Potatoes Au Gratin
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Tender, golden, and irresistibly creamy, potatoes au gratin is the kind of crowd-pleasing side that makes any meal feel special.
This wonderful classic potatoes au gratin recipe is one of my go-to Thanksgiving side dishes, but it’s also perfect for any special dinner. It involves layering thinly sliced potatoes with heavy cream and grated cheese in a casserole dish, and then baking until the cream thickens and blankets the potatoes in a rich, creamy sauce. This dish is definitely worthy of a special occasion, but honestly, enjoying this au gratin potatoes recipe feels like a special occasion all on its own.
For more easy gratin recipes to round out your dinner rotation, check out my cauliflower gratin and Brussels sprouts gratin.
“I only gave this five stars because I couldn’t give it 10 stars. This may be my favorite side dish ever. It is amazing!”
What You’ll Need To Make Potatoes Au Gratin
- Russet Potatoes: With their high starch content, russets soak up the cream beautifully and bake into soft, melt-in-your-mouth layers. They’re the best choice for this dish. Skip the Yukon Golds here—they won’t give you the same texture.
- Heavy Cream: The secret to the luscious, velvety sauce. You might be tempted to swap in milk or half-and-half, but don’t—this recipe really needs heavy cream to thicken properly.
- Parmigiano Reggiano: Adds a salty, nutty depth that melts right into the potatoes, creating incredible flavor and texture. Be sure to use true Parmigiano Reggiano. If you can’t find it, Pecorino Romano makes a great substitute.
- Salt, Pepper & Thyme: These simple seasonings bring everything to life—the thyme is optional but adds a subtle earthiness that pairs perfectly with the creamy potatoes and cheese.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Slice the potatoes. It’s key to cut the potoates as thinly and uniformly as possible. You can use a mandoline slicer if you have one, but I never bother.
Pro tip: When slicing wobbly potatoes, it helps to cut a thin slice along the length of the potato, then turn the potato cut-side down on a cutting board so that it sits flat.
Step 2: Season the potatoes. Place the potatoes in a large bowl and toss with the salt and pepper. Be sure the potatoes are evenly coated.
Step 3: Assemble the gratin. Butter a 2-quart baking dish. Arrange some of the potato slices, with their edges overlapping, in a single layer on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle a quarter of the cheese over the potatoes.
Pour a quarter of the cream over top. Repeat with the remaining potatoes, cheese, and cream, forming four layers. Pour any leftover cream over the top—you want to use it all.
Step 4: Bake. Bake the gratin for 60 to 75 minutes, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife and golden brown on top. Don’t cover the dish with foil — you want that beautiful color to develop. The top should be nicely golden by the time it’s done, but if you’d like a little extra browning, pop it under the broiler for a minute or two (just keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t burn). Sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves, if you like, and serve warm.
More Potato Side Dishes You May Like
Potatoes Au Gratin
With layers of thinly sliced potatoes baked in cream and melted cheese, this potatoes au gratin is the ultimate comfort food.
Ingredients
- Butter to grease the baking dish
- 2½ pounds Russet potatoes (3 to 4), peeled and sliced very thin
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup (4 oz) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 2¼ cups heavy cream
- Fresh thyme, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease an 8-inch (or 2-quart) baking dish with butter.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss the potatoes with the salt and pepper until evenly coated.
- Arrange some of the potato slices, edges overlapping, in a single layer on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle a quarter of the cheese over the potatoes, and then pour a quarter of the cream over the cheese. Repeat with the remaining potatoes, cheese, and cream, forming 4 layers. Pour any leftover cream over top.
- Place in the oven and bake, uncovered, for 60 to 75 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife and golden brown on top. Let the dish settle on the counter for about ten minutes. Sprinkle with fresh thyme, if using, and then serve.
