Ruth’s Chris Potatoes au Gratin (Copycat)

Ruth’s Chris Potatoes au Gratin are the side dish people remember long after the steak is gone — thin-sliced russets simmered in a garlicky cream sauce, then buried under a thick blanket of melted cheese and baked until the top is golden and bubbling. This copycat version gets you there with three cheeses, one pot, and about an hour.

The trick most home versions miss is that Ruth’s Chris doesn’t layer raw potatoes and hope for the best. The potatoes are cooked in the cream sauce first, on the stovetop, so they come out tender and the sauce comes out thick and silky instead of watery. Then everything goes into a baking dish, gets topped with cheese, and finishes in the oven. That two-step method is the whole difference between a good gratin and a great one.

If you’re building a full steakhouse dinner at home, this pairs naturally with Ruth’s Chris creamed spinach and a slow cooker copycat of their creamed corn.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It actually tastes like the restaurant. The three-cheese blend — sharp cheddar, provolone, and Parmesan — is what gives the original its stretchy, savory pull.
• One pot, then one dish. The sauce and the potatoes cook together, so there’s no separate roux to babysit.
• The sauce never breaks. Simmering gently instead of boiling keeps the cream from curdling.
• It’s a make-ahead holiday side. Assemble it a day early and bake it off when the steaks come out.
• It costs a fraction of the steakhouse. One order at Ruth’s Chris runs $15 or more. This feeds eight.

What Makes Ruth’s Chris Potatoes au Gratin Different

A classic French gratin is neat, precise layers of paper-thin potato under a light dusting of Gruyère. Ruth’s Chris makes something homier and considerably more decadent. Three things set it apart:

1. The texture is chunky, not layered. Because the potatoes are simmered in the sauce and then spooned into the dish, the finished gratin is creamy and rustic rather than sliced into tidy strata.
2. The cheese is a blend, not a single variety. Sharp cheddar carries the flavor, provolone does the stretching and melting, and Parmesan adds the salty, nutty edge. Skipping the provolone is the most common reason copycat versions fall flat.
3. There’s stock in the sauce. Cream alone is heavy enough to flatten the dish. A little chicken stock thins it just enough that the potatoes taste like potatoes, and it lets the garlic come through.

Ruth’s Chris Potatoes au Gratin Ingredients

• Russet potatoes: High starch is essential. As they simmer, they release starch that thickens the cream into a proper sauce. Yukon Golds work but produce a looser, less clingy result.
• Heavy cream: Full fat, no substitutions. Half-and-half will break under heat.
• Chicken stock: Cuts the richness and adds savory depth. Vegetable stock works to keep it meatless.
• Sharp cheddar cheese: Shred it from a block. Bagged shreds are coated in anti-caking starch that makes sauce grainy.
• Provolone cheese: The signature melt. Deli provolone shredded at home is ideal.
• Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated, for salt and nuttiness.
• Yellow onion: Sautéed until soft and sweet, not browned.
• Garlic: Fresh minced cloves, added at the end of the sauté so they don’t scorch.
• Butter: For the sauté and for greasing the dish.
• Salt and black pepper: Season the sauce, then taste again before it goes in the oven.

How to Make Ruth’s Chris Potatoes au Gratin

Step 1: Prep. Heat the oven to 400°F. Butter a 9×13-inch or 3-quart baking dish. Peel the potatoes and slice them 1/8 inch thick. A mandoline is worth pulling out here — even slices cook evenly, and uneven ones give you a mix of mushy and crunchy in the same bite.

Step 2: Build the flavor base. Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or deep pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook 5 to 6 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper and cook 30 seconds more, just until fragrant.

Step 3: Make the sauce. Pour in the cream and stock and stir to combine. Bring it to a bare simmer — small bubbles at the edge only. Do not let it boil, or the cream will separate.

Step 4: Simmer the potatoes. Add the potato slices and stir gently to coat. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer 15 to 18 minutes, stirring carefully once or twice. They’re ready when a fork slides into a slice easily but the slice still holds together.

Step 5: Melt in the cheese. Take the pot off the heat completely, then stir in half the cheddar, all the provolone, and half the Parmesan. Off-heat is important — cheese added to a boiling sauce goes stringy and grainy. Taste and adjust the salt now.

Step 6: Assemble and bake. Transfer everything to the buttered dish and spread it level. Scatter the remaining cheddar and Parmesan over the top. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges bubble and the cheese has fully melted.

