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Classic dauphinoise potatoes baked in a creamy garlic sauce and finished with Gruyere cheese. Rich and indulgent yet balanced and slice-clean, it’s a side that totally hits the spot for Sunday roasts or the big holiday table.
“I no longer need to follow this recipe as I’ve made it so often!!
It’s delicious and so easy to make.
The only change I make is to add crushed garlic, and leave it in the sauce, rather than infuse the milk with garlic as we like it garlicky.
I’ve made this about 25 times. Family favourite.”
Nicky’s Notes
I could happily have this for dinner all on its own.
Yes, it’s a knockout side with steak or salmon or roast lamb but the bit that makes it sing is the detail: 2mm slices, a gentle par-simmer in the cream so the sauce stays silky, and a 10–15 minute rest for clean, luxuriously creamy layers with that golden Gruyère on top.
Double helping, cosy sofa, PJs… heaven.
Table of Contents
Dauphinoise potatoes vs potato gratin
Dauphinoise potatoes are thinly sliced potatoes cooked in the oven in a dish with cream and/or milk with a hint of garlic. It can be made with or without cheese. The potatoes are often layered in the dish raw. I prefer to pre-cook my potatoes in the milk and cream as this helps to thicken the sauce and prevent it from curdling.
Potato Gratin is often a term used interchangeably with dauphinoise potatoes. Broadly speaking, any baked dish of thinly sliced vegetables cooked with cheese and butter is a gratin. Potato gratin can be made with a creamy sauce, sometimes with the inclusion of onions, garlic and/or breadcrumbs.
Boulangere potatoes are thinly sliced potatoes cooked in the oven in a dish with thinly sliced onions, stock, herbs (thyme, rosemary or sage) and butter.
📋 Ingredients for Potato Dauphinoise
***Full recipe with detailed quantities in the recipe card below***
The Best Potatoes for Dauphinoise
Starchy/floury potatoes are the best option – as the starch in them helps to create a thicker sauce. Maris Piper, King Edwards, Rooster, Russets, Yukon golds and Desirée are all good options.
Note on the Cheese
I like to use Gruyere cheese for dauphinoise for its delicate nutty flavour. If you prefer, you can swap it out for mozzarella or cheddar or a mixture of the 2.
How to make it
- Bring cream, milk and garlic to boil in a large saucepan,
- Peel and thinly slice potatoes (you can use a mandolin or the slicing attachment on a food processor). Add the potatoes to the heated cream mixture.
- Then simmer for 6-7 mins, stirring occasionally until the potatoes are tender.
- Scoop half of the potatoes out of the pan and arrange them in the baking dish. Sprinkle over a little salt, pepper, nutmeg and grated Gruyere cheese.
- Spoon on the remaining potatoes, pour on some of the sauce, season once more and sprinkle on more Gruyere cheese.
- Place in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, until the cheese is golden.
Season with a little parsley before serving.
Why to I need to par-boil the potatoes first?
- Parboiling the potatoes first so they cook through and turn tender in 40–45 minutes in the oven. Using raw potatoes would increase the cooking time substantially, meaning the cheese could be too brown by the time the potatoes are tender.
- As the potatoes are parboiling in the cream and milk, they release starch into the sauce. This step thickens the sauce and prevents curdling during baking.
Recipe Tips
- Peel the potatoes, then use the slicing attachment on a food processor (< affiliate link) to slice the potatoes thinly and quickly.
A mandolin (< affiliate link) is a good alternative to consistently slice the potatoes, although it will take longer. - When par-boiling the potatoes in the sauce, use a blunt knife to separate the layers of potato. The starch in the potatoes means the potato slices will try to stick together without having any sauce in between them. Stuck together potato slices is comparable to not slicing the potatoes at all, and it means the potatoes won’t cook evenly. Fan the slices apart in the pan, coat every piece in the sauce, and you’ll get perfectly tender, creamy potatoes.
- Don’t worry about arranging the potatoes neatly in the baking dish. So long as they’re fairly flat on top, they’ll cook evenly and you’ll still see those lovely layers when you cut into the dauphinoise.
