What to Serve with Potato Gratin? 7 BEST Side Dishes

Gratin is the French term for “to grate” or “to scrape”.

It usually refers to a cooking technique in which the food is thinly sliced and baked with cheese or breadcrumbs.

Likewise, Potato Gratin, or Potato Au Gratin, is a dish made with sliced potatoes, cheese, and heavy cream.

It’s usually served as a side, but there’s no rule that says it can’t be your main attraction.

Depending on the region, the dish is known by different names such as Gratin Dauphinois, Gratin savoyard, or pommes de terregratinées.

While the basic ingredients and cooking techniques remain the same, there are slight variations in the recipes.

Nevertheless, if you want to learn more about what to serve with potato gratin? You can find some delicious options in the latter part of the write-up.

Why Consider Serving Side Dishes with Potato Gratin?

Not sure whether you should be serving side dishes with potato gratin? Well, here are some reasons that might help you make up your mind:

• Round out the meal and make it more filling.
• Add more variety to the meal.
• Add more nutrients to the meal.
• Boost the flavor of the dish.

No denying, potato gratin tastes exceptionally well on its own.

It’s crusty, creamy, rich, and filling – what more can you ask for?

But, like most dishes, it can always be improved by adding other flavors.

That’s where side dishes come in.

What to Serve with Potato Gratin? 7 BEST Side Dishes

So, here are our top side dishes to serve with potato gratin:

1 – Brussels Sprouts and Kale Salad

Since potato gratin is rich, creamy, and heavy, it’s only fitting to serve a side dish that is light and fresh.

You’d typically serve streamed or roasted kale and Brussels sprouts.

How about eating them raw?

Their slightly bitter flavor and crunchiness add an excellent contrast to the creaminess of the main dish.

For the salad dressing, you’ll need shallots, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, honey, olive oil, and lemon zest.

For the salad, assemble some Brussels sprouts, kale, toasted almonds, and your favorite cheese.

It only takes 20 minutes to prepare this side dish, so don’t skip it if you are short on time.

2 – Pan-seared Steak

You can serve a delicious lip-smacking entrée to accompany your potato gratin by making pan-seared steak.

All you need to do is find a high-quality steak and your favorite seasoning. Just salt and pepper will do too.

Potato gratin is a carbohydrate-rich dish.

So, serving something fatty and juicy is a smart move if you want a balanced meal.

For the best steak, we prefer ribeye, New York, or top sirloin.

The secret to getting a good sear with a vibrant color is to preheat your pan five minutes before putting in the steak.

3 – Beef Wellington

Another meaty side dish to accompany your extravagant potato gratin is beef wellington.

You’d never fail to impress your guests with a plate of this dish.

Imagine a crusty, buttery outer layer and a beautiful pink, medium-rare meat.

If you can pull off the recipe, beef wellington is one of the most elegant and presentable side dishes.

Tips:

• Trim and tie the beef tenderloin before searing to retain its shape. .
• A probe will ensure accuracy when you’re aiming for medium-rare or medium cook. .
• Don’t forget to let the beef wellington rest for at least five minutes before cutting.
• Placing a bottle of red wine on the side will take the meal up a notch.

4 – Honey Glazed Ham

Honey-glazed ham, too, works deliciously alongside potato gratin.

The best way to cook them is in a slow cooker, but you can also bake them in the oven.

The recipe for the glaze is straightforward.

It requires brown sugar, butter, mustard, honey, salt, and apple juice.

You’d want to whisk up everything and let it rest for some minutes before pouring it into the pre-cooked ham.

Honey glazed ham tastes better sweet, so don’t go easy on the sugar.

With this side dish placed next to your potato gratin, you’d have a juicy, tender, and sweet meal.

5 – Crispy Eggplants

If you plan to go vegetarian on the side dishes, baked eggplants are excellent options.

Its crisp outer layer will incorporate crunch into your meal and become a favorite dish even for non-eggplant foodies.

So, what’s the secret to making perfectly crisp eggplants?

Draw all the liquid from the vegetables and pat them dry before the breading process.

Also, while purchasing eggplants, look for smooth and shiny skin, green stems, and those that are firm and heavy.

Small and medium eggplants are sweeter than larger ones.

The crispy skin of this food adds a contrasting element to your creamy and silky main dish.

6 – Shepherd’s Pie

If you want to serve potato gratin with a dish with vegetables and gravy, shepherd’s pie should be on top of the list.

Both dishes take about half an hour in the oven, but that shouldn’t be a problem if you have the time.

While serving shepherd’s pie, it’s important to note how cheesy your potato gratin is.

Some people may not like their pie loaded with gravy if the potatoes are very cheesy.

It’s better to serve the gravy on a different plate so that your guests can choose whether they want to add less or more of it.

Shepherd’s pie typically calls for ground lamb or beef. But you can alternate it with turkey.

7 – Dinner Rolls

Need something simple to serve potato gratin with? Don’t underestimate the power of dinner rolls.

They are amazingly versatile, so you can customize the ingredient list depending on the items you have in your pantry.

You can put some flavor to the rolls by adding garlic butter, cheese, and herbs.

Conclusion

People most often served potato gratin as a side dish.

However, you get to decide how you want to serve it.

With several recipes that go excellently with this dish, it won’t be a hassle finding sides for potato gratin.

Go for the meaty options if you’re inviting a bunch of meat lovers.

Or opt for the various vegetable recipes if you want to avoid them.