Mushroom and Potato gratin (French Recipe)
Main ingredients:
 | Potatoes |
 | Fresh mushrooms |
 | Grated cheese such as gruyère, emmental, or cheddar. |
 | Butter |
 | Heavy cream or crème fraiche |
Spices, herbs and flavoring ingredients:
 | Parsley (for decoration) |
 | Pinch of garlic powder or flakes |
 | Salt and pepper |
Do you love the taste of mushrooms? This mushroom and potato gratin recipe is the ideal way to enjoy this delicious ingredient. It’s simple to make and can be served as an appetizer or a side dish.
Originating in the Dauphine region of France (in the Alps), potatoes au gratin was first mentioned in 1788, being served to the Duke of Clermont-Tonnerre. Times were tough, and the French revolution was looming, taking place just a year later.
Home-grown potatoes and cheese was a cheap and easy dish to put together. I have no idea if wild mushrooms were added to the dish by some creative chefs at the time, but it is clear that they would have fit right in. Not only are they delicious, but they’re also nutrient dense ingredients that are low in calories and high in protein.
These days, this has become a staple among French potato dishes. So let’s get to making the classic mushroom and potato gratin, shall we? Allons-y!
Type of mushrooms
You can choose any type of mushroom to add to the dish, but I usually use white button or cremini (brown) mushrooms. You can also use oyster, button or stemmed shiitake mushrooms.
The mushrooms can be chopped into small pieces and then added to the gratin. However, another interesting idea that I love is to remove the stems and leave the mushroom caps whole. As in the photo above, I’ve left them facing up so that I can add the creamy sauce and cheese directly onto it, to make stuffed mushroom caps on top of the potatoes.
You can then chop up the leftover stems and add them to the dish as well. Waste not, want not!
Shortcuts to cooking potatoes
The main problem with mushroom and potato gratin is that the potatoes take longer to cook than the mushrooms. (Indeed, the mushrooms can be eaten raw!) As such, if you put the mushrooms in the oven at the same time as the potatoes, they will burn.
So the cooking times I have included in the recipe below include cooking the potatoes in the oven first and then adding the mushrooms.
If you are in a hurry, you can boil the potatoes instead of baking them in the oven, or even boil them the night before to cut down the cooking time in the oven.
At times, I put them in the Instant pot for 8 minutes high pressure with quick release, peel them and then put them overnight in the fridge.
The next day I slice the potatoes, add the sauce and put in the oven for 20 minutes. Some people try to arrange the potatoes in proper slices, but I confess I just toss them in. It hasn’t affected the taste just yet!
The total time is about the same but for a working weeknight dinner, it is easier to put it in the oven for just 30 minutes, than a full hour.
Similar recipes
- Gratin Dauphinois
- Cheesy Cauliflower Gratin
- Potato egg scramble
- Cauliflower egg bake
- Cauliflower and chicken casserole (gratin)
Mushroom and Potato Gratin Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5-6 Medium-sized potatoes
- 15-20 mushroom caps
- 1 cup of crème fraîche or heavy cream. Alternative: 1/2 cup of milk with 1/2 cup of philadelphia cream cheese
- 1.5 cups of grated cheese such as gruyére, emmental, or cheddar
- 3 tablespoons of butter
- 1 clove of crushed garlic
- salt and pepper to taste
- a few leaves of parley or chives
Instructions
- Wash and peel the potatoes and chop into thin round slices.
- Grease the casserole dish and layer the sliced potatoes across.
- Cook in preheated oven for 25 minutes at 200C° (400F°).
- While waiting, mix the crème fraîche (heavy cream), butter, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl.
- Lightly wipe the mushrooms with a damp tissue paper to make sure they are clean.
- Once the 25 minutes of cooking is done, remove the casserole dish carefully from the oven and slide the mushrooms (with the caps facing up) in between the potatoes with a fork.
- Add the creamy mixture over the top of the mushroom caps and across potatoes in the casserole dish.
- Sprinkle the grated cheese on top.
- Add a few leaves of parsley on top for decoration.
- Continue cooking in the oven for 20 minutes at 200C° (400F°) until potatoes, mushrooms, and cheese are lightly browned.
- Serve while warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Please note: We are not certified nutritionists and these estimates written and produced for entertainment purposes only.
What to serve with it?
In France, mushroom and potato gratin is most often served with a dish like oven-roasted pork cooked in its own sauce. An alternative would be lamb or duck, along with a bottle of chilled dry white wine such as a Savoie or Chardonnay.
For a quick dinner, you can however also serve it with just some bread (a baguette) and a salad with balsamic vinaigrette.
What drinks to serve with it?
Since this is a heavier cheesy dish, this mushroom and potato gratin is usually served in winter. Because of that, it is usually served with a dry white like a chilled white Vin de Savoie or Alsace Pinot Gris.
A Coteaux d’Aix en Provence also is quite lovely. You can read more about French wines here.
How to store it?
This mushroom and potato gratin can easily be prepared in advance, and kept in the fridge. But I wouldn’t really recommend freezing it because the mushrooms and cheesy sauce will retain water.
I have kept it overnight in the fridge, but that is about the extent of it. Add more heavy cream and cheese if the mushroom and potatoes look dried out.
