Au gratin potatoes made in a pressure cooker are fast and simple. Have them with ham or heck, just put some ham in with them.
I’m continuing to find ways to use the electric pressure cooker and this method for au gratin potatoes is fantastic. From start to finish they only take around an hour.
To help speed the prep time, it’s imperative to have a mandoline to slice the potatoes and onion. It only takes a couple minutes to slice up 2 pounds of potatoes and a medium sized onion. Here is a link to Amazon to take a look at the inexpensive mandoline that I have. Works great and gets used all the time.
I put some ham in the au gratin potatoes but that is optional. Kentucky Legend brand smoked ham sells packaged cubed ham, all set to throw into the potatoes. Here’s the pressure cooker pot with the potatoes, onion, and ham cubes. At this point, sprinkle a pinch or two of salt over the taters.
I set the pressure cooker on steam, low pressure for 3 minutes and did a quick release of the pressure. This amount of time got the potatoes very tender. I’m thinking that 2 minutes on low pressure would be perfect. If you have a stovetop pressure cooker and have no control of pressure, 1 to 2 minutes should get them fork tender.
When the potatoes are finished, place them into a greased casserole. The one I have is 2.8 liters, (3 quarts). Leave as much of the vegetable broth in the pot as you can and set the pressure cooker on saute. Add the half and half, spices, and most of the grated cheese. I used sharp cheddar cheese but you could use just about any good melting cheese. Stir to melt the cheese. Pour the cheese sauce over the potatoes. I reserved a little bit of the 6 ounces of grated cheese to top the casserole. This makes the au gratin potatoes brown up really nicely.
Set your oven rack so it is 6 to 8 inches from the broiler element or burner. Browning will take 12 to 15 minutes. Just keep an eye on it until you get to the desired browning.
Let the potatoes cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. I sprinkled some garlic chives over the casserole for a nice garnish. Thank you Manny for the nice plant!
Au gratin potatoes are nearly a must for holidays and making them in a pressure cooker is super easy. Give them a try.
Enjoy!
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Awesome Au Gratin Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and sliced to 1/4" thickness
- 1 med. yellow onion, sliced
- 8 oz. cubed ham, Kentucky Legend brand recommended The use of ham is optional.
- 1 cup vegetable broth, I used Better than Bouillon, vegetable base
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 6 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
Instructions
- Place sliced potatoes, onion, cubed ham, salt and vegetable broth into the pressure cooker pot. Set cooker to steam, low pressure for 2 minutes.
- Do a quick release of pressure after 2 minutes. Open the pressure cooker and transfer the potatoes, onion, and ham to an oven safe, 3 quart casserole which has been sprayed generously with cooking spray., keeping as much liquid in the pot as possible.
- Turn the electric pressure cooker to saute, add the half and half, thyme, onion powder, and most of the grated cheese, reserving some to sprinkle on top of the casserole. Stir to melt the cheese.
- Once the cheese is melted, pour the cheese sauce over the potatoes, add black pepper if desired, then sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.
- Place in the oven on broil with the top of the carrerole 4 or 5 inches under the element. Broil 12 to 15 minutes until nicely browned.
- Remove from the oven and let rest 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Sounds good! I will have to try it!
So, so good! We had this twice in less than two weeks. The Better Than Boullion vegetable broth gives such a great flavor to this dish.