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You are going to love this easy, cheesy Potatoes Au Gratin side dish. Thinly slice potatoes are mixed in a creamy sauce and topped with cheese.
Au Gratin Potatoes Recipe:
This Au Gratin Potatoes is a family favorite side dish. It is loaded with cheese, potatoes, simple seasoning and onions. This dish is perfect as a weeknight meal or served for your holiday dinner.
Rich, creamy and cheesy is what makes this Potatoes Au Gratin recipe so flavorful. We love that it is loaded with flavor and simple ingredients. It is baked to a golden brown then served as an delicious side.
This Au Gratin Potatoes can easily be prepared ahead of time to save time. My family loves these potatoes and perfectly paired with your ham and turkey this holiday season.
What is the Difference between Scalloped and Au Gratin Potatoes?
The main difference is how the potatoes are cooked and how the cheese is used in the recipe.
Generally scalloped potatoes are cooked in a cream sauce (like our recipe) and topped with cheese. Whereas, in au gratin potatoes, cheese is layered between the potato slices and also on top as well.
So essentially, au gratin potatoes are more cheesy. This recipe is often called scalloped potatoes but with cheese. We love them both and they recipes are very similar so call it what you prefer.
What does Au Gratin Potatoes mean?
Au Gratin is defined as the potatoes are covered with bread crumbs or cheese. So that is why we call this dish Au Gratin Potatoes because of the melted cheese on top.
Ingredients:
- Russet Potatoes (peeled and sliced into 1/8” thick slices)
- White Onion (thinly sliced)
- Butter
- All Purpose Flour
- Garlic Powder
- Whole Milk
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
- Gruyere Cheese, shredded
- Pepper
- Salt
- Fresh Parsley, chopped
How to Make Au Gratin Potatoes:
- Prepare oven and baking dish – Preheat the oven to medium heat 400 degrees F. Spray a 2.5 or 3 quart casserole pan with a non-stick cooking spray.
- Place Potatoes and Onions in dish – Layer the potatoes and sliced onions into the casserole dish. You want to make slanted rows and layer the sliced potatoes on top of each, leaving room in between so the sauce can get into between the potatoes.
- Melt Butter and add other ingredients – Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add the flour and stir until combined. Then whisk in the milk, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes whisking continuously until the mixture thickens.
- Stir in cheese – Then remove the saucepan from the heat and then immediately stir in the ½ cup shredded cheeses.
- Pour over potatoes – Pour the cheese sauce even over the potatoes in the casserole dish making sure that they are all covered with the cheese sauce.
- Cover potatoes and Bake – Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake for 60 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for 20-30 minutes until the top of the potatoes are browned and the potatoes are fork tender.
- Serve and Enjoy – Let the potatoes sit for 20-30 minutes before serving. Then top with the fresh parsley and it’s ready to enjoy.
Best Cheese for Potatoes Au Gratin:
When making Potatoes Au Gratin you want to choose cheeses that have a bold flavor. We used sharp cheddar cheese in this recipe but we also recommend parmesan or Gruyere Cheese.
Gruyere Cheese is rich in flavor and has amazing flavor. We highly recommend it if you can find it at your grocery store. If you cannot find Gruyere Cheese, you can use mozzarella cheese instead.
When making this dish, we recommend using freshly shredded cheeses so that it melts smoothly and evenly in this recipe.
How to Slice Potatoes Evenly:
When preparing this dish it is important to pick the right potatoes and slice them correctly. You can use red skin potatoes, russet potatoes or yellow gold potatoes. These potatoes cook perfectly for this recipe.
When you are ready to slice, try to slice the potatoes as even as possible. This makes sure that they cook at approximately the same time (the thinner the better).
Can you Make Au Gratin Potatoes in advance?
Yes, you can make this Au Gratin recipe up to 24 hours in advance. Make the recipe as directed and make sure to pour cheese sauce completely over the potatoes.
Cover the side dish making sure there it is covered completely so no air gets to the potatoes. The potatoes could brown if they are not covered.
Place in the refrigerator and when you are ready to bake remove at least 10 minutes before baking. You may need to add additional time for baking if prepared overnight.
Potatoes Au Gratin Tips:
- Shredded Cheese – Make sure you shred the cheese from block cheese. The pre-shredded cheese doesn’t melt as good and it has added ingredients.
- Microwave potatoes – To make this dish quicker, you can always microwave the potatoes and onions for about 10 minutes before placing in the baking dish.
- Curdling – Curdling happens because of high heat which affects the fat in the dairy. That is why we mix the ingredients with flour. Plus using high starch russet potatoes helps with this also.
- Watery Potatoes – If you have problem with the dish being watery, you may need to replace the milk with heavy cream. Using russet potatoes helps with limiting the moisture because they have less water and more starch.
Variations:
- Change the Cheese – If you prefer you can use different flavors of cheeses. Try mozzarella or Gruyere Cheese.
- Add in Meats – We usually serve this as a side dish, but you can easily make this as a meal but adding in diced ham or chicken.
- Use different Seasoning – Add in fresh herbs since as rosemary or thyme for added flavor.
What to Serve with Au Gratin Potatoes:
Au Gratin Potatoes is a dish that I tend to make with our holiday dinner. Occasionally I make during the week as we enjoy it all year long. It is rich in flavor so we tend to have leftovers.
- Turkey
- Ham
- Pork Tenderloin
- Steak
- Grilled Chicken
How to Store and Reheat:
Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. This side dish is amazing leftover and we actually think they taste better. The ingredients marinate together to give the potatoes amazing flavor.
When you are ready to reheat the leftovers you can place them in the microwave or reheat in the oven. If I have a small portion, I like to place on a microwave safe dish and reheat.
Otherwise, I place the leftovers back in a casserole dish and reheat. This prevents hot spots and the potatoes reheat thoroughly. I add extra cheese on top and bacon bits.
Easy Au Gratin Potato Recipe:
My family loves any kind of potatoes including mashed potatoes and roasted potatoes. But when I serve these Scalloped Potatoes everyone gets excited. It really is the perfect comfort food. But really it is perfect anytime of the year.
We like serving it with our grilled steaks with a side of broccoli and our meal is complete.
Potatoes au gratin are sometimes compared to Scalloped Potatoes. We love how easy this recipe can be prepared with easy ingredients that you probably already have on hand.
Print Recipe here for Potatoes Au Gratin:
Potatoes Au Gratin
Ingredients
- 3 pounds Russet Potatoes peeled and sliced into 1/8” thick slices
- 1 White Onion thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup Butter
- 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 cups Whole Milk
- 1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup Gruyere Cheese shredded
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Salt
- Fresh Parsley chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 2.5 or 3 quart casserole pan with a non-stick cooking spray.
- Layer the potatoes and sliced onions into the casserole dish. You want to make slanted rows and layer the sliced potatoes on top of each, leaving room in between so the sauce can get into between the potatoes.
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add the flour and stir until combined. Then whisk in the milk, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes whisking continuously until the mixture thickens.
- Then remove the saucepan from the heat and then immediately stir in the shredded cheeses.
- Pour the cheese sauce even over the potatoes in the casserole dish making sure that they are all covered with the cheese sauce.
- Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake for 60 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for 20-30 minutes until the top of the potatoes are browned and the potatoes are fork tender.
- Let the potatoes sit for 20-30 minutes before serving. Then top with the fresh parsley and it’s ready to enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Facts
More Classic Potato Side Dishes:
- Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole
- Easy Cheesy Potato Casserole Recipe
- Crock Pot Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe
