Creamy Potato Gratin
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
Guaranteed to be everyone’s favorite side dish, for dinners or holidays! So amazingly rich, creamy, buttery and completely addictive!
Is it too early to be discussing Easter recipes? Because I’ve been planning Easter ever since Christmas was over.
I mean, hey, I’ll take any excuse to make a potato gratin.
No, wait. I’ll take any excuse to make the cheesiest, creamiest, richest potato gratin.
It’s not every day that we get to have the most epic side dish, right? You can, of course, serve this up for a special dinner but when it comes to the holidays, you have every right to slap on 2-3 servings right on your plate guilt-free.
That is, when no one else is looking so it doesn’t look like you’re hoarding all the potatoes. You don’t want to be that guest.
No, but really, what I really love about this recipe is that it is a thousand times easier than a traditional gratin, and it doesn’t require a mandoline either.
Nope, no death-by-mandoline here, yet you still get the addictive creamy, buttery richness.
It’s a win-win for everyone involved.
Creamy Potato Gratin
Ingredients
- 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 2 shallots, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken stock
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese, divided
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Place potatoes in a large stockpot or Dutch oven; cover with cold salted water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 5 minutes. Drain well; set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
- Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and shallot, and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in chicken stock and heavy cream. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly, until reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat; stir in 3/4 cup white cheddar cheese and mustard. Stir in potatoes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Spread potato mixture into the prepared baking dish. Place into oven and bake until potatoes are tender and mixture has thickened, about 35-40 minutes.
- Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/4 cups white cheddar cheese. Place into oven and broil until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with chives, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Nope, no death by mandolin here… LOL, good one! Those things are scary!
I made these the day before, without adding the cheese on top as that’s done after 35-40 minutes of baking. Refrigerated them overnight and baked them the next day- delicious!! The chives are essential on top for color. I used Unexpected Cheddar from Trader Joe’s, which was perfect. Thanks for a great recipe, Damn Delicious!
Can I freeze this?
I rarely leave reviews and I’ll be honest, I’m a traditionalist with the mandolin sliced potatoes but I figured, what the heck I am going to do this recipe as is. WOW!!!! It was just what I was looking for, creamy and cheesy!!! I didn’t have any shallots so I used a small sweet onion. I also didn’t have dijon mustard so I used regular yellow. It all came out so good! My husband loved it and so did I! I don’t think I will make these any other way. Try it, it is delicious!!!!
Any issues with halving this?
I make a lot of cheesy potatoes and this is one of the easiest and most delicious recipes I’ve tried. Superb and fabulous!
This were a hit at Thanksgiving dinner and easy to make. Made it in the afternoon and popped it into the oven in the evening when we were ready to eat. The leftovers still taste amazing just warmed up in the microwave.
I didn’t have Yukon so I used Russet, I also didn’t have white cheddar so I used an Italian blend and Sharp Cheddar. My husband raved over this dish. DEFINITELY going to be repeat recipe.
Can you 1/2 this recipe for same results?
These potatoes are amazing!!! Thank you so much!
This sounds delicious! I plan on making it for my “Friendsgiving” dinner. Could I use russet potatoes instead?
Sure! 🙂
I adapted it slightly because I had to clear the veggies out of my fridge. Added fresh Brussels sprouts, broccoli and carrots and used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. It was a complete hit! I will make the original recipe next time, since it was so creamy and delicious. I had been looking for a good au gratin recipe, all others I’ve tried seem very dry and flat. This one is by far the best I have ever tried.
Wondering if you can make this in the morning and bake it in the evening.
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Hi! Wondering if you tried to make it ahead, and bake later?
Wow! This are the best aux gratin potatoes I ever made!!! Excellent!!!
We’re so glad this was a winner for you, Mariana! 🙂
I love this recipe. Thank you. I especially appreciate cubing the potatoes instead of slicing them with a mandolin.
Makes it so much easier, right? 🙂
This dish was Amazing!! I added cubed ham and the family Loved it! My mom said it was better than hers!
Great addition! Thanks for sharing with us, Amy!
Just made this for Christmas dinner and it is delicious. I substituted the cheddar with gruyere & parmesan since I had it on hand. This is definitely going in my tried & true recipe book! Thanks so much!!
This was the hit of my Easter dinner. Everyone loved it. Including my cheddar cheese hating husband. He was raving about the dish. Thank you!
That’s a true compliment – turning a cheddar cheese hating husband! You can’t beat that!
Looks amazing! Could this be cooked in the slow cooker?
Thanks!
Mary, you can try this recipe instead:
https://damndelicious.net/2016/11/17/slow-cooker-cheesy-scalloped-potatoes/. 🙂
Looks delicious!! Any advice on making this ahead of time? I want to make this for Easter but I have to transport it to my parents. Should I follow up to step 6 and then do step 7 when I get to my destination? Or cook fully and just warm up in the oven when I get there?
Thank you!!
Yes, this can absolutely be baked 1 day ahead, covered and chilled before reheating prior to serving. 🙂
Do see any issue with this be made/assembled the night before and baked in the morning?
This looks DIVINE 🙂
Yes, this can absolutely be baked 1 day ahead, covered and chilled before reheating prior to serving. 🙂
Excellent! Very easy and quick since most of the time included is baking. We ate this as a main dish. I used a mixture of cheddar cheeses.
Love it!
Looks incredible! Just FYI, you have a typo– it should be “2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese, divided”. Can’t wait to try this, especially since I almost sliced my finger off the last time I used a mandoline!
Thank you for the heads up! And I feel the same way about my mandoline – almost ended up in the ER the last time I used it!
More of a question. Do you boil the potatoes and then bake them, too? Both say cook til tender.
Yes, that is correct, Gail. You are only parboiling the potatoes before it is baked.
Can you just dice potatoes and not par boil and just cook in oven longer? I’d like to try to simplify the recipe by not doing extra cooking step…
That Gratin looks so good! I just wanted to cut right into it!! (:
Can I use mozzarella cheese instead of white cheddar cheese?
Yes, of course, but I find that white cheddar cheese is truly best in this recipe.
Can you use nutritional yeast instead of cheddar? I am trying to be vegan some of the time.
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