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Home Potato Recipes

Potatoes au Gratin (Dauphinoise)

By:Nagi
Published:20 Dec '20Updated:30 Jul '23
731 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Potatoes au Gratin – forget scalloped potatoes, THIS is the creme de la creme of all potato recipes!! Also known as Dauphinoise Potatoes, this French classic is made with layers upon layers of finely sliced potatoes, cream, butter and cheese with a hint of fresh thyme.

Adapted from a Julia Child’s recipe, this is luxurious and thoroughly indulgent. Bonus: It’s the ultimate make ahead potato side dish!

Potatoes au gratin (Dauphinoise Potatoes) fresh out of the oven

Potatoes au Gratin

Potatoes au Gratin? Or Scalloped Potatoes?

If you’re wondering what the difference is between Scalloped Potatoes and Au Gratin Potatoes, scalloped potatoes are made with a flour-butter-milk roux, whereas Potatoes au Gratin are made with 100% indulgence: cream, butter and cheese.

So I ask you again: Potatoes au Gratin? Or Scalloped Potatoes?

There’s no contest. Cream trumps flour Every. Single. Day. 😂

Potatoes au Gratin for the win!!!

Close up of bowl with Potatoes au gratin (Dauphinoise Potatoes), ready to be eaten

All the essential food groups present

I was going to say that it’s quite remarkable how so few ingredients can make something so luxurious. But the reality is, it’s pretty hard to go wrong when potatoes, cream, butter and cheese are involved.

We’re working with all the good stuff today!

Ingredients in Potatoes au gratin (Dauphinoise Potatoes)

Best kind of potatoes for au gratin

This is the sort of potato dish where we want the potatoes to breakdown and become lovely and soft under that golden cheesy crust, so we need to ensure we use starchy potatoes. Australia – I use Sebago (those dirt brushed potatoes). America – Russet is perfect, and for those of you in the UK, King Edward or Maris Piper are perfect. Or any other starchy potatoes – Dutch creams, King Edwards or red delight.

To be honest, as long as you do not use a waxy potato then it’s going to work great – I’ve used all sorts over the years. Waxy potatoes are the kind used for potato salads and if used in Potatoes au Gratin, the layers sort of slip apart and you’ll have paper-thin-potato UFO’s flying all over the place.

Been there, done that. Not good, my friends.

Finely sliced potatoes for Potatoes au gratin (Dauphinoise Potatoes)

How to make potatoes au gratin

Thinly sliced potato is layered with a cream-butter-garlic mixture, sprinkled with thyme and the mandatory cheese in every layer. Bake covered for 75 minutes (yes really, it takes that long), then uncovered just to make the cheese on top lovely and golden.

While it might seem daunting to thinly slice 1 kg / 2 lb of potatoes, this is the sort of task where you’ll quickly get into a rhythm. By the 3rd potato, you’ll be slicing like a pro!

Though having said that, a mandolin will make short work of it….

How to make Potatoes au gratin (Dauphinoise Potatoes)
Potatoes au gratin (Dauphinoise Potatoes) fresh out of the oven, ready to be served

I am yet to meet a form of potato I don’t like. And of all the ways to cook potato, this is my favourite.

Sure, sometimes I stray and get excited by my latest obsession. I went mad for Ultra Crispy Smashed Potatoes, and crazy over Parmesan Crusted Potatoes. I thought Twice-baked Stuffed Jacket Potatoes were the ant’s pants.

But Potatoes au Gratin are a classic that I’ll love forever and ever. First made using Julie Child’s recipe which then evolved slightly over the years to what it is today. A slightly more streamlined assembly process, the addition of garlic and… I upped the cheese.

