5-Ingredient French Onion Potato Bake

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Potato side dishes often end up being the superstar of any meal, whether it's a weeknight dinner or part of a grand holiday spread. This five-ingredient French onion potato bake recipe is a great example of just how delicious a spud-based side dish can be. Featuring thinly sliced potatoes and a rich sauce, this potato bake is inspired by french onion soup with gooey Gruyère cheese and added creamy elements, like sour and heavy cream. A store-bought onion soup packet provides all the seasoning you need and helps keep the shopping list to a mere five ingredients, making this a recipe as convenient as it is delicious.

I love a side dish that I can fully prep the day before and bake when I want to serve it, and this French onion potato bake fits that bill as well. When I make it ahead, I soak the potatoes in ice water prior to combining with the sauce to keep them from turning brown. Sometimes I cut the recipe in half and use a 9x9-inch baking dish for nights when I have fewer people to serve. However, leftovers are easy to heat up and can supplement other meals during the week.

You only need a handful of ingredients to make this delicious recipe. Start by picking up russet potatoes. It's best to buy large potatoes that are roughly the same size, as they will be quicker to slice and will cook more evenly. You can substitute Yukon Golds, but because they contain less starch, the sauce will be a bit looser. You can easily remedy that potential issue by adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour to the sauce mixture before coating the potatoes. 

Next on the list are a couple of dairy products: sour cream, heavy cream, and Gruyère or Swiss cheese. Finally, head to the dry goods area to grab a French onion soup mix packet.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Spray a 9x13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray

Peel the potatoes.

Use a mandoline to slice the potatoes into ¼-inch thick pieces.

In a large bowl, combine the sour cream, heavy cream, and French onion soup mix.

Mix in the potatoes and 1 cup of the cheese.

Transfer the coated potatoes to the prepared baking dish.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until the potatoes are tender.

Remove the foil and sprinkle the remaining 1 cup cheese on top of the potatoes. Bake for 10 more minutes.

Garnish the potato bake with optional chives and serve.

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Although a mandoline is very useful in this recipe for getting nice and even potato slices, you can make the dish without one. Keep in mind that getting the slices uniform is very important because you don't want some potatoes tender and others undercooked, so take your time when slicing them by hand. An 8-inch chef's knife is ideal in this case, and it's best to cut in one single stroke instead of sawing back and forth, so you avoid jagged slices. If it becomes hard to stabilize the potato, cut a thin slice alongside the length of the potato to get a flat side. Then place the potato flat side-down on your cutting board and it will make slicing a little easier. If you end up with some potato slices that are thicker than the rest, place them on the bottom of the baking dish where the oven heat will be the strongest.

It's worth noting that a food processor is not suitable for slicing the potatoes for this recipe. Using the slicing blade will result in paper thin slices that won't hold their shape once baked.

If you want the flavor of French onion soup for these potatoes, but don't want to use a premade packet, you have a couple of options. Instead, you can use individual ingredients you already have in your pantry to recreate the flavor packet right at home. Combine 3 tablespoons of dried minced onion, 2 tablespoons of vegetable or beef bouillon powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder or granules, ½ teaspoon of garlic powder or granules, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ⅛ teaspoon of black pepper to get a seasoning mix very close to the one that comes in a packet. The benefit of doing it this way is you can control how much of each ingredient goes in.

Another way to capture that onion soup flavor is to use caramelized onions. To caramelize the onions for this dish, slice two yellow onions thinly, then cook them in about 3 tablespoons of butter on low heat for about 40 minutes. Stir them frequently until they get golden and very soft. Then toss them with the potatoes before adding the sauce for added richness and onion flavor.

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