Active Time
20 minutes
Total Time
2 hours
Potatoes au gratin is that rare side dish that feels equally appropriate at a fancy dinner party and on a Tuesday night at home with the family. That is to say, it’s incredibly easy to make, wonderfully decadent, and everyone loves it—even if no one is quite sure what to call it (potato gratin, au gratin potatoes, scalloped potatoes, that cheesy potato dish...we could go on).
Pick up russet or Idaho potatoes for this recipe; their starchy flesh makes them the best potatoes for soaking up the creamy sauce, while their sturdy skins keep the thin slices from falling apart. When simmering the cream, make sure it’s over a gentle heat (if it over-reduces, it will break). Slowly infusing and blending the creamy sauce ensures garlic and fresh thyme flavor the dish from corner to corner.
It’s the cheese (and sometimes an addition of breadcrumbs) that differentiates a gratin from scalloped potatoes. The latter comprises spuds simply sliced and baked in cream, while this potato gratin recipe gets a generous topping of nutty Gruyère cheese and a touch of Parmesan.
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What you’ll need
3-Qt. Baking Dish
$17 At Amazon
Kyocera Ceramic Mandoline Slicer
$25 At Amazon
Small Saucepan
$155 At Amazon
Immersion Blender
$100 At Amazon
Heavy-Duty Aluminum Foil
$12 At Target
Ingredients
12 Servings
5
1
2
2½
1
1
1
4
3
1
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 325°. Cut 1 garlic clove in half and rub the cut sides all over the inside of a 3-qt. shallow baking dish. Smear 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature, all over inside of dish. Bring 2 medium shallots, quartered through root ends, 2½ cups heavy cream, 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt, 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, 1 Tbsp. thyme leaves, and remaining 4 garlic cloves to a simmer in a small saucepan over low heat; cook until shallots and garlic are very soft, 15–20 minutes. Let cool slightly. Transfer to a blender; blend until smooth.
Step 2
Arrange 4 lb. russet potatoes, scrubbed, very thinly sliced on a mandoline, in prepared dish, fanning out a handful at a time and placing in dish at an angle (this ensures every scoop will have tender potatoes from the bottom and crispy edges from the top). Shingle sliced potatoes as you work until bottom of dish is covered. Tuck smaller slices into any gaps to fill. Pour cream mixture over potatoes and cover dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake potatoes until tender and creamy, 60–75 minutes. Let cool.
Step 3
Place rack in highest position; heat broiler. Remove foil and top potatoes with 3 oz. Gruyère, finely grated, and 1 oz. Parmesan, finely grated. Broil until cheese is bubbling and top of gratin is golden brown, 5–10 minutes. Serve topped with more thyme leaves.
Do ahead: Gratin can be baked 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before broiling.
Editor’s note: This potato gratin recipe was first printed in October 2015. Head this way for more of our favorite Christmas dinner ideas →
Nutrition Per Serving
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Reviews (65)
Back to Toplove this recipe. I swap out the shallots with the white part of Leeks and it is amazing!
Neil
Ventura, Ca
7/5/2023
This was delicious, not sure if I messed up but after blending it seemed like the liquid broke and because of the Thyme, the cream was green. Appearance aside it all tasted great. Perhaps add the thyme after blending so that it all does not turn a green color?
p
oakland, ca
12/27/2022
Hands down the best potatoes au gratin recipe I’ve ever made. Seemed a little strange at first to steep the shallots and garlic in the cream, but it works really well. Gruyere and Parmesan cheese mixture is perfect. Highly recommend to anyone that wants to put a small amount of effort in
Nick S.
Richfield, OH
4/27/2022
Yum! Love this potato gratin recipe. Made it for the second time last night and it was as big a bit this time around as it was the first! I do have to say, the amount of salt called for is excessive. I only used half of the amount and it was still a bit salty. The only other modifications I made was to double the cheese. I'm from the dairyland, what can I say? We had it along side a huge bone-in rib eye, sauteed mushrooms and onions and a simple salad. A very decadent meal for sure. Will definitely make again!!!
Bridget loves to cook
Minneapolis, MN
1/23/2022
I made this recently and I loved it, but did make a few changes because that's way too much salt and not enough pepper or garlic or shallots. I added a little less than a teaspoon of salt, sliced the shallots and garlic before putting them in the saucepan, added a little more than a teaspoon each of white pepper and black pepper, I used a box grater to slice the potatoes, and might have added more parm and gruyere than the recipe called for. What I ended up with made my mouth so happy I struggled to say no to seconds. Great base recipe for me to start with, thanks for posting it.
Tania
New York
11/30/2021
Halved the recipe for just two of us. 2 lbs potatoes sliced on medium setting of mandolin in a 2 quart baker cooked perfectly in about 70 minutes. Love the subtle flavors of the infused cream. It's now on my list for Thanksgiving dinner.
Nada
Cleveland, Ohio
11/22/2021
For some reason, 3lbs of sliced potatoes didn’t fit in my 3qt casserole dish… maybe I sliced them too thin? Either way this was delicious and a hit at my friendsgiving potluck. I added some old bay seasoning to the cream mixture for a bit more flavor.
Anonymous
New Orleans
11/15/2021
love the craggly crispy contrast from the broiled top of the potatoes and the soft interior. one thing though, i agree with the other reviews - the bake time took a loT longer than written here, took nearly 90mins for me to get all the potatoes fully cooked through!
lauren
singapore
11/11/2021
Agree with some of the other reviewers, takes much longer to bake than the stated time, but baking the day ahead largely solves that problem. Great idea to blend up the shallots and garlic into the cream, it really infuses every bite with garlic flavour. Truthfully, I don't think the cheese is even necessary, but it certainly doesn't hurt!
Christine
Coquitlam, BC
4/5/2021
Infusing the cream then blending the shallots and garlic is a game changer, especially since my picky husband won’t eat anything if there are visible onion/shallot/garlic chunks. I made this with compté which was wonderful with a sprinkle of nutmeg.
Schmohawk
ColoRADo
12/25/2020
Bro, this recipe is no joke. Amazing. I will be making this for special occasions and just when I want it. I added some nutmeg as I always love it paired with gruyere. Make this recipe, people.
Ana Len
Providence, RI
12/13/2020
We love this recipe, and make it exactly as stated EXCEPT for the gruyere (we just use extra parm). I've made this yearly for Thanksgiving since it was published. My only note is that it always takes much longer than the stated cooking time. I've started to bake this on Wednesday, and then reheat and broil for Thanksgiving. Not only does this leave me with extra oven space on Thursday, but I'm also not stressing about crunchy potatoes.
Danielle
11/25/2020
Hello, I am making this as I write this, and I cooked it at 325 for 65 minutes, and then put it up to 375 for another 20 minutes and some of the potatoes are still not soft. Do you know what this could be from? I actually went to Crate & Barrel to get the same pan and followed it to the "T". This was my practice run as I am making this for Thanksgiving. Any help would be amazing.
Rotimi
Los Angeles
11/23/2020
I DO NOT recommend plunging the potatoes in water. It helps add to creaminess if you leave the starches from slicing on the potato. Just slice some on the mandolin, layer, then slice more as you shingle them into the pan. They shouldn't turn brown with this method.
Anonymous
DC
8/5/2020
Good flavor. I need a bigger dish.
Anonymous
Charlotte, NC
4/9/2020