Last Updated on June 11, 2024 by Carne Diem
Method: Stovetop, Grill or Smoker, or Oven
Jump to RecipeThis smoked potatoes au gratin recipe makes for the perfect smoked side dish for your barbeque or dinner. In fact, it has become not only one of our favorite holiday side dishes to make on our grill or smoker, but one of our favorite potato dishes ever. These 3 cheese au gratin potatoes with gruyere, cheddar and smoked gouda are perfectly creamy and will surely wow your guests.
Table of contents
For more of our favorite side dishes to make on your grill or smoker check out some of our favorites here:
- Smoked Jalapeno Twice Baked Potatoes
- Brazilian Feijoada: Meat and Black Bean Stew
- Grilled Corn and Goat Cheese Salad
- Charro Beans With Hickory Smoked Bacon
- Fried Lump Crab Cakes with Sriracha Mayonnaise
- Fried Mashed Potato Cakes with Herbes de Provence Butter
Making the Smoked Au Gratin Potatoes
To make these creamy, cast-iron Au Gratin Potatoes you will need about 2.5 pounds of potatoes, gruyere cheese, smoked gouda, cheddar cheese, garlic, a yellow onion, thyme, heavy cream, garlic powder, onion powder, butter and flour.
Preparing the Potatoes for the Smoked Au Gratin Potatoes
Selecting the best type of potatoes for potato au gratin
There is some debate as to which potatoes work best in potatoes au gratin. We prefer Russett potatoes as they contain more starch than red potatoes or gold potatoes. Using starchy potatoes helps to produce a creamier sauce for the cheesy potatoes. Some feel that waxy potatoes such as yellow potatoes hold their shape better. We find that giving the Russet potatoes a brief soak in an ice bath to remove some of the excess starch gives you the best of both worlds, resulting in a creamy potato au gratin, that does not result in mushy potatoes. Another great choice is Yukon gold potatoes which are semi-waxy and semi-starchy.
Peel and slice the potatoes
First peel your potatoes, though it is perfectly ok to leave the peel on the potatoes if you prefer, especially if you are using gold potatoes. Next slice the potatoes very thinly. You want to slice the potatoes to at least ¼ inch thick but thinner is better. You can quickly slice the potatoes using a mandoline slicer set to the thin setting. We are in love with our Swissmar Mandoline which always makes quick work of slicing the scalloped potatoes.
Soak the potatoes in an ice bath
Next, place the thinly sliced potatoes in a large bowl and cover completely with ice water. This aids in removing some of the starch from the potatoes. If you are using red or gold potatoes, do not soak the slices and proceed with the next step. Place the bowl in the refrigerator and allow to soak for about 4 hours. Some recipes may call for soaking overnight, but this is likely to remove too much of the starch, preventing the potatoes from acting as a natural thickener for the cheese sauce.
Making the Best Cheese Sauce for Au Gratin Potatoes
Best cheeses to use for potatoes au gratin
The choice of cheese for au gratin potatoes is largely a matter of preference but be sure to always use block cheese that your shred yourself and avoid pre-shredded cheese. Most pre-shredded cheese contains an anti-caking agent that prevents it from melting nicely into the cheese sauce. For this 3-cheese au gratin potatoes we elected to use classic gruyere, smoked gouda, and white cheddar cheese, resulting in a wonderfully flavorful and creamy cheese sauce.
Prepare the roux for the cheese sauce
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Next, stir in the flour and whisk to combine, mixing until fully incorporated. Add the heavy cream to the pan about ½ cup at a time, whisking continuously until thickened before adding more cream.
Once all of the heavy cream has been added, mix in the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and thyme leaves.
Add the cheese to the au gratin cheese sauce
Next, reduce to medium low heat and add in the shredded cheese a little at a time and stir until melted before adding more cheese. Reserve ½ cup of cheese for topping. Once all of the cheese has been added and the sauce is smooth, remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
Assembling the cheesy au gratin potatoes
Grease the bottom and sides of a cast iron pan or skillet with a couple tablespoons of butter, some cooking oil, or cooking spray. Place a single layer of thin potato slices over the bottom on the pan, then layer about ⅓ of the sliced onions. Next pour about ¼ of the creamy cheese sauce over the potatoes.
Repeat with 2 more layers of potatoes, onion and cheese sauce then finish with a final layer of potatoes. Top with the last of the cheese sauce and then the ½ cup of shredded cheese. If desired sprinkle with additional thyme.
Cooking Au Gratin Potatoes on your Grill or Smoker
These scalloped potatoes are perfect for your Traeger or pellet grill, but the smoked au gratin potatoes turn out equally as fantastic on any smoker. We cooked these on a Big Green Egg. When making the potato recipe on a smoker we find in best to make cook them in a cast iron pan or skillet, but you can use a casserole dish if you desire.
Preheat your grill or smoker to 350 degrees and set up for indirect heat. Place the cast iron pan with the au gratin potatoes on the smoker and cook for 1.5 hours, checking about every 30 minutes and rotating if needed for even cooking. The subtle smoke flavors in this au gratin potato recipe take this cheesy side dish to a whole new level.
