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
These are the best potatoes gratin I’ve ever had/made. I feel like I’m succeeding at life. Thank you.
With all due respect, Julia Child never used any cheese in her Dauphinoise recipe. Julia Child’s classic recipe for Gratin Dauphinoise, as featured in her iconic book “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” traditionally does not include cheese. The dish relies on potatoes, cream, butter, and seasoning to create its rich flavor. This is in line with the traditional French Dauphinoise, which is typically more focused on the creamy texture than on adding cheese. The fact that you involved Julia Child into this recipe is misleading and clearly done only for ranking on Google for certain keywords.
Anna, Nagi acknowledged in multiple places that Julia Childs’ recipe is different – have a read of the whole thing and you’ll see. She “involved” Julia Childs because this recipe is adapted from that recipe. I’m not sure why you needed to comment on this in such a negative way. Your words matter.
Not even close to Julia’s.
you didn’t even read the blog. the author CLEARLY states that the original doesn’t call for cheese and that this is an adapted version of the original. you are just being a total dousche bag. this recipe is amazing I’ve made it several times and it is amazing!!
FYI, Julia Child’s Gratin Dauphinois from her Mastering the Art of French cooking (50 th Anniversary) calls for 1 cup of grated Swiss cheese.
Would it turn out if I follow the make ahead instructions on Thursday and serve it on Saturday?
I think you can but precook potato slices…. Mine were raw after a long time in oven.
Delicious and super easy. I did sub out 1/4 c of cream for 1/4 c of sour cream. I also used rosemary instead of thyme because that was what looked best in my herb garden.
Really good and easy. Turned out great. I used a shallow and bigger dish but didn’t leave enough cheese for the top layer.
I just tried this tonight I wonder why potato is uncooked after 1 hr 15 mins. and the cream turns watery ? What have i done wrong 😭😭😭
Mine uncooked after 2.5 hours… if micro potato slices first next time.
Annie, is it possible that your oven wasn’t the right temperature?
Love it! Easy and delicious! I also added a French onion soup mix! YUM
Hi just wondering, can this recipe be prepared and frozen uncooked?
I like to finish last 15 min, panko bread crumbs….nice crunch.
I just made this and it was delicious, however the cream curdled, I know it is OK but woulf not serve this to company.
It’s not the recipe’s fault that you broke the sauce. That’s a technique failure on your part.
What sort of cream did you use? It really only works with double cream (UK) or whatever the highest fat equivalent is where you are. Lower fat or single cream will generally not stand up to high temperatures.
You may kill me for these alterations, but I made this with parsley instead of thyme, and half soymilk half Doritos cool sour cream dip instead of heavy cream 😂 we had a jar of dip we couldn’t finish so I needed to put it to use–this recipe did excellently. Totally doable even without a mandolin. Will make again!
It was amazing! So creamy and delicious. Will definitely be making this again soon.
Has anyone made this in foil trays for catering a party? Did it turn out ok? Any extra considerations I need to address?
Always a family favourite. But I’d never tried making it with gruyere cheese. You sold me on that one. My normal go too was always strong and bitey cheddar. I’ve also blended half cream and half sour cream or cream fraiche for a richer mouth feel. Gruyere is now top of my list of cheeses though. Thanks Nagi
Seriously? Gruyere or mozzarella? Those seem to me to be polar opposites on the flavor spectrum. Personally, Gruyere or Comte all day long.
Will give this recipe a try. But I will definitely be adding sliced onion. This type of dish needs onion. It looks amazing, hope I can make it taste the same.
Honestly, it doesn’t need onion. Made it yesterday and it had a lot of flavor–thyme and gruyere makes a huge difference. So unlike many recipes, this does not need it (and I wouldn’t add it if I made it again). Plenty of flavor already.
A great dish…mama always made it for us…delicious as always….
How far ahead can I make this??
Loved it!
This dish was absolutely amazing! I’ll definitely be saving this one for future use! I particularly loved the gruyere cheese addition! Just delicious!
Made this and it tasted great but top layer did not brown. How do I brown the potatoes
I don’t know if you will see this since it’s August of 2024, but you’re not browning the potatoes, your suppose to put cheese on top and brown the cheese. This might help someone else that is trying to brown the potatoes. Although you probably could if you try using your broiler in the oven. Hope this helps someone. 😊 🌎☮️
Oops, I didn’t read ahead and combined everything in the sauce. So I stirred it all up for the last 15 min. bake.
I added a little onion, we like the flavor.
I used our food processor to slice the potatoes. It’s quick, and even so, the potatoes started to brown. It’d help to have everything ready before cutting the potatoes.