Gruyére Potatoes Au Gratin
If you’re a fan of potatoes, you’ll love these Gruyére Potatoes Au Gratin. They’re creamy, cheesy, and easy to make. The perfect side dish!
Thinly sliced shallots and garlic sauté in butter before becoming a thyme-infused cream sauce poured over thin slices of potato. Top it all off with grated gruyére and bake until golden and bubbly. It’s sure to become a family favorite!
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These gruyére potatoes au gratin are the perfect addition to your holiday table or special occasion. With their rich flavor and gooey melty gruyére cheese, they truly are a delicious side dish.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
- Thinly sliced potatoes become soft and fluffy and serve as a hearty base
- The creamy sauce is infused with fresh thyme and loaded with shallots and garlic
- Melty gruyére cheese adds a nice nutty flavor to balance out the creamy sauce
Recipe Ingredients
Step By Step Instructions
Note: Full list of ingredients, their amounts, and instructions can be found in the recipe card below.
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 or large casserole dish with butter. Place the sliced potatoes in the prepared dish and set them aside.
Step 2:
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds.
Step 3:
Add the flour to the butter and stir until it is all incorporated. Continue cooking, stirring often, for 1 minute.
Step 4:
Slowly pour in the room temperature milk whisking continuously until it is all incorporated.
Step 5:
Stir in the sea salt, pepper, and fresh thyme. Gently simmer the sauce for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring often, until it becomes slightly thickened.
Step 6:
Pour the cream mixture over the potatoes. Use two forks to separate some of the potatoes to help the sauce get in between them. Don’t worry about doing this with every potato though. The sauce will naturally fill the gaps as it cooks.
Step 7:
Cover the dish with the lid or aluminum foil. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the lid and spread the grated gruyére cheese over the potatoes. Bake for another 30 minutes.
Step 8:
Turn on the broiler and broil the potatoes for 1 to 2 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Step 9:
Allow the Gruyére Potatoes Au Gratin to cool for about 20 minutes before serving.
Items You May Need
For this recipe, I used my sharp chef’s knife to thinly slice the potatoes. However, a mandoline would make the task faster and easier.
A food processor with a slicing disk is another option for slicing the potatoes quickly and more evenly.
Tips & Tricks
- Freshly grate the cheese. This results in the best melt and stringiness. Pre-shredded cheeses are coated to prevent them from sticking together but that also inhibits melting.
- Slice the potatoes thinly, about 1/4 inch thick. A mandoline slicer makes this task easier and a bit more even but a sharp knife will do just as well.
- When slicing the potatoes, try to keep them together. This makes it easier to place them in the baking dish in an attractive way. I like to set the round ends to the side and then use them to fill gaps.
Substitutions & Variations
- Try using other fresh herbs to create different flavors. Rosemary, sage, dill, and chives would all make great choices. A spice blend like herbs de Provence would also be delicious!
- For a unique flavor, try using sweet potatoes instead of Yukon gold potatoes. The sweetness of the sweet potatoes and the saltiness of the cheese would make for a tasty combination.
- Cheddar cheese would result in a sharper cheese flavor that would taste great with the creamy potatoes.
Storage & Reheating
Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
To reheat in the microwave, place the potatoes on a microwave-safe plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave at 50% power for 2 to 3 minutes or until they are warmed through.
To reheat in the oven, place the potatoes in an oven-safe baking dish and bake at 325 until warmed through, about 20 minutes.
Recipe FAQs
Au gratin potatoes are typically sliced thinner and are topped with cheese whereas scalloped potatoes are sliced a bit thicker and are cooked in just a cream sauce without the cheese topping.
Swiss cheese, gouda, and fontina would provide the most similar flavor as substitutes. Mozzarella would provide stringy cheesiness though the flavor would be a bit different.
Definitely! I like to use waxy potatoes for recipes like this because they hold their shape a bit more. Red potatoes would be a comparable substitution. You could also use russet potatoes, but know they will likely break down more than waxy potatoes.
Using whole milk in this recipe results in a thick but still pourable cream sauce that perfectly coats the potatoes. However, you could replace up to half of the milk with heavy cream for an even richer sauce. To lighten things up a bit, you can use skim or 2% milk, but the sauce will be a bit thinner.
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Gruyére Potatoes Au Gratin
Ingredients
- 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup salted butter 1 stick
- 1/2 cup shallots thinly sliced from about 6 shallots
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups whole milk room temperature
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 8 ounces Gruyére cheese freshly grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9×13 or 3.6 quart casserole baking dish with butter.
- Lay the sliced potatoes in the prepared baking dish. (See note #1)
- In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the sliced shallots and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds.
- Add the flour and stir to thoroughly combine. Continue stirring and cooking for 1 minute.
- Slowly pour in the milk, whisking while you pour. Add the salt, pepper, and thyme. Simmer gently, stirring often, for 1 to 2 minutes until the sauce thickens a bit. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Pour the sauce over the potatoes. Use two forks to help the sauce get down in between some of the potatoes. Don't worry about doing this to every potato though, the sauce will naturally fill gaps as it cooks.
- Cover the pan with the lid or aluminum foil and bake for 1.5 hours.
- Uncover the baking dish and add the grated gruyére cheese. Bake uncovered for another 30 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 2 to 3 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
- Allow the potatoes to rest for about 20 minutes before serving. (See note #2)
Notes
- When slicing the potatoes, try to keep the slices together so that it is easier to lay place them in the baking dish. I like to remove the round end pieces and use them to fill gaps at the end.
- It’s important to leave the dish to rest for about 20 minutes before serving. This will allow the sauce to thicken. Also, these potatoes are hot(!) right out of the oven so it’s worth the wait.
Looking forward to trying your recipe
For Christmas dinner! Have you ever made it the day before without baking?
You can absolutely do that! I would just leave the cheese off the top until just before baking so that it doesn’t get soggy. Also, be sure to pull it from the fridge about 30 minutes before baking so that the casserole dish can warm up a bit and won’t crack while baking. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
I did not end up preparing ahead of time, but OMG do I love this recipe!! For the first time ever have my potatoes been cooked and tender! Very rich, but paired so well with a baked ham and fresh green beans! Added to my recipe file for the future!
Awe, I love this! Thank you so much for the kind review. I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
In the oven right now…recipe is a little confusing. Seems like alot of butter.. Recipe says 1 cup butter (1 stick). A stick of butter is actually a half cup. Will see how it turns out. Smells great!!
Sorry for the confusion! You’re right, it should have said 1/2 cup. I have updated the recipe with the correct amount.
I love the potatoes gryere au gratin please send me the whole recipe to Ramark56@aol.com. thank you
Thank you, Arlene! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. I have emailed a printable version of the recipe to you.