Name: Gratin Dauphinois (Potatoes au Gratin)
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h 15 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 4 large russet potatoes; 1 ½ cup (350ml) heavy cream; 1 ½ cup (350ml) milk; 2 tsp (10ml) salt; 4 garlic cloves, minced; freshly cracked pepper to taste; 1 ¾ cup (420ml) grated Gruyere cheese

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Gratin Dauphinois is one of my favorite French recipes to make during the holidays. It’s the perfect potato side dish that pairs so well with chicken, pork, turkey, beef, or lamb.

You’ll love how the tender potatoes mingle with silky cream sauce and gooey gruyere cheese to create a sensational potato side dish that will be the talk of the table. It takes minimal ingredients to put together and can also be made a day ahead!

Gratin Dauphinois pairs beautifully with my Creamy Chicken Florentine Recipe!

Step-By-Step Video Demo of Gratin Dauphinois

What to Serve with Potatoes au Gratin?

This recipe pairs beautifully with my Roasted Turkey Breast with Citrus Thyme Butter at Thanksgiving.
Or my Make Ahead Coq Au Vin recipe 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.

Using a Mandoline

The best way to slice potatoes thinly for this recipe is with a mandoline. I personally really like the OXO Mandoline because it’s so sturdy and has some nice safety features too.
You can always use a knife if you don’t have a mandoline, 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 to create a sturdier potato moving 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 that the layering goes quickly too.

cheese, cream mixture and garlic spread out on a cutting board — Components for layering the gratin dauphinoise

The Layering

In a greased 14″ gratin pan or a 9 x 13 casserole dish, place the first batch of potatoes in a single layer.
Then add a sprinkle of Gruyere cheese and a bit of the garlic
Then add another layer of potatoes, add the cheese, the garlic
Continue along this pattern of layering until all the potatoes, and garlic have been used up.
You should have about 1/2 cup of cheese left.

Adding 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

Adding the Remaining Cheese

Add the remaining cheese on top. It will need at least 1/2 cup of cheese on top, to create that beautiful cheesy finish on top. Feel free to add more if you like up to 1 cup if desired.

Make-Ahead Tips:

You can bake the gratin the day before and then allow to cool completely before refrigerating.
Cover with foil and then place it in the fridge.
To reheat, bake covered for 30 mins in a 375 oven, remove foil, and bake for another 10-15 mins more.
Alternatively, you can also freeze this casserole and then reheat it, covered at 375F for 40-50 mins. Then uncovered for 15 minutes.

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