This Hairy Bikers dauphinoise potatoes recipe layers thin sliced Charlottes in double cream and milk at around 430 calories per serving. And the whole dish takes 85 minutes as a side for six, so you can have it in the oven while a roast does its thing.
Si and Dave say “simple is best, we reckon” when it comes to dauphinoise, which is why they keep cheese and extras out entirely. And their version uses just seven ingredients because the cream and potato should do all the talking on their own.
If your dauphinoise has ever split into an oily puddle in the oven, this recipe fixes that with one teaspoon of flour whisked into the cream before pouring. Since that tiny bit of starch holds the sauce together through a long bake, you get a smooth finish every time instead of wondering what went wrong.
Hairy Bikers Dauphinoise Potatoes Recipe
Description
An easy side where waxy potato slices bake low and slow in seasoned cream with a hint of nutmeg, then get a blast of high heat at the end to turn the top golden and crisp.
Ingredients
For the Dauphinoise:
Instructions
- Prepare the dish: Preheat your oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4, then rub a shallow gratin dish with the cut halves of garlic so the oils coat the surface. Take a small piece of butter and rub that around the dish as well.
- Slice and rinse: Peel and thinly slice the potatoes, then rinse them under cold water to remove excess starch. Dry them as thoroughly as you can with a clean tea towel, since any water left on the surface dilutes the cream and makes the finished dish watery.
- Layer the potatoes: Arrange the potato slices in the dish one layer at a time, seasoning each layer with salt and pepper as you go.
- Mix the cream: Put the double cream and milk in a jug and whisk in the flour, which stops the cream from curdling during the long bake. Pour the mixture over the potatoes, then dot the remaining butter on top and grate over a little nutmeg if using.
- Two-stage bake: Bake for one hour at 180°C until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife. Then turn the heat up to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 7 and bake for another 10 minutes until the top layer turns crisp and golden brown.
FAQs
Which Hairy Bikers cookbook has the dauphinoise potatoes?
This exact recipe appears in three books: Meat Feasts, Ultimate Comfort Food and Veggie Feasts, and they did not change a single ingredient across any of them. So this is clearly the version they consider definitive.
Perfect Pies has a different take that uses Maris Piper potatoes instead of Charlottes, skips the flour, and bakes at a single higher temperature for just 35 to 45 minutes. That version is faster and works well on a weeknight, but the three-book version above gives you more control over the texture with its two-stage bake.
Can I make dauphinoise potatoes without cream?
Si and Dave have a recipe for exactly that in British Classics, though they call it a potato gratin rather than a dauphinoise. It uses 400ml of chicken or vegetable stock instead of cream, with fried onions and thyme layered between the potatoes, and bakes at 200°C for about an hour.
The result is lighter and works better alongside heavy mains where a cream-based side would be too much. But it is a different dish with a different name, and Si and Dave keep the two separate across their books for good reason.
Why doesn’t this dauphinoise use cheese?
Si and Dave are clear about this: “simple is best, we reckon,” and they prove it by keeping cheese out across all their versions. Some recipes layer Gruyère between the potatoes or stir Parmesan into the cream, but Si and Dave strip all of that back because the point of a good dauphinoise is letting the cream and potato do the talking.
The flour trick matters more than any added ingredient, since that one teaspoon is what keeps the sauce smooth through a long bake. And once you have tried it without cheese, you realise the golden crust on top comes from the cream reducing and catching on the potatoes, not from melted cheese masking everything underneath.
Should I use waxy or floury potatoes?
Si and Dave use both across different books. The version above calls for Charlotte (waxy) because the slices hold their shape and stay distinct in the layers, while Perfect Pies uses Maris Piper (floury) which breaks down slightly and absorbs more cream for a softer result.
Waxy is the safer choice if you want clean layers that look good when served, while floury gives a creamier texture that melts together more. And whichever you choose, slice them no thicker than 3mm so they cook through evenly during the long bake.
Can I make dauphinoise potatoes ahead?
You can bake the full dish up to a day ahead, then reheat at 180°C for 20 minutes with foil on top. And the flavour actually improves overnight as the potatoes absorb more of the cream while sitting in the fridge.
For serving alongside a roast, bake the dauphinoise first and set it aside while the meat rests. A 10-minute blast at 220°C brings the top back to crispy without drying it out, and this is exactly the two-stage approach from the original method. This pairs well with the cottage pie or the shepherd’s pie when you want a richer potato side.
