Creamy Potatoes Au Gratin – No Cheese & a Secret Technique
Since 2009, this potatoes au gratin recipe has been a holiday favorite for so many of you. We’re sharing it again with you all along with a brand new video. These potatoes are crazy good and incredibly don’t have any cheese. The secret is in the technique. Read on to find out how to make the magic. Enjoy!
Family Favorite Holiday Potatoes Recipe
With the holidays in full swing, we are always planning a feasting menu (we actually always are planning feasting, but it is even more so now). We are always the key menu planners/cooks for just about any gathering and there are some dishes which are a requirement in our circles.
The menus are often a delicious mix, where traditional dishes are entwined with cultural ones. A common menu for us on Thanksgiving might be the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cha gio (eggrolls), nuoc cham for everything, bun bo hue. Christmas will usually be similar but swap out the turkey and stuffing for something more fun and delicious (whole cooked fish, ribs, steak, steam buns, etc.)
For the family gatherings, Diane’s mom takes care of the Vietnamese dishes & we’ll do the American or whatever various deliciousness we are obsessed with at the time (and sometimes help a bit with the Vietnamese dishes beyond what mom is cooking).
But there is one “everyone-will-boycott-if-it-isn’t-there” dish. These legendary Potatoes Au Gratin. We don’t say this lightly. People have wooed their future spouse with these potatoes. These Potatoes Au Gratin are amazing, creamy, tender and addicting. And beautifully simple to make. All they need are some good potatoes & cream, and time in the oven. And a bit of a “secret technique”.
Video showing us making the Potatoes Au Gratin Recipe:
The Key to a Great Potatoes Au Gratin
Simplicity can be heavenly, especially when you use good ingredients and techniques. That mantra completely surmises this Potatoes Au Gratin recipe (when they are this good, they should always be capitalized.) Just a handful of ingredients, the prep is simple, and as long as you remember to tend to your taters a couple times as they cook, they are utterly phenomenal.
What are the Best Ingredients?
Because of the simplicity of the ingredients, the little details make all of the difference in the final outcome. A garlic rub on the baking dish. The pop of flavor from lots of fresh ground black pepper and a bit of fresh grated nutmeg give a level above any pre-ground counterparts.
If you are using the pre-ground stuff (please try not to, but sometimes circumstances will dictate that you have to) cut back on the measurement of the nutmeg because the fresh grated will have more fluff then its pre-ground counterpart. You might need to reduce the salt amount if using table salt instead of kosher salt. Use how ever much black pepper you like. Preferably a lot.
Go for the Gold Potatoes
For the potatoes, good Russets are the best economical choice but if you want to go delicious, grab some Yukon Golds or something similar. Get the a nice thick heavy cream (all heavy creams are not equal-you’ll know it when you pour as the better creams have a thicker consistency. Around us the Trader Joe’s heavy cream and the Horizon Organic Heavy Whipping Cream (we’ll get the big one at Costco) are our regular go-to’s).
The Secret Technique
Then comes the “secret technique”. Several times while the potatoes cook, with the back of a large spoon, break the crust the cream is starting to form. Swirl the back of the spoon over the creamy that is starting to brown, smoothing it out with the more liquidy cream which is directly underneath.
This will allow the cream to slowly cook into the potatoes without overcooking or drying out the top as everything bakes to a tender, delicious creaminess. For the last 20-30 min. leave everything untouched so it will develop a final finishing crust. The final Potatoes Au Gratin will have a heavenly texture of softened, creamy layered potatoes topped with a golden slightly firmer crust.
Do you need cheese?
No. Many are shocked that there is no cheese in this recipe. With the secret technique is doesn’t need any cheese to create the top crust and we like the texture much more than if you had used cheese. If you are a doubter, try this recipe and you may love it as much as us, our friends, and family all do!
-Todd
Potatoes Au Gratin Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 pounds (1800 g) Potatoes , scrubbed clean (preferably gold potatoes)
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1 to 1 1/2 Tablespoons (30-45 ml) Kosher Salt , or to taste
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) fresh cracked Black Pepper , or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) freshly grated Nutmeg , or to taste
- 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) Heavy Cream
Equipment
- Mandoline optional
- Cut Resistant Gloves optional
- Fine Grater/Zester optional for freshly grated nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C.
- Crack the garlic cloves break them up slightly then rub the insides of a 9″x11″ baking dish. Set aside.
- Peel and thinly slice the potatoes – about 1/8" thick. Put the sliced potatoes into a large bowl (some like to use a mandoline for slicing the potatoes – if you do we highly recommend using cut resistant gloves – personally we prefer to slice with a knife).
- Season potatoes with salt, black pepper, and nutmeg. Get your hands in there and toss the slices to coat evenly. Slap a potato slice against your tongue to test for seasoning. It should be noticeably seasoned but not overpoweringly so.
- Layer potatoes into the prepared baking dish, smoothing and shifting the potatoes so everything is fairly level.
- Pour heavy cream over potatoes to the point where you can press down on the top layer and the potato slices disappear under the cream. Give a couple presses down on the potatoes then taste cream for seasoning again. You should just marginally taste the salt. Add a sprinkle more if needed.
- Bake for a total of about 1 1/2 hours (larger batches will take longer) (see following steps for instructions while baking).
- Every 30 minutes or so, break the crust the cream is starting to form with the back of a large spoon. On the final "crusting breaking" the consistency of the cream should noticeably thicker and have absorbed into the potatoes a decent amount.
- For the final 20-30 minutes, leave everything untouched to form a golden top. Cream should be nearly all broke down and absorbed with just a bit of creamy, buttery-ness between the potato slices.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit before serving. It will retain an intense heat for at least 10-15 minutes.
