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
I cannot wait to try this recipe. My husband was sitting next to me when I was watching your video of Au Gratin Potatoes, all he said was Hmmmm. I guess that’s he’s way of letting me know that he would like me to make a dish of Au Gratin potatoes.
I saw Sharkey behind you on your right shoulder watching you make this dish.
I hope you both love this recipe!
Saw Sharkey in front of the stove when you walked away with the food processor. He was following you.
The recipe is easy and I love the video that shows you how to do everything. However, I am not always lucky with recipes. Lol. My family all loved this dish, but I think I did something wrong. As the potatoes were cooking my cream turned oily and a little clunky. I drained off the excess water and put it back in the oven and it was good, but the cheese (in some places) looked like grated parmesan and I didn’t add any grated parmesan. What did I do wrong??
Hi Kristina! I’m so glad to hear the gamily still loved this recipe! It appears there were some common hiccups that occurred here. The oily cream could be due to overcooking or overheating the cream. The cheese texture usually occurs when something is cooked to hot for too long, or being too close to the heat source. I will note, sometimes certain cheese types can melt and brown differently, and that may also be the culprit.
If these are made the day before, should they be baked that day or can they refrigerated and baked the next day?
Hi! What I included in the make-ahead instructions are the best options for making this ahead. I would not recommend storing it without baking it. Potatoes can not only change color but the salt can draw liquid out and you risk turning the dish into a watery mess.
Thx so much for the wonderful and easy recipes!! You make me look so good ❤️
I’ve really been enjoying your recipes. I made this and your potato soup in the same week. I put the leftover au gratin potatoes in the soup to avoid waste. Sooo good!
Thanks for sharing, Mary!
DELICIOUS! I was hesitant to make because I had tried a different recipe a while back and was not impressed at all…was leery of trying again being afraid of disappointment. These did not disappoint at all and were absolutely delicious! Thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Bobles!
Really good!! My usual recipe called for frozen potatoes and my grocery stores were completely out of them (weird!), so I had to search out an alternate and now this has become my go-to! A bit more work than the frozen potato recipe, but worth it. I like putting the potatoes into the sauce and coating them before putting them in the dish – much better technique than layering! I used a mix of sharp ceddar, medium cheddar, a little jack, and some parmesean (I didn’t have gruyere). Turned out great! My guest loved them.
Thank you Shari for sharing your great review! Yeah, the holidays are a more challenging time to get ingredients. Great to get them early if you can!
So delicious. Next time I’ll add a bit more milk. Using onion powder made this easier vs. chopping onions.
Thanks for sharing, Lee!
Absolutely delicious! Added some thin sliced onion, the rest of the recipe remained unchanged. Made them today as part of Christmas dinner & everybody raved. Thank you fot another winning recipe.
You’re welcome, Beverly. I’m happy to know that it was a huge hit!
Followed to a tee was ok. I needed to adjust and make it edible
Hi Christine, if you could provide me with more details, I will do my best to help you troubleshoot what might have gone wrong. Without knowing more, my best suggestion would be to watch the video to see where things started looking differently?
How many potatoes would you use if you are getting 3 lbs from a ten pound bag? I guessed but curious if you had a number..
Hi Jessica, its hard to say without seeing the size of your potatoes, on average about 4-5 potatoes per pound. I hope this helps.
I saw Sharky at 4:19 on the video following you with your food processor! 🙂
Good catch!
‘m not sure where I was suppose to tell you where I saw the little shqrk, but yes I saw the little bugger going past behind you !!
My family loves what I call nacho cheese. I have quite a bit on hand & would like to use it as a substitute for gruyere in a scalloped potato recipe. What are your thoughts?
Hi Diane, I honestly haven’t tried it with that in this recipe, but it may work! If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Perfect scalloped potatoes! I plan to make them for Christmas with your ham recipe. The ham bakes at 325 degrees. Would you bake them with the ham at 325 or make them ahead and reheat them?
Hi Brenda, if you add more than one item to the oven it may take longer for both items to be done. If you adjust the time that may work. But these do reheat well and I have instructions for that in the recipe. I hope this helps.
Your recipes are super easy and come out so well! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Riya! I’m glad you’re enjoying them.
Your recipe sounds awesome. Wondering if I can substitute russet potatoes for Yukon gold?
Hi Christie, yes that will work too!
Sharks floated in front of the cook range as Natasha was walking off stage.
Love these potatoes and love your cookbook that I preordered on Amazon as soon as I heard about it, sharky flew by after the potatoes were sliced in front of the chopping board.
Hi Bonnie! Thank you so much for ordering the cookbook. I’m glad you love this recipe.