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    Cooking Gorgeous » All Recipes » Side Dishes

    Potato Boulangere

    Published: Sep 3, 2021 · Modified: Aug 4, 2022 by Ayla Clulee · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Potato Boulangere is a French potato & onion bake that is very easy to make and a lighter alternative to creamy dauphinoise potatoes. It complements perfectly most meat, chicken or fish dishes, especially succulent roast lamb.

    a portion of potato Boulanger is served on a plate
    Potato Boulangere

    This rustic French dish Boulangere Potatoes is made of thinly sliced potatoes, sautéed onions, garlic, and butter. It is then covered in homemade stock and baked in the oven for a soft buttery potato inside, with a little crunch on the top.

    If you love French food, you might want to have a look at my other delicious French recipes such as Traditional French Onion Soup, Ratatouille Nicoise, and Mousse au Chocolat - French Chocolate Mousse.

    Jump to:
    • Origins of Potato Boulangere
    • Why This Recipe Works?
    • Ingredients and Substitutes
    • How to Make the Perfect Potato Boulangere?
    • Serving Suggestions
    • Top Tips From the Chef
    • Recipe FAQs
    • Related Recipes
    • Boulangere Potatoes

    Origins of Potato Boulangere

    The meaning of Potato Boulangere is "potatoes from the bakers" in French and it is because the dish was cooked by bakers when people in rural areas didn't have their own ovens.

    The tradition was taking a casserole of potatoes to the local baker at the end of the day to cook the dish in the baker's cooling oven overnight.

    It is very similar to a tradition in Turkey of cooking a ceremonial dish called "Keşkek". This tradition is still ongoing in some rural areas.

    Why This Recipe Works?

    • It is a great alternative to potato dauphinoise or Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes when you need something healthier and lighter. It has only 185 kcal per portion!
    • This recipe is straightforward to make with step-by-step pictures and instructions.
    • You only need a few basic fridge ingredients that you might already have in hand.
    • It complements most grilled or roasted meat & fish dishes.
    • Potato Boulangere is the perfect side dish for special occasions such as Easter and Christmas as well as for a Sunday roast.

    Ingredients and Substitutes

    labeled ingredients for potato Boulanger

    Best Potatoes for Potato Boulangere Recipe

    Allrounder or floury potatoes such as desire, russet, or Maris piper are perfect for this dish. They take on a rich golden color when they bake and taste very rich in flavor.

    The potato & onion bake would slip and slide apart when you serve if you use waxy potatoes.

    • Garlic - Use fresh garlic or omit it if you don't have any. You can turn it into a paste with a mortar and pestle or grate it with a Microplane.
    • Butter - A good quality salted or unsalted butter is perfect for this dish but you can use a good quality extra virgin olive oil for the vegetarian/vegan version.
    • Stock - For the best results, you should use Easy Homemade Chicken Stock. However, if you want to make this dish vegetarian/vegan friendly, you can use Basic Homemade Vegetable Stock. You can also use good quality store-bought stock or stock cubes. Just make sure you check the saltiness of the stock you are using before adding any seasoning to your dish.

    How to Make the Perfect Potato Boulangere?

    This rustic French potato dish is very easy to make with a little preparation. To achieve the best results, you need to follow a few tips and simple steps:

    Sauté the Onions

    Preheat the oven to 180° C - 360° F (fan oven). Peel and slice the onions and garlic.

    onions are sliced with a mandolin

    Melt 25 grams of butter in a pan and gently saute the onions along with the garlic and thyme on medium to low heat. This should take around 15 minutes until they are soft and slightly golden.

    Although some of the recipes layer raw onions, cooking them in advance is necessary. When you layer raw onions between the potatoes, they don't always have enough time to fully cook.

    onions are sautéed in a pan

    Slice the Potatoes

    While sautéing the onions, peel and slice the potatoes. Use a mandolin or the slicer attachment on your food processor to slice the potatoes. You can cut by hand using a sharp knife if you have enough time and patience. Don't wash your potatoes after slicing them as they would lose the starch necessary to thicken the stock.

    slicing the potatoes with a mandolin

    Build Your Dish

    Once you have sliced your potatoes, brush an oven-safe baking dish (approximately 21 cm / 8.25" diameter) with soft butter and start building the boulangere potatoes. Arrange about ⅓ of the potatoes on the bottom of the dish and sprinkle on half of the onions. Season with salt and pepper then arrange another ⅓ of the potatoes. Sprinkle the rest of the onions, and add more seasoning.

