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Cheesy Potatoes Au Gratin With Gruyere is a classic side dish featuring thin slices of potato layered with a rich, creamy cheese sauce, then baked until lightly crisp on the edges and golden brown on top. Make it for a weeknight dinner or for a holiday crowd—either way, it’s going to be a hit!
Everyone loves potatoes! These Amish Funeral Potatoes are another creamy, cheesy fave, as are my Easy Cheesy Potatoes.
Why you’ll love this crowd-pleasing potatoes au gratin recipe!
Cheesy Potatoes Au Gratin is a classic French recipe, but it’s got serious down-home comfort food vibes.
Now, don’t get these confused with scalloped potatoes! I love those too, but scalloped potatoes are traditionally made with a simple cream sauce seasoned with salt and pepper, while potatoes au gratin are made with cheese too. Lots of cheese!
Now, if you’ve tried making scalloped potatoes in the past and the sauce separated, you can feel confident knowing that this is far less likely to happen with potatoes au gratin. The heavy cream, roux, and dry mustard all help keep the sauce from curdling in the oven.
- Made the traditional way: There are many variations of this recipe, but the one I share below is pretty much the classic version, which uses a heavy cream-based sauce and gruyere cheese.
- Easy to make: If you’ve ever made homemade mac and cheese with from-scratch cheese sauce, you already have the skills you need to make the sauce for this recipe. You start with a roux, then add the cream, followed by the cheese.
- Perfect for holidays: This is a dish made to impress—good thing it serves a crowd!
Table of Contents
- Why you’ll love this crowd-pleasing potatoes au gratin recipe!
- Ingredients You Need
- Variations
- How to Make Cheesy Potatoes Au Gratin With Gruyere
- What to Serve With Potatoes Au Gratin
- How to Store & Reheat Leftovers
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Potato Recipes You’ll Love
- Cheesy Potatoes Au Gratin With Gruyere Recipe
Ingredients You Need
You’ll just need a handful of ingredients!
See the recipe card below this post for a full ingredient list with quantities and full instructions.
- Russet potatoes – They need to be thinly sliced, so use a mandoline slicer if you have one.
- Heavy cream – Don’t try to lighten up this recipe by using milk instead, because it will make your sauce more likely to curdle.
- Gruyere cheese – This is the star—its nutty, melty character offers the best flavor and texture.
- Seasonings – Salt, pepper, dry mustard, and paprika add depth and bring out the best in this easy potatoes au gratin recipe.
Variations
- Switch up the potatoes: You can use sweet potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes instead.
- Try a different cheese: Parmesan, Swiss, cheddar, or any other cheese with an assertive flavor can be swapped for the gruyere, or you can use a combination of cheeses.
- Add herbs: Add dried or fresh thyme or rosemary to the sauce before pouring it over the potatoes. (I love adding herbs to this Cauliflower Casserole too!)
- Make it garlicky: Add minced garlic with the flour when you’re making the cheese sauce.
How to Make Cheesy Potatoes Au Gratin With Gruyere
- Start the roux: Melt the butter in a small saucepan, then whisk in the flour. Once it’s golden brown, slowly whisk in the cream.
- Finish the cream sauce: Cook the sauce on low until it’s smooth and just comes to a boil; continue to whisk until it’s thick, then stir in the salt, pepper, and dry mustard.
- Make the sauce cheesy: Whisk in a cup of the cheese.
- Start assembling: Place half of the sliced potatoes in the prepared casserole dish, then pour half of the cheese sauce on top.
- Finish layering: Add another layer of potatoes, followed by another layer of cheese. Top with the remaining cheese and sprinkle the top with paprika.
- Bake: Bake the potatoes uncovered for an hour, or until they’re tender and just beginning to brown along the edges.
What to Serve With Potatoes Au Gratin
- Special occasion main dishes: Like Crock Pot Ham, Roast Turkey, and Baked Ham with Maple Dijon Glaze.
- Weeknight mains: Make something easy like Air Fryer Chicken Breasts or Baked Pork Chops while the potatoes are baking in the oven!
- Classic side dishes: These potatoes are plenty rich, so pair them with something simple like Instant Pot Green Beans or Steamed Broccoli.
How to Store & Reheat Leftovers
- To store: Cover the dish tightly or transfer smaller amounts of cheesy potatoes au gratin to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3–4 days. I don’t recommend freezing this recipe, as the sauce can split and the potatoes can become mealy.
- To reheat: Reheat at 350°F covered with foil for 15–20 minutes, then remove the foil for the last 5 minutes to crisp the top. You can also warm up individual portions in the microwave.
Frequently Asked Questions
Gruyere is the traditional cheese used for this recipe, but feel free to experiment with other types of cheese.
Yes, you can assemble potatoes au gratin and refrigerate them for up to a day before baking them.
There may be too much liquid in the dish if your potatoes have a higher water content than typical, or if you tried to use milk instead of heavy cream, that can cause separation too. As written, this recipe should not have issues with separation.
Reheat at 350°F covered with foil for about 15 to 20 minutes, then remove the foil for the last 5 minutes to crisp the top. Covering with foil helps lock in the moisture and keep the creamy texture.
More Potato Recipes You’ll Love
Side Dishes
The Best Potato Salad
Side Dishes
Classic Mashed Potatoes
All Recipes
Crispy Smashed Potatoes
Side Dishes
Make-Ahead Mashed Potato Casserole
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Cheesy Potatoes Au Gratin With Gruyere
Ingredients
- 4 cups thinly sliced russet potatoes
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups gruyere cheese divided
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a small sauce pan, melt butter. Once melted add flour with a fork – whisking together.
- Next, whisk in milk.
- Cook sauce on low until smooth and boiling, whisking until thickened.
- Add in salt, pepper , and dry mustard and stir well.
- Reduce heat to low and stir in 1 cup of the cheese.
- Place a half of the sliced potatoes in a lightly greased 1.5 quart casserole dish (8×8 or 9×9 will work)
- Pour half of the cheese sauce over potatoes.
- Add a second layer of potatoes and the rest of the cheese sauce to the top of that layer
- Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese on top.
- Sprinkle the top with paprika.
- Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered for 1 hour.
Notes
- Use a mandoline slicer for the potatoes: It’s important that the potatoes are all sliced to the same thickness, otherwise, you’ll have some that are mushy and others that are hard and taste raw when you pull the gratin out of the oven.
- Make the topping crispy: You can turn on the broiler in the last few minutes of cooking time to make the top layer crispy and browned.
- Let it rest before serving: Let the dish rest before serving so it doesn’t “run” when you slice.
Can you use heavy whipping cream instead of heavy cream since nobody sells heavy cream except in powder form?
Hi there. Great recipe, thanks! Just an FYI, potato in the singular does not have an “e” at the end. It’s potato, not potatoe.
This was a great hit at a Christmas party. I doubled it for 16 guests. Perfect amount.