freezing potatoes - the texture can change.
Kameil Hopkins says
Can onion be added? If so, would you cook them some first?
Kadee says
Yes - this already has an onion flavor with the chives, but you can add diced onion. I would soften them in a pan with some oil and then mix into the sauce. You could also opt for onion powder for a more onion flavor.
Angie Blankert says
I have tried several potato dishes like this. This is our go to now. Loved it!
Hjalil22@hotmail.com says
Is there a good substitute for gruyere? Its too strong for my liking.
Desarae says
yes! In the post I suggest Swiss or provolone cheese :)
Jessica says
I did Gouda!
Julana says
Do you boil the potatoes first? I have a similar recipe and it calls for a quick boil of 8-10min to soften
Kadee says
Because the potatoes are sliced so thin, they cook in the oven in the sauce. No need to pre-boil.
Cherry says
My kids are super picky and they gobbled this right up. Will for sure be putting this on rotation.
Katy says
My husbands favorite side dish, hands down. Thank you!
Mandy says
I love potatoes recipes like this because I can easily make them gluten-free and not feel like I missing out on the best foods. Homemade wins.
Shelby says
HOLY SMOKES! My new favorite recipe. I LOVE this so much, and it is ridiculously easy.
Teri says
I make this recipe every thanksgiving. It is the best au gratin recipe!!
Emily Kemp says
I love potato gratin, it's so delicious especially with roast beef or steak. I've also used Comte cheese on these and it's so good!
Nicole says
This looks so delicious! I've never made potatoes au gratin from scratch, so I will definitely have to try this recipe!!
Aubrey says
Thanks Nicole! Au Gratin from scratch is so easy you will be surprised! Only way I make them!
Jim Lipscomb says
I love gruyere cheese, this sounds like another great way to use it.
Aubrey says
Isn't it the best?! A little pricey but so worth it!