Name: Chicken and Potato Gratin With Brown Butter Cream
Cook time: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 4 Servings
Ingredients: 3 lb. skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks; 7½ tsp. kosher salt, divided; 1 lb. small potatoes (such as fingerling or baby Yukon Gold), halved lengthwise; 8 oz. small or medium shallots, halved through root ends; 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided; ¾ cup heavy cream; 2 garlic cloves, finely grated; ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper; ¼ tsp. freshly grated or ground nutmeg; 8 sprigs thyme; 8 sage leaves; 3½ oz. country-style bread, preferably day-old, torn into large pieces; 1 lemon, cut into wedges (optional)

Photo of chicken gratin on a serving dish with a spoon two glasses of white wine and a plate on the side.

Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton

Active Time
45 minutes
Total Time
1 hour 15 minutes

This gratin is decidedly autumnal, inspired by a recipe from one of my favorite food writers, Richard Olney. Olney’s chicken gratin calls for making a savory custard, but here you’ll combine brown butter and heavy cream with aromatics for a flavorful and easy sauce instead. It’s still a luxurious dish. The breadcrumbs for the topping get toasted separately, so they stay crisp and the chicken (ideally seasoned a day in advance so the salt has time to work its way into the meat) and vegetables can get nicely browned and crisp too.

I love that this gratin can reinvent itself based on what’s available at the market (or in my fridge). In the spring you might make it with asparagus and young onions; in summer with tomato wedges, swapping in olive oil for the cream. I recommend serving this fall version with lemon wedges for squeezing over to cut the richness of the dish. A brightly dressed arugula salad would also do the trick.

Ingredients

4 Servings

3 lb. skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks

7½ tsp. kosher salt, divided

1 lb. small potatoes (such as fingerling or baby Yukon Gold), halved lengthwise

8 oz. small or medium shallots, halved through root ends

5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided

¾ cup heavy cream

2 garlic cloves, finely grated

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

¼ tsp. freshly grated or ground nutmeg

8 sprigs thyme

8 sage leaves

3½ oz. country-style bread, preferably day-old, torn into large pieces

1 lemon, cut into wedges (optional)

Preparation

Step 1
Season chicken all over with 4 tsp. salt. Place in an airtight container and cover. Chill at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
Step 2
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 425°F. Toss potatoes, shallots, and 2 tsp. salt in a large bowl.
Step 3
Melt 4 Tbsp. butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until butter foams, then browns, 5–8 minutes. Immediately remove from heat (it will continue to darken) and stir in cream, garlic, pepper, nutmeg, and remaining 1½ tsp. salt. Set saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring, until salt is dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch. Stir in thyme and sage; remove from heat.
Step 4
Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. butter in a large stainless-steel skillet over medium-high until melted and bubbling. Working in 2 batches, cook chicken, skin side down, until golden underneath, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a 13x9" or 3-qt. baking dish and arrange skin side up. Set skillet with pan drippings aside. Nestle potatoes and shallots around chicken (don’t place on top). Pour brown butter cream over chicken and vegetables, making sure herbs and spices are evenly dispersed and tucking herbs into vegetables so they don’t get too crispy when they bake.
Step 5
Bake gratin until cream is mostly reduced and chicken and vegetables are dark golden brown, about 40 minutes. Let gratin cool 5–10 minutes.
Step 6
Meanwhile, pulse bread in a food processor until pieces are about oat-size (you should have about 1¼ cups). Toss breadcrumbs in pan drippings in reserved skillet to coat. Cook over medium heat, scraping up browned bits with a spatula, until deep golden brown, 5–7 minutes. Let cool.
Step 7
To serve, top gratin with breadcrumbs. Serve lemon wedges alongside for squeezing over if desired.

Leave a Review

Reviews (47)

