Potatoes Au Gratin

Potatoes au gratin is the proper facet dish for Sunday supper or as a make-ahead vacation facet dish. Tender layers of potatoes and onions are baked in a wealthy, creamy, tacky sauce till sizzling, bubbly, and golden.

This recipe makes creamy potatoes, much like scalloped potatoes however loaded with wealthy tacky taste. They’re the proper dish subsequent to a baked ham, roast beef tenderloin or pork tenderloin.

Taste: Creamy, tacky, and comforting with a golden, barely crispy prime that makes each chunk irresistible.
Why it really works: A cooked roux thickens the sauce so it coats the potatoes as a substitute of pooling skinny on the backside.
Really useful Instruments: To avoid wasting time on prep and make even and skinny potato and onion slices, use a mandoline or the facet of a box grater.
Time-Saving Tip: For the vacations, I often put it collectively forward of time after which bake it recent simply earlier than serving. It makes life a lot simpler.

potatoes , cheese , milk , onion , flour , butter, mustard powder , salt and pepper with labels to make Potatoes Au Gratin

So what’s the distinction between scalloped potatoes and au gratin potatoes? They’re each very related, containing potatoes (and infrequently onions) baked in a creamy sauce. Au Gratin is outlined as coated with breadcrumbs or cheese, scalloped refers to “bake with milk or a sauce”.

Within the case of this recipe, the distinction is the cheese. That being stated, the time period scalloped potatoes continues to be usually used if there’s cheese inside the dish!

Greatest Potatoes to Use for Potatoes au Gratin

Crimson-skinned or Yukon Gold potatoes are greatest for gratin as a result of they maintain their form and don’t want peeling, whereas starchy russets can flip mushy and are higher for mashing.

Onions: Slice paper-thin so it softens absolutely and doesn’t keep crunchy.
Mustard Powder: A small quantity enhances the cheese taste (I additionally add it to my baked mac and cheese!). Swap in just a little Dijon stirred off the warmth.
Cheese: For the most effective potatoes au gratin, use daring, sharp cheeses like Gruyère or cheddar, with provolone or Swiss pretty much as good substitutes.
Variations: Add taste with minced garlic, garlic powder, or recent herbs like thyme or rosemary. You possibly can additionally embrace ham or cooked bacon for a heartier casserole.

Sliced potatoes and onions for potatoes au gratin

A small stack of sliced potatoes and onions for potatoes au gratin

Placing sliced potatoes and onions in a dish for potatoes au gratin

How one can Make Potatoes Au Gratin

Prep: Thinly slice the potatoes and onions (full recipe beneath).
Assemble: Stack the potato slices and onions within the casserole dish.
Sauce: Prepare dinner the cheese sauce in a saucepan, then pour it over the potato and onion slices.
Bake: Bake till the potatoes are tender and the sauce is bubbly.

PRO TIP: For a faster model, layer potatoes and onions, cowl, and microwave 10 minutes. Add cheese sauce and bake 45–55 minutes as directed. Simply as scrumptious, however just a little faster!

a skillet with butter making cheese sauce for au gratin potatoes

Adding milk to potatoes au gratin sauce in a skillet

Adding cheese to potatoes au gratin sauce in a skillet

A skillet of cheese sauce for potatoes au gratin

Use a mandoline to maintain slices even so the casserole cooks on the identical pace. Bonus, it makes prep manner faster.
Prepare dinner the flour and butter for a few minutes earlier than including milk to prepare dinner out the flour style and for a thicker sauce.
Soften cheese off-heat so it stays silky and doesn’t flip grainy.
Spray the foil so it lifts cleanly with out pulling cheese from the highest.
If the highest browns early, loosely tent with foil whereas the potatoes end cooking.
Relaxation quarter-hour so the sauce units and parts elevate out neatly.

Make-Forward, Storing, and Reheating

Make as much as 24 hours forward. Hold potatoes coated in sauce, cowl tightly, and refrigerate. Carry to room temperature earlier than baking, and add 10–20 minutes to the bake time.

Leftover potatoes au gratin will hold within the fridge for as much as 4 days. Let it cool utterly, then cowl tightly with plastic wrap, or switch to an hermetic container earlier than refrigerating.

To freeze, enable it to chill utterly and wrap the dish nicely with each plastic wrap and aluminum foil, or portion it into freezer-safe containers. It can hold for as much as 2 months within the freezer.

For greatest outcomes, thaw in a single day within the fridge earlier than reheating. Reheat coated within the oven at 350°F till sizzling all through (about 20 to half-hour), eradicating the quilt close to the tip to crisp up the highest once more. Keep away from microwaving frozen potatoes, as it could possibly make the sauce grainy and the potatoes watery.

Extra Vacation Facet Dishes

Did you make this Potatoes au Gratin recipe? Go away us a score and remark beneath.

image of Everyday Comfort cookbook by Holly Nilsson of Spend With Pennies plus text

Prep Time 20 minutes

Prepare dinner Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Cool Time 15 minutes

Whole Time 2 hours 5 minutes

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Wash potatoes and slice into ⅛” skinny slices. Slice onion as thinly as doable.
Season the potatoes and onions with ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. Toss nicely to evenly coat. Layer potatoes and onions into little stacks. Place stacks on their facet in a greased 2.5QT to 3QT casserole dish.
In a saucepan, soften butter and flour and prepare dinner for two to three minutes. Add mustard powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and milk. Whisk over medium warmth till thick and bubbly. Take away from warmth and stir in cheeses till melted.
Pour the cheese sauce over the potatoes, gently separating the stacks to permit the sauce to seep between the layers. Cowl with foil (sprayed with cooking spray) and bake for 60 minutes.
Take away foil and bake an extra 20 to half-hour or till frivolously browned and potatoes are cooked. Cool quarter-hour earlier than serving.

Slice potatoes as thinly as doable.
Shred your individual cheese from a block for the most effective outcomes. Recent herbs (equivalent to thyme or rosemary) and garlic might be added to the sauce if desired.
To scale back baking time, wrap a microwave-safe casserole dish in plastic wrap earlier than including the cheese sauce and microwave on full energy for about 10 minutes (watch out, it will likely be sizzling when eradicating the plastic wrap). Add the cheese sauce and bake as directed for about 45-55 minutes.
Extra cheese (cheddar or parmesan) might be sprinkled on prime as soon as the foil is eliminated if desired.
Retailer leftovers in an hermetic container for as much as 4 days. Reheat within the oven or the microwave.

Vitamin info supplied is an estimate and can fluctuate based mostly on cooking strategies and types of components used.

Course Facet Dish

Delicacies American, French

© SpendWithPennies.com. Content material and images are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is each inspired and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.