Potatoes au Gratin – forget scalloped potatoes, THIS is the creme de la creme of all potato recipes!! Also known as Dauphinoise Potatoes, this French classic is adapted from a Julia Child’s recipe. With layers upon layers of finely sliced potatoes baked in, cream, butter and cheese with a hint of fresh thyme, it’s luxurious and thoroughly indulgent.
Bonus: It’s the ultimate make ahead potato side dish! And next time, try Brie Dauphinoise…
Potatoes au Gratin
Potatoes au Gratin? Or Scalloped Potatoes?
If you’re wondering what the difference is between Scalloped Potatoes and Au Gratin Potatoes, scalloped potatoes are made with a flour-butter-milk roux, whereas Potatoes au Gratin are made with 100% indulgence: cream, butter and cheese.
So I ask you again: Potatoes au Gratin? Or Scalloped Potatoes?
There’s no contest. Cream trumps flour Every. Single. Day. 😂
Potatoes au Gratin for the win!!!
All the essential food groups present
I was going to say that it’s quite remarkable how so few ingredients can make something so luxurious. But the reality is, it’s pretty hard to go wrong when potatoes, cream, butter and cheese are involved.
We’re working with all the good stuff today!
Best kind of potatoes for au gratin
This is the sort of potato dish where we want the potatoes to breakdown and become lovely and soft under that golden cheesy crust, so we need to ensure we use starchy potatoes. Australia – I use Sebago (those dirt brushed potatoes). America – Russet is perfect, and for those of you in the UK, King Edward or Maris Piper are perfect. Or any other starchy potatoes – Dutch creams, King Edwards or red delight.
To be honest, as long as you do not use a waxy potato then it’s going to work great – I’ve used all sorts over the years. Waxy potatoes are the kind used for potato salads and if used in Potatoes au Gratin, the layers sort of slip apart and you’ll have paper-thin-potato UFO’s flying all over the place.
Been there, done that. Not good, my friends.
How to make potatoes au gratin
Thinly sliced potato is layered with a cream-butter-garlic mixture, sprinkled with thyme and the mandatory cheese in every layer. Bake covered for 75 minutes (yes really, it takes that long), then uncovered just to make the cheese on top lovely and golden.
While it might seem daunting to thinly slice 1 kg / 2 lb of potatoes, this is the sort of task where you’ll quickly get into a rhythm. By the 3rd potato, you’ll be slicing like a pro!
Though having said that, a mandolin will make short work of it….
I am yet to meet a form of potato I don’t like. And of all the ways to cook potato, this is my favourite. (UPDATE: Though the newly invented Brie Dauphinoise version is also a hot contender!).
Sure, sometimes I stray and get excited by my latest obsession. I went mad for Ultra Crispy Smashed Potatoes, and crazy over Parmesan Crusted Potatoes. I thought Twice-baked Stuffed Jacket Potatoes were the ant’s pants.
But Potatoes au Gratin are a classic that I’ll love forever and ever. First made using Julie Child’s recipe which then evolved slightly over the years to what it is today. A slightly more streamlined assembly process, the addition of garlic and… I upped the cheese.
Do you think Julia would approve?? 😂 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Potatoes au Gratin (Dauphinoise)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cream , full fat (Note 1)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter , melted
- 1.25 kg / 2.5 lb starchy potatoes , Russet, Sebago, Maris Piper (Note 2)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 2 1/2 cups gruyere cheese (colby, cheddar, havarti or tasty), freshly grated yourself (Note 3)
- 2 tsp thyme leaves , fresh (optional – but highly recommended)
Instructions
- Cream Mixture: Place butter, cream and garlic in a jug. Mix until combined.
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (both fan and standard ovens).
- Slice potatoes: Peel the potatoes and slice them 1/8"/3 mm thick. Or use a slicer!
- Layer 1: Spread 1/3 of the potatoes in a baking dish (Note 3), then pour over 1/3 of the Cream Mixture, scatter with 1/3 of the salt, pepper and thyme. Sprinkle with 3/4 cups cheese.
- Layers 2 & 3: Repeat for the 2nd and third layer, but do not finish with cheese on the top layer (will add later).
- Cover & bake: Cover with lid or foil, and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the potatoes in the middle are soft (use knife to test), it might take 1 1/2 hours. (Note 5)
- Top with cheese, bake again: Remove foil, top with cheese. Bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes until golden and bubbly. Stand 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Au Gratin Potatoes recipe originally published December 2014. New photos, recipe video and updated post in December 2018, then some tidying up done in December 2020. No change to recipe!