Video
Nutrition Information per Serving
Detailed Step-by-Step Pictorial for Potatoes Au Gratin Recipe
How to “Break The Crust” – keeping potatoes moist & creamy
The cream crust is starting to show some color
Check out our Sausage Potatoes au Gratin Recipe if you love sausage!
Here’s more great holiday potato recipes.
Thank you for this recipe. This was my fourth time at trying this dish and your recipe is the only one that resulted in a successful dish.
Could you just let me know why you recommend seasoning in a bunch rather than layer by layer. Also why not add in the cream layer by layer instead of over the top. Don’t get me wrong I followed your instructions but would just like to know if there is a reason you do it this way
Hi,
Just wondering if I can prepare these today and bake them tomorrow?
Hi Gina,
If left unbaked, the potatoes will start to brown, however if you need to, you can par-bake them today (up to the last crust breaking), then finish them off tomorrow. Hope you love them. We will be making them for tomorrow as well. Merry Christmas!
T & D
It’s Wednesday, November 23, 2011. I just wanted you to know that this will be the third consecutive Thanksgiving where I’ve included this great dish at our gathering. Tomorrow, like all Thanksgivings, we’ll have 20+ over for the feast. This year though, I will double the double recipe as the regular recipe of this potato au gratin would not even last the first wave of eaters.
Thank you!
That is awesome. Thanks for sharing! Have a great Thanksgiving.
T & D
Will try this today, best recipe on the internet. I like to research a few different ones to see which are the most feasible in my kitchen. Some recipes are uber fancy calling for ingredients that normal people don’t keep in the kitchen and some are insultingly calling for canned cream of mushroom soup or something else pre-made. What’s the point, might as well microwave it too! lol Yours is perfect! Homey and elegant and completeley fresh! I ESPECIALLY LOVE the tasting method of slapping a slice against your tongue. I laughed a good minute on that and had to re-read. Just bought some individual au gratin boats, can’t wait to use!
I have just recently discovered not only that I truly enjoying cooking, but that I’m actually pretty good at it! Since Ive discovered this new found passion of mine, I have been on the search for recipes to try, and this led me to your website. It is a wonderful site and the photographs are captivating. Anyways, My first recipe( of which im sure will be many from your site) was these potatoes. WOW!!! HOLY #*%&@*# These are incredible. They are the best potatoes I have EVER eaten and one of my favorite foods as well. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I have a personal blog, nothing fancy but would it be ok if I post the printable recipe on there with my photos of the potatoes I made? I would love to share this with my friends and family but wanted to get your permission first. Thanks:)
Hi Melissa,
We say that every time we make these too. We’d love that you’d share the recipe on your site. General recipe blogging etiquette is to just re-write the recipe instructions in your own words (this helps prevent google from penalizing either party for duplicate content and we find this also helps to personally understand the recipe) and to mention where the recipe is adapted from, giving a link back to the post you were adapting from. So glad you loved them and are sharing them.
T & D
I just recently began discovering my love of cooking and have been searching for recipes when I came across this. Last night, I decided to make this dish as a side dish and WHOA! These potatoes were absofreakin amazing. The only word to really describe these are Perfection. They were hands down the best potatoes Ive ever eaten and my husband whole heartedly agrees. Thank you so much for sharing this. They are so warm and comforting. Exquisite.
I’ve made potatoes similar to this every Christmas for years but never “broke the crust”. It is unbelievable what a huge difference that makes. They were always delicious. This took them to sublime. Thanks!
Thanks so much for this recipe and helpful photos. I’m curious whether you recommend adding vegetables or whether you have tried? I think artichoke bottoms and califlower would complement the potatoes. My first tastse of Au Gratin was vegetable only and it was delicious. I’m looking forward to trying this! Happy Holidays!
We never have because of pure adoration to the original, but we especially love your idea of cauliflower. Maybe sautรฉ them up with a little garlic first, then layering it into the potatoes. Would love to hear back with your results.
I made two 9×13 pans of this for Passover on Monday evening… oh. my. god.
Forget the brisket and matzo ball soup — THIS was the star of the show! Thanks for sharing such a delicious (and EASY!) recipe!
Just have to say…OMG!! THE best ever! My friends and i thought we had died and gone to heaven when we ate this. I have never done “the breaking of the crust”. That is genius. I added a little shredded Gruyere cheese on top too. I had to post this, because i am once again making this for our friends tonight. Thanks for the fab recipe.
Very tasty looking gratin dauphinois. This is a dish that we have to have at our house too, although I’m the only one in the family who knows how easy it is. I too always rub the dish with garlic and use sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
But I haven’t tried cracking the cream crust. It never caused me a problem before, but I’ll try it and see how it makes a difference.
These are the BEST potatoes!!! Made them for Christmas- everyone loved them!!! I am going to make a double batch for Easter, so I have enough for leftovers!!!
Thanks!
This looks delicious. Such a pretty dish, and tasty I am sure!
hi. i used your recipe for christmas day dinner and it was unbelievable. we had the remainder tonight leftover and my hubbie liked them even better. i got a mandolin for christmas so it made quick work of the yukon golds. thans so much as it gave me the confidence to have them as the main side to the boneless leg of lamb i made for hubby’s family. a big success…and they were beautiful.
Very, very good. I added a touch of Gruyere cheese on top; not too much, just enough to scatter on the top. The first time I made it I left the cheese off; and found the potatoes just a bit salty. This is individual taste though. No problem, just don’t add as much! Definitely lower the salt, though, if you add a bit of cheese.
This was a real winner at my garden club pot luck.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe, it looks absolutely delicious. I’m making it right now! Hopefully it turns out just as delicious as yours did! I’ll keep you posted!
Thanks and Happy Holidays!