Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes (Printable)

Tender sliced potatoes baked with cream and melted cheeses until golden and bubbly.

# What You'll Need:

→ Potatoes

01 - 2 lbs Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

→ Cream Sauce

02 - 2 cups heavy cream
03 - 1 cup whole milk
04 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
05 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
06 - 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
07 - 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

→ Cheeses

08 - 1 1/2 cups grated Gruyère cheese
09 - 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

→ Garnish

10 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives or parsley

# Cooking Steps:

01 - Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly butter a 9x13-inch baking dish.
02 - In a medium saucepan, combine heavy cream, whole milk, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Heat over medium-low heat until steaming, approximately 5 minutes. Do not allow to boil. Remove from heat.
03 - Arrange half of the sliced potatoes in an even layer in the prepared baking dish.
04 - Sprinkle half of the grated Gruyère and Parmesan cheeses over the potato layer.
05 - Layer the remaining sliced potatoes evenly on top of the cheese.
06 - Pour the warm cream mixture evenly over all potatoes. Top with remaining Gruyère and Parmesan cheeses.
07 - Cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes.
08 - Remove foil and continue baking for 20 to 25 minutes until the top is golden brown and potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife.
09 - Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Garnish with fresh chives or parsley if desired before serving.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The cream sauce is impossibly silky, and everyone thinks you spent hours on it when it takes minutes.
  • Gruyère and Parmesan create a crust so golden and crispy it shatters under your fork before meeting the creamy layers below.
  • It's the kind of side dish that actually gets compliments, and people will ask if there's a secret ingredient (spoiler: it's just good butter and patience).
02 -
  • Slice your potatoes consistently thin—a mandoline slicer saves your fingertips and ensures even cooking, unlike my first attempt with an unsteady hand and a sharp knife.
  • Don't skip the resting time at the end; it transforms the texture from soupy to luxurious and makes plating infinitely less frustrating.
03 -
  • Warming the cream mixture before it meets the potatoes ensures even cooking and prevents the sauce from being absorbed unevenly.
  • If you add thin sweet onion slices between layers (a delicious variation), do so sparingly so they don't release too much liquid and thin out your sauce.
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