This is delicious, BUT the main problem here is the salt, and how it is used in the recipe. Do not use all that salt to salt your chicken! 4tsp??? No Way! If you think the chicken will be dry then brine it instead. Cut salt on potatoes in Half. Do Not use all that salt in your cream butter sauce! The sauce is delish with the nutmeg, sage, thyme. I did not have separation issues with the sauce, however, If you are going to reheat this the next day, yes it will separate, but this is soo good, I don't think there will be any leftovers! Perfectly acceptable to use Panko breadcrumbs instead of the extra work using and pulsing bread.
- cathyB
- Floral Park, NY
- 1/28/2024
Once I started browning the chicken, I swore I would never make this recipe again unless it was "to die for." It was. New time, I'll remember to cover all exposed areas of the kitchen before putting in that first thigh.
- Larkin
- Houston
- 8/26/2023
The cream sauce is fantastic!
- Linda Williamson
- California
- 1/2/2023
This is a great meal that can be served on any night or for a special occasion. The presentation of this dish bubbling right out of the oven is a big WOW! Have made it several times now so here are some suggestions. As others have stated... WAY too much salt. Simply sprinkle a little table salt on all sides of boneless/skinless chicken thighs and bag those for a few hours. This recipe needs more flavor, though. I recommend you double the garlic and grate it with a microplane. Add 50% more fresh herbs (both sage and thyme) and the same for the shallots and then salt and pepper the sauce after combined to taste. This eliminates the WAY too salty flavor. I halved the potatoes and instead added artichoke hearts. Enjoy.
- A Cape Cod Cook
- Cape Cod, MA
- 11/8/2022
Delicious for sure. The chicken skin was still very crisp coming out of the oven which I liked a lot. Like another reviewer, I found that the sauce separated. The sauce and the potatoes were strange looking because of that. This was my second attempt, and it turned out the same. I need to refine my skills or probably tweak the recipe.
- Debby H
- Houston
- 10/9/2022
I cook for two these days, so I halved the recipe. The browned butter sauce smelled so delicious on stovetop, I had high hopes for the dish. But the sauce separated while baking and in the end had very little flavor (other than salt). Can someone help explain why? I followed the recipe exactly (in half), baked it in Ana 8X8 baking dish at 425, and set the timer for 25 min. When I took it out of the oven at 30 min, the sauce looked fine, but separated while cooling. The chicken and potatoes were perfectly done, but the sauce was… a separated mess. Disappointing since the sauce smelled wonderful on stovetop!
- Nancy
- Austin
- 2/1/2022
I've not made this yet, but the video of the recipe looks oh so good.
- Kay Koffroth
- Savannah, GA
- 11/28/2021
This dish is a keeper. Decadent and delicious. Easy enough for a weekday (with a little prep time), but fancy enough for guests.. Followed to a tee,, except read the reviews first, so cut back on the salt, and glad I did. Still could have cut back more. Next time, I will try boneless thighs since the bones are a mess to deal with on the plate. Definitely will print out to save and make again.
- Pinniped
- Fort Worth
- 11/17/2021
Fabulous! A keeper for chicken breasts.
- Sweetmeats
- Victoria, BC Canada
- 10/30/2021
This recipe is so delicious--both rustic and indulgent, and perfect as a low-key but impressive meal for a dinner party. It's important to use kosher salt and unsalted butter, otherwise it will end up salty; I've made exactly as noted and had terrific results every time. Don't skip the bread crumbs--they soak up that delicious sauce and become little flavor bombs. I like to serve this with an arugula salad dressed in a sweetish vinaigrette, as the pepperiness, acidity, and sweetness are perfect complements to the nutty richness of the dish. BTW, this is NOT "just baked chicken," it is the best baked chicken you've ever had!
- Erica
- Vermont
- 10/30/2021
This recipe has "heart attack" written all over it. There is just too much salt and fat to be healthy and calling it comfort food is no excuse. I cut the salt in step 1 to a scant 1 1/2 TBS of coarse salt and brushed off any remaining in step 4. In step 2, just a sprinkle of fine salt, 1/2 tsp is plenty. in step 3; reduced salt 1/2 tsp. ( Could be omitted as salt on chicken and potatoes is plenty.) Step 6 can be eliminated. There will be plenty of butter and chicken fat in the casserole without adding more. If crunch is desired just use dry panko. I did all these changes and the result was delicious!
- A careful cook
- Canada
- 10/13/2021
Made the recipe as directed and it came out quite good. Strong reviews around the table for future rotations on the menu.
- WH
- Atascadero, CA
- 10/10/2021
Amaze balls!
- ed valenzuela
- Berkeley
- 10/8/2021
Definitely too much salt... I suspected as much but followed the recipe exactly... the salt needs to be reduced substantially.... someone said a third of what's called for.... I might start with a quarter of what the recipe calls for and taste/add if needed.
- Anonymous
- Toms River,NJ
- 9/19/2021
Made this recipe exactly as written and made a slight adjustment to the amount of salt and added sliced baby Bella mushrooms. It turned out fine but at the end of the day it’s still just baked chicken. The dish was nothing to get overly excited over or write home about, it’s baked chicken..
- supremeros
- Atlanta, Georgia
- 8/7/2021