Dauphinoise Potatoes
Classic French dauphinoise potatoes. Here, thinly sliced potatoes are layered with cream, gruyere, herbs & garlic then slow cooked until tender & luxurious!
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If you want to make classic dauphinoise potatoes, that are rich, creamy & packed full of flavour then you’re in the right place!
To make this French side dish, we thinly slice potatoes then layer them up in a dish with grated gruyere & a cream sauce that’s flavoured with garlic, fresh herbs, nutmeg & plenty of salt and pepper. This gets baked at a low temperature for several hours until the potatoes are tender & the sauce is thick and creamy then we top with more cheese then finish cooking at a high temperature, to give the dauphinoise a crisp, golden top!
Dauphinoise potatoes are an impressive side dish & they’re super versatile. They go great with roasted meats, grilled steaks, slow cooked stews, pan fried fish & loads more. There’s also some handy tips & tricks included in this recipe for making restaurant style dauphinoise potatoes!
For more sides & sauces, take a look at ever growing collection of side dish recipes! Or for something to serve your dauphinoise potatoes with, check out our dinner recipes.
What You’ll Need
- Potatoes – It’s best to use a variety of potato with a high starch content, as this is what thickens the sauce. I like to use Maris Pipers but Russets, King Edwards & Yukon Gold potatoes will work as well.
- Cream & Milk – Make sure to use double/heavy cream & whole milk, for the creamiest dauphinioise!
- Gruyere – Gruyere is the traditional choice for this potato dish but parmesan, cheddar or comté will also work.
- Herbs – We’re flavouring our potatoes with fresh rosemary & thyme. Sage would be nice as well though!
- Garlic – Garlic & potatoes are a classic combination! I like to make my dauphinoise quite garlicky so I used 4 garlic cloves. Feel free to use less/more if you’d prefer though.
- Nutmeg – We’re adding grated nutmeg to our sauce, to taste so add however much you like. We’re also grating nutmeg over the top of our dauphinoise before baking them.
How To Make Dauphinoise Potatoes
The full, printable recipe card for these potatoes can be found at the bottom of this post! Here’s a quick rundown of the recipe…
A Quick Note!
Some recipes call for the potato slices to be partially cooked in the cream before being layered in the dish & baked. However for this recipe, we’re going to be layering the potatoes in the dish raw then cooking the dauphinoise low & slow. Cooking dauphinoise this way gives them a thicker, creamier sauce. Plus, it requires less work!
- Garlic Cream
To make the sauce for our dauphinoise, we mix together double cream, whole milk, grated garlic, finely chopped rosemary & thyme, grated nutmeg & plenty of salt and pepper. Dauphinoise potatoes require a lot of seasoning so don’t be shy with the salt & pepper! The cream should almost be overly seasoned. - Slice Potatoes
Next, we prep the potatoes. To do this, we peel the spuds then use a mandoline to cut them into 2-3mm thick slices (do this carefully!). Make sure not to soak the potatoes in water though, as we need the starch to thicken the sauce as the dauphinoise cooks. - Assembly
To assemble the dauphinoise, we place a quarter of the potato slices into a buttered baking dish, in a single layer making sure that they overlap. Next we pour over enough cream to cover the potato slices, then sprinkle over a small handful of grated gruyere. We repeat this process another 3 times, to fill our dish to the top, however we don’t put grated cheese on the top layer at this point. - Baking
Next, we top the dauphinoise with grated nutmeg then cover with foil & bake at 140°c/285°f for 2½-3 hours, until the potatoes are tender. To test the potatoes, give them a poke with a skewer. They should feel soft & the skewer should slide in with little resistance. - To Finish
To finish, we take the foil off the potatoes, sprinkle over the remaining gruyere then continue cooking at 200°c/392°f until the top is crisp & golden. This will take 10-15 minutes. - Serving
Once cooked, we let the dauphinoise potatoes sit for 15 minutes then serve.
Restaurant Style Dauphinoise Potatoes
If you’ve ever had dauphinoise potatoes at a restaurant & wondered how they get neat, perfectly level portions it’s because they’ve been pressed. If you want to try this at home here’s how to do it…
How To Press Dauphinoise Potatoes
- Cook your dauphinoise potatoes like normal then let them cool to room temperature.
- Lay a sheet of baking parchment over the top of the potatoes then place a another baking dish/tin (the same size as the dish the potatoes are in) on top.
- Weigh the dish down with something heavy (like a bag of flour) then refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, take the weight off the top of the potatoes then transfer the dauphinoise to a chopping board. Cut into portions then reheat in the oven.
Tips & Tricks
- Use the correct type of potato! You’ll want to use a variety with a high enough starch content so that the sauce will thicken properly. I like to use Maris Pipers.
- Slice the potatoes with a mandoline, for evenly sized slices. To do this carefully though!
