Its glamorous reputation as the side dish of choice at expensive steak houses is rather ironic, since the ingredients for potato gratin are certainly pretty basic and there’s not a lot of culinary technique and skill needed to make it. As a result, potato gratin is a dish that can suit any occasion – the expensive steakhouse on a Saturday night.. or your rustic kitchen table on a Wednesday evening with the family.

Potato gratin is also known in France as Pommes Dauphinoise, named after the Dauphiné region of France, which is known for gratin dishes of all kinds. We often think of gratin dishes as having a lot of cheese on top, browned under a broiler, but in actuality there is no cheese in classic Pommes Dauphinoise. The potatoes and cream bake in the oven and a light crust is formed simply by the top browning as it cooks. I love the salty flavor of Parmesan cheese and cheat a little from the classic recipe by adding it on top of the gratin in this recipe.
I made the potato gratin. I had to use a glass dish, and it didn’t look as nice as yours, but it was delicious. I will make that one again. I enjoy your recipes and have several of your books. Please keep including the dog pictures; they are too cute.
Thanks, Pat
These are the best! Made them in Easter and am making them today!!!
Made this recipe this evening and the sauce curdled why
Hi. Excessive heat will cause the milk in the half and half to curdle. You might have baked it a little too long, causing the sauce to break. It is still edible when this happens but not always so appealing. A quick fix is to pour a little heavy cream or half & half over top and sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top.
What if you don’t have half and half? Can you substitute something
Hi Cathy. For classic Potato Gratin, you can use all heavy cream for the recipe or 1 cup milk and 1 cup heavy cream. Add more heavy cream at the end if needed to cover the potatoes in the pan before baking.
This recipe looks delicious. Can it be made ahead of time and what would be a good substitue for parmesan
Hi Patricia. While I think this is best when it’s just made, you can make it ahead of time. You can do some prep ahead of time very easily – reduce the cream and slice the potatoes; hold the potatoes in water; when ready to bake, drain and towel dry the potatoes; reheat the cream and add the potatoes and bake. Gruyere cheese or asiago cheese are good substitutes for the Parmesan. If you do make the whole thing ahead of time, re-heat it in a 350ºF oven for about 20 minutes or until it is heated through. You might need to add a little more cream during the re-heating process.