When you need pure comfort in a casserole dish, Potatoes Au Gratin deliver. These thinly sliced potatoes baked in a creamy, cheesy sauce hit all the comfort food buttons. And the leftovers are awesome, so you can feed on that casserole heaven all week! 🙌
What are Potatoes Au Gratin?
Potatoes au gratin are basically scalloped potatoes with cheese (haha, that made me think of “royale with cheese”). So if you like scalloped potatoes and you like cheese, you’ll LOVE potatoes au gratin!
If you’ve never had scalloped potatoes, you can think of potatoes au gratin like this: thinly sliced potatoes layered with cheese and a creamy white sauce, then baked until bubbly and delicious. It’s pretty incredible.
What Kind of Cheese Can I Use?
In general, you want to stick to smooth melting cheeses for potatoes au gratin and avoid hard aged cheeses that don’t melt as easily (like Parmesan, although that would make a nice topper mixed with breadcrumbs!). I had some cheddar cheese on hand today, that I used, but Gruyere is another popular choice for potatoes au gratin.
What to Serve with Potatoes Au Gratin
This is such a rich comforting dish that it pairs well with any roasted or baked comfort food. I would pair it with something like Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin, Cheddar Cheeseburger Meatloaf, or Herb Butter Chicken Thighs. And of course you’ll probably need some sort of vegetable to balance out all that richness, so add a simple side of steamed green beans for good measure. ;)
What Kind of Potatoes are Best?
Most people like a waxier variety for potatoes au gratin, like Yukon gold or red potatoes, but I’m the opposite. I like russet potatoes because they are starchier, which helps keep the sauce nice and thick, and I enjoy how soft they get when baked in the creamy sauce. If you prefer a more firm slice, go with Yukon gold or red potatoes.
Potatoes Au Gratin
Servings 8Ingredients
- 3 lbs. potatoes ($1.79)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 4 Tbsp butter ($0.56)
- 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.04)
- 1 cup chicken broth ($0.12)
- 2 cups whole milk ($0.75)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg ($0.02)
- 8 oz. cheddar, shredded ($1.69)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Peel and slice the potatoes into ⅛-inch thick slices. If you're not yet confident in your knife skills, use a mandoline or food processor to slice the potatoes into thin, even pieces.
- Finely dice the yellow onion. Sauté the onion in a sauce pot with the butter until soft (about five minutes). Once soft, add the flour to the pot and continue to cook and stir for about two minutes. Finally, whisk in the milk until the flour is fully dissolved.
- Allow the milk to come up to a gentle simmer over medium heat, whisking often. Once simmering, the milk with thicken. Whisk in the chicken broth and allow it to come back to a simmer. Season the sauce with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
- Layer half of the potatoes in the bottom of a 4 quart casserole dish. Top the potatoes with half of the white sauce and half of the shredded cheddar. Repeat with one more layer of potatoes, sauce, and shredded cheddar.
- Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake in the preheated 350ºF oven for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for another 30 minutes, or until the cheese is browned and bubbling on top. Let the casserole stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Potatoes Au Gratin – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Peel and slice three pounds of potatoes into ⅛-inch thick rounds. If you’re not confident in your knife skills, you can use a mandoline or food processor with a slicer attachment to create the thin, even slices.
Finely dice one yellow onion. Sauté the onion with 4 Tbsp butter in a sauce pot until the onions are tender (about 5 minutes).
Add 4 Tbsp flour to the pot with the sautéed onions and continue to cook and stir over medium heat for about two more minutes.
Whisk 2 cups milk into the pot with the onions and flour. Whisk well until all the flour is dissolved. Allow the milk to come up to a gentle simmer, at which point it will thicken.
Whisk in 1 cup chicken broth and allow it to come back up to a simmer.
Season the white sauce with ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper, and ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg.
Layer half of the sliced potatoes in a 4 quart casserole dish. top with half of the white sauce and 4oz. shredded cheddar.
Repeat all three layers one more time: sliced potatoes, white sauce, and shredded cheese. Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes in the preheated 350ºF oven.
Remove the foil after 45 minutes and bake without foil for an additional 30 minutes. Let the potatoes stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
I garnished with a little parsley for color, but parsley is not needed to flavor this dish.
Looks delicious!!
Can this dish be made in advance before baking? Would love to make it on the prior day if possible
Yes. Though you may have some discoloration. Prepare everything in your casserole dish and cover it tightly with plastic wrap pressed directly on the potatoes to prevent them from browning, though some will probably brown. Store in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake.
Can I use a round casserole?
Thank You :)
Yes, as long as it’s big enough to hold all the contents, sure! :)
Made these yummy potatoes over the holidays and brought me right back to when my mom would make them growing up. They were creamy, flavorful and crisp around edges. Perfect! I paired it with chili rubbed pork loin and beautiful pomegranate, pear, pecan salad.
Could I make a vegetarian version of this with vegetable broth rather than chicken broth?
Yes, but it will change the flavor and color slightly. :) Vegetable broth tends to be a little bit stronger in flavor, IMHO, but I’m sure it will also depend on the brand you use.
This recipe was easy to make and tasted pretty good. I think it’s a bit plain personally, though. I added some sauteed garlic on top and it tasted fantastic!
This recipe does not belong in the vegetarian section, as chicken broth is still meat.
Oops, thanks for catching that! Definitely a wrong click of the mouse! :)
I’ve been wanting to make this one for a while. I made it today with some ham and veggies and it was a hit. Thanks Beth!
Sounds yummy! What kind of veggies did you add?
I made these tonight (half recipe) to use up some ingredients I didn’t want to go to waste plus I’ve been wanting to try an au gratin recipe. This recipe was delicious! I used a mix of swiss and cheddar and used yukons for the potatoes. Outstanding!