PERFECT Au Gratin Potatoes
This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.
Look no further for the BEST au gratin potatoes recipe! Perfectly creamy, cheesy and flavorful, this recipe continually gets rave reviews and is destined to become your go-to from now on!
One of the cardinal rules of good potatoes au gratin is that it cannot be dry. The cheesy cream sauce needs to ooze out. Not run out all over the plate in a big wet mess, but just slowly oooooze out. Here is a classic creamy potatoes au gratin recipe at its very best!
I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who doesn’t like potatoes. I’ve met plenty of picky eaters, but even the pickiest will eat potatoes in one form or the other. However they’re prepared, they’re the perfect comfort food. And combined with cream and cheese, they’re simply heavenly.
Au Gratin Potatoes vs Scalloped Potatoes
The two have come to be confused and are often used interchangeably as any online search will show. But they are two different dishes. Similar but different. The primary difference lies in the addition of cheese. Au gratin potatoes include cream and cheese whereas scalloped potatoes are simpler, featuring only cream.
One way to look at it is that with au gratin you get everything scalloped has plus more – deliciously more! Au gratin potatoes are always my first choice.
The Best Potatoes For Au Gratin Potatoes
Many recipes call for Russet potatoes. My favorite is the Yukon Gold potato and I’ll tell you why. You want to select a potato that has a moderate amount starch in it so that it both absorbs and thickens the sauce. This will prevent the sauce from running all over the plate. Potatoes that are very low in starch, like some varieties of fingerlings and red potatoes, will have a hard time absorbing the liquid which increases the risk of ending up with something more akin to au gratin soup (though this can be mitigated by adding a little more flour and/or increasing cooking time).
You also want a potato that will to some extent hold its shape and doesn’t fall apart and turn to mush. And that’s the challenge with using Russets for things like au gratin potatoes and scalloped potatoes. Russets Potatoes are really high in starch and as a result do not hold their shape. That’s why they’re not a good option potato salads and it’s for that same reason that they’re really not ideal for au gratin potatoes. Yukon Golds, having a moderate amount of starch are a great choice. They’re not so low in starch that they won’t absorb the liquids and they not so high in starch that they’ll fall apart. In other words, they’re kind of a “Goldilocks” variety of potatoes, which is why they’re so versatile in use.
Can You Make Au Gratin Potatoes Ahead of Time?
YES! Au gratin potatoes are the perfect make ahead potato side dish! Simply assemble the dish a day ahead of time, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and then bake it the next day. Increase the baking time a little to account for the dish being cold. You can also set it out on the counter and let it sit at room temperature for about an hour before baking while you’re prepping other things. And don’t worry if the potatoes are a little discolored, you won’t notice it once the potatoes are cooked.
For even better results we recommend par-baking the dish first. That means you’ll bake it 3/4 of the way, remove it from the oven, let it cool completely, cover and refrigerate, and then bake it the rest of the way the following day. The potatoes will absorb more of the liquid but you can mitigate this by adding about 1/4 cup extra cream.
This potatoes au gratin recipe is wonderfully creamy, cheesy and flavorful and has received tons of rave reviews over the years. Several of our friends and family make this every year on holidays and other occasions and have passed the recipe on to their friends who usually request it after tasting it.
Au Gratin Potatoes Recipe
Let’s get started!
Dice the onions, mince the garlic, and thinly slice the potatoes. You can slice the potatoes by hand or you can use a kitchen mandolin to do the slicing. It makes the job faster and easier and ensures they’re sliced the same width. THIS ONE is the same one I bought in Germany and took back to the States with me – I love it! It’s also Cook’s Illustrated’s “Top Choice”.
Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and add the onions and cook until soft and translucent, 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Add the flour and stir to combine. Cook for a minute or two.
Add the milk and cream, stirring continually to prevent clumping. Slowly bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until slightly thickened.
Add the cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese and salt and stir until melted.
Add the potatoes and stir until thoroughly combined.
