Simple Au Gratin Potatoes

Name: Simple Au Gratin Potatoes
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Yield: 8 servings.
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons butter; 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1-1/2 teaspoons salt; 1/8 teaspoon pepper; 2 cups 2% milk; 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese; 5 cups thinly sliced peeled potatoes (about 6 medium); 1/2 cup chopped onion; Additional pepper, optional

These homemade au gratin potatoes are always welcome at our dinner table, and they're so simple to make. A perfect complement to ham, this homey potato gratin also goes well with pork, chicken and other entrees. —Cris O'Brien, Virginia Beach, Virginia

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Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 cups 2% milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
5 cups thinly sliced peeled potatoes (about 6 medium)
1/2 cup chopped onion
Additional pepper, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in cheese until melted. Add potatoes and onion.
Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Cover and bake 1 hour. Uncover; bake 30-40 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. If desired, top with additional pepper.

Potatoes Au Gratin Tips

Why did my potato au gratin curdle?

Curdling can occur when high heat affects the fat in dairy. In this recipe, we thicken the milk with flour to prevent curdling. Starch will also help, so make sure to use a high starch potato like a russet. If you've got leftover russet potatoes, use them up in any of these russet potato recipes!

How do you keep potatoes au gratin from becoming watery?

If your au gratin is watery, replace the milk with heavy cream, which has a higher fat content, next time you prepare the recipe. Also, russet potatoes have less water and more starch, making them ideal for au gratin recipes.

What goes well with au gratin potatoes?

Lemon thyme chicken is easy and delicious—and bakes at the same temperature as the potatoes! Feeling more like a steakhouse dinner? Try a garlic grilled steak or any of our other steak recipes.

Nutrition Facts

3/4 cup: 224 calories, 10g fat (7g saturated fat), 35mg cholesterol, 605mg sodium, 26g carbohydrate (4g sugars, 2g fiber), 7g protein.

Reviews

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Average Rating:

Laurie

Nov 20, 2017

Can I do everything but the baking the day before or will that screw up cheese?
Bradley

Nov 15, 2017

This is a great recipe that can be tweaked for your personal taste. I have altered the cheeses and generally add paprika on top.
Jamie

Sep 11, 2017

Tweeked this by adding Mexican cheese mix and smoked paprika....awesome!
Lane

Sep 1, 2017

I used a 30 oz bag of hashbrowns, doubled the sauce, don't use more than 1 1/2 tp salt for doubled sauce recipe. Super simple and oh so good!!!!
Rusty

Aug 27, 2017

Outstanding! I halved this recipe but otherwise stuck to the ingredients and directions. Came out great. I was amazed how such basic ingredients like this could come together so nicely. Highly recommend this!!
pschube

Aug 8, 2017

Delicious! Only next time I will cut back on the salt by half.
Laurie

Aug 1, 2017

Super easy and oh so delish! If you are pressed for time but need a great side dish try semi boiling your potatoes while making your sauce. Cuts the time down significantly. Also, you can boil your potatoes in chicken broth for extra flavor!
scotland1

Jul 27, 2017

Wonderful. This is the same recipe that my mom and I would make. But we would add pan fried pork chops to it. I would also make a toss green salad to go along with it. YUMMY.
Angela

May 8, 2017

Love this dish! It takes some time but is well worth the effort.
PageRD

Apr 19, 2017

So easy and the flavors blended just perfectly. I wouldn't change a thing and I'll make this again and again.