Potatoes Au Gratin is an easy cheesy favorite potato recipe! Thinly sliced potatoes and onions are smothered in a quick cheesy sauce and baked until golden.

Au Gratin Potatoes are a family favorite recipe and perfect for Sunday supper or as a make-ahead holiday side dish!

potatoes au gratin in a baking dish with a forkView Post

This Potatoes au Gratin recipe makes easy cheesy potatoes, similar to scalloped potatoes but loaded with rich cheesy flavor. They are the perfect holiday dish next to a baked ham or even Roast Beef Tenderloin or pork tenderloin!

Cheese for Potatoes au Gratin

What is the best cheese for potatoes au gratin?  When making Gratin potatoes, choose cheeses that have lots of bold flavors.  Our top choices are varieties with a sharper flavor such as sharp cheddar, parmesan, and/or Gruyere (or swiss).

Gruyere cheese adds a rich flavor to au gratin potatoes that truly cannot be matched; if you can get it, I highly recommend that you do! If Gruyere isn’t available use provolone or swiss for a similar flavor!

PRO TIP: For a smooth sauce and best results, shred your own cheese from a block. Pre-shredded cheeses will work but don’t melt as nicely.

ingredients for potatoes au gratin

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Holly is a wine and cheese lover, recipe creator, shopping enthusiast and self appointed foodie. Her greatest passion is creating in the kitchen and making deliciously comforting recipes for the everyday home cook!
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Comments

  1. I don’t get the red potato part. Can someone please help me out. The only red potatoes I’ve ever seen are tiny. How am I supposed to make decent-sized slices?

    1. I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Kim, but that should work just fine it will just take a little longer. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!

  2. 1st time making au gratin potatoes.
    They turned out amazing with this recipe.
    *I did sub provolone for guyere because that’s what I had5 stars

  3. The cheese sauce can be made in the microwave. Microwave butter in a glass measuring cup on med high until melted – about 1 minute Blend in flour salt seasonings and milk. MW again until sauce boils and thickens, stirring once. For 2 cups probably takes about 3 minutes. Stir in cheese until melted.

  4. I used 3:1 gruyere to cheddar & the flavor of the gruyere is so rich and delicious!! I’ve made this several times and never had leftovers! Thank you for your insight and tips!5 stars

  5. I used a combination of cheddar, gruyere, swiss and fiesta blend shredded totaling 2 cups. Absolutely delicious. My family was loved it. Pared it with a pork loin in air fryer and fresh green beans.5 stars

  6. I don’t write reviews…

    And I’ve never had luck with making potatoes like this (scalloped, au gratin, etc.). I don’t know if my expectations were out of whack or my timing off or things were cut too thick. Anyways…

    This recipe was awesome! I had a bag of Cabot preshredded extra sharp white cheddar cheese and I used half & half for the milk. I used two onions too. Potatoes and onions were sliced via my mandolin. I took the microwave shortcut and made the cheese sauce while that was happening.

    The whole dish was amazing! So good I want to make it again ASAP. We had 4 adults total for dinner and it was wiped out. Green vegetables were cast aside completely and I was ok with that. Thanks for this recipe. Mmm.5 stars

  7. I had a bag of red Yukon potatoes and a bunch of leftover Christmas ham to use up, and this was a perfect recipe for that. I did that sort of potato spiral around the rim of the dish and had most of the ham and onions in the middle, topped with a few more thin slices of potatoes. Having the edges of the potatoes poking out of the sauce gave them a great caramelization and texture. The 2:1 ratio of cheddar to gruyere, plus the honey-baked ham, gave a great flavor to the dish. This one is definitely staying in the repertoire. I had to get a little pokey with a knife after taking the foil off to make sure the sauce got between all the slices and to lift them out a bit. No notes. Great recipe! Thank you, Holly!5 stars

  8. I made this one day in advance (Christmas Eve), baked it for one hour and then I let it come to room temperature on a rack. I covered it in foil and threw it in the fridge. The next day I pulled it out of the fridge about 45 minutes before I was going to finish it off, then tossed it in the oven for about half an hour, removing the foil about halfway through that time. It came out perfect and everyone loved it. I almost doubled the recipe.

    For the prep, I did it exactly how you described. I broke out the mandolin (scariest kitchen tool ever) and sliced up the potatoes and onion and made little stacks. I used gruyere and extra sharp cheddar for the sauce. I totally agree that this is creamy enough made with the milk and roux. Thank you for sharing this outstanding recipe. It’s a keeper for sure.5 stars

  9. This dish, while very time consuming, was delicious. I do not know if I will make this “labor of love” except for a special occasion again. ( I made it for Christmas dinner with my husband’s help).5 stars

  10. Very complete directions rarely done as well. Very good recipe. Thank you had to go over many times and site did not block you!5 stars

  11. It’s not out of the oven yet, but pre-cooking this morning to go with our Prime Rib for dinner and OH THIS CHEESE SAUCE. Dishwasher will have an easy job since I locked the pan and whisk clean. I added some herbs, garlic, and a good bit of chunky fresh ground pepper. Can’t wait until dinner!5 stars

  12. Mine was soo liquidy I made it the day before to save time for Christmas Eve day, ideas? Flavor is great!! Just lots of fluid when I pulled it out of the fridge that didn’t absorb during cooking 4 stars

    1. I have made this ahead before and haven’t had it be runny so I can’t say for sure why it’s watery. If there is a little bit of liquid, it should be fine as some will evaporate in the oven. If there is a lot of liquid separated on top you might like to drain a little bit of it. Hopefully, it turned out perfectly for you.

  13. This cheese sauce is to die for! My husband and I pre-made it together for Christmas dinner tomorrow. We used heavy cream instead of milk, Tillamook Cheddar for the base cheese, and tweaked that up by substituting Yancey’s Fancy Smoked Gouda with Bacon, for the Gruyere cheese in the recipe, and no other subs or additions. If I’d used Gruyere, I would’ve added crumbled bacon anyway for a little smokiness (because that’s how we do down here in Georgia), but with the Smoked Gouda with Bacon I didn’t need a single other seasoning besides what the recipe calls for to get a powerful punch of flavor, a savory and creamy cheese sauce. I will definitely use this cheese sauce again for Mac & Cheese and I’ll try Yancey’s Fancy Champagne Cheddar to get a mellower, more sublime cheese sauce. Yum!!!5 stars

    1. This recipe starts with a basic white sauce which uses milk, the cheese adds additional richness so I find the milk to be creamy enough.

  14. Wow, I’ve been using this recipe for at least 15 years, back when we printed everything and put it in a book! My cookbook is packed so thought I’d try to find the recipe. Much to my surprise and delight, it’s still here!! First rate!!!

    1. I haven’t tried this exact recipe ahead of time but I have made scalloped potatoes ahead successfully so I do think it should work. Prepare as directed and cool. Once cool, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. I would suggest removing from the fridge at least 30 minutes before baking. It may need a little bit extra cooktime.

    2. I’m wondering if I can cook it ahead of time and reheat. Or perhaps partially cook it (say an hour) and finish it off the next day