Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes are an easy, impressive Thanksgiving or Christmas side dish that we make every year. Thinly sliced layers of potatoes are tossed in a rich and flavorful gruyere cheese sauce and baked until bubbly and golden. Every bite is delicious!
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This Au Gratin Potatoes recipe is a showstopping potato side dish that I like to make for the major holidays because it tastes and looks so special. Pair this with Baked Ham and Roasted Carrots for a memorable Easter feast! This potato casserole is absolutely holiday-worthy, but simple to prepare, especially with our quick method for thinly slicing the potatoes (see below).
Au Gratin Potatoes Video
Watch Natasha make these creamy and cheesy au gratin potatoes. These potatoes are so luxurious, yet so easy to make!
Au Gratin vs Scalloped Potatoes?
The two are very similar and often used interchangeably, but technically, scalloped potatoes are made from sliced potatoes baked in a simple mixture of milk and heavy cream. Meanwhile, “au gratin” (also called Gratin Dauphinois) is a French cooking technique that involves baking the potatoes in cream along with decadent layers of grated gruyere cheese.
Ingredients for Potatoes Au Gratin
The secret to making the perfect au gratin potatoes is in this recipe’s simple yet flavorful ingredients. Below is an overview of what you’ll need, with the full details available in the recipe card.
- Butter and Flour – You’ll whisk together melted butter and flour to form a roux, which is the base for the cream sauce.
- Milk and Heavy Whipping Cream – Using cream will prevent the cream from curdling or breaking, and adding milk prevents it from becoming too heavy.
- Seasoning – We season the cream sauce with onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Gruyere Cheese – Gruyere (pronounced “groo-yehr”) is a hard Swiss Alpine cheese made from cow’s milk. It’s smooth and great for melting. If you don’t have Gruyere, use grated sharp white cheddar cheese or a blend of mozzarella and parmesan cheese instead.
- Potatoes – We love using Yukon gold potatoes for this au gratin recipe, but other starchy potatoes, like russet potatoes, will also work. You can peel the potatoes or leave them unpeeled, it’s up to you.
Pro Tip:
I found that Costco had the best pricing for Gruyere cheese (photographed above), but it’s available in the cheese section of most grocery stores. I’ll buy Gruyere by the block and then shred it with the large holes of my box grater.
3 Ways to Thinly Slice Potatoes
The key to having the au gratin potatoes cook through evenly is to evenly and thinly slice the potatoes. to 1/8″ thick Below are our tried-and-true methods to achieve perfect, thinly sliced potatoes for this recipe:
- Knife – We love our santoku for slicing potatoes. It has handy grooves that keep the potatoes from sticking to the knife.
- Food Processor – The food processor is our favorite method for thinly sliced potatoes. It’s definitely the fastest and most efficient and feels a little safer since you aren’t getting close to the blade. We use Level 1 on our Cuisinart, which has an adjustable blade.
- Mandolin Slicer – I recommend using the food holder that comes with a mandolin, as well as a safety glove to protect your fingers, as those blades can be sharp! Begin by slicing off one end of the potato to create a flat surface for the holder to grab onto, and make sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions when slicing.
How to Make Au Gratin Potatoes
- Make the Cheese Sauce – Start by making the roux – whisk butter and flour in a large pot or dutch oven until golden. Whisk in the milk and cream, then season to taste and continue to stir until the sauce has thickened. Once the pot is off the heat, stir in about half of the shredded Gruyere.
- Slice the Potatoes – Slice your peeled or unpeeled potatoes into rounds about ⅛” thick (see above).
- Combine – Toss the potato slices in the cream mixture until well coated, then transfer the potatoes to a buttered casserole dish. Cover everything in a generous layer of the remaining grated cheese.
- Bake – Cover the potatoes with foil and bake at 350ºF for 1 hour then uncovered for 15-30 minutes until tender. For even more browning on top of your au gratin potatoes, set the oven to broil for the final minute or two, but don’t let it burn!
How to Serve Au Gratin Potatoes?
We love to serve these au gratin potatoes with a sprinkle of fresh chives, as a satisfying Thanksgiving or Christmas side dish or with family meals throughout the colder months. Here are some ideas to build your menu:
- Turkey – Serve as a holiday side dish with Juicy Roast Turkey with Turkey Gravy.
- Roasts – Roasted Beef Tenderloin, Prime Rib or Spatchcock Chicken.
- Veggies – Pair with Oven-Roasted Broccoli and Roasted Cauliflower.
- Salad – As a tasty side next to a fresh Beet Salad or Cobb Salad.
Make-Ahead & Storage
This cheese-filled potato bake is perfect to make ahead, and easy to store for delicious leftovers.
- Make-Ahead: I recommend baking the casserole completely, then cooling to room temperature, covering, and refrigerating. When you’re ready to serve, reheat per the instructions below.
- To Refrigerate Leftovers: Once the baked casserole has cooled, cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.
- Freezing: Baked and cooled gratin potatoes can be wrapped tightly and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw the potatoes in the fridge before reheating.
- To Reheat: Reheat baked au gratin potatoes in the oven covered in foil, at 350ºF for about 25 minutes or until hot throughout.
Hearty homemade Au Gratin Potatoes are the best comfort food. We’re sure that you’re going to love making these this holiday season, and all winter long!
Au Gratin Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups milk, any kind
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 ¼ tsp fine sea salt, or to taste
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 2 cups grated Gruyere cheese, from a 6 oz block or white cheddar cheese, divided
- 3 lbs Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed (peeled or unpeeled)
- Chives, to garnish, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 ̊F. Use 1 Tbsp butter to grease a 3 quart (9×13) casserole dish.
- In a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat, melt 4 Tbsp butter. Add flour whisk for 2 minutes to cook off the flour taste. Gradually pour in the milk then the cream while whisking. Add salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder then continue whisking until sauce has thickened. Add more seasonings to taste. Remove from heat and stir in half of the shredded cheese until melted.
- Peel potatoes if desired and thinly slice to 1/8” thick (a food processor makes this quick and easy). Add potatoes to the cheese sauce and stir to coat, then spread the potatoes evenly in the prepared baking dish and top with the remaining grated cheese.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 60 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15-30 minutes or until top is golden brown and potatoes are tender and can be easily pierced with a fork. You can broil for 1-2 minutes at the end if more browning is desired but keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn. Rest for 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with chives and freshly cracked black pepper if desired.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Potato Recipes
If you love this au gratin recipe, below are more must-have potato recipes.
- Twice-Baked Potatoes
- Loaded Potato Soup
- Mashed Potato Pancakes
- Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Perfect Roasted Potatoes
- Shepherd’s Pie
- Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Smashed Potato Salad
Made this for our Easter dinner and we all loved it! I will definitely make this again.
That’s so great, Lisa! I’m so happy it was a hit!
The first time I made the Au Gratin potatoes they turned out perfectly and everyone raved. Yesterday I made them again and followed the recipe exactly, as I did the first time, but the sauce was runny and curdled. What could have gone wrong?
Hi Luan, it’s hard to say what went wrong without being there. There are various reasons why they could have been more runny and curdled the second time around, if the potatoes we’re drained and dried, it cause too much moisture and watering down the dairy. The curdling can happen if the temperature was off OR if other acidic ingredients were incorporated too quickly. Finally it could be due to a different potato type (not starchy enough), or finally the sauce was not properly combined to begin with. I wish I could be more helpful from afar.
I made your au gratin potato recipe as a side dish for Easter dinner and it was fantastic! I have tried many au gratin potato recipes, and every time was disappointed in the result. I was about to give up on them and then I found your recipe!! I followed your recipe pretty much exactly, however, I did use half Gruyère and half white cheddar. My whole family loved them! Myhusband asked me how I found the recipe and I said it was from Natasha‘s Kitchen so I knew it was going to be good! Then we started discussing your Ukrainian origins and history of coming to America with your siblings and parents and your success and everyone was impressed with all you have done! I wonder how many other families were talking about you and your recipes during Easter dinner? L O L. Thank you so much for always providing us with recipes that we can count on to be delicious!
I made this for the first time and it was a huge hit. I wanted something to go with a baked ham for Easter and it was the perfect choice. I followed the directions exactly as written. And after watching your video I used my food processor to slice the potatoes and it was so quick and easy. The Gruyère cheese was a perfect choice and amount to blend into the sauce and not be too overpowering. The dish was so creamy. I will be making this again soon. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
I made these au gratin potatoes as a side dish for Easter dinner, and they were perfect. The potatoes were soft and creamy, and the baked crust added a delicious flavor. I followed the recipe exactly. I used a knife to thinly slice the
potatoes; it was easy and did not take long. This is a very good recipe, and I will be making these au gratin potatoes again.
I made these for our Easter dinner & they were SO GOOD! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
I’m making this for Easter dinner. Accidentally added all the cheese to the sauce. Is that going to be ok?
Hi Heather, I hope you still love it! It will just be cheesy throughout, but I imagine the flavor will still be just as good.
Is there a way to make this the day before? Thanks!!
You sure can, please see the “Make-Ahead & Storage” section of the recipe post.
Definitely trying this recipe. Looks great. Will use A2 milk so all in the family can enjoy it. Wonder about adding chopped ham to it? Do you not need to rinse the potatoes after slicing them? I did check Amazon for the food processor; it is no longer available.
Hi Cee Cee! You do not need to rinse them, but you can if you’d like. Just make sure to dry them if they are too wet.
This is the best recipe I have tried so far, for potatoes au gratin! Sooo delicious. I might use 1/2 cup less milk next time to make it a touch less saucy. Otherwise, it’s perfect to me!
Very good recipe and that cheese has less sodium which is great. Also, sharky snuck across in your absence!
Sharky went in front of the counter as you walked away. This recipe looks and sounds delicious.
Thank you so much for watching & good eye finding Sharky!!
Hi everyone
I saw sharky while you were putting the food processor away and nibbling on your hair
A fabulous dish and you cannot beat simple cooking.
Your friend from Canada
Dennis
Hi Dennis! Thanks for watching! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes.