Potato gratin is an easy casserole dish that works beautifully as a side dish to cozy stews, roasts, and stuffed turkey during the holidays or for special occasions. The creamy filling and crispy crust creates a textural contrast that’s hard to resist. Even better? This potato recipe calls for budget-friendly ingredients you likely already have on hand!
Simply put, a potato gratin is a casserole with finely sliced potatoes, cream, and cheese. The boiled potato slices go into an oven-safe dish, over which you pour a seasoned whipped cream mixture.
You finish it off with a delicious layer of cheese. Without cheese, there is no potato gratin, of course! The oven does the rest for you! Easy, right?
The name of this dish is derived from the word ‘gratinate’, which means giving a dish a crispy crust, usually by means of cheese (but sometimes breadcrumbs and butter are also used).
I really like green vegetables with a gratin. Green beans or the more sophisticated cousin of the green bean, haricot verts, are great options. But grilled carrots and zucchini from the oven also taste delicious with it. Or you can even incorporate the vegetables into the gratin itself.
During the holidays, potato gratin is often served as a side dish to more festive combinations. Because gratin is a French dish, it is often served with stewed meat, but a vegetarian stew is also an option.
Furthermore, you could consider a rolled roast, a stuffed turkey, or a roasted ham to serve alongside the gratin.
Making potato gratin, or a gratin Dauphinois as the French call it, is particularly easy. I often make things easy for myself and use a bag of pre-cooked potato slices.
Of course, you can also use fresh potatoes, in which case you can make a gratin with thinner potato slices, which is also delicious. Whichever way you choose, make sure to check the full details in the recipe card below.
Start by layering the pre-cooked sliced potatoes in a greased casserole dish, but leave about 1/2 inch (1.3cm) of space from the top.
Whisk the cream sauce ingredients together in a mixing bowl and pour this over the layered potato slices.
BAKING TIP: Only add enough of the cream mixture to just cover the potatoes. It’s okay if you have some leftover.
Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top and bake the assembled potato dish at 400°F/200°C (conventional oven) for 30 minutes. The potatoes should be fork-tender. Bake for an extra 5-10 minutes if they are still a little firm.
You can keep a prepared (unbaked) gratin in the refrigerator for up to two days. Once baked, leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge and will last for 2-3 days.
It’s possible, although it’s not preferred since the creamy filling will change texture from freezing and thawing.
Reheat your cheesy au gratin potatoes for 25 to 30 minutes in the oven at 160°C/320°F (conventional oven). Keep in mind that there is a risk that the gratin will dry out, so it is best to distribute a few small lumps of butter over the top or pour a little extra cream over it.
You can also cover it wil aluminum foil for the first part of reheating and remove the foil for the last few minutes to crisp it back up.
From my experience, the best thing to do is to prepare the gratin completely, but only bake it just before serving. That way, the crust remains nice and crispy and there is no risk of it drying out.
Turn your leftover potatoes into fries, creamy mash, or casserole fillings. Here are some ways I love to prepare my potatoes:
No, this potato gratin recipe depends of a luxuriously creamy filling which is why it’s essential to use heavy cream and whole milk.
When making a gratin, it is important that all the potato slices are the same thickness so that they cook evenly. Naturally, thick potato slices take a little longer to cook than thin slices. Before taking the gratin out of the oven, test with a fork to see whether the potatoes are soft and cooked through. Your fork should glide through the potatoes (apart from the cheese crust) without resistance for the gratin to be ready.
If not, bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, making sure the cheesy topping doesn’t burn. You can cover the dish with aluminum foil if the topping is already crispy en golden.
There could be a few reasons for why your gratin curdled. To prevent this, follow these helpful tips:
My baking dish is a bit smaller (about 8×8-inch/20 x 20 cm) than most baking dishes, because I like to make small portions. However, the size doesn’t have to be critical. If you make double the quantity, a baking dish of about 10×10-inch/25 x 25 cm or 8×12-inch/20 x 30 cm comes in handy. If you regularly switch between different sizes of baking dishes, this set of baking dishes is useful.
Yes! Just check beforehand that your baking dish fits in the air fryer. Set the temperature a bit lower than stated in the oven recipe (10-20% lower) and check after 15 minutes if the gratin is ready. Extend the baking time by 5 minutes if necessary, but keep a close eye on it because it cooks much faster in the air fryer.
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