Do you think Julia would approve?? 😂 – Nagi x


Watch how to make it

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Potatoes au Gratin in a white casserole dish, fresh out of the oven

Potatoes au Gratin

Author: Nagi
Prep: 15 minutes mins
Cook: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
Total: 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins
Side Dish
French
4.97 from 214 votes
Servings8 – 10 people
Tap or hover to scale
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Recipe video above. The ultimate potato bake, created by the French!!! Potato + cream + cheese with a hint of garlic and thyme = pure heaven. Based on Julia Child's Potato Dauphinoise recipe.
This is THE perfect make ahead potato dish, the most luxurious of all potato casseroles, the better version of Scalloped Potatoes!
Authenticity note: traditional Dauphinoise in France does not contain cheese. But I could never imagine making it without….. It makes it better. You know it does!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups cream , full fat (Note 1)
  • 2 garlic cloves , minced
  • 30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter , melted
  • 1.25 kg / 2.5 lb starchy potatoes , Russet, Sebago, Maris Piper (Note 2)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 2 1/2 cups gruyere cheese (colby, cheddar, havarti or tasty), freshly grated yourself (Note 3)
  • 2 tsp thyme leaves , fresh (optional – but highly recommended)

Instructions

  • Cream Mixture: Place butter, cream and garlic in a jug. Mix until combined.
  • Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (both fan and standard ovens).
  • Slice potatoes: Peel the potatoes and slice them 1/8"/3 mm thick. Or use a slicer!
  • Layer 1: Spread 1/3 of the potatoes in a baking dish (Note 3), then pour over 1/3 of the Cream Mixture, scatter with 1/3 of the salt, pepper and thyme. Sprinkle with 3/4 cups cheese.
  • Layers 2 & 3: Repeat for the 2nd and third layer, but do not finish with cheese on the top layer (will add later).
  • Cover & bake: Cover with lid or foil, and bake for 1 hr 15 min or until the potatoes in the middle are soft (use knife to test).
  • Top with cheese, bake again: Remove foil, top with cheese. Bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes until golden and bubbly. Stand 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes:

1. Cream – any full fat cream works great here. Heavy / thickened or even a full fat pouring cream are all great.
For a lighter version, use light fat, or half and half (or use 1/2 cream, half milk). But it won’t have the same rich mouthfeel. Don’t try this with just milk.
2. Potatoes – Australia: Use Sebago (“dirt” potatoes, sold everywhere), US: Russet, UK: King Edward or Maris Piper
OR any other starchy potatoes. Dutch creams, King Edwards or red delight. Great all rounders like golden delight, coliban and red rascal are also great.
3. Cheese – Gruyere is the best as it provides flavour and browns beautifully on top. Julia Childs uses gruyere. It’s quite expensive so for everyday purposes, use your favourite melting cheese: colby, cheddar, havarti, tasty cheese, Monterey Jack or any other flavoured melting cheese.
Mozzarella will also work but I’d probably use a combination of 2 cups (200g) mozzarella plus 1 cup (100g) finely grated parmesan which will add flavour (because mozzarella doesn’t have much flavour).
Always best to grate your own as it melts better – store bought pre shredded has anti caking agent which prevents cheese melting as well as it should.
4. Baking Dish Size – I use a 1.5L / 1.5 Qt / 6 cup, 18 x 26 cm x 5 cm / 7 x 11 x 2″ oval shape, or thereabouts but it’s full to the brim so a slightly larger one would be more ideal. A 26 cm / 11″ skillet also works great. A 20cm/8″ square pan is too small. Larger dish is fine – just means the potatoes au gratin isn’t as deep
5. Make ahead: Near perfect for make ahead! The best way (in my experience) is hold back about 1/2 cup of the cream mixture. Bake covered in foil, then cool with foil on. Pour over reserved cream, top with cheese, cover with cling wrap. Refrigerate. Remove from fridge 1 hour before, reheat covered in foil in a 180C/350F oven for 20 – 30 min or until hot, then remove foil and bake until cheese is golden. To speed things up you can microwave it then pop it in the oven (this is dense so takes quite a while to reheat in the oven, depends on depth of baking dish you use).
6. Source: Adapted from Julia Child’s Dauphinoise Potatoes recipe. Hers is slightly more fiddly to put together, involves scattering finely diced butter on each layers (which I simplified by melting), only rubs garlic on baking dish (I use 2 whole cloves), and she uses less cheese. Mine gradually evolved over time from her original recipe to what mine is today!
7. Nutrition assumes 10 servings.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 110gCalories: 167cal (8%)Carbohydrates: 14.2g (5%)Protein: 5.7g (11%)Fat: 10g (15%)Saturated Fat: 6g (38%)Cholesterol: 31mg (10%)Sodium: 281mg (12%)Potassium: 364mg (10%)Fiber: 2.1g (9%)Sugar: 1.6g (2%)Vitamin A: 300IU (6%)Vitamin C: 23.1mg (28%)Calcium: 160mg (16%)Iron: 0.7mg (4%)
Keywords: Dauphinoise Potatoes, Potato Bake, potato casserole, Potatoes au Gratin
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

Au Gratin Potatoes recipe originally published December 2014. New photos, recipe video and updated post in December 2018, then some tidying up done in December 2020. No change to recipe!

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731 Comments

  1. Vika says

    September 18, 2023 at 8:13 pm

    5 stars
    Love it! Easy and delicious! I also added a French onion soup mix! YUM

    Reply
  2. Lena says

    September 13, 2023 at 9:21 am

    Hi just wondering, can this recipe be prepared and frozen uncooked?

    Reply
  3. Nancy LaFrance says

    September 3, 2023 at 8:49 am

    I just made this and it was delicious, however the cream curdled, I know it is OK but woulf not serve this to company.

    Reply
  4. Natalie says

    August 11, 2023 at 7:36 am

    Has anyone made this in foil trays for catering a party? Did it turn out ok? Any extra considerations I need to address?

    Reply
  5. Peter says

    June 29, 2023 at 7:35 am

    5 stars
    Always a family favourite. But I’d never tried making it with gruyere cheese. You sold me on that one. My normal go too was always strong and bitey cheddar. I’ve also blended half cream and half sour cream or cream fraiche for a richer mouth feel. Gruyere is now top of my list of cheeses though. Thanks Nagi

    Reply
  6. Rayne says

    June 18, 2023 at 3:48 am

    Will give this recipe a try. But I will definitely be adding sliced onion. This type of dish needs onion. It looks amazing, hope I can make it taste the same.

    Reply
    • adrian says

      July 6, 2023 at 3:35 am

      5 stars
      Honestly, it doesn’t need onion. Made it yesterday and it had a lot of flavor–thyme and gruyere makes a huge difference. So unlike many recipes, this does not need it (and I wouldn’t add it if I made it again). Plenty of flavor already.

      Reply
    • Pamela says

      June 26, 2023 at 12:52 am

      5 stars
      A great dish…mama always made it for us…delicious as always….

      Reply
  7. Mar says

    May 12, 2023 at 5:06 am

    5 stars
    Loved it!

    Reply
  8. Simon says

    April 23, 2023 at 8:39 am

    4 stars
    Oops, I didn’t read ahead and combined everything in the sauce. So I stirred it all up for the last 15 min. bake.
    I added a little onion, we like the flavor.
    I used our food processor to slice the potatoes. It’s quick, and even so, the potatoes started to brown. It’d help to have everything ready before cutting the potatoes.

    Reply
  9. Mary says

    April 15, 2023 at 2:38 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious! The whole family (+extended family) loved it. Your recipes never let me down Nagi, you’re amazing!

    Reply
  10. Heather says

    April 11, 2023 at 7:19 am

    5 stars
    I made this yesterday for Easter lunch. I didn’t have quite enough Gruyere, so I added a block of cheddar too. It was absolute heaven!!!! The garlic and thyme and cheese!!!! I will be making this again and again! Thanks!

    Reply
  11. Julie says

    April 10, 2023 at 10:53 pm

    5 stars
    I made this for Easter Sunday lunch instead of my usual sour cream & spring onion potato dish. My family all love the original so it was a bit risky 😅 – BUT … this was an absolute WINNER! I followed the recipe to the letter (except chose to leave out the thyme) & it was delicious! So creamy and a perfect balance of flavours – definitely a keeper! Thank you again for another great recipe Nagi!!!

    Reply
  12. Jennifer says

    April 10, 2023 at 6:24 am

    5 stars
    I found this recipe years ago and we’ve been making them as part of Easter dinner ever since. Delicious!!!

    Reply
  13. Ashleigh says

    April 9, 2023 at 7:47 pm

    5 stars
    Okay I’m obsessed!
    I made this recipe today because I had just bought a brand new mandolin slicer (that also got a taste of my thumb cleaning it before use).

    I’d probably recommend a par boil without the mandolin, but with the mandolin it came out perfect!

    As I pulled it out of the oven I did like other comments have some of the oil of the butter at the top. Gave it a solid 10 minutes resting time and it was beautifully rested and ready to serve.

    Smelt amazing cooking, tasted even better. Am looking forward to devouring the leftovers tomorrow.

    What I loved about this was how easy it was to cut in very neap shapes! You could honestly serve this at a restaurant!

    Reply
  14. AMY WIETGREFE says

    April 9, 2023 at 5:51 am

    5 stars
    I just made these for Easter. I used smokey cheddar to go with the ham we’re having. So good! Mine baked a bit longer (extra 20 minutes) but maybe I had thicker layers than the original recipe.

    Reply
  15. jackie says

    April 9, 2023 at 4:09 am

    Just popped this in the oven for Easter dinner tomorrow after making it for the umpteenth time over the years. Truly decadent and beautiful to serve. After the first couple of times making it I came to the conclusion that I prefer to make it one day ahead. The potato mixture all condenses a bit as it sits in the fridge making a firmer au gratin. Once finished the next day, I allow it to stand for a bit and am able to slice perfectly square portions for serving for presentation purposes an they look beautiful. For those who say that their cream has split and left an oily film on top, there are a couple of reasons that can happen. One is the type of cream you are using, I have only used Heavy Whipping Cream (40% fat) and Gruyere or a mixture with Mozzarella. If you are using Cheddar or another type cheese that doesn’t melt well you will have an oily effect and NEVER use pre-shredded cheese. Thanks again Nagi for blessing us with this lovely recipe.

    Reply
  16. Carole Guy says

    April 8, 2023 at 9:59 pm

    5 stars
    Made this a day ahead and it was absolutely delicious. In fact it was better than the one I made on the day of eating so definitely recommend making ahead. Teenage grandsons said it was “banging!” 😂

    Reply
  17. Brenda Izbicki says

    April 5, 2023 at 11:11 pm

    How far ahead can I make this? If I make this on Friday night, is it ok for Sunday at 1pm? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Siobhan says

      June 14, 2023 at 11:10 am

      Did anyone reply as to how far ahead you can make it !? I have the same question 🙋‍♀️… today Wednesday for consumption Friday

      Reply
  18. Barb Pitkin says

    April 1, 2023 at 11:59 pm

    Hi Nagi,
    On the au gratin potatoe….. any substitute for the Thyme? Do not like it at all☺️ Rosemary maybe? Thank you😀

    Reply
  19. Jennifer says

    March 28, 2023 at 8:05 am

    5 stars
    This potato gratin is delicious! Used parmesan and it worked perfectly. Only advice is to give yourself time to assemble and remember it does take 70 min in the oven. Thank you Nagi 😋

    Reply
  20. Linda Baker says

    February 20, 2023 at 10:22 am

    5 stars
    This recipe is really good and easy to put together, just like my mom did in the old days. I have to say, not sure about where you are, but mozzarella cheese would lend no flavor at all to this dish. If you don’t want to use Gruyre I might suggest Havarti or Jarlsberg which both add flavor and are great melting cheeses. Cheers.

    Reply
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