- Make Ahead: If absolutely necessary, this dish can be assembled a day ahead and covered tightly with plastic wrap (pressing the wrap directly against the potatoes so they don’t discolor too much). Store in the refrigerator and bake before serving. Note that the potatoes on top will still discolor a bit in the fridge, but it shouldn't be noticeable after baking.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Calories: 399
- Fat: 29 g
- Saturated fat: 18 g
- Carbohydrates: 28 g
- Sugar: 3 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 9 g
- Sodium: 518 mg
- Cholesterol: 101 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Would a 2.5 quart dish work for this recipe? How will it impact the cook time?
Thanks – recipe looks amazing and am excited to make it.
Hi Mary, that should work. If the pan is wider (as opposed to deeper), it may take a little less time in the oven so keep a close eye on it. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jenn. I would like to make this with your beef tenderloin with red wine sauce as you recommend with that recipe but they both require oven time and I only have one oven. Do you have any suggestions on how I could make both of these dishes using one oven since it appears that neither dish is optimal being made ahead of time? I do have an electric roaster that I have only used a couple of times for turkey. Do you think I can use it for one of the dishes? Any advice for oven management would be appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Heather, I would bake both the potatoes and the tenderloin at 350°. Both will take longer (the roast because it is baking at a lower temp and the potatoes because the oven will be more crowded) so I’d keep a close eye on both and I’d use a remote or instant-read thermometer for the tenderloin to take any guesswork out of it. Hope you enjoy! (And while an electric roaster may work for one of the dishes, I’m not familiar with them so I can’t say for sure — sorry I can’t help more in that department!) 🙂
I made the recipe as written and it turned out very well. The only change I made was I lightly salted and put a bit of black pepper on each layer of potatoes before adding the cheese and cream instead of tossing the potatoes with salt in a bowl. Like a previous reviewer noted, I to found that the gratin was finished baking at about one hour and forty minutes. I do not have a convention oven, which I believe led to the longer cooking time. Everyone enjoyed this and I will make this again.
It’s always a good idea to read through comments to get a feel for a recipe before starting! More often that not it helps.
I used about 4-5 smallish russet potatoes, used pecorino romano and made sure with the heavy cream, to use only as much as needed to cover my layer of potatoes (about 2 cups). Overall turned out well. Once the potatoes were out of the oven, they soaked up all that goodness and were perfectly baked, no soupiness.
For next time I’ll make sure to use 4 large potatoes, seemed like I needed more of them to counter the amount of salt and pepper and to balance the saltiness out a bit.
Still loved them and enjoyed savoring every bite. Simple and delicious, can’t beat that!
Your gratin is perfect for cold nights. Another wonderful recipe! Merci Jen!
This is my kind of recipe! Simple and a few ingredients and tasted like it took hours of preparation. Thank you for this recipe, it turned out amazing and my family can’t wait for me to make it again.
Liked this even better than the popular New York Times potato gratin recipe with leeks (and I like leeks!). I agree with other reviewers that the cream in this recipe can be decreased by 1/2 cup. Otherwise perfect. Will be making this for years.
I made these for Thanksgiving and it turned out perfectly. Used a mandolin to cut the potatoes very thin and used both pecorino and gruyere for cheese, not too much. Also for those of you saying it ended up soupy, I did not use exact measurements for the cream. Instead I just eyeballed it by making sure each layer was just barely covered. It thickened very nicely. I also drew some of the water out of the potatoes by letting them sit in a bowl for a few minutes after salting, which might have helped prevent soupiness. Pulled the potatoes out of the oven after probably an hour and 20 minutes, when thick bubbles were popping on the side and it looked “done”.
Exactly what is was looking for!
I just made this yesterday as a side for Thanksgiving. And I needed to use a gluten free recipe for one of my guests. Wow! it really turned out fantastically great! the taste was spot on with the minimal seasonings and the chewiness of the cheese combined with just a hint of bite in the potatoes was quite gratifying. All the guests were amazed by this dish and the look of it as well. I did add Kasaggio Goudo as a small but thin layer at each layering and the cream densed up just fine since I used only about a cup of lite cream.