Feed your potato obsession
Life of Dozer
My bother gave me his recipe that is incredibly close to this one. I found it can also be made in muffin tins, with paper liners. It freezes well and the individual serves can be reheated so you can have a decadent potato hit even after a busy day.
This recipe slays every time. I add a bit more garlic (to suit my own taste, not a game changer in the least) but that’s my only ingredient shift. The potatoes are always perfectly cooked and the end result is completely unified. No single ingredient stands out too much or over powers in any way. I’ve used other recipes in the past that end up with either crunchy or mealy textures, or over oily with too much cheese. The mouth feel is perfection and the flavors are complimentary to the point of not being able to really discern one from the other. It never lasts 3-4 days in the fridge because it gets devoured in minutes!! *chefs kiss*
Very tasty. Tried it using the make-ahead directions. Loved it! Other than peeling and cutting the potatoes it took no time at all and was simple. Also used oregano instead of thyme because that’s what I had in the garden.
Great recipe! I don’t have easy access to fresh herbs so I used dried thyme and the results are still amazing. I used combo of mozzarella and Colby Jack cheese then added Parmesan to Colby at the end. Definitely a keeper
This is by far the best potato bake recipe I have made. Mixing the garlic, cream, and butter makes it!! After several good results, I decided to try something different – Don’t peel the potatoes. As the potatoes are peeled wafer thin, the taste of the skin doesn’t come through, and the skin is very good for you. I know it’s going against all the recipe recommendations, but the unpeeled potatoes really taste nice and best of all – Saves Time In A Busy Day.
I have planted thyme now so I always have it ready for this gorgeous dish. I missed adding cheese by accident once and still so good that I just leave this out and cook a little longer after the foil is off to crisp the top.
Divine to the letter!
Yummy!! And your tweaks to Julia Child’s recipe (which I was using previously) are brilliant!
Forgot to add the rating! 5 Stars!
Fantastic recipe as usual. Great advice on ingredients, too. Wish I had added more fresh thyme (personal taste)
Best potatoe bake!
I added in some diced bacon in between the layers and put tasty and Parmesan ontop and it was delicious
Made this for dinner tonight – very, very good.
It’s actually similar to the way i usually do potato gratin – just a little cheesier and richer.
So definitely smaller portions required when it comes time to devour! This makes quite a good sized batch – perfect for a dinner with multiple people so you’re not tempted to go back for seconds – or thirds… 😉
One thing I wanted to emphasise is Nagi’s comment about using floury/starchy potatoes rather than waxy.
I’d made that mistake a few times over the years. Couldn’t work out why sometimes my potatoes were so al dente they didn’t feel completely cooked – even though I’d then give them more oven time – they’d still slide about like her ‘paper thin potato UFOs’. Awful.
Then the penny dropped. Always floury!
Having said that – I’ve seen several recipes for potato gratins in cookbooks and other cooking websites – that specify waxy potatoes!!
I’m gobsmacked. Don’t understand at all. Makes no sense –
Do not listen to them!
I’ve made this three times now. I’m not a fan of garlic, so I reduce that. This is absolutely delicious.
I have made this many times, follow exactly as written, comes out perfect. Using a mandolin is a must for ease and uniform thickness, if you don’t have one definitely buy one, it will be your new best friend. Great recipe!
Made these for an after holiday dinner-so great! Love this recipe.
I’ve made this recipe before and it turned out a bit dry and undercooked. Looking at the french recipes, this one needs to double down on the liquid, by adding additional 1.5 cup of milk
This was quite good. Next time I will use half as much fresh thyme because we all felt it overwhelmed the cheese flavor, add sauteed onions, more garlic and more cheese. It took a really long time to bake and I sliced the potatoes on a mandolin; they were quite thin so next time I will prebake as instructed in note 6 and then finish off 45 minutes before the meal. Another option is to prepare and bake several hours before the meal, then let sit on the counter and simply reheat just prior to eating.
We cooked this in the Weber BBQ for a xmas party and it was delicious!
Hello
I’m looking to make this for Christmas but would like to make ahead however I’m a little confused how to. Do I actually bake it with foil on the day before then refrigerate overnight then on the day add the final cheese and cream then reheat ?
The way I read it is bake it w/o reserved cream mixture and cheese add those once the dish has cooled off, then put it In fridge
Delish……….(chefs kiss,)