Paneer Potato Dauphinois
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This potato dauphinois with paneer (fresh Indian cottage cheese) is a French classic given a homemade twist — tasty and genuinely easy to make.
This potato dauphinois with paneer (fresh Indian cottage cheese) is a dish improvised from a cookbook. It’s tasty and very easy to make.
Gratin dauphinois is a French dish of sliced potatoes baked in milk or cream, originating from the Dauphiné region in south-eastern France.
Table of Contents
The Traditional Dauphinois Recipe
Classic gratin dauphinois is made with raw, thinly sliced potatoes and milk and/or cream, cooked in a buttered dish rubbed with garlic. For every 1kg of potatoes, about 600ml of milk, 25g of butter and a clove of garlic are used. The potatoes are peeled and sliced to the thickness of a coin, ideally with a mandoline, then layered in a shallow earthenware dish and cooked slowly at 150°C (300°F) for over an hour, with the heat raised for the final 10 minutes.
What Is Paneer?
Paneer is an Indian-style cottage cheese, and it’s genuinely easy to make at home — just add a little food acid to fresh boiling milk. Once enough acid has been added, the milk separates into curds and whey. Drain off the whey, then press the collected cheese; about 10 minutes of pressing works well for most recipes, using the whey pot itself as a weight.
Because paneer is a dairy product with no preservatives, bacteria can take hold quickly, so it’s best consumed within 2 days to avoid any risk of food poisoning — not meant to scare anyone off making it, just a firsthand lesson worth sharing.
How to Make Paneer Potato Dauphinois?
Ingredients List
- 1500g potatoes
- Paneer from 1.5L milk
- 1 cup yogurt
- 150g cream cheese
- Sage, rosemary, black pepper
- Salt & black salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Cooking Instructions
Slice the Potatoes:
Peel all the potatoes and slice them thinly — a slicer or mandoline gives the most even slices.
Season the Potatoes:
Mix the salt, pepper, spices and herbs into the sliced potatoes.
Prepare the Cheese Mixture:
Lightly crush the soft paneer and mix it with the yogurt and cream cheese.
Combine and Assemble:
Mix in the olive oil, then spread the whole mixture into a deep, flat baking dish.
Bake:
Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C (392°F) fan for about 30 minutes.
Watch the Browning:
Check partway through, and reduce the heat if it’s browning too quickly. Bake until golden brown and the potatoes are soft.
Serve:
Serve hot.
Salad Ideas to Serve Alongside
Two garden-to-plate salads were built to go alongside this dish for a grain-free lunch — both using mostly homegrown produce.
Fennel Salad: thinly slice or shred 2 fennel bulbs, then toss with 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon ground almond purée, 2 teaspoons pumpkin seeds and the juice of half a lemon.
Guacamole: scoop out 2 ripe avocados and mix with chopped onion and 200g ripe tomatoes, then season with 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, a tablespoon of olive oil and the juice of half a lemon — fresh rucola leaves on top are optional.
Tips for Paneer Potato Dauphinois
Use a mandoline: thin, even potato slices cook more evenly and give a better texture.
Press paneer to the texture you need: about 10 minutes gives a softer cheese; press for 30–45 minutes for a firmer one.
Use paneer within 2 days: since it’s made without preservatives, it’s best used quickly once made.
Watch the oven: check partway through baking and lower the heat if the top is browning faster than the potatoes are cooking through.
A Layering Shortcut
Rather than layering the potatoes and cheese mixture separately, everything — the cheese, yogurt, seasonings and olive oil — can be mixed directly into the sliced potatoes before baking. It’s a simpler, one-bowl way to get to the same result.
Where This Dish Came From
This dish came together during a particularly abundant summer and autumn harvest, when finding new ways to use up potatoes and other garden vegetables became a bit of a project. A paneer tutorial filmed the day before meant half the prep work was already done, so combining homegrown potatoes with homemade paneer was a natural next step.
Watch the Video
Recipe Card
Paneer Potato Dauphinois
- Total Time: 90
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A twist on classic French gratin dauphinois, made with homemade paneer instead of just cream — a simple, tasty way to use up a potato harvest.
Ingredients
- 1500g potatoes
- Paneer made from 1.5L milk
- 1 cup full-fat yogurt
- 150g cream cheese
- Fresh sage leaves (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon rosemary
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon black salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
-
Slice the Potatoes:
Peel all the potatoes and slice them thinly — a slicer or mandoline gives the most even slices.
-
Season the Potatoes:
Mix the salt, pepper, spices and herbs into the sliced potatoes.
-
Prepare the Cheese Mixture:
Lightly crush the soft paneer and mix it with the yogurt and cream cheese.
-
Combine and Assemble:
Mix in the olive oil, then spread the whole mixture into a deep, flat baking dish.
-
Bake:
Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C (392°F) fan for about 30 minutes.
-
Watch the Browning:
Check partway through, and reduce the heat if it’s browning too quickly. Bake until golden brown and the potatoes are soft.
-
Serve:
Serve hot.
Notes
Variation: instead of layering, you can mix all the cheese, yogurt, seasonings and olive oil directly into the sliced potatoes before baking.
- Prep Time: 45
- Cook Time: 45
- Category: Main Dishes
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
- Calories: 125
- Fat: 7
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