Cheesy Potatoes Gratin is a dish that you can have anytime of the year, although our favorite time to enjoy them is during the fall and winter. They make a perfect side dish with just about anything and are especially great to serve to a larger group of people.
Whenever I make these potatoes, they’re always the first thing to disappear, so I’d say it’s a pretty good sign. The potatoes are tender, creamy and soak up all the delicious garlic and cheese flavors and it’s finished with a crisp, golden, bubbling top!
What is a gratin?
A gratin is a traditional French technique that is comprised of a dish topped with cheese, butter, breadcrumbs, or a combination of the three and baked and/or broiled to form a browned and crisp top. The most commonly known gratin dish is a potatoes gratin, although many different things can be made into a gratin.
How to make this Cheesy Potatoes Gratin?
Ingredients
Process
- Preheat oven to 375˚F.
- Grease a baking dish.
- Very thinly slice potatoes – using a mandolin, if you have one, helps tremendously.
- Combine cream, shredded cheddar, Parmesan, and garlic.
- Add sliced potatoes and toss together.
- Season with salt and pepper and toss together.
- Take a stack of potatoes and line baking dish, keeping potatoes upright on a slight angle. Repeat until all potatoes have been used.
- Pour excess cream mixture over potatoes and season with salt and pepper.
- Dot top with remaining butter.
- Cover baking dish with foil and bake.
- Remove from oven, uncover potatoes, sprinkle top with Parmesan and continue to bake until potatoes are fork tender and top has crisped and browned.
- Remove from oven, cool slightly and serve.
FAQs
Covering this dish in the beginning will allow the potatoes to soften without drying the dish out. Once the potatoes get to a good point, uncovering them will allow the top of the gratin brown and crisp up, while allowing some of the excess liquid to thicken/evaporate.
Yes! This dish can be prepped up to a day ahead of time and refrigerated, tightly wrapped in foil. When ready to bake, just place the covered gratin in the oven, adding about an extra 5-7 minutes of baking time to the dish (covered).
I don’t recommend soaking the potatoes ahead of time. This will cause them to lose some of their starch, which helps to keep this dish creamy. The dish will still get a nice, crisp top without soaking the potatoes.
Tips and tricks for Cheesy Potatoes Gratin success
- Ensure all the potatoes are evenly coated in cream so they cook evenly and don’t dry out.
- The foil should be tightly wrapped around the baking dish to allow the dish to steam a little and for the potatoes to get tender before uncovering it.
- Keeping the slices as uniform in thickness as possible will greatly help even cooking throughout the gratin.
- Using a mandoline will not only ensure even thickness, but will also reduce the prep time. If you don’t have a mandoline a very sharp knife is the next best thing we recommend.
Variations for this Cheesy Potatoes Gratin
- Shredded gruyere, comté or fontina can be swapped in for the cheddar. Pecorino cheese can be swapped in for the Parmesan.
- For a more savory garlic flavor, you can roast a few cloves of garlic ahead of time and mash them into the cream mixture before tossing the potatoes and pouring over the dish.
- Whole milk can be swapped in for the cream, although the mixture won’t get quite are thick and creamy if using milk.
- Different herbs can be used in place of or in combination with thyme. Chives, green onion and rosemary are all great alternatives.
I love this crazy delicious, creamy, and comforting Cheesy Potatoes Gratin. It’s the perfect carb-y side dish to enjoy all season long.
If you love carb-loading an much as we do, you’ll also love our recipes for Cheesy Root Vegetable Gratin, Mini Hasselback Potatoes and Cheesy Potato Casserole. Enjoy!
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Cheesy Potatoes Gratin
INGREDIENTS
- 4 tablespoons softened unsalted butter divided
- 3 pounds (4 or 5 medium) russet potatoes peeled
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
- 6 tablespoons grated Parmesan divided
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- salt and pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 375˚F. Grease a baking dish with 2 tablespoons butter.
- Very thinly slice potatoes (using a mandolin, if you have one).
- In a large mixing bowl, combine cream, shredded cheddar, 4 tablespoons Parmesan, and garlic.
- Add sliced potatoes and toss together until all potatoes are well coated. Generously season with salt and pepper and toss together.
- Take a stack of potatoes and line baking dish, keeping potatoes upright. Repeat until all potatoes have been used.
- Evenly pour excess cream mixture over potatoes and lightly season with salt and pepper.
- Dot top with remaining 2 tablespoons butter.
- Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
- Remove from oven, uncover potatoes, sprinkle top with remaining Parmesan and continue to bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.
- Remove from oven and cool for about 10 minutes. Serve.
NOTES
- Ensure all the potatoes are evenly coated in cream so they cook evenly and don’t dry out.
- The foil should be tightly wrapped around the baking dish to allow the dish to steam a little and for the potatoes to get tender before uncovering it.
- Keeping the slices as uniform in thickness as possible will greatly help even cooking throughout the gratin.
- Using a mandoline will not only ensure even thickness, but will also reduce the prep time. If you don’t have a mandoline a very sharp knife is the next best thing we recommend.
- This dish can be prepped up to a day ahead of time and refrigerated, tightly wrapped in foil. When ready to bake, just place the covered gratin in the oven, adding about an extra 5-7 minutes of baking time to the dish (covered).
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Hi! I can’t wait to make these on Christmas. What size baking dish would you recommend? Thanks!
Hi! A 3 quart baking dish generally works the best!
Im new to cooking and this recipe is easy and delicious. Everyone loved it.
These were AMAZING!!!! I made them for a summer bbq for ~10 people and it blew EVERYONE out of the water! Two years later, my friends still remind me of how amazing these potatoes were! I am so excited to make them again this weekend for my boyfriend’s birthday dinner!
Incredible recipe! Super tasty and turned out exactly like the photo. I doubled the garlic as we love garlic and used thickened cream. Will definitely add this to our regular dinner roster!
So happy you enjoyed this!
What size baking dish do you use?
Can you make this ahead of time / day ahead?
Yes! I would assemble everything and bake it right before serving. This can be baked and then reheated as well, but the potatoes may get a little softer than if freshly baked!
These are perfect! Can I combine potatoes and sweet potatoes – will there be any changes to baking time?
Yes you can and baking time should stay approximately the same!
Hi,
Can i use any other type of cheese other than white cheddar cheese? Maybe mozzarella?
definitely!
This is an unbelievable rich twist on au gratin potatoes. This casserole develops a caramelized, cheesy, roasted-garlic crust as it bakes. However, I was wondering how would one store it to use after a day or two? Is there any meal prep tip?
Hi! You can build the dish entirely and cover tightly with foil overnight to bake off the next day! I wouldn’t let it go unbaked for longer than a day though as the potatoes may turn a little.
Made this for Easter dinner and it was the perfect complement to our smoked beef tenderloin and grilled asparagus. So easy (especially using the mandoline) and quick to come together. These are going into regular rotation. Thank you!
Yay! So happy :)
This looks amazing! When do you use the other 2 tablespoons of butter? Do you leave the foil off during the last 25-30 minutes?
The other 2 tablespoons are dotted on the top before the gratin goes into the oven! and yes, foil stays off for the last portion of baking!:)