Gratin Dauphinois (Homemade Au Gratin Potatoes)
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I have been married to a Frenchman for over 25 years and have cooked with my French family on our yearly trips to France, where the kitchen was how we connected. Gratin Dauphinois is one of my favorite French recipes for holiday entertaining. You’ll love how the tender potatoes mingle with silky cream sauce and gooey gruyère cheese to create a sensational potato side dish that will be the talk of the table. It takes minimal ingredients and can also be made a day ahead!
I used to watch my mother-in-law dip each potato slice into warmed cream before laying it in the casserole dish, but I’ve tried this recipe both ways and never saw much difference! So I take the easier route and pour the cream mixture over all the potatoes once they are sliced and in the baking dish.
Watch: My Au Gratin Potato Recipe Video
How to Make Au Gratin Potatoes
Using a Mandoline
- The best way to slice potatoes thinly for this recipe is with a mandoline. I really like the OXO Mandoline because it’s sturdy and has some nice safety features.
- If you don’t have a mandoline, you can always use a knife, but for even baking and layering, a mandoline is a great investment. You can also use it for my Potatoes Anna Recipe or my Vegetable Tian recipe too!
- Be sure to cut the potato in half before placing it in the safety guard; this will create a flat side for the mandoline blade to slice.
- This helps the potato move more steadily across the blade, which is a bit safer than a wobbly potato!
Setting the Mandoline
Place the tip of the potato in the safety guard and then set the thickness. I like to use a setting of 1/16″ for this recipe. I find this creates the best thickness.
Set Up the Layering Station
Slicing the potatoes is the most tedious part of this recipe, but after they are all cut, the rest goes pretty quickly. It’s best to have all the components set out “at-the-ready” so layering goes quickly, too.
Layer the Potatoes, Cheese and Garlic
- Place the first batch of potatoes in a single layer in a greased 14″ gratin pan or a 9 x 13 casserole dish.
- Then add a sprinkle of Gruyère cheese and a bit of the garlic
- Then add another layer of potatoes, add the cheese, and the garlic
- Continue this layering pattern until all the potatoes and garlic are used up.
- You should have about 1/2 cup of cheese left.
Add the Milk and Cream Mixture
- At first, it will look like a lot of liquid for the number of potatoes
- But the potatoes will absorb the milk/cream mixture while in the oven, as it bakes into the potatoes
- Pour the mixture all over the potatoes, getting into all the nooks and crannies
- Once all the mixture has been poured, level the dish by shaking it gently so that the mixture is evenly distributed
Top with the Remaining Cheese and Bake
Add the remaining cheese on top. You will need at least 1/2 cup of cheese on top to create that beautiful cheesy finish. Feel free to add more, up to 1 cup if desired.
Make-Ahead and Freezing Tips
- Bake the gratin the day before, then let it cool completely before refrigerating.
- Cover with foil, then refrigerate.
- To reheat, bake covered at 350F for 30 minutes, remove the foil, then bake for another 10-15 minutes.
- Alternatively, freeze this casserole and reheat covered at 350F for 40-50 minutes. Then uncover for 15 minutes.
What to Serve with Potatoes au Gratin?
- This recipe pairs beautifully with my Roasted Turkey Breast with Citrus Thyme Butter at Thanksgiving.
- Or pair it with my Make Ahead Coq Au Vin recipe or Peppercorn Steak at Christmas, or my Slow Roasted Rack of Lamb at Easter.
- It’s a wonderful holiday side dish because you can make it ahead of time and reheat before serving.
FAQs
Au Gratin vs. Scalloped Potatoes
Gratin dauphinois can also be similar to potatoes au gratin and scalloped potatoes. In fact, all three recipes overlap a bit. But to a purist, scalloped potatoes and gratin dauphinois are the closest. Both omit the cheese and rely on the potatoes and cream to create a crispy crust on top. Yet in some regions of France, mainly in cheese-producing areas, they add a cheesy gratin. This is where the name Potatoes Au Gratin comes from. In France, any casserole or baked dish with melted cheese is called an “Au Gratin”.
Why Did My Gratin Curdle?
A gratin can curdle if the cream mixture has boiled at too high a temperature. Bake the gratin at a low 325F, or 300F to be safe if it curdled at 323F. If you’ve had problems in the past, I would also use an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is running “at temperature”; many ovens can run hot or run cool. An oven thermometer helps ensure your oven runs at the correct temperature and isn’t too hot. If it runs hot, compensate by setting the oven lower by the amount it runs over.
Gratin Dauphinois (Potatoes au Gratin)
Tender potatoes mingle with silky cream sauce and gooey gruyère to create a sensational side dish that will be the talk of the table. It takes minimal ingredients and can be made a day ahead!