Step 7: Brown the top. Switch the oven to broil and give it 2 to 3 minutes, watching the whole time. You want deep golden spots, not black ones.

Step 8: Rest. Let it sit 10 minutes before serving. The sauce thickens noticeably as it cools, and this is the step everyone skips.

Au Gratin vs. Scalloped Potatoes — What’s the Difference?

Both are thin-sliced potatoes baked in cream, and the names get used interchangeably on plenty of menus. The traditional distinction is cheese: au gratin potatoes include cheese, usually both in the sauce and browned on top, while scalloped potatoes are cream and seasoning only. “Gratin” itself refers to the browned crust, which is why au gratin dishes almost always finish uncovered or under the broiler.

In practice, most American home recipes for scalloped potatoes now include cheese too. If you want the cream-forward, hands-off version, try these slow cooker scalloped potatoes instead.

Recipe Tips

• Slice to 1/8 inch and be consistent. This is the single biggest factor in even cooking.
• Never boil the cream. A hard boil is what causes a curdled, oily sauce. Keep it at a lazy simmer.
• Shred your own cheese. Pre-shredded cheese contains cellulose that keeps sauces from going smooth.
• Salt the sauce, not just the potatoes. Potatoes absorb a lot of salt. Season the liquid before the potatoes go in, then taste again after the cheese melts.
• Use a wide dish. A shallow, wide dish gives you more surface area, which means more browned cheese per serving.
• Don’t stir aggressively after the potatoes soften. Fold gently or you’ll end up with mashed potatoes in cream.

Variations

• Gruyère swap. Replace the provolone with Gruyère for a nuttier, more classic French gratin.
• Add ham. Two cups of diced ham stirred in before baking turns this into a main dish.
• Caramelized onions. Cook the onions 20 minutes instead of 5 for a deeper, sweeter background flavor.
• Fresh thyme. A teaspoon of leaves added with the garlic brightens the cream.
• Smaller portions. Divide among individual ramekins and bake 12 to 15 minutes for a plated, restaurant-style presentation.
• Air fryer version. For a smaller batch on a weeknight, air fryer potatoes au gratin cook in a fraction of the time.

What to Serve With Ruth’s Chris Potatoes au Gratin

This is a steakhouse side, so it belongs next to a steakhouse main. A Blackstone sirloin steak is the closest thing to the Ruth’s Chris experience you’ll get at home, and garlic butter steak bites work when you want something faster.

For balance against all that cream, add something green and crisp — roasted Brussels sprouts are the usual choice — and a wedge salad with copycat Ruth’s Chris ranch dressing.

Storing, Freezing, Make-Ahead, and Reheating

Storing: Cool completely, then refrigerate in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. Covering it warm creates condensation that waters down the sauce.

Make-ahead: Complete the recipe through Step 5, transfer to the baking dish, cool, cover, and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Let it sit at room temperature 30 minutes before baking and add 10 to 15 minutes to the bake time.

Freezing: Freeze after baking, wrapped tightly, for up to 2 months. Cream sauces can separate slightly on thawing — thaw overnight in the fridge and stir gently before reheating.

Reheating: Cover with foil and reheat at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes, then uncover for the last 5 to 10 minutes to bring the top back. Individual portions reheat well in the microwave at 50% power.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to peel the potatoes? Yes, for this one. The restaurant version is smooth and creamy throughout, and russet skins turn papery in a cream sauce.

Why did my sauce curdle? Almost always heat. Cream breaks when it boils, and cheese goes grainy when it’s stirred into liquid that’s still bubbling. Keep the sauce at a bare simmer and pull the pot off the burner before the cheese goes in.

Can I use milk instead of heavy cream? Not reliably. Milk lacks the fat to stay emulsified and will separate. Half-and-half is the lowest you should go, and even then the sauce will be thinner.

What cheeses does Ruth’s Chris actually use? The widely reproduced blend is sharp cheddar, provolone, and Parmesan. Provolone is the one most people leave out, and it’s the one doing the stretchy-melt work.

How thin should the potato slices be? About 1/8 inch. A mandoline gives you uniform slices in a couple of minutes; use the hand guard.

Can I make this in a slow cooker? You can cook potatoes and cream in a slow cooker, but it’s a different dish — a slow cooker can’t brown the top, and the long cook time is harder on the cream. If that’s what you’re after, the slow cooker scalloped potatoes method is better suited to it.

Can I double this? Yes. Simmer the potatoes in two batches so the pot isn’t crowded, then combine in a large roasting pan and extend the bake by about 10 minutes.