Creamy Scalloped Au Gratin Potatoes are so cheesy, flavorful, and a wonderful side-dish for Thanksgiving, Easter, or Christmas. The starch from the potatoes thicken the sauce, making it creamy and so delicious. Layers of potatoes with plenty of cheese on top make this scalloped potatoes recipe the ultimate casserole dish!

Ultimate Scalloped Potatoes Recipe
Thanksgiving is less than a week away! And I’m dying to know: what side-dishes are you make? Mashed potatoes? Cranberry Sauce? Green Bean Casserole? Sweet Potatoes? Biscuits? So many choices… you could literally make an entire meal out of sides!
So forgive me for throwing one more option in the ring… but I would be remiss if I didn’t share this heavenly au gratin potatoes recipe with you! Featuring russet potato slices in a heavy cream cheese sauce that’s too-die-for delicious.

Thinly Sliced Potatoes
The key is thinly sliced potatoes! And making sure you use russet potatoes, which will give us the texture we’re looking for. Other potatoes won’t hold up well in the cream sauce, and turn to mush or release too much water and turn the sauce into soup.
Au Gratin Potatoes Ingredients & Subs
- Butter: You’ll melt the butter before adding the shallots. I like unsalted butter but salted butter will work in a pinch, just reduce the amount of salt called for.
- Shallots: Sweet and subtle, and cooked until golden brown… I just love the flavor that shallots add. But in a pinch, you can use sweet yellow onion or white instead.
- Spices & Herbs: Fresh garlic and thyme, plus ground nutmeg and cayenne pepper, and Dijon Mustard. Plus, salt and pepper, make this scalloped potatoes recipe incredibly flavorful.
- Heavy Cream: Do not substitute heavy cream with milk or even half and half! Heavy cream helps thickens the sauce and makes this casserole dish incredibly flavorful.
- Chicken Broth: I really love using bone broth here because it adds a great flavor. But in a pinch, regular chicken broth works fine. And if you’re a vegetarian household, feel free to use vegetable broth.
- Potatoes: As I mentioned earlier, it’s essential you use russets here. You’ll want to peel them use a mandolin or sharp knife to cut them into 1/8-inch slices. If you must sub in a potato, yukon gold potatoes will taste great. But will be more creamy/mushy.
- Cheese: Fontina, gruyere cheese, and finely grated parmesan cheese make our cheesy creamy sauce flavorful and so delicious! This cheese combo is *chef’s kiss* perfect, and sets this apart from other au gratin recipes. If you can’t find gruyere, sharp cheddar is a nice replacement.
How to Make Potatoes Au Gratin
- Cream Sauce: Melt the butter, toss in the shallots, and sauté until softened and slightly caramelized, about 10 minutes. But this could take longer, so don’t skimp here on time, as this step adds a ton of flavor. Add the garlic and thyme and continue cooking for another minute, but don’t let the garlic brown. Pour in the cream, broth and remaining herbs and seasonings.
- Potatoes: Add the thinly sliced potatoes and cook until the potatoes are tender. This will only take about 10 minutes, so don’t over cook them or it’ll yield a mushy casserole. The potatoes bake again in the oven and will soften more.
- Bake: Scrape the thinly sliced potatoes and all cream sauce into a shallow large casserole dish. Sprinkle with the cheeses then bake until the potatoes are tender and the cream sauce is bubbling and golden brown. Unlike many au gratin potatoes recipes, there’s no need to cover the casserole dish with foil and bake. This is because the bake time is quite short, and because we want the top to get crispy and golden brown.
- Garnish: You can garnish with a few sprigs of thyme, for an extra pretty presentation! Or add some freshly cracked black pepper or extra caramelized shallots.
- Serve: You can serve warm this scalloped potatoes recipe straight from the baking dish. And it’s delicious warm or at room temperature. I don’t suggest serving this cold because the cheese firms up and looses it’s gooey cheesy appeal.
Ready in just over 30 minutes, this scalloped potatoes recipe is pure perfection – and the ultimate comfort food. Whether you’re an au gratin potatoes fanatic or new to this classic casserole dish, I hope you’ll give my recipe a try!
Delicious with turkey of course, but these scalloped potatoes are also great with ham, chicken, or just a simple side salad! You can’t go wrong when serving these potatoes!
More Potato Recipes:
- Bacon Cheddar Mashed Potato Casserole
- German Potato Salad
- Extra Crispy Baked Garlic and Herb Potato Wedges
- Broccoli Cheddar Twice-Baked Potatoes
- The Best Sweet Potato Casserole
- Extra Crispy Sweet Potato Wedges
Creamy Scalloped Au Gratin Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- 3 shallots peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves finely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- 1 and 1/2 cups (340ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup (113ml) chicken bone broth
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 pounds (908g) russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1/8-inch slices
- 1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded gruyere cheese
- 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (F).
- Melt the butter in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and sauté until softened and begin to caramelize, about 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic and thyme and continue cooking for another minute, or until fragrant.
- Stir in the cream, broth, salt, black pepper, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, and dijon mustard and cook for 2 minutes, stirring almost constantly.
- Add in the potatoes and bring to a simmer. Continue cooking until the potatoes are just fork-tender, about 10 minutes.
- As neatly as possibly, scrape the potato mixture into a shallow 9×13-inch baking dish (or similar capacity).
- Sprinkle the cheeses evenly over the potatoes, starting with the fontina, then adding the gruyere, and finishing with the parmesan. Bake until bubbling and golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes. Sprinkle with a few thyme springs, if desired.
- Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
This has so much flavor! I made lamb and decided to try this as a side. Will make again for Thanksgiving!
Wow! My first time trying this recipe for Thanksgiving and it was a hit!! My family loved it! It was delicious.
I plan on making this for Christmas! Can this be made ahead of time? If so what would be your advise on that? Thanks
i would love to know if you can make this ahead also.