Green Chile au Gratin Potatoes
The rich, cheesy goodness pairs beautifully with the warmth of the chiles in this Green Chile Potatoes au Gratin, a delicious, unfussy spin on traditional au gratin potatoes. This savory dish adds Southwestern flair to your table and is perfect for roasted meats, poultry, or grilled dishes.
“Fantastic! This was such a hit. … Everyone raved and went back for seconds. Will absolutely make again. Highly recommend!”
Why This Recipe is a Keeper!
If you visit any grocery store in late summer, you are likely to see mountains of Hatch green chiles. Hatch green chile season only comes once a year and when they’re gone, they’re gone! But, if you follow my tutorial for How to Roast and Freeze Hatch Green Chiles, you can preserve this spicy goodness and enjoy it all fall and winter.
Like in this au gratin potatoes recipe with Hatch green chiles!
This easy au gratin potatoes recipe perfectly balances creamy, cheesy comfort with roasted green chiles’ bright, bold, smoky flavor. What makes this recipe super easy is there’s no fussy layering of sliced potatoes!
My family loves au gratin potatoes, so I make them frequently. One day, I was short on time. Instead of carefully slicing all the potatoes uniformly and arranging them in traditional au gratin potatoes style, I cubed, cooked, and scattered them in the baking dish. Everyone enjoyed them just the same!
This Green Chile au Gratin Potatoes recipe is:
- Easy, because there’s no fussy slicing or arranging.
- Make ahead!
- Creamy, cheesy, spicy and delicious!
How to Make Hatch Green Chile au Gratin Potatoes:
Recipe Ingredients:
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this green chile au gratin potatoes recipe, along with how to prep the ingredients. The quantities of each ingredient is on the recipe card below.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions:
- Yukon Gold Potatoes: I like to use Yukon Gold potatoes in this au gratin recipe for their buttery goodness. They are considered “waxy” and hold their shape well. Red potatoes will also work well. If using Russets, expect them to crumble, as they are classified as “starchy” potatoes.
- Green Chiles: I used my own roasted, frozen, and thawed Hatch green chiles. Canned Hatch green chiles are available in most international food aisles, and canned diced green chiles, usually Anaheims, can also be used.
- Chives: For garnish. Can also use scallion tops for garnish.
- Monterey Jack Cheese: A mild white cheese, Monterey Jack is known for melting smoothly. You can also use pepper jack cheese, but it will add more heat. Whichever cheese you use, you’ll want to grate it yourself because it will melt more smoothly than packaged shredded cheese.
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese: Adds another cheesy flavor dimension! Here, too, grate the cheddar yourself.
- Half-and-Half: Half whole milk and half heavy cream. You can also use all whole milk or all heavy cream. I like half-and-half for the richness without being heavy.
Step-By-Step Instructions:
- Gather and prep all the ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Spray or oil an 11 x 7, 8 x 10, or similar-sized baking dish. Set aside.
- Cut the potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes.
- Place in a saucepan. Fill with water to cover, and add approximately 1 tablespoon of salt.
- Bring to a boil and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until you can just pierce them with a knife. (You don’t want them falling apart.)
- Drain in a colander and cool under cold running tap water. Drain again. Set aside.
- Combine the butter and oil in the saucepan you used to cook the potatoes and melt the butter over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion, reduce heat to low, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until softened, being careful not to brown it.
- Add the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, whisking constantly.
- Slowly add the half-and-half and bring to a simmer. Cook, whisking constantly, until thickened. (It should be the consistency of heavy cream.)
- Add the shredded cheese by the handful, whisking constantly after each addition melts and is incorporated.
- Taste for seasoning and add salt and black pepper to taste.
- Pour approximately 3/4 cup of the sauce to cover the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- Place approximately 1/3 of the potatoes in the prepared baking dish and top with approximately 1/3 of the green chiles.
- Drizzle with some of the sauce and repeat the layers two more times, finishing with the remaining sauce.
- Cover loosely with aluminum foil. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
- Remove the foil and continue baking another 20-25 minutes or until bubbling and the top is nicely browned.
- Let rest for approximately 5 minutes, then serve.
Chef Tips and Tricks:
- Parcooking the potatoes reduces oven time and ensures all the potatoes are fully cooked.
- When boiling, always start potatoes in cold water. This helps cook them evenly. For this Green Chile au Gratin Potatoes recipe, you want to cook them only partway to get them started. And, be generous with the salt!
- While you can still slice and neatly arrange all the potatoes, cutting them into half-inch cubes will save you a lot of time.
Money-Saving Tip:
- Shredding the cheese yourself will save you money. Any time a step is done for you, it increases the price.
Frequently Asked Questions:
The main difference is whether the dish has cheese or not. Scalloped potatoes are baked in a basic cream sauce until tender, while au gratin potatoes have cheese.