Ingredients
- 4 large russet potatoes (3 pounds/1.36kg)
- 1 ½ cup (350ml) heavy cream
- 1 ½ cup (350ml) whole milk
- 2 tsp (10ml) salt
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- freshly cracked pepper to taste
- 1 ¾ cup (200g) grated Gruyere cheese
Instructions
- Preheat to 325°F (160C).
- Combine the milk and heavy cream in a large Pyrex pitcher. Add salt and pepper, stir, and set aside.
- Grease a 14” (35cm) gratin pan and set it aside.
- Mince garlic with a garlic press and place in a small bowl.
- Grate Cheese and place in a small bowl.
- Peel the potatoes and slice them 1/16 inch thick. Use a Mandolin or a knife.
- Place one layer of potatoes in the gratin pan, add ¼ cup cheese, and sprinkle with 1/8 tsp garlic; repeat, layering potatoes, cheese, and garlic until all 4 potatoes are used.
- Slowly pour the cream and milk mixture over the layered potatoes, making sure it is evenly distributed in all the nooks and crannies.
- Top potatoes with the remaining ½ cup of cheese. Bake uncovered for 1 hour 30 minutes, until a knife slides easily into the potatoes and they are soft and tender. If the cheese starts to brown too quickly, cover with foil for the remaining duration of cooking time.
Notes
Make-Ahead Tips:
- Bake the gratin the day before, then let it cool completely before refrigerating.
- Cover with foil, then refrigerate.
- To reheat, bake covered for 30 mins in a 350F (150C) oven, remove the foil, and bake for another 10-15 mins.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 176Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 708mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 8g
Is there a comparable substitute for the gruyere cheese? Thank you.
Sure you could use Monterey Jack Cheese. Hope you enjoy!
Yum!! Love your recipe so much!!
Hi Beth, Could Half and Half be substituted successfully in this recipe for the half cream and half milk? Thanks – it looks delish!!
Oh sure that works too! And yes it’s SO delicious and great holiday side dish!
Beth, I am confused. In one place you say you’re making this in a 14” dish and elsewhere (under “The Layering”) you say “In a greased 9 x 13 gratin pan. . . )
Can you clarify, please? I’m making this tomorrow and it needs to be in a 9×13 inch pan. Thank you!
Hi Jamie! So sorry for the confused, I just fixed that it can be either a 14″ gratin pan OR a 9 x 13 casserole dish. So you should be good! I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Great! Thanks so much! We will enjoy, for sure.
is there a link to the gratin dish you use? I love your recipes…
Oh sure! Here it is. It’s pricy but I’ve had it forever and it was worth the investment 🙂
Beth,
Aluminum foil should never touch food. Cover with “unbleached” parchment paper then cover with foil. Thanks Beth for all the delicious recipes and your trips to France. Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family.
Do you freeze the dish cooked or uncooked?
If you were to freeze it do that once it’s already cooked and cooled 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Love your website Beth!
Noticed the 9×13 gratin pan links to the mandolin not the pan.
Thank you! Just removed that! 🙂
Can you freeze this casserole
Yes of course it would freeze beautifully 🙂 Enjoy!
Could not wait to make this and it was indeed delicious BUT the cream/milk mixture broke leaving rather unappetizing white clotted cheese and milk throughout. When it says “béchamel sauce” in the descriptive, does it make itself in the pan? What have I done wrong as I’d like to serve this at our family dinner. Thanks!
Oh Peg I’m so sorry! It’s my fault. It’s not technically a bechamel sauce, I was confusing it with a similar recipe I have for Zucchini Gratin that does use a bechamel sauce. I’ll fix that in the description ASAP. But a true bechamel sauce would fix this problem, which could be caused by too much moisture in the potatoes leaking into the sauce, or the cheese not being evenly distributed in each layer. But no worries, you can stabilize the mixture by using a bechamel, and just follow the recipe in the Zucchini Gratin recipe, since that will give you the right quantity, and proceed as directed with the layer of the cheese and garlic. Hope that helps and keep me posted!
Love, love, love this dish. I will be making it again. Is it possible to freeze this dish?
Can you freeze gratin dauphinois?
Yes! You could freeze this casserole and then reheat, covered at 375F for 40-50 mins. Then uncovered for 15 minsutes. So glad it was a hit! 🙂
Hello,
I will take your advice about referring to the Zucchini Gratin recipe for the bechamel sauce referenced in this recipe. The sauce is still in the description above so I, too, wondered about this. I usually look through comments to get a feel for how the recipe turns out for others and I was glad to find this information before starting the recipe.
Looking forward to trying more recipes. Thanks.