French recipe

Gratin Dauphinois

Name: Gratin Dauphinois
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 10 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: French cuisine
Ingredients: 1 kg medium-starch potatoes, peeled; 300 ml whole milk; 350 ml heavy cream, about 35% fat; 20 g unsalted butter, for the baking dish; 10 g garlic, halved then finely minced; 6 g fine salt; 1 g ground black pepper; 0.2 g freshly grated nutmeg; 5 g parsley, finely chopped, optional garnish

Thin potato slices warmed in garlic-scented milk and cream, then baked until tender beneath a deeply golden dairy crust. Resting helps the creamy layers settle.

France

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 1 hr 10 min
Total: 1 hr 30 min
Servings: 6

Golden baked potato slices in a white oval gratin dish with a creamy centre — **Real finished-dish photograph**Photograph by Ludovic PéronSource page · Original file · CC BY-SA 3.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

Ingredients

1 kg
medium-starch potatoes, peeled
300 ml
whole milk
350 ml
heavy cream, about 35% fat
20 g
unsalted butter, for the baking dish
10 g
garlic, halved then finely minced
6 g
fine salt
1 g
ground black pepper
0.2 g
freshly grated nutmeg
5 g
parsley, finely chopped, optional garnish

Method

01
Prepare the baking dish
Heat the oven to 180°C. Rub a shallow 2 L baking dish with a cut garlic clove, then coat with the butter. Mince all the garlic and reserve for the dairy.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
02
Slice without rinsing
Slice the peeled potatoes 3 mm thick with a knife or a mandoline using its guard. Do not rinse the slices; their surface starch will thicken the cream.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Warm the seasoned dairy
Combine milk, cream, minced garlic, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a wide saucepan. Heat over medium-low for 4–5 minutes until steaming, stirring along the base so it does not scorch.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
04
Pre-cook the slices gently
Add potato slices and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook 8–10 minutes, lifting and turning carefully, until the edges bend but the centres still have slight resistance. Do not let the milk boil over.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
05
Arrange the hot layers
Lift potatoes into the buttered dish and spread into overlapping layers. Pour over the hot dairy to just below the top layer. Set the dish on a rimmed tray to catch any bubbling cream.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
06
Bake until tender and golden
Bake at 180°C for 30–40 minutes until the top is golden and a thin knife passes easily through the centre. If the surface darkens before the potatoes soften, cover loosely with foil and continue baking.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
07
Let the layers settle
Rest the gratin for 15 minutes before serving so the dairy settles around the potatoes. Add parsley if using, then spoon out portions that show the soft overlapping layers.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

Practical notes

Tips

Use evenly cut slices; thick pieces can remain firm after the top has browned.
Keep the dairy at a simmer and scrape the base gently to prevent scorched milk.

Common mistakes

Rinsing sliced potatoes removes the starch needed to bind the sauce.
Serving straight from the oven makes the cream run; allow the stated rest.

Substitutions

Whole milk may be replaced with the same 300 ml of 2% milk; retain the full-fat cream.
Use white pepper in the same 1 g amount for a sauce without visible dark specks.

Storage

Divide leftovers into shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours at 0–4°C for up to 3 days. Reheat only the portion needed to 74°C throughout.

Cultural context

This creamy potato bake takes its name from the Dauphiné region. Potato starch, milk and cream form the sauce in this version.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Gratin dauphinois — Photograph by Ludovic Péron; CC BY-SA 3.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

Back to French recipes

Gratin Dauphinois

Ingredients

Method

Prepare the baking dish

Slice without rinsing

Warm the seasoned dairy

Pre-cook the slices gently

Arrange the hot layers

Bake until tender and golden

Let the layers settle

Sources and photo credit

Recipe references

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