This delectably rich and creamy side is easy enough for even a novice cook to execute, and it’s fancy enough to grace your holiday table. The creamy cheese sauce paired with the sweetness of the caramelized onions makes these potatoes the perfect side dish to serve with your holiday ham. No last minute flurry in the kitchen to whip up a bowl of mashers at the last minute. All that’s required is pulling these spuds out of the oven and letting them sit while you carve up the ham and set out everything else you’re serving for your holiday meal. I promise, everyone will be swooning after their first taste!
How To Make The Tastiest Cheddar au Gratin Potatoes
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Grease an oven safe casserole dish generously with butter or non-stick spray. Set aside.
Cut onion into thin slices.
Peel russet potatoes and cut them into thin slices. Cut Yukon Gold and/or Russet potatoes into thin slices. A mandolin makes quick work of slicing all the potatoes and the onion.
Place the potato slices in a large bowl and cover them with cold water. Set them, aside while you make the sauce. This will prevent the potatoes from discoloring while you prepare the cheese sauce.
Make the cheese sauce:
In a large sauce pan melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat.
Once the butter is melted add the flour to the pan.
Whisk flour and butter together to make a roux. Add salt and cook for 2 minutes whisking continuously to prevent burning and to cook off the raw flour taste.
Slowly add milk, whisking it into the roux.
Whisk continuously until the sauce starts to thicken, and you have a smooth lump free sauce, about 2-3 minutes.
Add 1½ cups of the shredded cheddar cheese to the sauce and continue to whisk until the cheese has completely melted and you have a smooth, thick and creamy sauce.
Remove pan from the heat.
Assemble casserole:
Drain potatoes.
Place half the potato slices in the prepared casserole dish in an even layer and season with salt and pepper.
Top with a layer of sliced onions, using all the onions.
Place remaining potato slices in a even layer over the sliced onions, and season with salt and pepper.
Pour the cheese sauce over the sliced potatoes and onions in the casserole dish.
Top with an even layer of shredded cheddar cheese using up all the remaining cheese.
Spray a sheet of foil with non-stick cooking spray and cover the casserole dish with the foil.
Bake the casserole:
Bake for 2-2½ hours or until heated through and the potatoes are tender when pierced with a sharp knife.
Remove the foil and return casserole dish to the oven. Set oven temperature to “broil” and cook until the cheese on top is bubbly and golden brown along the edges.
Remove from the oven and allow casserole to rest for 15-20 minutes before serving. Let it sit, it will be runny when it first comes out of the oven. It will still taste good though.
A huge shout out to Cathy Martin who posted this delectable recipe on Allrecipes.com. I followed her recipe almost exactly, except I added an extra layer of cheese on top, because you can’t have too much cheese with your potatoes, right? I also baked it at a lower temperature for a longer period of time so that I could cook up the ham and the potatoes in the oven all together. I love how quickly it came together and the flavor was absolutely outstanding! The velvety Béchamel sauce gives these potatoes a smooth creaminess that’s utterly delectable. The sharp cheddar cheese and onions add additional layers of flavor that makes these potatoes one of the best sides you will ever serve up. It’s the perfect fancy side dish to serve alongside that Easter ham, but it’s oh so easy to put together. Just pop it in the oven to cook alongside the ham, and in a couple of hours you will be pulling an absolutely amazing meal out of the oven for your holiday table. It’s one of the easiest sides you will ever serve up and everyone, and I do mean everyone, will be coming back for seconds!
Round out your holiday meal with this impressive looking Salad Bar Salad Without A Salad Bar. The variety of colorful toppings make for a stunning display on your buffet table, and serving the dressings on the side allows everyone to choose the salad toppings they like the most. This salad always gets Ooh’s and Ah’s when I serve it. What’s not to like? Just look at how pretty it is!
Instead of bottled dressings try making your own. This is what you’re craving when you get a hankering for a truly delicious Ranch dressing. It’s inexpensive and oh so quick and easy to make too. Find out how to make this Copycat Chili’s Creamy Buttermilk Ranch Dressing. Once you try it you’ll never go back to the bottled stuff again. It’s that good!
It’s true that healthy can be delicious too! For all the vinaigrette lovers in your life, whip up this quick and easy to make, Dijon Vinaigrette, using a short list of basic ingredients that packs a flavorful punch.
Flavor Tip: If you are serving this salad with a vinaigrette instead of Ranch dressing, swap out the shredded cheddar cheese and substitute with blue cheese crumbles. It’s a DELICIOUS flavor profile!
Cheddar au Gratin Potatoes
Equipment
- 2 quart oven safe casserole dish
- mandolin or sharp knife
Ingredients
- 2 lbs sliced russet potatoes, and/or yukon gold potatoes peel russet potatoes
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- salt and pepper
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 cups milk
- 3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, freshly grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 ℉.
- Grease casserole dish generously with butter or non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Cut onion into thin slices.
- Peel russet potatoes and cut them into thin slices.
- Cut Yukon Gold potatoes into thin slices. Peel russet potatoes before slicing them. A mandolin makes quick work of slicing all the potatoes and the onion.
- Place the potato slices in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Set aside while you make the cheese sauce.
Make the cheese sauce:
- In a large sauce pan melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat.
- Once butter is melted add flour to the pan.
- Whisk flour and butter together to make a roux. Add salt and cook for another 2 minutes whisking continuously to prevent burning and to cook off the raw flour taste.
- Slowly add milk, whisking it into the roux.
- Whisk continuously until the sauce starts to thicken, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add 1½ cups of shredded cheddar cheese to the sauce and continue to whisk until the cheese has completely melted and you have a smooth, thick and creamy sauce. Remove pan from the heat.
Assemble casserole:
- Drain potatoes and pat with a paper towel to remove excess water.
- Place half the potato slices in the prepared casserole dish in an even layer and season with salt and pepper.
- Top with a layer of sliced onions, using all the onions.
- Place remaining potato slices in a even layer over the sliced onions, and season with salt and pepper.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the sliced potatoes and onions in the casserole dish.
- Top with an even layer of shredded cheddar cheese using all the remaining cheese.
- Spray a sheet of foil with non-stick cooking spray and cover the casserole dish with the foil.
Cook the casserole:
- Bake for 2-2½ hours or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a sharp knife.
- Remove the foil and return casserole dish to the oven. Set oven temperature to "broil" and cook until the cheese on top is bubbly and golden brown along the edges.
- Remove from the oven and allow casserole to rest for 15-20 minutes before serving to allow everything to set up.
Did You Make This?
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John 3:16
Happy Easter my friends.
Remember…Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice on the cross because he ❤️’s you!