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Cajun Potatoes Au Gratin

At my house we love our potatoes au gratin made with cajun spice for an extra kick of flavor! The cajun seasoning just seems to go so well with potatoes and cheese. It makes them extra special!

If you love potatoes au gratin, but you have had your cheese sauce split or curdle or become grainy then please read on. We have had these common issues too, but not anymore!

potatoes au gratin in a cast iron skillet

Your going to love serving this potato side dish to your family or friends because they are going to be perfectly creamy, cheesy, and tender. The ultimate comfort food!

Make this potato dish with our fall apart boiled ham for the best ham and potato dinner. It’s probably my husbands favorite meal!

Why We LOVE This Recipe

  • they are sooo sooo cheesey and delicious
  • they are easy to make, but super impressive when you serve them to guest
  • you can make them hours ahead of time and bake them right before you need them
  • they are the most delicious way to serve potatoes
  • they make the perfect side dish for a ham dinner, but you could serve them with a beef roast too.

What’s the Difference Between Scalloped and Potatoes Au Gratin?

Scalloped potatoes and potatoes au gratin are terms that are often used interchangeably. However… there are some technical differences.

Scalloped potatoes are sliced very thin and cooked in flavored cream. Potatoes au gratin are sliced a little thicker and baked with cream but the main difference is that they also have cheese!

Tools You Will Need

  • a mandolin or a sharp knife
  • an oven proof dish – we love a cast iron pan but a casserole dish works great too
  • a pot for making the cheese sauce
  • a good whisk and a wooden spoon
a spoon going into the potatoes au gratin

Ingredients You Will Need

  • potatoes
  • cheese
  • heavy cream
  • chicken or vegetable broth
  • butter
  • flour
  • cajun seasoning
  • other spices

Best Potatoes to Use

The best options are yukon golds or russets. But honestly you could try whatever you like. But something a little bigger makes slicing easier.

I actually used kenebec potatoes for the one I made in these pictures because those are one of the types I grew in my garden this year. They have a great flavor but they are tough to find in grocery stores.

Best Cheese for this Recipe

Our favorite cheese for these potatoes is a combo of aged cheddar and gruyere. Both have a strong flavor and they are so good melted together!

You could really use any cheese, but one with a stronger flavor will taste the best.

Best Cajun Seasoning

Our favorite store bought cajun seasoning is by Cape Herb & Spice. I actually LOVE all of their seasonings! They are from South Africa and they have no artificial flavors or colours, no added MSG, no preservatives, and they are non GMO. I love all that and I think they have really great flavor!

Anyways, to get your hands on the Louisiana Cajun seasoning that we used in this recipe you can find it at Amazon.ca (not .com for some reason) and well.ca. I’ve also seen them at Choices Markets.

Not a sponsored post, we just love these spices 🙂

potatoes layered with onions in a cast iron skillet

How to Make Cajun Potatoes Au Gratin

Ok, lets get to actually how to make this dish and avoid the common cheese sauce issues! Here is how to make this dish:

  • slice the potatoes and onions and layer them in the baking dish
  • make a bechamel sauce and add some cheese to make a delicious cheese sauce
  • pour the cheese sauce over top of the potatoes and add more cheese on top
  • bake till the potatoes are fork tender and browned on top

See the recipe card below for detailed instructions, but lets get into the nitty gritty of this recipe…

How to Slice Potatoes Thin

The best way to get potatoes nice and thin is with a mandolin. It also makes them pretty much the same thickness which makes them cook nicely. We recommend purchasing one if you plan on making scalloped potatoes or potatoes au gratin regularly!

If you don’t you don’t have a mandolin and you don’t want to get one, then a knife will work too. Make sure it is really sharp and it will be much easier to get thin slices.

How to Make a Bechemel Cheese Sauce

The first step is to make a roux. This is butter and flour mixed and cooked together to form a paste that will eventually thicken the sauce and also help keep the cheese sauce from separating.

You add your chopped garlic and herbs to the melted butter as well so they have a chance to cook and flavor the butter.

Next pour in your liquid slowly while you whisk. It will start to thicken up right away, but will continue to thicken as you cook the sauce. Cook until the sauce coats a spoon and leaves a line on the back of a spoon when you run your finger through it. See the picture below.

