If you love the golden top of a potato bake, then this is for you. A dish of Boulangère Potatoes gives everyone a little of that crisp top, with tender slices and sweet onions underneath. Add vegetable stock for a simple 3-ingredient dish, with a sprig of thyme to cook in a little oil with the onion for a perfumed French flavour.
If you enjoy French Potatoes Dauphinois or a perfect round potato cake, then try this stock-based bake alongside your next roast. My favorite bit is the browned slice at the edge of the dish.
🔍 Quick Look: Boulangère Potatoes
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 65 minutes
- 🕒 Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- 👥 Servings: 4
- 📊 Calories: 197 kcal per serving (based on nutrition panel)
- 🔥 Cook Method: Sautéing and baking
- 👩🍳 Flavor Profile: Savory and gently sweet, with fragrant thyme.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy
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What Are Boulangère Potatoes?
In French, this easy, tasty dish is called Pommes Boulangère.
Boulangère means baker's wife or female baker in French. In the name of this dish, think "baker's potatoes." Thin slices of potato bake with onions, thyme, and stock. The bottom layers soften in the broth while the exposed top turns golden.
Jump to:
- 🔍 Quick Look: Boulangère Potatoes
- What Are Boulangère Potatoes?
- Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Substitutions For Boulangère Potatoes
- Variations For Pommes Boulangères
- How To Make Boulangère Potatoes
- Secrets From Judith's Kitchen For Boulangère Potatoes
- Expert Chef Top Tip
- What To Serve With Boulangère Potatoes
- Best Wine To Pair With Boulangère Potatoes
- Boulangère Potatoes FAQ
- More French Potato Recipes
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- This dish gives you a fork-tender center and a crisp top.
- A single sprig of thyme flavors the onions as they cook.
- Vegetable stock and olive oil make this an easy dairy-free side for something exquisite like a juicy lamb leg roast or a meatless supper with a vegetable medley of Italian caponata.
Key Ingredients
- Potatoes. Yukon Gold is a good choice to hold its shape.
- Sweet onion. Thin slices soften quickly in the pan and give each layer a little sweetness.
- Vegetable stock. The potatoes absorb the stock as they bake, so choose one you enjoy tasting on its own.
- Thyme. A sprig cooked with the onion.
Note: See the recipe card for ingredient quantities.
Substitutions For Boulangère Potatoes
- Swap vegetable stock for tasty homemade chicken stock if you're serving poultry. Keep vegetable stock for a vegetarian or vegan dish.
- Yukon Gold potatoes are my first choice for Boulangère Potatoes because the slices become tender and hold their shape. Maris Piper, King Edward, or Desirée will work too. Red potatoes will also cook well and hold their shape. Slice them evenly and judge tenderness with a fork.
- If you have no fresh thyme, add a small pinch of dried thyme to the onions.
Variations For Pommes Boulangères
- Carrot and parsnip. Tuck a few very thin slices between the potato layers for sweetness. Have extra stock handy if needed.
- Garlic and zucchini. Soften the sliced garlic with the onion, then layer with thin zucchini slices. Keep the potatoes on top for browning.
How To Make Boulangère Potatoes
- Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C/Gas 4). Lightly oil a shallow gratin dish. Peel and thinly slice the potatoes, leaving the cut slices unrinsed.
- Heat the olive oil in a heavy frying pan. Add the thinly sliced onion and thyme and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring, until the onion is soft and lightly colored. Remove the woody thyme stem.
- Cover the base of the dish with potato slices. Scatter some onion over them, then repeat the layers. Reserve enough potatoes to cover the top. Scrape the thyme-flavored oil from the pan into the dish.
- Pour 1¼ cups vegetable stock, homemade is easy and best, slowly down one side so the top slices stay in place. Bake uncovered for 45-60 minutes. If the stock disappears while the potatoes are still firm, add a little more, heating first at the edge.
- Test the center with a fork. Serve when the fork slides through the layers easily and the top is crisp and golden.
Secrets From Judith's Kitchen For Boulangère Potatoes
- Set aside your most even slices for the top before you start layering. You'll have enough for a neat overlapping cover.
- Tilt the onion pan and scrape the last spoonful of thyme-scented oil over the top potatoes. That's flavor you've already made.
Expert Chef Top Tip
Pierce the center of the dish as well as checking the color. A beautifully browned top can hide a firm middle.
What To Serve With Boulangère Potatoes
Serve with a juicy roast chicken with tarragon or sliced pork loin roast for a Sunday supper, with French green peas or a crisp bright red cabbage salad for side vegetables.
Best Wine To Pair With Boulangère Potatoes
Try a dry Chardonnay from the Mâconnais. Its freshness suits the stock and thyme, and its gentle roundness complements the sweet onion.
Boulangère Potatoes FAQ
Boulangère Potatoes cook in stock, which gives the lower layers flavor while the exposed slices brown. Vegetable stock, which takes less than an hour, and olive oil keep this version dairy-free. If you would prefer a potato bake with cream then this potato and cream bake is perfect.
Boulangère Potatoes benefit from the starch on the cut surfaces. Wash the whole potatoes before peeling, then slice and layer them without rinsing.
Boulangère Potatoes are best made with Yukon Gold, as the slices will hold their shape and still be perfectly soft. Maris Piper, King Edward, or Desirée will keep their shape but soften more than Red potatoes. Whichever you use, keep the slices an even thickness.
Boulangère Potatoes bake uncovered so the top can crisp. If the top browns early, cover it loosely while the center cooks.
Boulangère Potatoes are ready when a fork slips easily through the center and the top slices are golden. Start checking after 45 minutes.
📖 Recipe
👩🍳 Prep Like a Pro!
Before starting to cook: chop and measure your ingredients and gather your tools. The French call this mise en place - "everything in its place." A simple habit that reduces stress, prevents overcooking while you're searching for that missing ingredient, and makes cooking far more relaxed!
Boulangère Potatoes
Equipment
- Mandoline slicer
- 3-quart baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 sweet onion thinly sliced
- sprig of thyme
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 lb floury potatoes Yukon Gold, Maris Piper, King Edward, or Desirée red potatoes are also OK. Peeled and evenly, thinly sliced.
- 1 ¼ cups vegetable stock or any flavor you have on hand (but have a little extra available just in case you need it)
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C/Gas 4). Lightly oil a shallow gratin dish. Peel and thinly slice 2 lb floury potatoes, leaving the cut slices unrinsed.
- Heat the 1 tbsp olive oil in a heavy frying pan. Add 1 sweet onion, thinly sliced, and thyme. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring, until the onion is soft and lightly coloured. Remove the woody thyme stem.
- Cover the base of the dish with potato slices. Scatter some onion over them, then repeat the layers. Finish with an even layer of potatoes, then drizzle the thyme-scented oil left in the pan over the top.
- Pour 1 ¼ cups vegetable stock of slowly down one side so the top slices stay in place. Bake uncovered for 45-60 minutes. If the stock has been absorbed and the potatoes are still firm, warm a little more stock and pour it down the side of the dish.
- Test the center with a fork. Serve when the fork slides through the layers easily and the top is crisp and golden.
Notes
- Best type of potato for this dish is Yukon Gold as it will hold its shape but soften well, Maris Piper, King Edward, or Desirée, will also work but will soften more. You can use red potatoes cooked till tender.
- Peel potatoes and thinly slice into even thickness - do not rinse.
- Your favorite vegetables, such as carrots, parsnips, broccoli, and garlic, can be sliced and cooked with the potatoes.
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