What to serve with dauphinoise potatoes
Although very rich itself, I think dauphinoise potatoes works really well with rich meats such as roast lamb, steak or beef shortribs. However, it will also go perfectly with baked salmon (you could add a little lemon zest to the salmon to cut through the creaminess of the potatoes).
How about roast leg of lamb, slow-roast shoulder of lamb or rack of lamb.
You could also serve it as part of a roast pork, roast beef or roast chicken dinner
Serve along with:
- Green Beans with Garlic and Parmesan
- Simple Butter Pepper Carrots or
- Baked Parmesan Sprouts with Bacon
Watch how to make it:
Dauphinoise Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 480 ml (2 cups) double (heavy) cream
- 480 ml (2 cups) full-fat milk
- 3 garlic cloves peeled and lightly crushed (so they’re flatter, but stay in one piece)
- 1.25 kg (2.75 lbs) King Edward or Maris Piper potatoes use medium-sized potatoes
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- pinch nutmeg
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- 150 g (1 1/2 cups) grated gruyere cheese
- 2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F (fan).
- Lightly grease a large, shallow ovenproof dish. I use a 32cmx18cm dish (see *note 1 for conversion).
- Place the cream, milk, and garlic into a large saucepan and bring to the boil, then turn down the heat.480 ml (2 cups) double (heavy) cream, 480 ml (2 cups) full-fat milk, 3 garlic cloves
- Peel the potatoes and slice thinly using the slicing attachment on your food processor or a mandolin. They need to be around 2mm thick.1.25 kg (2.75 lbs) King Edward or Maris Piper potatoes
- Add the potatoes to the cream and stir to coat.
- Bring back to the boil, then simmer gently for 6-7 mins, stirring occasionally (to ensure the sauce doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan) until the potatoes are tender and just cooked. Don’t worry if they break apart a little.
- While the potatoes are cooking, mix together the salt, black pepper, nutmeg, and white pepper in a small dish.½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, pinch nutmeg, 1/4 tsp white pepper
- Scoop half of the potatoes out of the pan and arrange them in the baking dish, being sure to separate any potatoes that have stuck together. Discard the garlic.
- Sprinkle over half of the salt/pepper/nutmeg mixture and 1/3 of the gruyere cheese.150 g (1 1/2 cups) grated gruyere cheese
- Spoon on the remaining potatoes and pour over enough sauce so the potatoes are coated in sauce, but not drowning in it. The sauce should be quite thick, so there won't be much left in the pan anyway.
- Sprinkle on the remaining seasoning and the remaining cheese.
- Place in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, until the cheese is golden.
- Top with fresh parsley before serving2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
Video
Notes
Remove from the refrigerator an hour before you want to reheat it (to take the chill off the centre) and cover in foil. Place in the oven at 190C/375F for 30-35 minutes, removing the foil for the last 15 minutes, until piping hot throughout. Gruyere cheese I like to use Gruyere cheese for dauphinoise for its delicate nutty flavour. You can swap it out for mozzarella or cheddar if you prefer. Nutritional information is per serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This Dauphinoise Potato Recipe was first posted in April 2020. Updated since with recipe improvements, additional information and for housekeeping reasons.
🥔 More Potato Side Dishes
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This is such a winner recipe! I made it first 2 years ago for Christmas Eve and this year for thanksgiving (instead of mashed potatoes). Such a beautiful and elegant side dish (which is an odd thing to say about potatoes!) It’s a forever recipe.
I no longer need to follow this recipe as I’ve made it so often!!
It’s delicious and so easy to make.
The only change I make is to add crushed garlic, and leave it in the sauce, rather than infuse the milk with garlic as we like it garlicky.
I’ve made this about 25 times. Family favourite.
Family favourite
Would like to make it ahead of time, can it be frozen?
This is a great favourite with our family
Tasty, but next time I’ll salt the cream/milk before boiling the potatoes.
I made this today. For the milk I used a can of evaporated milk and Fairlife skim milk to get 2 cups. I used 4 frozen garlic cubes so it stayed in there. I had shredded Swiss and double cheddar for cheese. Lastly I did not have white pepper so used turmeric and a pinch of all spice since did not have nutmeg. I put all the sauce in. I baked it first and then the rest of dinner and it set beautifully while I made everything else. Family loved it! So delicious. So glad I found this recipe.