Food & Cooking Recipes Main Dish Recipes Casserole Recipes Potato Gratin 4.1 (164) This bubbling, cheesy potato bake is the ultimate holiday side. Prep Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 20 mins Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins Servings: 6 Jump to recipe This potato gratin recipe calls for only five ingredients and couldn’t be simpler to make. The result is a creamy, bubbling dish of tender potatoes topped with a golden brown blanket of cheese that makes a wonderful addition to the holiday table. If you have a mandoline, it’ll come in very handy for slicing the potatoes—since they’re not precooked before adding them to the baking dish, it’s important to cut them as thinly and evenly as possible. Combining the potatoes with the warm milk mixture draws out some of the starch, this helps the liquid thicken, and ensures each slice is coated with creamy goodness before baking. A little nutmeg adds flavorful depth and a few ounces of grated Gruyère cheese make for a nutty, melty topper. What Is a Gratin? Why We Love This French Take on the Casserole Potato Gratin Ingredients The potatoes: Waxy Yukon gold potatoes are our pick for this recipe since they hold their shape better than starchier russets, which could crumble and turn mushy while baking. Using a Y-shaped peeler makes peeling them super easy, but you can certainly use a straight peeler or even a paring knife instead. Placing them in a bowl of cold water after peeling helps to keep them from discoloring. The dairy: A combination of milk and heavy cream adds plenty of richness to this dish without making it overly heavy or decadent. Heat the mixture in a saucepan just until it's bubbling around the edges, keeping a close eye on it to prevent it from scorching or bubbling over. The garlic: Rubbing a halved clove of garlic around the edge of the baking dish before adding the potatoes lends just enough allium flavor without being overpowering. If you or your guests are garlic averse, feel free to skip this step. The nutmeg: A small amount of nutmeg adds can't-put-your-finger-on-it flavor to this rich, delicious side dish. For best results, we strongly recommend grating it fresh yourself, but ground nutmeg will work in a pinch. The cheese: When it comes to cheese, we prefer to top the creamy potatoes with Gruyère as it melts beautifully and lends a mild nuttiness that complements the other ingredients. If you can't locate Gruyère, you can use cheddar, Colby, or havarti instead, though the flavor will be more mild overall. If you don't have a mandoline, you can still make this recipe by slicing the potatoes thinly by hand. To make this step as easy as possible, cut a small slice off of one of the long sides of each potato to help steady it on your cutting board before making thin, even, vertical slices. Directions Heat oven; peel potatoes: Preheat oven to 375°F. Peel potatoes, and place in a bowl of water to prevent discoloring. Rub baking dish with garlic: Rub inside of a 9-by-12-inch oval baking dish with cut sides of garlic. Heat cream mixture: Heat cream, milk, nutmeg, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat until bubbles form around edge. Season with pepper. Remove from heat. Slice potatoes; add to bowl and top with cream mixture: Meanwhile, slice potatoes 1/8 inch thick; transfer to a bowl. Pour warm cream mixture over top. Mix well; add to baking dish, then top with cream mixture and cheese: Mix well, using your hands to separate and coat potatoes, and transfer to prepared dish. Gently push potatoes down, and pour cream mixture from bowl over top. Sprinkle with Gruyère. Bake until tender and bubbling: Bake (with a baking sheet placed on the rack below to catch drips) until potatoes are fork tender and top is bubbling and brown, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Letting the finished dish sit for five to 10 minutes after coming out of the oven will give the cream mixture a chance to set up, making serving easier. How to Store and Reheat Potato Gratin If you happen to have leftover potato gratin, refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to four days. Reheating To reheat it, let it come to room temperature, then bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until hot throughout. You can also microwave individual portions until heated through. 5 More Gratin Recipes to Try: Easy Cauliflower Gratin With Gruyère Smoky Brussels Sprout Gratin Butternut-Squash and Kale Gratin Leek, Potato, and Morel Gratin Pumpkin and Pecorino Gratin Updated by Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds is an experienced recipe developer, recipe tester, food editor, and writer with over a decade of experience in the food and media industries.