Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes are layered with a creamy sauce and loaded with Kountry Boys Original Bacon for bold, smoky flavor. It’s a crowd-pleasing side dish that works for holidays, cookouts and weeknight dinners alike.
Difficulty: Easy
Prep: 25 minutes
Cook: 56 minutes
Total: 1 hour 25 minutes
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
INSTRUCTIONS
Peel the potatoes and slice them thin and even. Set aside.
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and cook the Kountry Boys Original Bacon until done. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels.
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and cook the onion until softened. Add the garlic and cook briefly until fragrant.
Stir in the flour and mix until it forms a smooth paste. Let it cook for a minute, then slowly whisk in the milk and chicken broth until smooth.
Add salt, black pepper and thyme. Continue cooking, stirring often, until the sauce thickens.
Spread a small amount of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Add a layer of sliced potatoes, slightly overlapping. Spoon sauce over the potatoes, then add cheese and a portion of the cooked bacon.
Repeat the layers until all ingredients are used.
Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour, or until the potatoes are tender. If needed, bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let sit for a few minutes before serving.
Description
There’s always that one dish at the table that disappears before anything else. You know the one. Folks go back for seconds before they’ve even finished their first plate, and by the time you make your way back to the kitchen, it’s gone.
Around here, that dish is always Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes.
And when you load it up with Kountry Boys Original Bacon, it turns into something people start asking for by name.
This isn’t a complicated side dish. Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes are built on thin sliced potatoes, a creamy sauce and plenty of cheese, layered up and baked until everything comes together. But once that bacon hits the pan and starts cooking, you already know this is going to be something worth sticking around for.
It’s the kind of recipe that shows up at holidays, cookouts and Sunday dinners. But Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes work just as well on a weeknight when you want something filling that doesn’t feel like an afterthought.
Layering Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes the Right Way
This recipe starts with a little prep, but nothing you can’t handle.
Peel your potatoes and slice them thin. The more even you get them, the better they’ll cook. You don’t need anything fancy, just take your time and keep them close in size so everything bakes evenly.
While you’re getting that ready, cook up your Kountry Boys Original Bacon. As it hits the pan, you’ll hear that steady sizzle and smell that rich, smoky flavor building. Cook it until it’s done, then set it aside. Try not to snack on too much of it before it makes it into the dish.
Next comes the sauce.
Melt butter in a saucepan and cook your onion until it softens. Add the garlic and let it cook just long enough to bring out that flavor. Then stir in the flour to build your base. It’ll look simple at first, but once you start whisking in the milk and chicken broth, everything smooths out into a rich sauce that ties the whole dish together.
Season it up and let it thicken slowly. You don’t want to rush this part. A steady stir and a little patience gets you the right consistency for Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes.
Once that’s ready, it’s time to build.
Start with a layer of sauce in the bottom of your dish. Then add your sliced potatoes, slightly overlapping so everything fits together. Spoon more sauce over the top, then add cheese and a sprinkle of that cooked Kountry Boys Original Bacon.
Keep layering until you’ve used everything up.
Each layer builds on the last, and by the time Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes hit the oven, you’ve got something that’s already looking like it’s going to be good.
Why Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes Get Requested Again and Again
There’s no shortage of potato recipes out there, but Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes stick around for a reason.
- Kountry Boys Original Bacon brings bold, smoky flavor into every layer
- The creamy sauce ties everything together without being too heavy
- Thin sliced potatoes cook evenly and soak up all that flavor
- It feeds a crowd without a complicated process
- Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes work for holidays, cookouts and weeknight dinners
It’s simple, but it feels like more.
A Few Tips That Make Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes Better
A recipe like this doesn’t need much, but a few small things help it turn out right every time.
Slice your potatoes as evenly as you can. That’s what keeps everything cooking at the same pace.
Don’t skip the layering. Spreading things out instead of piling it all in one spot makes sure every bite of Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes has a little bit of everything.
If the top starts to brown too quickly in the oven, cover it loosely with foil and let it finish cooking. Then uncover it toward the end so everything settles together.
And give Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes a few minutes to sit before serving. That helps everything hold together when you scoop it out.
Serving It Up Right
Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes are the kind of dish that shows up next to just about anything.
Serve them with grilled meats, roasted chicken or right alongside a plate of Kountry Boys sausage. They’re hearty enough to stand on their own, but they play well with everything else on the table.
Set Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes out in the dish and let folks serve themselves. It won’t take long before someone’s scraping the last bit out of the corner.
If you’ve got leftovers, store them in the fridge and reheat when you’re ready. Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes warm up well and still bring that same comfort the next time around.
At the end of the day, this is what a good side dish is supposed to do. Show up strong, bring people back for more and make the whole meal feel complete.
Kountry Boys Original Bacon brings the flavor. The rest just comes together around it.
Looking for more ways to load up your plate? Check out our other Kountry Boys recipes like our Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Lollipops or our Bacon Mac N’ Cheese.