Dauphinoise Potatoes (Potatoes Au Gratin)

Dauphinoise Potatoes, also commonly called Potatoes au Gratin, combines thinly sliced potatoes layered in an infused cream sauce. It's topped with cheese and broiled until golden and bubbly for a rich and delicious side dish that's perfect for the holidays!

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If you're cooking for friends and family this season, you're probably looking for recipes that are sure crowd-pleasers that aren't that hard to make. These dauphinoise potatoes are delicious, sophisticated, and are pretty much fool-proof!

They look super fancy and complicated, but all it takes is simmering some herbs and spices in cream and milk, then layering potatoes, baking them, adding cheese on top, and broiling. Traditional Dauphinoise Potatoes doesn't have cheese, but we really like the additional flavor and crispiness that cheese adds.

You'll feel like you deserve a Michelin star after you slice through your gratin to reveal those perfect, creamy layers.

If you're looking for some other holiday side dishes that are sure to please, check out our Parmesan Crusted Brussels Sprouts or these Maple Glazed Carrots.

Jump to:

• Dauphinoise Potatoes Ingredients
• How to Make this Dauphinoise Potatoes Recipe
• What to Serve with Dauphinoise Potatoes
• Equipment
• Storage and Make Ahead
• Tips and FAQ
• Let the milk and cream steep for 20 minutes
• More holiday side dishes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

Dauphinoise Potatoes Ingredients

For the Cream Sauce

• Whole milk and heavy cream: These form the base of the sauce - we used equal parts of both to ensure it's rich and creamy, but not too thick.
• Garlic: We used four large garlic cloves and sliced them thinly to maximize their surface area. If your cloves are on the smaller side, you may want to use 6-8.
• Rosemary and thyme: You can use fresh rosemary and thyme, or whatever your favorite fresh herbs are, like sage or parsley.
• Peppercorns: We used whole peppercorns, but you could also use freshly ground pepper.
• Kosher salt: Be sure to use kosher salt, and not table salt, or your potatoes may end up being too salty.
• Nutmeg: Nutmeg is a classic component of a lot of cream sauces, because it has a vibrant and aromatic flavor that complements cream really well.

For the Potatoes

• Yukon gold potatoes: We like Yukon golds (or yellow potatoes) because they slice easily, and their skin is super thin, meaning we don't have to peel them before using, which saves a lot of time. You could also use peeled Russet potatoes if that's all you have, though we haven't tested this dish with Russets.
• Cheese: We used a combination of mozzarella (for bubbly browning), gruyere (for sharp flavor), and parmesan (for a touch of crispiness), but you can use your favorite cheese.

How to Make this Dauphinoise Potatoes Recipe

STEP 1: In a small saucepan, combine milk, heavy cream, thyme, rosemary, garlic, salt, peppercorns, and nutmeg. Heat over medium low heat until it's simmering slightly, then continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the cream steep and infuse for another 20 minutes while you move on to Step 2.

STEP 2: Using a mandoline or a knife, cut the potatoes into rounds that are between 1/16" and ⅛" thick. The thicker you cut your potatoes, the less cutting you'll have to do, but the fewer layers you'll have in your finished gratin. If you're using a mandoline, be sure to use the hand guard and/or a cut-proof glove.

STEP 3: Strain the solids out of the milk mixture with a fine mesh sieve and move the strained milk and cream sauce to a medium sized mixing bowl. Dip each potato slice into the milk, and begin layering them in a greased roasting pan. The one pictured here is 8x10". If you use a larger vessel, your gratin won't be as tall.

Try to keep your layers even and flat. You can cut some slices in half to make them fit neatly to the edge, though this isn't necessary. Continue stacking until you're out of potatoes, then pour in any remaining cream. The potatoes should be mostly covered, with some edges sticking out.

STEP 4: Cook uncovered in a 325˚F / 160˚C oven for 90 minutes. The potatoes should be soft and golden, without any burning. You can stop here, or continue onto step 5.

STEP 5: Optional: Compress your potatoes by stacking a similarly-sized vessel right on top of them (ideally with a sheet of parchment between the two), and then adding weight on top. We used a glass storage container and put a cast iron pan on top. Let it sit for about 30 minutes.

(This step compresses your potatoes so they slice perfectly, but it can be skipped if you're short on time. However, you do have to preheat the oven to broil for the next step, so you might as well compress the potatoes while you wait!)

STEP 6: After the 30 minutes are up, sprinkle with about 1 cup - 1.5 cups of cheese, and broil until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Cut into squares or triangles and enjoy!

What to Serve with Dauphinoise Potatoes

These Dauphinoise Potatoes pair beautifully with other holiday side dishes like:

• Parmesan Crusted Brussels Sprouts
• Cranberry Sauce
• Roasted Carrots with Green Goddess Feta Dip
• Citrus Burrata Salad
• Roasted Shredded Brussels Sprouts
• Cheddar and Chive Biscuits

Equipment

We highly recommend using a mandoline for this recipe. It really cuts down on time spent cutting and it's a super versatile tool that we find ourselves using way more than you might think. We use this one from OXO. Just make sure to use the included hand guard and/or a cut-proof glove. These things are sharp and even if you're confident in your skills, it's VERY easy to injure yourself.

Storage and Make Ahead

To store, move to an airtight container and refrigerate. Enjoy within 3-5 days. To reheat, add to a 325˚F oven and heat until warmed through.

If you're cooking for the holidays and want to make these ahead of time, you can compress your potatoes, and then cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate. When it's nearly time to eat, add them to a 325˚F oven until they're warmed through, about 10-15 minutes. Then, sprinkle cheese over the top and turn on your oven's broiler. Broil until golden brown and bubbly and enjoy!

Tips and FAQ

More tips

• Using a mandoline will save a lot of cutting time. It also ensures that your potatoes will be sliced to exactly the same thickness, which is essential for making sure the potatoes cook perfectly!
• Milk can bubble over really quickly, so don't try to rush the process of bringing the milk to a simmer. Keep it on medium low heat, and keep your eye on it! (Ours boiled over on us the first time when we weren't paying attention.)
• Be sure to layer the potatoes in even layers (without overlap), or you won't achieve that awesome layered effect when you cut into it. It can be hard to keep track of what potato belongs to what layer, but do your best.
• We used an 8x10" baking dish. If you plan on using a 9x13" dish, but want your gratin to be the same height you see in the photos, you'll want to use 4 pounds of potatoes and increase the quantities of the milk, cream, herbs, spices and garlic by 25%.
• Cheese can burn quickly under the broiler, so keep an eye on it as it broils. You don't want to ruin your beautiful potatoes in the final moments!
• If you use Yukon Gold potatoes (or yellow potatoes), you don't need to peel them.
• A lot of potato dishes will call for washing off extra starch. You don't need to do that here, since we're not looking to get the potatoes crispy.

More holiday side dishes

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

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