#FlashbackFriday with one of my favorite holiday recipes that I make every year. Low WWFreestyle Smartpoint Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes!
Hi everyone! I have another recipe for you from my Healthy Holiday series. Part 1 was all about my super Simple Glazed Ham With Pineapple, but, we all know you need to have cheesy potatoes to go with the ham. I honestly think cheese makes everything taste better, in fact, my mom used to put cheese on everything growing up just to get me to eat it. That’s probably why I am such a fan of broccoli covered in cheesy sauce!
Healthy Au Gratin potatoes, aka, Scalloped Potatoes (I am not sure of the difference) are probably one of my favorite side dishes in the world, aside from mac and cheese! This version comes from a Weight Watcher Recipe that I modified a bit and it seriously rocks! I used sharp low-fat cheeses to bring out the cheesy flavor along with sweet Yukon potatoes with their skin to boost the flavor and fiber. You still get a little buttery richness, but, the fat free milk helps to lighten it up. Your family will not even be able to tell that you “healthified” this recipe because it is packed with cheesy, rich, flavor.
HEALTHY AU GRATIN POTATOES (print it!)
INGREDIENTS
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 cups fat-free milk
- 2 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced
- 3 ounces low-fat shredded SHARP cheddar cheese (grate your own as it melts better)
- 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp garlic salt or sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Stir in flour; then add milk slowly, stirring.
3. Add potatoes and stir to mix. Bring to a boil. Stir in 3/4 cup of the sharp cheddar cheese and 2 tbsp of the shredded parmesan cheese, garlic salt and pepper.
4. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish and level out surface. Bake for 1 hour, uncovered. Cover and bake until potatoes are fork-tender, about 20 minutes more.
5. Change oven temperature to broil. Sprinkle remaining cheese over potatoes. Broil 6 inches from the heating element until the cheese is golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes.
6. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing into 8 pieces.
Makes 8 servings, 5 WWFreestyle Smartpoints or 5 points+ each!
Nutritional information per serving calculated with all ingredients
STEP – BY – STEP
Rinse/scrub your potatoes and thinly slice.
Melt 1 Tbsp of real butter over medium heat while you thinly slice your red onion.
Add your red onion and cook for about 5 minutes until onions start to brown/caramelize.
Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.
Stir in 2 Tbsp all purpose flour.
Slowly add your milk making sure you scrap the bottom of the pan for any browned bits.
Add your potatoes and bring mixture to a boil and remove from heat.
Add 3/4 c of your lowfat sharp cheddar cheese and parmesan (I used shaved since it is what I had, but, shredded works just as good).
Add your spices and stir to combine.
Pour mixture into your prepared 9 x 13 dish and bake according to directions above.
Tadah!!! Super easy, cheesy, right?! Allow to cool 5 minutes and cut into 8 slices.
Coming up next…..my favorite Holiday Vegetable in the world……You knew it had to include bacon, right?!
To be continued……. 😉
Oh boy! As usual, I am bookmarking this page! Thanks Danica 🙂 Hope your holidays were super! xoxo
Ooooh, I am all over this! I LOVE Scalloped potatoes! Or au gratin! I don’t know the difference either!
Thanks for sharing this yummy recipe!
mmm au gratin potatoes are so sinfully good~leave it to you to make them acceptable for chowing down on. love it and you!
we had those at christmaS! sooo good-
I am making this tonight. Didn’t have an hour to cook the potatoes so I cheated by steaming the potatoes in a ziploc steam bag for 4 minutes before adding them to the milk/onion mixture. Here is to hoping it turns out good.
Hi Debbie,
That is such a great idea to steam the potatoes first. I cannot wait to find out how they turned out. If it works then I am definitely saving time like that in the future.
Danica
Ok so steaming the potatoes worked great. http://debbieinflorida.blogspot.com/2010/01/easy-au-gratin-potatoes-hold-fat-please.html I love this recipe. Will make it many more times.
these are going on sunday’s menu!
I am making this for my family next Tuesday,, so glad I found it..
Serving Ham with it…
Thank You
this looks delish! My family doesnt like onions, can u recommend a substitute for the onions?
thanks
Hi Erica,
My Mother In Law doesn’t like onions at all either, but, she also doesn’t know I put them in this dish. I do not think you can taste them. That being said, I think you can just omit the onions and the result will be just as delicious.
Danica
YUM! I could go for those any day. I love potatoes in any fashion.
I’m a firm believer that cheese makes everything better! I’m totally guilty of putting cheese on new things to get my kids to try them, and it usually works 🙂
How good would this be with some leftover Christmas ham cubed up in it to make a complete dinner in a casserole dish???
i make these potatoes of yours all the time! i love them. D–got your package yesterday.. thank you!! so hilarious, we died. and all we sent this year was a card 🙁 sorry, we are busy paying medical bills! haha. i love you guys! merry christmas!!
I made this gluten free and they were still amazing. I have family members allergic to gluten so I substitute the flour with corn starch and they are sooo delicious.
We made your recipe last Christmas. So delicious! I’ll have to fit them into January this (next!) year.
Merry Christmas!
O.K. – here’s the difference between Scalloped Potatoes and Au Gratin Potatoes:
Scalloped Potatoes just have a white bechamel sauce (no cheese)
Au Gratin Potatoes have cheese
Both dishes are YUMMY!