Finally, turn off the heat and add the cheese a handful at a time and stir till it melts. And that’s it!

pictures showing how to make bechamel sauce

Tips on How to Make a Cheese Sauce Perfectly

  • use some high fat liquid! If you are trying to lighten up the sauce its tempting to use skim milk or coconut milk, but if you do, your sauce will almost always separate and you end up with pools of oily fat. Use at least some heavy cream in your dish.
  • if the sauce does separate, try adding some cold heavy cream and whisk. It might come back together.
  • never let your sauce boil, if the temperature gets too high, it can cause the sauce to curdle or split.
  • always remove the sauce from the heat before adding the cheese

Tips for Baking

  • bake covered for at least half the baking time. Use tin foil if you have to, but it will cut your baking time down.
  • always put a baking tray underneath your potatoes au gratin dish! Its common for the sauce to bubble out of the dish and you don’t want it all over your oven.

Commonly Asked Questions

Why did my cheese sauce split?

The two culprits of a split cheese sauce are: not enough fat and too high of temperature. So to avoid this, use higher fat liquid and don’t let your sauce boil.

My sauce used to split all the time and it was because I was using low fat coconut milk. Now I use a combo of chicken broth, heavy cream and light cream and it never splits.

Why is my cheese sauce grainy?

Most likely its because your sauce was too hot when the cheese was added. To high of a temperature causes cheese to coagulate and break down. To get a smooth sauce you need to add the cheese slowly to a sauce that is NOT bubbling.

Also, always grate your own cheese, don’t use the pre grated stuff as its coated with something and it doesn’t melt as well.

a big scoop of potatoes au gratin ready to serve

Other Potato Side Dish Recipes You Might Like

If you’ve tried this cajun potatoes au gratin recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let us know how it turned out in the comments below.  We love hearing from you! 

We love to see your creations!  Tag @Cookswithcocktails if you post a picture of this recipe on INSTAGRAM

Cajun Potatoes Au Gratin

4.60 from 10 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Canadian
Keyword: cheesy potatoes, potatoes au gratin
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
resting time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 10
Calories: 535kcal
Author: Julie & Debbie

Ingredients

  • 7 large potatoes Yukon Gold or Russets
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 4 tbsp flour (or you can use cornstarch 3 tbsp or so)
  • 1 large onion sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme or dried
  • 2 cups chicken broth you can use veggie broth too
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup half and half cream
  • 2 cups gruyere cheese grated and divided in half
  • 2 cups cheddar cheese grated and divided in half
  • 2 tbsp cajun seasoning (you can use more or less of this depending on how spicy you like things)
  • 1 tsp salt or to taste but don't add more if your cajun spice has a lot of salt
  • 1/2 cup fresh chives

Instructions

  • Wash your potatoes well and slice them using the mandolin. Not too thin. Slice the onions on the mandolin too if you like. If you don't have a mandolin, slice them with a sharp knife. Layer the potatoes and onions in an oven proof dish and set aside.
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Make a roux. In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat and add the minced garlic and thyme. Cook for a couple mins. Add the flour to the mix and cook for a couple mins, stirring with a whisk.
  • Slowly add the chicken broth, heavy cream and light cream to the roux while you whisk. Cook until the sauce coats the back of a spoon well. Remove from the heat.
  • Add 1 cup of each kind of cheese bit by bit and stir till its all melted.
  • Add the cajun seasoning and then the salt after you taste it. Some cajun seasoning has a lot of salt in it so you want to be careful not to add too much.
  • Pour the lot over the potatoes and shake the pan violently and bang it around so that the sauce gets down in between all the cracks in the potatoes. Spread the rest of the cheese all over the potatoes and then sprinkle the chives too. Cover the dish with foil or a lid.
  • Cook with the foil on for 30 mins and then take the foil off for the last 15 – 20 mins so that the Cheese gets all brown and yummy. They are ready when a knife slips easily into the center of the dish.

Notes

Tips on How to Make a Cheese Sauce Perfectly

  • use some high fat liquid! If you are trying to lighten up the sauce its tempting to use skim milk or coconut milk, but if you do, your sauce will almost always separate and you end up with pools of oily fat. Use at least some heavy cream in your dish.
  • if the sauce does separate, try adding some cold heavy cream and whisk. It might come back together.
  • never let your sauce boil, if the temperature gets too high, it can cause the sauce to curdle or split.
  • always remove the sauce from the heat before adding the cheese

Tips for Baking your Potatoes Au Gratin

  • bake covered for at least half the baking time. Use tin foil if you have to, but it will cut your baking time down.
  • always put a baking tray underneath your potatoes au gratin dish! Its common for the sauce to bubble out of the dish and you don’t want it all over your oven.

Nutrition

Serving: 1tenth of the recipe | Calories: 535kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 1g

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3 Comments

  1. I made these scalloped potatoes for our thanksgiving dinner. They were a HIT!! SO easy to make and super tasty! Thanks cooks with cocktails!!

    1. You layer them with the potatoes. I see I forgot to add that in the recipe instructions. Ive updated that now, thank you!

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