One of our favorite side dishes is our Au Gratin Potatoes recipe. This is an easy potato dish to make for Thanksgiving or Sunday dinner. We use Yukon potatoes to make our cheesy Au Gratin recipe, which you can grab down below. Single-serve au gratin that are cheesy, and melts in your mouth.

Au Gratin Potatoes Recipe

This potato recipe has always been a favorite of mine and is loved by anyone who comes over for dinner. Derrick came up with this delicious recipe of taking potatoes and turning them into a gourmet-style side dish. While I will not promise this dish will help you lose weight or not stick to your thighs, it’s worth it to cheat for a night and try this delicious dish! If you do try it, come back and let me know what you think!

What’s the difference between scalloped and au gratin potatoes?

The biggest difference between scalloped potatoes and au gratin potatoes is cheese. Au gratin is a creamy and cheesy base, where scalloped potatoes traditionally do not have cheese in the recipe. Both are very similar in having thinly sliced potatoes, creamy sauce that gets baked to golden perfection.

In my recipe as you can see I did some bacon, and other toppings to transform the flavor. It is out of this world delicious.

Other side dishes to try:

Our Au Gratin Potatoes recipe goes great with other side dishes such as Creamy Collard Greens. And of course, our easy Thanksgiving Dressing recipe is a must to serve with this easy potato recipe! For budget purposes, if you plan to make this meal, I highly suggest that you grab the items when they are on sale since they can add up quickly in cost! Other potato dishes that are worth trying as a side dish: Cheesy Spinach Mashed Double Potatoes, Easy Mashed Potatoes Recipe, How to make Pan Cooked Garlic Broccolini.

Ingredients Needed

Potatoes – For this recipe I find that using Yukons or Russets offer the best texture and hold up as you bake the potatoes in the oven. You will want to remove the water.

Cheese – I did a blend of cheese. Gruyere and Gouda join forces to help really throw this potato side dish over the top. Feel free to swap out the cheese varieties I share ideas below.

Garlic – Fresh minced garlic is always my go-to. It offers a very light and flavorful component to the potatoes.

Butter – Real butter is needed for this recipe. If you use a salted butter just watch adding extra salt into the recipe, so you don’t get your dish too salty.

Heavy Cream – You will want heavy cream to help give your potatoes that ultra-rich creamy flavor. It truly offers that wow factor.

Spices – Salt, pepper, and parsley are what we used.

Green Onions – Optional but a tasty component!

Bacon – Isn’t everything better with a little bacon? Reach for a thick sliced bacon, that you can wrap around at the end of baking.

Storage

When your potatoes are done and cooled down, you want to transfer and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will store for around 3-5 days in the fridge. I love storing these potatoes leftover as they reheat really nicely.

In terms of reheating, you can warm up in the microwave for a quick reheat, or cover in a dish and bake in the oven to heat it up slowly. Either route will work. The texture will be a bit crisper if you opt for the oven route.

Do you peel potatoes for au gratin?

So for our au grating, you will see it is a shredded potato instead of a traditionally thin-sliced potato. You can peel and wash the potatoes really well. You will find the texture is best when the potatoes are peeled for either method of making au gratin.

Alternative To Cheese Used

I used Gruyere and Gouda cheese for the perfect combination. If you don’t have access or like one or both kinds of cheese, you can swap it out. A white cheddar, pepper jack, etc. could be great options. Feel free to use whatever variety of cheese you enjoy. Even a mozzarella could be a delicious alternative if you prefer to swap it out.

Can I Make Without Muffin Cups

You will find you can make these cups without a muffin cup, but you need to ensure you grease your pan really well. You will run the risk of them sticking in the muffin tin and then you can’t take them out without breaking them.

Everything you need to make Au Gratin Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pound Yukon Gold or Russett potatoes shredded with all of the water removed
1 cup of onions shredded, drained, and patted dry
4 cloves of fresh minced garlic
1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1 cup smoked Gouda cheese
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1 cup + 1/4 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup parsley chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt or Kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 or more strips of thick-cut bacon
3 stalks green onion cut on a bias

Directions on how to make Au Gratin Potatoes

Preheat oven to 350 °F.
Arrange the thick-cut bacon on a walled cooking sheet lined with aluminum foil and cook until the bacon is crispy in about 25-30 minutes; make sure to rotate the bacon halfway through the cooking time to cook evenly. Remove the bacon when crispy and transfer the stripes to a plate or platter lined with paper towels to absorb excess drippings. Set the thick-cut bacon aside.
Adjust the oven to 375 °F.
Wash and rinse peel potatoes and shred the potatoes using a box grater. Wrap the shredded potatoes in a paper towel and/or a large cheesecloth or kitchen towel, and squeeze out as much water as you can.
Shred the onion using a box grater and use the same method to remove as much moisture as you can. I transfer onions into a fine-mesh sieve and, using the back of a tablespoon, pressed out as much water as I could. Set aside.
Mince garlic and parsley and set aside.
Grate one cup of smoked gouda and one cup of Gruyere cheese.
Transfer the shredded potatoes, onions, and minced garlic to a large mixing bowl and add heavy cream, melted butter, and cheeses.
Add sea salt and freshly cracked black peppercorns and mix thoroughly.
Place parchment lotus cups into a muffin pan, and fill each cup with the au gratin mixture.
Place the muffin pan on the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes with 5 minutes remaining top each cup with more cheese and continue to bake until the potatoes are golden brown.
Remove from the oven and top each cup with thick-cut bacon; just before serving, top each cup with green onion and serve.

Find additional side dish recipes below:

25 Side Dishes For Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Side Dish Idea | Baked Butternut Squash Potatoes

Cheesy Sweet Potato Pomme Purée

Spinach & Bacon Smashed Potatoes

Creamy Collard Greens with Caramelized Onions & Bacon