    Sautéed onions are layered on potatoes

    Nicely arrange the rest of the potatoes and scatter small cubes of 25 grams of butter on top of the potatoes and pour over the Chicken Stock. Add just enough to reach about a third of the depth of the dish. It will bubble up as the potatoes cook and slowly be absorbed.

    Potatoes and onions are layered and the dish is ready to go to oven
    Potato Boulangere ready to go into the oven

    Cover the dish with a lid or tin foil and cook in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove the lid or tin foil and cook for another 30 minutes until the stock is absorbed by the potatoes and the top layer is crisp.

    Potato Boulangere is baked until golden and garnished with few thyme sprigs

    Serving Suggestions

    This healthy yet delicious potato side dish is the perfect accompaniment to roast meat or chicken dishes such as Rice Stuffed Chicken, Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder, and Dutch Oven Roast Chicken. They are the perfect alternative to Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes when you need something different.

    They go also well with richer dishes like Aubergine Meatball Wraps (Islim Kebabi), Turkish Moussaka, or Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon.

    Top Tips From the Chef

    • Don't wash the potatoes after slicing as they will lose their starch and they won't stick together.
    • Replace butter with olive oil and use vegetable stock to make this delicious potato bake vegan-friendly.
    • Allrounder or floury potatoes are perfect for this dish. The potato & onion bake would slip and slide apart when you serve if you use waxy potatoes.

    Recipe FAQs

    Can Boulangere Potatoes be made in advance?

    Potatoes discolor when you cut them which makes this dish hard to prepare in advance but you can prepare and cook it in advance and then reheat it when you want to serve it.
    To reheat, cover the dish and place it in a preheated oven (180° C - 360° F) fan oven) for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and leave for another 10 minutes to get the top nice and crispy.

    How to store the leftovers?

    You can keep leftover boulangere potatoes refrigerated for up to five days in an airtight container.
    You can also freeze them if you want to keep them longer. However, their texture might become a little grainy after defrosting!

    What's the difference between Potato Boulangere and Dauphinois Potatoes?

    Both dishes are made with sliced potatoes and then baked in the oven until golden and crispy. The main difference is that Potato Boulangere is cooked in stock whereas Dauphinoise Potatoes are cooked in cream.

    Related Recipes

    For other great potato dishes why not try:

    • Kumpir - Turkish Baked Potato
    • Crispy Sauté Potatoes with Garlic
    • Potato Borek - Patatesli Börek
    • Austrian Potato Salad (Erdäpfelsalat)

    Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.

    I hope you enjoy the process of making this light and delicious potato & onion bake as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂 

    Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!

    freshly baked Potato Boulangere

    Boulangere Potatoes

    Ayla Clulee
    This simple yet delicious Potato side dish is a great alternative to Potato Dauphinois when you want something healthier.
    5 from 15 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 mins
    Cook Time 1 hr 15 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 35 mins
    Course Main Course, Side Dish
    Cuisine French
    Servings 4 people
    Calories 185 kcal

    Equipment

    • 1 kitchen scale
    • 1 Sharp knife
    • 1 peeler
    • 1 measuring spoons
    • 1 Measuring cups

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 50 g butter (2 x 25 grams + extra for brushing the dish)
    • 2 medium onions (250 grams)
    • 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
    • 4 medium floury potatoes such as desire, russet or maris piper (750 grams)
    • 1½ cup chicken, veal or vegetable stock (350 ml)
    • 1 TSP salt
    • 1 TSP freshly ground black pepper
    • 3-4 sprigs thyme, oregano or rosemary (leaves only, finely chopped)

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat the oven to 180° C - 360° F (fan oven).
    • Peel and slice the onions and garlic.
    • Melt 25 grams of butter in a pan and gently saute the onions along with the garlic and thyme on medium to low heat. This should take around 15 minutes until they are softened and slightly golden.
    • While sautéing the onions, peel and slice the potatoes. Use a mandolin or the slicer attachment on your food processor to slice the potatoes. You can cut by hand using a sharp knife if you have enough time and patience.
    • Brush an oven-safe baking dish (approximately 21 cm / 8.25" diameter) with soft butter and start building the boulangere potatoes.
    • Nicely arrange about ⅓ of the potatoes on the bottom of the dish and sprinkle on half of the onions.
    • Season with salt and pepper then arrange another ⅓ of the potatoes. Sprinkle the rest of the onions, season, and nicely arrange the rest of the potatoes.
    • Add seasoning, stock, and scatter small cubes of 25 grams of butter on top of the potatoes.
    • Cover the dish with a lid or tin foil and cook in preheated oven for 45 minutes.
    • Remove the lid or tin foil and cook for another 30 minutes until the stock is absorbed by the potatoes and the top layer is crisp.

