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Rich, comforting, and surprisingly simple, these potatoes au gratin are an irresistible side dish that always gets rave reviews.
This classic potatoes au gratin recipe is one of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes, and it’s also fitting for Christmas, a dinner party, or any meal that calls for something a little extra. 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. And while it’s certainly worthy of a special occasion, honestly, a pan of these potatoes makes any dinner feel like one.
“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!”
Potatoes Au Gratin vs Scalloped Potatoes
Potatoes au gratin and scalloped potatoes are similar dishes, but there are a few key differences. Both are made with thinly sliced potatoes baked until tender, but au gratin potatoes typically include cheese and are known for their rich, golden-brown top. Scalloped potatoes traditionally don’t contain cheese and are often flavored with onions and baked in a milk or cream sauce thickened with a roux.
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
How To Make Potatoes Au Gratin
Slice the potatoes: Slice the potatoes as thinly and uniformly as possible so they cook at the same rate. A mandoline works well, but a sharp knife is all you need. If a potato feels wobbly, cut a thin slice lengthwise and place it cut-side down on the cutting board to create a stable base.
Season the potatoes: Toss the slices thoroughly with salt and pepper so the seasoning is evenly distributed. Potatoes need a generous amount of salt to bring out their flavor, so don’t be tempted to skimp.
Assemble the gratin: Arrange the potatoes in overlapping layers in a buttered baking dish, distributing the cheese and cream evenly as you go. Don’t worry about making the layers perfectly neat, but try to keep them fairly even so the potatoes cook uniformly. Be sure to pour in all of the cream—it will thicken as the gratin bakes, creating the rich, velvety sauce.
Bake until golden: Bake the gratin until the top is deeply golden and a knife slides easily through the potatoes with almost no resistance. Don’t cover the dish with foil; baking it uncovered is what gives you that beautiful browned top. Let it rest for a few minutes before serving so the cream can settle and thicken around the potatoes.
Finish with a sprinkle of fresh thyme and serve hot, while the top is crisp and golden and the potatoes underneath are creamy and tender.
Potatoes au gratin are best baked just before serving, but you can do some of the work ahead. See the recipe card below for my make-ahead, storage, and reheating instructions. If you love this recipe, try my cauliflower gratin or Brussels sprouts gratin next.
More Potato Side Dishes You May Like
Potatoes Au Gratin
Ingredients
- Butter to grease the baking dish
- 2½ lb Russet potatoes (3 to 4), peeled and very thinly sliced
- 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 (175°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease an 8-in (20-cm) or 2-qt/2L 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.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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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I have made this recipe multiple times. It is my go to side dish for Christmas and Easter dinner. Delicious and elegant to serve!
Sinful is the only way to describe this dish. It is exquisite from the smell to the taste to the leftovers (if you have any). In addition to its being delicious, one of the greatest features is that you can make it the day before (follow Jenn’s directions on this), so it is perfect for a dinner party or event that requires last-day or last-minute preparation of other dishes. It is a winner!
A different technique that I used to do working at a steakhouse, we would cook all of the sliced potatoes in the heavy cream and seasoning, just until they were almost tender, but still had a bite to them. Let them cool in the cream. Then lay them in layers into whichever baking dish. Just top with the cooking cream and cheese before baking. Same recipe, just a different method.
Oh my gosh, these were delicious. My husband and I both loved them. Can’t wait to make them for company.
This recipe is exquisite! I love that you can prepare it a day before. It’s so creamy and scrumptious. My daughter loves potatoes and this is one of her favorite recipe.
Au gratin potatoes are one of my very favorite ways to have the humble spud, so I had high hopes for this recipe. I’ve made it twice, and it’s good, but for me what it needs to balance all that heavy cream is a good-sized clove of garlic, minced. It might also be helpful if the recipe (print version) specified HOW thin to cut those potatoes. I went with about 1/8 inch the first time and that wasn’t thin enough, even with additional oven time.
I’ve made this recipe several times. It was a hit with both dinner parties. Second time, even though I felt the original recipe was creamy with only the parmesan, I added Gruyere also for a different texture and taste. It was very good as well.
I’ve made this recipe several times. It was a hit with both dinner parties. Second time, even though I felt the original recipe was creamy with only the parmesan was very good I added Gruyere for a different texture and taste. It was very good as well.
made this on a whim after getting a craving while watching a movie family serving a pan of potato gratin. And now it is one of the family faves. I just don’t think about the calories. There is no way to make this taste as good without following along exactly. Just do it. Take a little longer run the next day.
I reserve this recipe for special occasion because it’s so decadent, but honestly it’s easy enough for a weeknight meal – especially with the help of a mandoline. It’s perfect exactly as written just like the rest of the recipes I’ve tried on this site, and I always get asked for the recipe!
I used almond milk (because I forgot to buy cream and that was what I had available in the pantry), and it still turned out delicious!
This was the recipe that convinced me to buy her cookbook! So deliciously creamy and cheesy! I use a mandolin to make slicing the potatoes easier and add lots of freshly ground pepper to each layer. I love that I can make it the day before, let it sit in the fridge overnight, then pop it in the oven an hour before dinner and it’s perfection every time.