Pour the mixture into a 2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil.
Bake for 1 hour or until the potatoes are tender (time can vary depending on thickly the potatoes are sliced).
Uncover and bake for another 20 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and to enable the excess moisture to evaporate.
Let sit for about 5 minutes before serving. (If you used a lower starch potato variety like Yukon Gold it will be “soupier” and may need to sit a few minutes longer to enable the excess liquid to absorb). Sprinkle with some chopped parsley for garnish if desired.
Serving Suggestions
Au Gratin potatoes makes a great versatile side dish that can be served with just about anything. And of course it’s practically a staple at the holiday dinner table. Here are things you can serve au gratin potatoes with:
- Roast Chicken, Turkey, Pork, Beef or Lamb
- Ham
- Steak
- Pork Chops
- Salmon or other fish
- Grilled Portabello Mushroom Steaks
- Grilled or Roasted Vegetables
- Green Salad
Enjoy!
For more delicious side dishes be sure to try my:
- ULTIMATE Green Bean Casserole
- Zucchini Au Gratin
- Cauliflower Gratin
- Creamed Spinach
- Waldorf Salad
- Mashed Potatoes with Parsnips and Horseradish
- Baked Endives with Ham and Bechamel
- Rotkohl (German Braised Red Cabbage)
- Old Fashioned Baked Beans
- Loaded Colcannon
- Ultimate Corn Pudding
- Pea Salad
- Broccoli Salad
Save This Recipe
Enter your email address and we’ll send it straight to your inbox!
PERFECT Au Gratin Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds moderate starch potatoes , thinly sliced (Russets will absorb more liquid while Yukon Golds will result in a "saucier" au gratin; it's a matter of personal preference)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black or white pepper (optional)
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (do not use pre-shredded, it's dusted with cellulose and doesn't melt as well; another fabulous option is half Gruyere/half Emmentaler)
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese divided in half
- chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and add the onions and cook until soft and translucent, 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the flour and stir to combine. Cook for a minute or two. Add the milk and cream, stirring continually to prevent clumping. Slowly bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until slightly thickened. Add the cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese and salt and stir until melted. Add the potatoes and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Pour the mixture into a 2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour or until the potatoes are tender (time can vary depending on how thickly the potatoes are sliced).Uncover and bake for another 20 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and to enable excess moisture to evaporate.Let sit for about 5 minutes before serving (if you used a lower starch potato variety like Yukon Gold it will be "soupier" and may need to sit a few minutes longer to enable the excess liquid to absorb). Sprinkle with some chopped parsley for garnish if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet December 3, 2013
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
My wife and I recently had an amazing side of potatoes au gratin at an anniversary dinner and I wanted to find the recipe. I did some research online and found this one. While this is decidedly not a copycat recipe of those Pappas Bros. Steakhouse potatoes, after a few tweaks the results were equally as delicious – so good I thought I should contribute our adjustments to this recipe. Not a difficult recipe at all, but I’ll save this for special occasions due to its richness.
Yellow Potatoes – As suggested in the article, use Yukon Golds. This was a major contributing factor to the superior final texture of the potatoes. Even after the 2nd day of leftovers the potatoes are still holding their shape.
Par bake, cut & then let dry – Someone mentioned par baking and I’m glad I did it. Microwave the bunch of whole potatoes on high for 2-3 minutes (depending on size). Use the mandolin on its thin setting to make consistent slices. Spread the slices out on a parchment lined half-sheetpan to steam off and release some of their moisture while you dice the onion & garlic. This additional step did 3 things: first it dried the potatoes so that they could absorb more of the cheese sauce, secondly it sped up the final cook time and lastly it broke up the stacks of potato slices so the dish wasn’t quite so dense and the sauce can get in between the individual slices.
Use buttermilk – swap in buttermilk instead using whole milk. The slight acidity in the buttermilk helps cut through and balance the thick creaminess of the sauce. A little acidity in the sauce keeps the dish from feeling as heavy as it is.
