Buttermilk Ranch Potatoes au Gratin is a tangy twist on the classic comforting side dish with tender potatoes bathed in a rich creamy sauce seasoned boldly with ranch, under a crust of browned cheese.
Sometimes there is a communication gap between parents and their kids. After thumping his cousin in a video game our 6 year old made sure everyone within the tri-county area knew how good he was. Seizing this as a teaching opportunity, I began to explain to him how he needed to be a good sport. He quickly responded, "But I AM a good sport. I'm winning!"
Perhaps, I have a little more work to do.
That cumulated a rambunctious weekend with our household literally vibrating with excited children as we watched my nephews while my sister was on a weekend getaway. It is amazing how much two extra young boys can eat! They devoured the special meal I made them on Friday night featuring my homemade fast food burgers, served with this Buttermilk Ranch Potatoes au Gratin.
So either the meal was a hit, or my sister never feeds them.
Potatoes au Gratin is a classic comfort food side dish that I'm sure everyone is familiar with. I tweaked it by swapping out milk for buttermilk and adding ranch seasoning. It worked perfectly!
The creamy flavor of ranch really complimented the cheddar cheese, while buttermilk brightens the dish with a little more tanginess that you won't get by simply using milk. This Buttermilk Ranch Potato au Gratin recipe will be going in my rotation when I need a hearty crowd-pleasing side dish!
For the quickest way to slice all the potatoes, and to get the best uniformity, I recommend using a Mandoline Slicer. Not only does it make easy work of this Buttermilk Ranch Potatoes au Gratin, but you will find many other uses for it as well.
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Buttermilk Ranch Potatoes au Gratin
Ingredients
- 2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled
- 3 tablespoon butter
- 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 oz ranch seasoning packet
- 1 ½ cup shredded mild cheddar cheese, divided
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Grease the inside of a 2 quart baking dish with cooking spray or butter.
- Slice potatoes into ¼" thick rounds and layer flat in the baking dish.
- In saucepan on medium-low heat melt butter and add flour to form a roux. Whisk continually for 5 minutes to prevent roux from burning.
- When the roux begins to deepen in color add buttermilk slowly, mixing to combine as you pour.
- Add ranch seasoning and black pepper to taste.
- Slowly add ¾ cups shredded cheddar cheese in batches, ensuring each batch fully melts before more is added.
- Continue to cook until the mixture thickens slightly, taste and add salt only if needed.
- Pour sauce over potatoes in the baking dish, cover with foil and place in the oven for 1 hour.
- Uncover potatoes, add remaining ¾ cup of cheese and bake 25-30 more minutes. Cheese should be nicely browned.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Nutritional Information
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Molly
What a fabulous recipe! I didn't have time to slice up potatoes, so tried it with frozen hashbrowns (made sure to buy ones that were just potatoes and no added salts/sugars/oils). Mixed it together instead of just pouring the sauce over the top and baked as noted. Turned out wonderful and will definitely make again!
Meredith
I added sliced boneless chicken breast, bacon, broccoli and carrots. Awesome one dish dinner. Thank you for this option for my left over buttermilk.
Molly
What a wonderful idea to make this a full meal!
Lynn
Have you ever made this recipe in a slow cooker?
Laurie Clark
I have not made this yet but have a lot of buttermilk and have to find ways to use it. No room in my freezer. I was just wondering how onions would be with this? I suddenly have a lot of those too. Trip to the food bank loaded me up with already sliced onions and 5 cartons of buttermilk and 20 pounds of potatoes. I also received many other fresh produce and preserved what I could to the freezer.
Fox Valley Foodie
Onions would be great!
Jim
This is an excellent recipe. My children are refusing to eat until I prepare this for them. Question: how long should I make them wait?
Scott Jeffrey
Lololol….how long did you hold out?
Cheryl
These were a hit and described as a keeper! I parboiled the potatoes and doubled the recipe. I also used Monterey Jack cheese instead of cheddar for some zip. Fantastic!
Martha
Wow these were amazing! I will never make ordinary potatoes au gratin again!