Recipe video above. The ultimate potato bake, created by the French!!! Potato + cream + cheese with a hint of garlic and thyme = pure heaven. Based on Julia Child's Potato Dauphinoise recipe. This is THE perfect make ahead potato dish, the most luxurious of all potato casseroles, the better version of Scalloped Potatoes!Authenticity note: traditional Dauphinoise in France does not contain cheese. But I could never imagine making it without..... It makes it better. You know it does!
Recipe by Nagi on December 20, 2020
Prep time: PT15M
Cook time: PT90M
Total time: PT105M
Rating
4.96 stars (279 reviews)
Keywords
Dauphinoise Potatoes, Potato Bake, potato casserole, Potatoes au Gratin
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cream (, full fat (Note 1))
2 garlic cloves (, minced)
30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter (, melted)
1.25 kg / 2.5 lb starchy potatoes (, Russet, Sebago, Maris Piper (Note 2))
Cream Mixture: Place butter, cream and garlic in a jug. Mix until combined.
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (both fan and standard ovens).
Slice potatoes: Peel the potatoes and slice them 1/8"/3 mm thick. Or use a slicer!
Layer 1: Spread 1/3 of the potatoes in a baking dish (Note 3), then pour over 1/3 of the Cream Mixture, scatter with 1/3 of the salt, pepper and thyme. Sprinkle with 3/4 cups cheese.
Layers 2 & 3: Repeat for the 2nd and third layer, but do not finish with cheese on the top layer (will add later).
Cover & bake: Cover with lid or foil, and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the potatoes in the middle are soft (use knife to test), it might take 1 1/2 hours. (Note 5)
Top with cheese, bake again: Remove foil, top with cheese. Bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes until golden and bubbly. Stand 5 minutes before serving.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 110 g
Calories: 167 kcal
Carbohydrates: 14.2 g
Protein: 5.7 g
Fat: 10 g
Saturated Fat: 6 g
Cholesterol: 31 mg
Sodium: 281 mg
Sugar: 1.6 g
Reviews
heebee on 2025-06-21 (5 stars): I have planted thyme now so I always have it ready for this gorgeous dish. I missed adding cheese by accident once and still so good that I just leave this out and cook a little longer after the foil is off to crisp the top.
Natalie on 2025-06-13 (5 stars): Divine to the letter!
MICHAEL P CALLAHAN on 2025-04-21 (5 stars): Forgot to add the rating! 5 Stars!
April on 2025-04-07 (5 stars): Best potatoe bake!
I added in some diced bacon in between the layers and put tasty and Parmesan ontop and it was delicious
Ron/Brisbane on 2025-03-25 (5 stars): Made this for dinner tonight - very, very good.
It’s actually similar to the way i usually do potato gratin - just a little cheesier and richer.
So definitely smaller portions required when it comes time to devour! This makes quite a good sized batch - perfect for a dinner with multiple people so you’re not tempted to go back for seconds - or thirds… ;)
One thing I wanted to emphasise is Nagi’s comment about using floury/starchy potatoes rather than waxy.
I’d made that mistake a few times over the years. Couldn’t work out why sometimes my potatoes were so al dente they didn’t feel completely cooked - even though I’d then give them more oven time - they’d still slide about like her ‘paper thin potato UFOs’. Awful.
Then the penny dropped. Always floury!
Having said that - I’ve seen several recipes for potato gratins in cookbooks and other cooking websites - that specify waxy potatoes!!
I’m gobsmacked. Don’t understand at all. Makes no sense -
Do not listen to them!
Karen on 2025-01-04 (5 stars): I have made this many times, follow exactly as written, comes out perfect. Using a mandolin is a must for ease and uniform thickness, if you don’t have one definitely buy one, it will be your new best friend. Great recipe!
Beth on 2024-12-30 (5 stars): Made these for an after holiday dinner-so great! Love this recipe.
Valerie Rae Corey on 2024-12-29 (3 stars): This was quite good. Next time I will use half as much fresh thyme because we all felt it overwhelmed the cheese flavor, add sauteed onions, more garlic and more cheese. It took a really long time to bake and I sliced the potatoes on a mandolin; they were quite thin so next time I will prebake as instructed in note 6 and then finish off 45 minutes before the meal. Another option is to prepare and bake several hours before the meal, then let sit on the counter and simply reheat just prior to eating.
Lin on 2024-10-21 (5 stars): Utterly delicious and completely demolished in one sitting. No chance of leftovers!
Debi on 2024-10-15 (5 stars): I doubled this to bring for a potluck Thanksgiving dinner for 11 people. Before getting started, I read through the reviews to get an idea of issues others encountered. My main worry was the potatoes would not be cooked all the way through because I was doubling and using one large rectangle dish. I worried for nothing because it came out perfect. I used russet potatoes and even weighed them so it wouldn't be over the recommended amount. I used full fat cream, gruyere cheese, thyme and other ingredients exactly as called for. This will turn out perfect if you follow Nagi's recipe exactly as written and using the ingredients called for, i.e. don't use half and half, the wrong cheese etc. If it helps others, my bake time was 1 hour 30 minutes covered plus the additional 15 minutes uncovered. Don't skip the thyme. There was a small amount of leftovers which were even tastier the next day. Also, for folks who don't have a scale, 2 1/2 Ibs potatoes is about 5 medium size. Plan to make again for Christmas dinner!
Lindsay on 2024-10-06 (5 stars): Question, mine curdled. I used Gouda and Swiss but otherwise followed. Do you have any idea why? Still tasted good but not so much of a looker lol Ps, I love your recipes! Use yours often.