The cooking time can vary, but the smoked au gratin potatoes are done when the top is golden brown, and you can poke the potatoes with a toothpick and there is very little resistance. If the cheese is getting too dark before the potatoes are tender, cover the pan with foil to prevent further browning.
Carefully remove the cast iron au gratin potatoes from the smoker and let set for about 5 minutes before serving. This smoked potato recipe is a great side dish for your holiday meats like Smoked Turkey Roulade: Rolled Turkey Breast with Fresh Herbs, Black Garlic, and Prosciutto, Apple Cider Brined Turkey, Beef Tallow and Herb Crusted Prime Rib, Smoked Ham, or Pork Crown Roast.
Smoky au gratin potatoes are also the perfect side for everyday pork dishes like our Blackstone Griddle Italian Pork Milanese or a Tempura Pork Tenderloin Sandwich.
Frequently Asked Questions
Scalloped potatoes are a more simplistic version of au gratin potatoes consisting of thinly sliced potatoes cooked in cream. Au gratin potatoes are made with cheese in the addition of cream typically.
It typically takes about 1.5 hours to make au gratin potatoes on your smoker, when cooked at 350 degrees. Times may vary, however, depending on the smoker type and how many potatoes you are cooking.
Smoked au gratin potatoes turn out great on any smoker type. For a milder smoke flavor consider using a pellet grill like a Traeger or Yoder. If you want a more pronounced smoke flavor, try using an offset smoker or a ceramic smoker like a Big Green Egg.
Soaking the potato slices in ice water helps remove some of the starch from the potatoes which helps prevent the potatoes from becoming mushy. This is especially important when using starchy potatoes like russet.
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📖 Recipe
Cheesy Smoked Au Gratin Potatoes
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
- 2.5 Pounds Russet Potatoes
- ½ Yellow Onion Very thinly sliced
- 4 Ounces Gruyere Cheese Shredded
- 4 Ounces White Cheddar Cheese Shredded
- 2 Ounces Smoked Gouda Shredded
- 1 Pint Heavy Cream
- 3 Tablespoons Butter
- 2 Cloves Garlic Minced
- 3 Tablespoons Flour
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon thyme leaves preferably fresh
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
Instructions
- Peel and thinly slice the potatoes to ¼ inch thick or thinner.
- Place the potatoes in a bowl and cover with ice water. Place in the refrigerator and soak for 4 hours, then rinse under cold water in a colander.
- In a sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Next, stir in the flour and whisk to combine, mixing until fully incorporated. Add the heavy cream to the pan about ½ cup at a time, whisking continuously until thickened before adding more cream.
- Once all of the heavy cream has been added, add it the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and thyme leaves.
- Next, add in the shredded cheese a little at a time and stir until melted before adding more cheese. Reserve ½ cup of cheese for topping. Once all of the cheese has been added and the sauce is smooth, remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
- Grease the bottom and sides of a cast iron pan or skillet with butter or oil. Place a single layer of potato slices over the bottom on the pan, then layer about ⅓ of the sliced onions. Next pour about ¼ of the cheese sauce over the potatoes.
- Repeat with 2 more layers of potatoes, onion and cheese sauce then finish with a final layer of potatoes. Top with the last of the cheese sauce and then the ½ cup of shredded cheese. If desired sprinkle with additional thyme.
- Preheat your grill or smoker to 350 degrees and set up for indirect heat.
- Place the cast iron pan with the au gratin potatoes on the smoker and cook for 1.5 hours, checking about every 30 minutes and rotating if needed for even cooking.
- The smoked au gratin potatoes are done when the top is golden brown, and you can poke the potatoes with a toothpick and there is very little resistance. If the cheese is getting too dark before the potatoes are tender, cover the pan with foil to prevent further browning.
- Serve while warm.
Nutrition
Sarah H.
Honestly, a lot of times I find all of smoked recipes a little gimmicky, but my husband made these this year and there were incredible. I will definitely have him make these again.
Lynn
We made these for Thanksgiving this year and they were a hit! One family member even said it was their favorite part of our feast! The combination of cheese flavors were perfection.
Meagan
Can these be made/prepped the night before? Without baking it, I mean, since my son will put it on the smoker Christmas Eve day/afternoon.
Carne Diem
Yes, you can prep everything the day before. Sorry for the delayed response, we were out of the country for the holidays.
Pam
Can you cook 2 cast iron pans at the same time on a pellet grill or smoker? Or one cast iron skillet and 1 casserole type dish. I would want to double the recipie. How do you adjust the time?
Carne Diem
Yes, you can double the recipe and use 2 pans. The cook time would be the same doing it this way.
Jamie
What size cast iron pan do you use?
Thanks!
Jamie
Carne Diem
I typically use a 12 inch pan. You can use slightly larger or smaller, it would just end up with a different number of potato layers.