Creamy, dreamy, and irresistible, these Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes are layered with thyme-infused cream sauce and two kinds of melty cheese! Perfectly golden and bubbly, this foolproof side dish is guaranteed to leave no leftovers. It’s made with 10 ingredients and is always a crowd-pleaser!
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Why This Recipe Works
Whether it’s a holiday feast or a Tuesday night, creamy, cheesy au gratin potatoes are guaranteed to steal the spotlight. Seriously, this restaurant-quality side dish goes with practically anything!
My version features gruyere cheese and Parmesan (because one type of cheese is never enough), a velvety cream sauce infused with nutmeg and thyme, and paper-thin potatoes and shallots stacked in savory layers.
Every bite is ultra-rich, comforting, and impossible to resist. Trust me, this recipe is just fancy enough to impress your guests without any extra fuss. Bonus: you can easily make a double batch and store the extras for later!
Ingredients
- Potatoes: The best potatoes for au gratin potatoes are Yukon Gold and Russet potatoes because they hold their shape after being cooked. Also, both are super starchy, which makes the sauce extra creamy, thick, and rich.
- Shallots: Slice the shallots with a mandolin for extra thin slices.
- Butter: Unsalted butter is best here.
- Heavy Cream: For the base of the cheese sauce, you’ll need heavy cream or half-and-half.
- Garlic: You can never have too much savory, zesty garlic! Use fresh cloves.
- Nutmeg: Because warm spices only make comfort food even better.
- Thyme: Fresh herbs, like thyme, are a must in gratin! If you don’t have fresh thyme, use 3 teaspoons of dried thyme instead.
- Gruyere Cheese: Most American gratin potato recipes use shredded cheddar cheese. However, the best potatoes au gratin recipes use gruyere cheese. It melts beautifully and has a slightly nutty flavor, which pairs incredibly well with every creamy, savory bite.
- Parmesan: Add it to the assembled potatoes for a sharp, nutty finish. For the best taste and texture, use freshly grated Parmesan, not pre-grated.
Instructions
- Make the Sauce: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir the heavy cream, garlic, nutmeg, and butter in a small saucepan and heat it on the stove over low heat.
- Slice the Potatoes: Use a mandolin to slice the potatoes into thin, even slices (you can also do the same with the shallots). Then, place them in a large bowl of cold water. Once all the potatoes are sliced, rinse and pat them completely dry.
- Assemble the Dish: Arrange a single layer of the sliced potatoes on the bottom of a greased casserole dish or cast iron pan. Season with salt, then top with sliced shallots, thyme, and gruyere cheese. Continue until you run out of potatoes, shallots, and thyme.
- Bake: Pour the sauce over the layers, pressing them down with a spatula to disperse the liquid. Top with the remaining gruyere cheese, Parmesan, and thyme. Cover the dish and bake for 50 minutes, then uncover and bake until the top is golden brown.
- Serve: Sprinkle more fresh thyme on top before serving your au gratin potatoes with other holiday favorites (like my roasted squash salad, stuffed turkey breast, apple cranberry sauce, and wild mushroom stuffing).
Substitutions & Variations
- Potatoes: If you’re a fan of sweet potatoes, feel free to substitute them here! For variety, use a mixture of white and orange sweet potatoes.
- Shallots: No shallots on hand? Try thinly sliced white or yellow onion instead. To reduce the sharp onion bite, soak the slices in cold water for 5-10 minutes.
- Garlic: In a pinch, fresh garlic can be replaced with garlic powder. Use about 1/4 teaspoon for every clove of fresh garlic.
- Thyme: Other savory herbs that work well in this recipe are rosemary and sage. Use about the same amount, tasting and adjusting gradually.
- Gruyere: You can use another type of cheese that melts well, such as cheddar, mozzarella, and fontina. If you love the gruyere flavor, you can try Jarlsberg, Beaufort, or comté.
- Add Meat: Bring a salty and savory edge to your cheesy au gratin potatoes by stirring cooked bacon, pancetta, or diced ham into the cream sauce.
- Crunchy Topping: Mix panko, Parmesan, and melted butter. Sprinkle this mixture on the potatoes before placing them under the broiler.
Storing & Reheating
If you have leftover cheesy au gratin potatoes, here’s what to do with them.
- Fridge: Any leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 or 5 days.
- Freeze: I don’t recommend freezing the unbaked or baked potatoes. Once it thaws, the cream sauce has difficulty maintaining a silky-smooth texture.
- Make ahead: Fully assemble the sliced potatoes and cheese sauce in the baking dish, then cover the top with foil. You can make au gratin potatoes up to 3 days in advance and keep them in the fridge until it’s time to bake (you’ll just need to bake them for an extra 10 or 15 minutes).
Expert Tips
- Use a Mandoline: It’s very important to slice the potatoes evenly so you don’t end up with undercooked and overcooked portions. I recommend using a mandoline slicer to make your life much easier here!
- Salt Generously: Potatoes can handle a lot of seasoning, so use salt and Parmesan generously to give your dish a little extra oomph!
- Use Cast Iron: While a regular casserole dish works perfectly fine, cast iron gives these potatoes so much flavor and that perfect crispy char.
FAQs
Yes! You’ll be happy to know these cheesy au gratin potatoes are naturally gluten-free. If you decide to make a crunchy panko topping, ensure the breadcrumbs are also gluten-free.
This can happen if you don’t thoroughly pat the potato slices dry after soaking them in water. Make sure they are nice and dry before assembling the casserole!
While there is no right or wrong answer here, a common gratin dish depth is around 1 to 1 1/2 inches.
Related Recipes
If you enjoyed this cheesy au gratin potatoes recipe, be sure to try some of these creamy sides.
Did you try these Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes? Let me know what you think and leave a comment below! Don’t forget to also take a picture of your recreation and tag me on Instagram. I love to see all of your photos!
Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes (Only 10 Ingredients)
Ingredients
- 1 pound gold potatoes, thinly sliced
- 3 medium shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 ¾ cups heavy cream
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoons nutmeg
- 1 teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 tablespoon fresh thyme, divided
- 8 ounces gruyere cheese, grated
- 2 ounces parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- In a small saucepan add heavy cream, garlic, nutmeg and 3 tablespoons of the butter and set over low heat.
- Using a mandolin, slice the potatoes into ⅛ inch thick and immediately place in a large bowl of cold water. Once all potatoes are sliced, rinse and pat completely dry.
- Peel and thinly slice the shallots on the mandolin.
- Using 1 tablespoon of butter lightly grease a 12 inch cast iron pan or a 9X13 baking dish.
- Arrange a single layer of potatoes on the bottom of the pan, lightly season with salt, thyme then add a thin layer of shallots and sprinkle with gruyere cheese. Continue this process of layering until potatoes, shallots and thyme are all used up. (Be sure to reserve a little cheese for the top.)
- Slowly pour the warm cream mixture over the potatoes and gently press down on the potatoes with your hands to make sure all liquid is evenly dispersed. Sprinkle with remaining gruyere, parmesan cheese and remaining 1 tablespoon of thyme.
- Cover the pan with foil and bake for 50 minutes covered, remove the foil and continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes.
- Top with more fresh thyme and serve warm.
Julia
This dish is a crowd pleaser. It will have your guests coming back for seconds and thirds.
Toots
Such a delicious potato dish.
Tamara
Made this for dinner and it was a hit.
Kristen Ash
So yummy! I thought we’d have leftovers with all the food we had for Thanksgiving but these went like hotcakes! Everyone loved them!
Irina Gubchak
This recipe is to die for.