Our Most-Saved Holiday Side Will Have Everyone Grabbing Seconds and Thirds

Every holiday dinner needs a proper holiday side to go with it. Whether you’re celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa with a dinner for friends and family, you need dependable side dishes everyone will love.

Finding a crowd-pleasing recipe shouldn’t be stressful though. Rather, it should put a little excitement in your mind. Serving a recipe everyone raves about is a great feeling, especially when the recipe is easy to put together. It’s your secret—unless someone asks for the recipe.

If you need a side dish to serve up this December that stands out, there’s one recipe that’s proven to be reliable time and time again during the final holiday stretch. It’s traditional, decedent, and loved by the Allrecipes community.

That recipe is Creamy au Gratin Potatoes. While potatoes au gratin may sound fancy, they’re really not. Don’t let the French words scare you away or the thinly sliced potatoes. This au gratin version is creamy and comforting, and it really isn’t that hard. If that hasn’t convinced you yet, then maybe the over 6,400 reviews and 4,200 5-star ratings by our community will.

Plus, this recipe is technically a casserole, whether the French intended it that way or not. So, grab your favorite baking dish and a sack of potatoes and get cooking. There are sides to serve.

How to Make Our Most-Saved Potatoes au Gratin

You’ll need Russet or Yukon gold potatoes, onions, Cheddar cheese, milk, flour, butter, and seasonings like salt and pepper. Slicing the potatoes is the hardest part of this recipe. A mandoline slicer will be your best friend if you own one. Try to slice the potatoes as evenly as possible in thickness, as this will allow them to cook more evenly.

If you like recipes with a rustic flair, a knife will work just fine. Slice the potatoes as best you can. It’s not the end of the world if some of them are a little too thin or too thick. Save your perfectionist tendencies for the main dish.

Once the potatoes are sliced, layer half of them in a baking dish, then place sliced onions on top. Season this layer before adding the rest of the sliced potatoes.

Make the cheese sauce in a saucepan with butter, flour, and salt. Follow with milk, whisking constantly until the sauce thickens. Finally, add the cheese, mix thoroughly, and pour over the potatoes. Cover with foil and bake in an oven for about 1 ½ hours.

Allrecipes Community Praise and Tips

This is easily one of our best potato recipes. And if you’re looking for ways to make the recipe a bit more unique, see what our Allrecipes community recommends.

• “This is a classic French dish that is a great comfort food. As for anyone who thought the taste was bland, you should know that you cannot use a mild or even medium cheddar with any Cheddar cheese sauce or it will be bland,” says reviewer Michele. “You have to use a sharp/old cheddar to get the cheddar flavor to come through.”
• “Ten stars! Wow…these are so much better than the boxed au gratin potatoes could ever be,” says reviewer SLJ6. “Served these potatoes with a pork loin and pan-fried asparagus.”
• “This is practically out of my mother’s own recipe file! For a casserole-style dish, add some diced ham (or even spam!)” says reviewer Melindark.
• “Dreamy! Diced the onions, used a mixture of Gouda, Swiss, and Parmesan, which definitely did not create a ‘bland’ flavor,” says reviewer MichelleFehrmann. “Used 1/3 half and half, 2/3 milk and a large dash of chicken stock. Layered potatoes and onions with the cheese mixture. Uncovered last 20 minutes.”