Potato Dishes
Dauphinoise Potatoes
Gratin dauphinois: thin slices of potato baked slowly in garlic-scented cream and milk until meltingly soft, with a golden top. Below: whether to add cheese, simmering the slices first or layering them raw, and how dauphinoise differs from scalloped, boulangère and gratin potatoes.
- Serves 6
- Prep 20 min
- Cook about 1 hr 10 min
- Vegetarian
- French
Dauphinoise, savoyard, boulangère or scalloped? Our verdict ↓
Variations: Layered raw (the slow, classic way), Gratin savoyard, Potato and celeriac ↓
Method
Heat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan, gas 3, 325°F). Rub the inside of a shallow ovenproof dish (about 30 × 20 cm / 12 × 8 in) with the cut garlic clove, then butter it well.
Slice the potatoes as thinly and evenly as you can, about 3 mm (⅛ in), with a mandoline (use the guard) or a sharp knife. Do not rinse them: the starch thickens the cream.
Put the cream, milk, crushed garlic, thyme (if using), a good pinch of nutmeg, 1 teaspoon of salt and some pepper in a large pan and bring to a simmer. Add the potato slices and simmer gently for 5 minutes, stirring carefully now and then so they separate and do not catch on the bottom.
Tip the potatoes and cream into the dish, pick out the thyme stalks and level the top, pressing the slices down so they are just covered. Scatter over the Gruyère, if using.
Bake for 1 hour, until the potatoes are completely tender when pierced with a knife and the top is golden. If it is pale, turn the oven up to 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6, 400°F) for the last 10 minutes.
Leave to stand for 10 minutes before serving, so the cream settles and it cuts neatly.
Tip: tap a step to tick it off as you cook.
Rate this recipe
Tried it? Rate it.
The readers’ average appears here once 5 readers have rated it.
One vote per recipe per browser, and you can change it. We keep only the stars: no name, e-mail or IP address. How ratings work
Dauphinoise, savoyard, boulangère or scalloped?
Four sliced-potato bakes that are often confused.
| Dish | Liquid | Cheese? | On Cookeryonline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gratin dauphinois | Cream (or cream and milk), garlic | Traditionally none | This recipe |
| Gratin savoyard | Stock, with butter | Yes (Beaufort or Gruyère) | See the variation |
| Boulangère potatoes | Stock, with onions | No | <a href="/recipes/potato-dishes/savoury-potatoes-boulangere.html">Savoury potatoes (boulangère)</a> |
| Scalloped potatoes and potatoes au gratin (US) | Milk, often thickened with flour; au gratin adds cheese | Scalloped no, au gratin yes | <a href="/recipes/potato-dishes/scalloped-potatoes-with-onion.html">Scalloped potatoes with onion</a> |
Our verdict: for true dauphinoise, simmer the slices briefly in the garlic cream (Paul Merrett’s BBC Good Food method, 4.5 from 468 ratings) so their starch thickens it, then bake slowly. Cheese is optional and, strictly, not traditional.
Read on 1 November 2026: BBC Good Food: Paul Merrett, “Dauphinoise potatoes”; Wikipedia: “Gratin dauphinois” (first mention 12 July 1788; cheese or no cheese).
Variations
Ways to change the main recipe. Each uses the same method unless it says otherwise.
Layered raw (the slow, classic way)
Layer the raw slices in the dish, seasoning each layer, pour over the hot garlic cream and milk, and bake for 1 hour 30 minutes–1 hour 45 minutes at the same oven setting, until very tender.
Gratin savoyard
Replace the cream and milk with 500 ml (18 fl oz) hot chicken or vegetable stock, dot with butter and layer with 100 g (3½ oz) grated Beaufort or Gruyère. Bake uncovered at 190°C (170°C fan, gas 5, 375°F) for about 1 hour.
Potato and celeriac
Replace a third of the potatoes with thinly sliced celeriac for a lighter, nutty flavour.
Useful kit
- Handheld mandoline: for thin, even slices for dauphinoise (always use the guard). Amazon UK · Amazon US
As an Amazon Associate Cookeryonline earns from qualifying purchases.
See also
Chef’s notes
- Make ahead: bake, cool and chill for up to 2 days, then reheat, covered, at the same low oven setting for about 30 minutes until piping hot. It cuts into neat squares when cold.
- All-round or floury potatoes give a creamy, soft gratin; very waxy potatoes stay firm and do not thicken the sauce.
- For a richer gratin, use all cream; for a lighter one, use two-thirds milk.
A little history
Gratin dauphinois comes from the Dauphiné in south-eastern France. Its first known mention is from 12 July 1788, when it was served with ortolans at a dinner given by Charles-Henri, Duke of Clermont-Tonnerre and lieutenant-general of the Dauphiné, for the municipal officials of Gap.
By tradition it contains no cheese, which would make it more like a gratin savoyard, although many chefs, including Escoffier and Constance Spry, added cheese and eggs.
Sources for these notes
For the history and the food-safety advice in the notes.
How this recipe was developed
A new recipe: dauphinoise is the 9th most searched potato recipe in the UK, and its American cousins, scalloped and au gratin potatoes, are in the US top fifteen (Google Trends). BBC Good Food’s version is its second most-rated potato recipe.
- Simmer, then bake. Paul Merrett simmers 3–4 mm slices in 500 ml cream and 500 ml milk with garlic for 3 minutes, then bakes at 190°C (170°C fan) for 30 minutes (serves 8). We simmer for 5 minutes and bake lower and longer for a softer, more set gratin.
- Garlic-rubbed dish, no cheese. The traditional dish is cooked in a buttered dish rubbed with garlic, without cheese (Wikipedia).
Sources we compared (ratings as shown on each site on 1 November 2026):
This is an original Cookeryonline recipe written in our own words. Ingredient choices and techniques are credited above; no source text has been copied.