Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes
Indulge in this comfort food classic, where creamy, cheesy goodness intertwines with tender potatoes.
Indulge in this comfort food classic, where creamy, cheesy goodness intertwines with tender potatoes.
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- topping:
- potatoes:
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (8 ounces)
- 1 paackage frozen shredded hash browns 26 ounces
- 1/2 cup light sour cream
- 3 cups cornflakes lightly crushed
- Carbohydrate 21.9565675 g
- Cholesterol 72.3248958333333 mg
- Fat 24.466051875 g
- Fiber 1.34402084773779 g
- Protein 13.175596875 g
- Saturated Fat 15.4410315833333 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (184g)
- Sodium 627.131458333333 mg
- Sugar 20.6125466522622 g
- Trans Fat 1.44131429166667 g
- Calories 354 calories
Step-by-step
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add the onion and cook until the onion is softened and translucent,a bout 5-6 minutes.
- Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about a minute.
- Combine the chicken broth and milk in a liquid measure and slowly whisk in the mixture.
- Add the salt, pepper and thyme.
- Stir to combine.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes
- Take the pot off the heat and stir in the cheese until smooth.
- Mix in the frozen hash browns, lifting and folding the mixture until well combined.
- Finally, stir in the sour cream.
- In a medium bowl, toss the lightly crushed cornflakes with the butter until evenly combined.
- Scoop out the potato mixture into a 9X13-inch baking dish and top with the buttered cornflakes.
- If baking the potatoes by themselves, bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, until hot and bubbly around the edges.
- If baking the potatoes with a ham (my ham recipe bakes at 300 degrees), bake the potatoes for 90 minutes at 300 degrees then crank the oven to 400 degrees and bake the potatoes for 10 minutes more.
- In both baking situations, let the potatoes rest for 10 minutes before serving.
While traditional potato gratin relies on heavy cream alone to build its sauce, this version employs a classic roux made from flour and butter to stabilize the dairy. Cooking the flour in melted fat coats the starch granules, preventing them from clumping when the chicken broth and milk are slowly whisked into the pot. Heating this liquid blend over medium-low heat allows the starches to swell and gelatinize, creating a viscous medium that uniformly suspends the shredded sharp cheddar cheese without breaking its emulsion.
Frozen hash browns introduce significant moisture into the baking dish as they thaw and cook. Combining them directly into the warm cheese sauce helps temper that internal water release. Sour cream adds lactic acid, which brightens the heavy fat profile of the cheddar and butter while interacting with the starches to tenderize the interior texture during the baking cycle.
Crushed cornflakes tossed in melted butter provide a contrasting textural element that protects the underlying casserole from drying out in the heat. Baking at 350 degrees for 45 minutes drives thermal energy through the dense potato mass until the edges show bubbling activity. Alternatively, operating at a lower 300-degree setting requires 90 minutes followed by a brief 10-minute blast at 400 degrees to crisp the cereal crust.
Visual cues dictate readiness better than any timing metric alone. Look for the cheese sauce to thicken visibly around the perimeter of the 9x13-inch baking dish, accompanied by deep golden coloring on the cornflakes. Allowing the dish to rest undisturbed for 10 minutes post-bake lets the internal temperature stabilize and allows the starches to set firmly enough for clean portions.
