Potatoes Au Gratin (Ina Garten) (2024)

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by Sandyon Mar 22, 2024

This Potatoes Au Gratin recipe is made with Russet potatoes, fennel, and Gruyere cheese–the perfect side dish for a dinner party or holiday gathering! Ina Gartin’s Potato-Fennel Gratin recipe is the best, and we’ve been serving it for years, as it pairs so well with prime rib, ham, and lamb!

For Easter Sunday, or any time of year, this Potatoes Au Gratin (Ina Garten) recipe is a crowd pleaser! These cheesy potatoes are cooked to perfection, and inspired by the wonderful Ina Garten. We’ve been making this recipe for years, in fact, it’s been on my blog since February 2015. That is almost 10 years that we’ve enjoyed this fennel and potato gratin, and I’ve recommended it to so many others.

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Potatoes Au Gratin (Ina Garten)

Enjoy a 9×13 pan of this scrumptious Potatoes Au Gratin! It’s is cheesy, creamy, and delicious! We love it served with ham or Crusted Pepper Prime Rib, and it’s also delicious with any chicken recipe!

Read more: Potatoes Au Gratin (Ina Garten)

This post is inspired by Ina Garten’s Potato-Fennel Gratin Recipe. It’s truly different than the average au gratin potato recipe, and the mix of fennel and cheese is just fantastic! Thank you, Ina!

Easy to make ahead, I like to make the day before so it’s ready to pop in the oven the day of the party!

Why I love this recipe

Easy to prepare the day before, and bake the next day (saves a lot of time).
Delicious combination of fennel and Gruyere cheese (similar to a Swiss cheese), and onions.
Crowd-pleasing. Everytime we serve this side dish, people ask for Ina’s recipe!

What is au gratin?

Gratin is how you prepare an ingredient (potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, etc) that is is topped with a browned crust, often using breadcrumbs, grated cheese, egg or butter. Gratin is a French cuisine method, usually prepared in a shallow dish of some kind.

Gather these ingredients

Fennel bulbs (you can usually buy 2 in a pack from Trader Joe’s)
Yellow onion: we use sweet onions
Olive oil
Unsalted butter
Russet potatoes: don’t use any other kind than Russet (the best for gratin potatoes)
Heavy cream
Gruyère cheese (this cheese just makes this recipe!)
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper

How do you make Potatoes Au Gratin (Ina Garten recipe)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter the inside of a 10-by-15-by-2-inch (10-cup) baking dish.
Slice the onions.
Pepare the fennel: Remove the stalks from the fennel and cut the bulbs in half lengthwise. Remove the cores and thinly slice the bulbs crosswise, making approximately 4 cups of sliced fennel. Saute the fennel and onions in the olive oil and butter on medium-low heat for 15 minutes, until tender.
Peel the potatoes, then thinly slice them by hand or with a mandoline. Mix the sliced potatoes in a large bowl with 2 cups of cream, 2 cups of Gruyère, salt, and pepper. Add the sauteed fennel and onion and mix well.
Pour the potatoes into the baking dish. Press down to smooth the potatoes. Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of cream and 1/2 cup of Gruyère and sprinkle on the top.
Bake for 1 1/2 hours, until the potatoes are very tender and the top is browned and bubbly. Allow to set for 10 minutes and serve.

What do you serve with Potatoes Au Gratin?

There are so many dishes that you can serve potato gratin with, like Slow Cooker Short Ribs, Simple Chicken Parmigiana Recipe, and Cornish Game Hens.

Tips and substitutions:

We use a large baking pan, usually a 9×13 pan for this recipe, but sometimes we double the recipe!
If you need to swap out the Gruyere cheese, the closest cheese would be Swiss cheese.
Start with gorgeousfennel bulbs. You can’t skimp on the fennel for this recipe. It’s a must!
Sliced potatoes using thisamazing OXO mandoline.
Easy to make the day or 2 before, store in the fridge. When ready to bake, remove from the fridge for about an hour before popping into the oven to bake.
You can also warm the potatoes in the oven before serving!
Store leftovers in air-tight container for up to 3 days. They are amazing if you have any leftovers, served the next day in scrambled eggs. OH YUM!

More Au Gratin recipes to try:

Our popular Cauliflower Bacon Gratin
Green Beans Au Gratin
Vegetable Au Gratin with Brussels Sprouts
Beet and Turnip Gratin

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Ina Garten’s Potatoes Au Gratin

This Potatoes Au Gratin recipe from Ina Garten is made with Russet potatoes, fennel, and Gruyere cheese–the perfect side dish for any dinner.

Recipe from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. I doubled the recipe and decreased the cooking time to 1 hour; heating them up later before the party.

Prep Time: 25 minutes mins

Ingredients

2 small fennel bulbs
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 pounds russet potatoes, 4 large potatoes
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 ½ cups grated Gruyère cheese, 1/2 pound
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter the inside of a 10-by-15-by-2-inch (10-cup) baking dish.
Remove the stalks from the fennel and cut the bulbs in half lengthwise. Remove the cores and thinly slice the bulbs crosswise, making approximately 4 cups of sliced fennel. Saute the fennel and onions in the olive oil and butter on medium-low heat for 15 minutes, until tender.
Peel the potatoes, then thinly slice them by hand or with a mandoline. Mix the sliced potatoes in a large bowl with 2 cups of cream, 2 cups of Gruyère, salt, and pepper. Add the sauteed fennel and onion and mix well.
Pour the potatoes into the baking dish. Press down to smooth the potatoes. Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of cream and ½ cup of Gruyère and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 1 ½ hours, until the potatoes are very tender and the top is browned and bubbly. Allow to set for 10 minutes and serve.

Notes

Originally posted FEB 2015.

Cuisine: American

Course: Side Dish

Author: Sandy / Reluctant Entertainer

Calories: 353kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 27g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 0.04g, Cholesterol: 78mg, Sodium: 425mg, Potassium: 551mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 927IU, Vitamin C: 10mg, Calcium: 336mg, Iron: 1mg

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I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...

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