Onion – I never realized this until I tried this recipe, I do not all the slivers of onion typically found in potatoes au gratin. After finely dicing a whole onion (about twice what the recipe states) it practically melted into the sauce, giving it a ton of flavor without the bite. That said, some in the family do like the crunch that the onion can provide. I’ve made notes in my recipe to reserve about a quarter of the yellow onion to run through the mandolin just to give a little more texture to the final product. Then everyone’s happy.
Garlic – Double the garlic to 4 large cloves, and I used a garlic press to ensure it was fully minced.
Bacon – Someone in the comments mentioned adding bacon to theirs and I’m so glad I did it too. Diced & fried 5 thick slices beforehand — just don’t cook it until it become bacon bits. You want it cooked through but not too crunchy. Bacon always goes well with potatoes.
Paprika – Used about ¼ teaspoon to add color to the sauce. Then sprinkled more on top with the parmesan just before popping it into the oven.
Cayenne – Used about 1/8 teaspoon and another sprinkle on top before its baked. Similar to the buttermilk, the pepper will help break up the cream sauce and keeps it from feeling flat on your pallet. A little goes a long way and you certainly don’t want to have spicy potatoes. It just needs sit there in the background, as an aftertaste.
Mustard Powder – Another secret flavor enhancer. I use mustard, in powder form or a squizz of “French’s finest,” whenever making a heavy cheese sauce (e.g. homemade mac & cheese). It adds complexity to the sauce & breaks up the cream. Similar to the cayenne you don’t really want to taste mustard, it just needs to be in the background. For this recipe I used ¼ teaspoon of mustard powder. But play around with it – it could probably take more than that.
Salt – I used more salt than the recipe states, maybe even ½ teaspoon more. Before you put in the potatoes – taste the cream sauce for seasoning. It needs to taste a little salty because the bland potatoes will quickly absorb all that salt. Side note: Since you’re tasting it before it goes into the oven, the final sauce will taste different. As the onions & potatoes poach in the cream they’ll release their natural sugars and so the final sauce will be a little more sweet after its been baked. If you taste it now and think the sauce is sweet before its even baked, you could mix in a dash of white vinegar or even an ounce of white wine.
Umami – The parmesan will give you both salt and meaty umami flavors so I used extra parmesan on top. But like salt or acid it’s good to have multiple sources of Umami. Try mushroom powder (that contains no added MSG) or even straight up Accent (mmm… tasty MSG).
Parsley – the picture in the article show the dish topped with chopped parsley, even though its not mentioned in the recipe. Do this. It greatly enhances the look of the final result and makes the family/guests want to dig right in. Just wait until after its cooled a bit, otherwise the parsley will wilt and turn slightly brown.
I love this recipe! I made one small change. I sauteed the onions and garlic before adding them to the butter and flour. I’m not sure how much of a difference that made to the flavor sense this is the only time I made them…but everyone absolutely loved them! Thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them, Dawn, thanks so much for the feedback!
thank you Kim,Happy New Year!!
Thank you for the recipe …..Can I cube the potato’s rather than Slice? I have had them at Restaurants very small cubed ? I have also heard to Par boil sliced/cubed potato’s for 5 minutes,then immediately immerse in cold water ,This is to prevent the potato’s getting Mushy on you? Opinions Welcome…..
Hi Steve, yes to both of those questions. The mushy-ness is really only a factor if you’re using a very starchy potato instead of a firmer, waxier variety. Happy cooking!
Can you use all cream?
Hi Kim, yes you can!
can you use 2% and get the same result?
Hi Janie, yes you can use 2%. It won’t be quite as creamy but it will work.
I am shocked at the prices of the mandolines! I have the borner one and I bought it for about £10 but, thinking about it, it was twenty five years ago. So that proves that they last,
What a great way to enjoy potatoes! Looking forward to serving this with dinner tonight; looks amazing!