These Green Chile au Gratin Potatoes are great to make ahead! They can be assembled 1 to 2 days ahead. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before placing in a hot oven. You can also place the baking dish in a cold oven, and then preheat it. You may need to add baking time because the dish will be cold.
Yes, but the thawed and reheated texture may not be ideal. Yukon Gold or red potatoes will hold up better than Russets. Cool the potatoes completely and divide them into small portions. (Small portions will be easier to reheat.) Thaw in the refrigerator, then reheat in a 325-degree oven until hot.
Storage:
- Store any leftovers in the refrigerator. Consume within five days or freeze for up to 2 months.
Serve with:
- Grilled Skirt Steak with Black Bean Corn and Tomato Salad
- Slow Cooker Beef Short Ribs Barbacoa
- Chicken Sloppy Joes
- Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs
More great potato side dish recipes you’ll love!
- Au Gratin Potatoes for Two
- Twice-Baked Mashed Potatoes
- Roasted Potato Wedges
- Baby Hasselback Potato Bake
Get all my potato side dish recipes at Potato Side Dish Recipes – From A Chef’s Kitchen.
Green Chile Potatoes au Gratin
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Ingredients
- Cooking spray - or oil for baking dish
- 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes - approximately 8, small to medium (not baby)
- Salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion - finely chopped (approximately 1 cup)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 1 cup shredded Monterey jack or pepper jack cheese - (heaping)
- 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese - (heaping)
- 3 cans (4-ounce) diced green chiles - drained –OR– 3/4 cup diced roasted Hatch green chiles
- Additional salt - to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper - to taste
- Finely chopped scallion or chives - for garnish, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray or oil an 11 x 7, 8 x 10 or other similar-sized baking dishes. Set aside.
- Cut the potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes. Place in a saucepan. Fill with water to cover, and add approximately 1 tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil and cook 4-5 minutes or until you can just pierce them with a knife. (They should still have some resistance; you don't want them falling apart.)
- Drain in a colander and cool under cold running tap water. Drain again. Set aside.
- Combine the butter and oil in the saucepan you used to cook the potatoes and melt the butter over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion, reduce heat to low and cook the onion for 5-6 minutes or until softened, being careful not to brown it.
- Add the flour and cook 1-2 minutes, whisking constantly.
- Slowly add the half-and-half and bring to a simmer. Cook, whisking constantly until thickened. (Should be the consistency of heavy cream.)
- Add the shredded cheese by the handful, whisking constantly after each addition melts and until the cheese is nicely melted and incorporated. Taste for seasoning and add salt and black pepper to taste.
- Pour approximately 3/4 cup of the sauce to cover the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- Place approximately 1/3 of the potatoes in the prepared baking dish, and top with approximately 1/3 of the green chiles.
- Drizzle with some of the sauce and repeat the layers two more times, finishing with the remaining sauce.
- Cover loosely with aluminum foil. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking another 20-25 minutes or until bubbling and the top is nicely browned.
- Let rest approximately 5 minutes then serve.
Recipe Notes
- Red potatoes will also work. If using Russets, expect they could crumble because of their starchy nature.
- You can also use pepper jack cheese, but it will add more heat.
- While you can still slice and neatly arrange all the potatoes, cutting them into half-inch cubes will save you a lot of time.
- Potatoes can be assembled 1-2 days ahead. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate.
- Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before placing in a hot oven. Or, place it in a cold oven, then preheat it. You may need to add additional baking time.
Nutrition
These are estimated values generated from a nutritional database using unbranded products. Please do your own research with the products you’re using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.
Fantastic! This was such a hit. I did slice the potatoes instead of cube and followed the well-written instructions pretty much exactly. Everyone raved and went back for seconds. Will absolutely make again. Highly recommend!
Thank you SO very much and so happy everyone enjoyed! You really made my day because I recently thought about deleting this recipe because I’m not a fan of my photos. Love the recipe, too, just not my photos. Really appreciate your taking the time to come back and comment and rate.
Wow, so glad you didn’t delete! This recipe totally wins. I have at least 10 people who insisted that I share this with them. My mom and cis will be making for Easter. Thanks for your kind words too. So glad I found you, I’ll try some more of your recipes for sure! 😃
Thanks so much again! Happy to have you as a regular reader!
The green chilies really make this dish special. Glad I tried this recipe in time to get this one onto the Thanksgiving menu. Delish!
Thanks so much, Debra! Glad you enjoyed and it’s perfect as a Thanksgiving side!
What a fabulous recipe and different way to prepare Au Gratin Potatoes with a southwestern flair. Adding the green chiles and pepper jack cheese is genius. This is my new favorite side dish.
Thanks so much, Debbie! Glad you enjoyed!