Potatoes Au Gratin Recipe
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Potatoes au gratin is a wonderful side dish to include with many different types of main courses. It goes really well with different types of meats, seafood, and even vegetarian dishes. It’s great for holidays or special events but also makes a great side dish for the average weeknight.
This potato dish is pure comfort food. Whether you make it for the winter holidays, the 4th of July, or a Tuesday evening, you’re sure to get happy faces sitting around the dinner table when they see this make its entrance.
What Is Potatoes Au Gratin?
Potatoes au gratin is a creamy, cheesy potato dish that is made of thinly sliced potatoes, roux, and cheese. It’s a marvelously comforting side dish that pairs well with many dishes.
Best Potatoes For Potatoes Au Gratin
The best potatoes to use for this dish are either Russet potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes. But no matter which potato you use, make sure you slice them thin and uniform. A mandolin is best for slicing these.
How Thin Should I Slice Potatoes For Potatoes Au Gratin?
Slice your potatoes to an even 1/8-inch thick for the best results and texture.
Can I Use Different Cheese?
If you don’t like cheddar, you can use a number of cheeses. Try Gruyère, Swiss cheese, Fontina, or even Monterey Jack cheese. You can also mix a few different types of cheese together.
Recipe Additions And Variations
If you want more than just the regular flavor of potatoes au gratin, mix things up a bit by adding any of the following:
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Nutmeg
- Infuse the cream with bay leaves or thyme for extra aroma. (Remove them before using the cream)
Watch Your Potatoes Au Gratin
While these need to cook well, you want to keep an eye on them to prevent burning. If the top becomes too brown, you can top the casserole dish with a loose layer of foil to prevent it from browning further.
Make Ahead Suggestions
This can be assembled ahead of time, covered tightly, and stored in the fridge for up to three days before baking and serving it.
What To Do With Leftovers
If you happen to have leftovers, you can turn them into potato pancakes, make a breakfast hash, or stuff them into omelets with extra cheese.
Notes On The Ingredients
(print the recipe from the recipe card below)
Unsalted butter – You can use salted if you want a saltier dish.
Unsweetened almond milk – You can use regular milk if you prefer. This is just what I had on hand. You can even use heavy cream here if you prefer to go all out.
Whole wheat pastry purpose flour – If you can’t find whole wheat pastry flour, opt for “white whole wheat flour,” which is still whole wheat flour but a much easier variety to find in stores.
Salt
Black pepper
Onion powder – Or onion granules.
Garlic powder – Or garlic granules.
Dried thyme
Chicken broth – If you are making a plant-based version, vegetable broth will work, too.
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Cheddar cheese
Parmesan cheese
How To Make Scalloped Potatoes
Preheat oven to 400°F. and grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Gather and measure all your ingredients.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.
Add the milk to the pan and whisk until combined with the butter.
Whisk the flour into the milk mixture.
Add the salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and dried thyme to the cream sauce, stirring until combined.
Add the broth to the pan and whisk until combined. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the sauce just barely begins to simmer around the edges of the pan and thickens. Remove from the heat once the sauce has thickened.
Spread half of the sliced potatoes in an even layer on the bottom of the greased pan.
Top evenly with half of the sauce.
Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese and 1 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese over the top of the first layer of potatoes and sauce.
Top evenly with the remaining sliced potatoes, the other half of the sauce, and the remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese.
Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through and the cheese is nice and golden brown.
Allow the potatoes to cool for a few minutes before serving. Serve warm.
Storage
Store this in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Freezing
While this can be frozen, it will change the texture slightly when thawed. It’s not bad, just a little mushier. (Which can be good with potatoes!)
Reheating
Reheat easily in a microwave or in an oven covered with foil.
More Potato Recipes
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Scalloped Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- ¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp. onion powder (or granules)
- 1 tbsp. garlic powder (or granules)
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 1 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- 4 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes sliced into ⅛-inch thick rounds (I used a mandoline slicer.)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (divided)
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Gather and measure all your ingredients.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.4 tbsp. unsalted butter
- Add the milk to the pan and whisk until combined with the butter.2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- Whisk the flour into the milk mixture.¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- Add the salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and dried thyme to the cream sauce, stirring until combined.1½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. ground black pepper, 1 tbsp. onion powder, 1 tbsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. dried thyme
- Add the broth to the pan and whisk until combined. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the sauce just barely begins to simmer around the edges of the pan and thickens. Remove from the heat once the sauce has thickened.1 cup chicken broth
- Spread half of the sliced potatoes in an even layer on the bottom of the greased pan.4 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes
- Top evenly with half of the sauce.
- Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese and 1 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese over the top of the first layer of potatoes and sauce.
- Top evenly with the remaining sliced potatoes, the other half of the sauce, and the remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese.
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 30 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.
- Allow the potatoes to cool for a few minutes before serving. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
