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
Hi Nagi, You are my one stop recipes site. You have well thought for us. All your recipes are awesome, easy to follow, and most importantly it taste delicious. I’m not going anywhere looking for recipes or food ideas. You have it all. Thank you so much, and I love Dozer. I’ve 2 golden retrievers, they are my babies
Thanks so much Jannet, I truly appreciate it! N x
Dauphinoise Potatoes don’t have cheese. These are simply au gratin.
Made this for Christmas dinner and it was a huge hit!! My youngest son (19) especially liked it and has begged me to make it again, so giving it the Sunday dinner treatment today 🙂 Kudos on such a wonderful recipe!
This was fantastic, thanks!
Great recipe. Nagi is the best! I used a little less cream and a mandolin – a consistent potato thickness goes a long way. Gruyere is a must!!
Do you rinse the potatoes after slicing, or just place them directly into the dish?
I made it for New Year Eve dinner and it was a hit! Easy to make yet incredibly yummy!
Soooooo….. I tweaked ur recipe a lil . I haven’t ever made this before but luv to cook and create dishes, but anywayI will let you know how it turns out ! New Years eve and ur recipe sounded so goood, u had my attention at gruyere chz . 😆 (i used apple smoked gruyere . Sounded good !! will rate it after we eat it! Thx and happy new year eve😘
No roux? I guess my concern with this recipe is the the potential for the sauce to break.
I made this and it was quite good except the butter in the cream just left a pool of oil in the bottom of the dish after half the stuff was gone, so I would not use butter again. Oh, I also added rings of thinly sliced onions between each layer, and it added some deliciousness.
Was going to make mashed potatoes with Yukon golds and then ran across this recipe. AMAZING!!! The only thing I changed (except for the potatoes) was dried thyme instead of fresh and I broiled for a few minutes to get the top crispier. Definitely will be making this many more times. Thanks Nagi.
Hi, Nagi!
I’ve been trying to find a good au gratin recipe and this here looks like it could be the one!
Can you provide insight on adjusting baking times, temp, etc. for making this in individual ramekins? The ones I have are 12 oz.
Thanks!
Fantastic! Made these along with our Christmas ham and they were phenomenal! I added some fresh grated nutmeg into the cream mixture for a little extra…something. Big fan!
Made this recipe exactly as directed. The potatoes were not done. Put back in oven, still the potatoes were not completely soft😔. What could’ve happened?
Mine came out drier than I thought it would be. Still was very good. I think maybe I used a bit more potato than I should have. I had potatoes at home and didn’t weigh them out. Use the Gruyere. It really gives it that elevated flavor.
I doubled the recipe and had to use a little extra cream/butter than the recipe called for (very large baking dish so it spread out rather far). I too used Gruyere but mixed it with an extra old white cheddar as well.
Made this to go with the brown sugar glazed ham and it was a hit! Definitely recommend using a mandolin to slice the potatoes!
Made for Christmas lunch with sharp cheddar… came out great! Thanks… will definitely make again!
It was so tasty. I did add a sprinkle of onion powder to each layer. It is a definite must keep and do again and again!!!
Just popped it in the oven and holding my breath. Used what I had om hand: evaporated milk, mozzarella and gorgonzola. Planning on serving it for Christmas dinner which so far is Chicken Marbella, lemon orzo, green salad and these potatoes.
Amazing- I added a little Dijon to the cream mixture. This was perfect. My family loved it.