    Notes

    • Don't wash the potatoes after slicing as they will lose their starch and they won't stick together
    • The potato & onion bake would slip and slide apart when you serve if you use waxy potatoes.
    • Replace butter with olive oil and use vegetable stock to make this delicious potato bake vegan-friendly.
    • Although some of the recipes layer raw onions, cooking them in advance is necessary. 
    • The main difference is that Potato Boulangere is cooked in stock whereas Dauphinoise Potatoes are cooked in cream.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 185kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 5gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 988mgPotassium: 1072mgFiber: 5gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 224IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 51mgIron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe?Mention @cookingorgeous or tag #cookingorgeous!

    This post use affiliate links. This means that if you click on them and then buy something, we get a small amount of commission to keep the site running, but it doesn’t cost you anything more.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Katerina

      September 03, 2021 at 1:12 pm

      5 stars
      Oh my, these look absolutely delightful, Ayla! I love how short the ingredient list is and can just imagine how amazing these would taste. What a perfect addition to any special occasion or a great Sunday dinner. Thanks so much for sharing!

      Reply
      • Ayla Clulee

        September 03, 2021 at 1:28 pm

        Thank you Katerina 🙂
        It tastes delicious, hope you like it too when you try it!

        Reply
    2. Peter

      March 25, 2022 at 3:23 pm

      5 stars
      Such a great flavour combination indeed. And only with a few ingredients. It went down well with baked chicken legs.

      Reply
    3. Leslie

      April 29, 2022 at 10:09 am

      5 stars
      How delicious, a real change to Dauphinoise which I find too rich for me. I like how you can make the dish ahead, will be trying your recipe soon.

      Reply
    4. Carla

      May 13, 2022 at 4:03 pm

      5 stars
      A fantastic and hearty dish to serve to family and friends!

      Reply
    5. Ernie

      May 13, 2022 at 4:06 pm

      5 stars
      I loved these potatoes and so did my family!

      Reply
    6. Simona

      May 14, 2022 at 5:02 am

      5 stars
      Excellent! I used a mandolin to slice the potatoes and it was so quick and easy to make. Everyone at our table loved it!

      Reply
    7. Ewa

      May 17, 2022 at 5:07 am

      5 stars
      For some reason I always thought this dish was really delicate to make and weirdly intimidated by it but I had a craving and of course! It was so delicious and really straightforward.

      Reply
    8. Christie

      May 20, 2022 at 4:49 am

      5 stars
      Made these a day ahead and reheated. Perfect, thank you!

      Reply
    9. Lesley

      May 21, 2022 at 4:21 am

      5 stars
      This is such a delicious recipe and one I’ll make time and again. Thanks for the really clear instructions.

      Reply
    10. Mary

      May 21, 2022 at 4:22 am

      5 stars
      This is an amazing recipe idea for potatoes. So many gorgeous flavours and perfect for a family meal.

      Reply
    11. Penelope

      June 01, 2022 at 5:09 am

      5 stars
      I served this as a side dish for a dinner party and everyone loved it. So delicious!

      Reply
    12. Lopez

      June 05, 2022 at 5:23 am

      5 stars
      I try for the first time the Boulanger Potatoes recipe and it is delicious.

      Reply
    13. Shaiya

      June 11, 2022 at 4:30 am

      5 stars
      It’s the first time I followed a recipe to the letter, Turned out great! Thanks very much for sharing the recipe.

      Reply

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    Hi! Thank you for visiting Cooking Gorgeous. My name is Ayla, and I’m a professional chef based in the UK. The kitchen is my happy place and cooking is my therapy. To me, food is more than ingredients and nutrition; it is a language of love, a way of expressing compassion.

    More about me →

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