- Season the cream with a generous amount of salt & pepper. Dauphinoise potatoes take a lot of seasoning so don’t be shy! The cream should almost be overly seasoned.
- Give the cream a quick whisk before pouring over the potatoes, to redistribute the garlic & herbs.
- Bake the dauphinoise at a low temperature, for the creamiest texture. We’re also going to be sprinkling extra cheese on top at the end, before baking at a higher temperature to crisp the top up. This prevents the sauce from splitting.
- Let the potatoes sit for 30 minutes before serving, to allow the sauce time to thicken up slightly. This is key to extra creamy dauphinoise!
Frequently Asked Questions
The variety of potato that you use for your dauphinoise is crucial! For the best sauce absorption, you’ll want to use a potato with a high enough starch content. I’d recommend using Maris Piper potatoes but King Edwards, Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes will work as well.
Dauphinoise potatoes can absolutely be made in advance! Dauphinoise potatoes can be cooked then stored in the fridge for up to 3 days before being reheated & served.
The best way to reheat dauphinoise potatoes is to cover them in foil then bake at 175°c/350°f until piping hot. If you’re only reheating a few individual portions, they won’t take as long to heat up compared to a whole dish full. A rough guideline would be 10-15 minutes in the oven for individual portions & 30-45 minutes for a whole dish.
Gruyere is the traditionally choice for dauphinoise potatoes but parmesan, comté & cheddar would all be good alternatives.
As we’re cooking our dauphinoise potatoes at a low oven temperature, they’ll take around 3 hours to cook. You’ll know when the potatoes are cooked because they’ll feel soft when poked with a skewer.
How To Cook Dauphinoise Potatoes In An Aga
With all of my recipes, I include cooking instructions for conventional ovens, fan ovens & also Agas. Here’s how to cook this recipe in an Aga…
Bake the dauphinoise in the baking oven, on the bottom set of runners, with a cold plain shelf slid onto the top set of runners until tender. Next, top the potatoes with cheese then move over to the bottom shelf of the roasting oven & continue cooking until the top is golden.
Equipment Used
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More Side Dishes To Try!
- Duck Fat Oven Chips
- Triple Cooked Chips
- Cheesy Buttermilk Skillet Cornbread
- Caramelised Onion Gravy
- Rice Krispie Fried Mozzarella Sticks With Hot Honey
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Dauphinoise Potatoes
Equipment
- 12" Oval Baking Dish
- Mandoline
- Veg Peeler
- Microplane
- Cheese Grater
- A Skewer (For Checking If The Potatoes Are Cooked!)
Ingredients
- 2 kg Potatoes (See Notes)
- 600 ml Double Cream
- 250 ml Whole Milk
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- 1 tsp Fresh Thyme (Finely Chopped)
- 1 tsp Fresh Rosemary (Finely Chopped)
- Nutmeg (To Taste)
- 200 g Gruyere (Grated)
- A Knob Of Butter (To Grease The Baking Dish)
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 140°c/120°c fan (285°f/250°f).
- Generously grease a large baking dish with butter then set aside.I used a 12" x 8" oval baking dish.
- Add the cream & milk into a large jug then grate in the garlic. Add in the chopped herbs, a generous amount of salt & pepper and grated nutmeg, to taste. Whisk to combine then set to one side.I'd recommend using a microplane to grate the garlic. Or crush it into a paste with the side of a chef's knife. Also, don't be shy with the salt & pepper, these potatoes need a lot of seasoning. When you taste the cream, it should be almost overly seasoned.
- Next, peel the potatoes then use a mandoline to cut into 2-3mm thick slices.Don't soak the potatoes in water, as we need to starch to thicken the sauce as it cooks. Oh & watch your fingers on the mandoline!
- Add ¼ of the potato slices into your greased baking dish, arranging them in a single layer. The slices of potato should overlap each other so that there's no gaps between them.
- Give the cream another quick whisk, to redistribute the herbs & garlic then pour enough over the potatoes to cover the slices completely.
- Sprinkle ¼ of the grated cheese over the potato slices then repeat the layering process with the remaining potatoes & cream, to fill your baking dish. Don't sprinkle cheese over the top layer of potatoes though, we'll be doing this at the very end!You should end up with 4 layers of potatoes in total. Make sure to set aside ¼ of the grated gruyere for sprinkling on top of the dauphinoise later on.
- Grate a generous amount of nutmeg over the top of the dauphinoise then cover it with foil, place the dish onto a baking tray then bake for 2½-3 hours, until the potatoes are tender.Use a skewer to poke the dauphinoise in a few different places. If the skewer goes in with little resistance, the potatoes are cooked.
- Next, increase the oven temperature to 200°c/180°c fan (392°f/356°f). In the meantime, take the foil off the dauphinoise then sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.
- Place the dauphinoise back into the oven then continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes, until the top is crisp & golden.
- Once cooked, let the dauphinoise sit for 15 minutes then serve!
