Vegetables au Gratin is a versatile side dish that can be made with whatever veggies you like and have on hand. A creamy cheese sauce and breadcrumb topping make this simple dish elegant!
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Why you’ll love Vegetable Au Gratin
It’s not that often that you find a recipe that checks so many boxes, but this is one of those times. Why?
- The kids will love the cheesiness and forget about the vegetables they’re eating.
- It’s beautiful and looks fancy on any table or buffet (even though it’s easy to make).
- You can use whatever veggies you have and like.
- It can be made ahead of time and rewarmed, or assembled ahead of time and baked whenever you’re ready.
- Use whatever method of cooking the vegetables that you prefer – roast, saute’, steam, etc.
- It’s easily doubled to make a larger side.
Ingredient notes
- Vegetables – as mentioned, you can combine them as you choose. A list below gives some suggestions, but you can really use whatever you like, what is in season, and what you have on hand.
- Butter – we often use salted and unsalted butter interchangably (like in Fried Apples or Banana Bread Bundt Cake) and just adjust the added salt accordingly.
- Flour – it thickens the sauce. In this recipe you’ll use plain all purpose flour.
- Milk – the fat content of the milk for the sauce is up to you too. We usually keep skim (non fat) and 2% milk on hand and will use one of those, but whole milk or 1% work fine too. As always, the higher the fat content, the richer your sauce will be.
- Cheese – Our cheese of choice is cheddar and our personal favorite is extra sharp cheddar. But again, if you prefer a milder cheddar or a different type altogether – go for it! Just make sure it’s a cheese that melts well.
- Breadcrumbs – The final topping is a light layer of breadcrumbs. We keep this variety on hand in our pantry all the time and they’re great. But, if you like making your own breadcrumbs, by all means, use those!
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See recipe card for full ingredient list and quantities.
How to make veg au gratin
- Start with about a pound and a half (which equals about 3-4 cups) of cooked vegetables. More details on that are below.
- Next you’ll make your cheese sauce by first melting butter in a pan over low heat.
- Whisk the flour into the milk until smooth and then add it to the butter, whisking as you add.
- Turn the heat up to medium low and continue cooking and stirring until thickened.
- Stir in the grated cheese until melted. Add salt if needed.
- Now combine the cheese sauce and veggies and add to a 9×9 inch or similar sized baking dish.
- Top with breadcrumbs and bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Full Make Ahead Instructions are found below in the recipe card.
About pre-cooking the veggies
For the best Veggie Au Gratin your vegetables will be cooked just to the crisp tender stage because they will get a bit more cooking after the casserole is assembled and baked.
We like to roast our vegetables and that’s done in a 375-400 degree oven on a parchment lined baking sheet. Just toss with a little olive oil and salt, if you like. Cook them until your desired tenderness is reached.
If you prefer to steam or saute’ yours that’s fine too. Just cook them like you normally do.
No matter the method we recommend that you cut the pieces into sizes according to how long it takes to cook that particular veggie. We use this practice with Smoked Vegetables and Roasted Carrots and Green Beans.
For example, carrots take longer to cook than green beans so we cut them into smaller pieces. Squash cooks fairly quickly so it would get cut into larger pieces.
Alternatively, you can add the veggies to the heat in order of how long they take to cook and we use that method with our Vegetable Beef Soup.
You could even use fully cooked vegetables for this dish, like with leftovers or from cans. In that case we recommend only baking the gratin for about 20 minutes and you would turn the oven heat up to 400 degrees.
Expert tips
- Cheese can be quite salty and if you’ve used salted butter your sauce may be salty enough. Just give it a taste and adjust as needed.
- We always recommend freshly grating your own cheese. The pre-shredded type has additives to keep it from sticking together and affects the flavor and prevents it from melting smoothly.
- If you are roasting meat at a lower or higher temperature you can adjust the baking time for your veg au gratin accordingly.
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely! Please see the recipe card for details on that.
That would be fabulous and turn it from a side dish into a meal in one pan. Cooked diced chicken, turkey or ham would all be delicious and a great way to use leftovers.
We think about 3 to 4 different vegetables is ideal for your au gratin. However, it will be fabulous made with just 1-2. For example, this would be a great recipe for Broccoli Cauliflower Au Gratin using just those two veggies.
Sure! If there are just two of you and you don’t want leftovers you can halve it and make it in a small casserole or loaf pan. Double it easily for a gathering of 8-10 people.
What vegetables are good in cheesy au Gratin?
The sky’s the limit really, but below are some suggestions to get you started:
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Carrots
- Green Beans
- Zucchini
- Yellow Squash
- Onions
- Corn
- Asparagus
For a fun and quick look at this recipe be sure to the watch the Google Web Story.
What to serve with vegetables au gratin
This side dish would be great with any of the following main dishes:
- Cajun Baked Chicken
- Cajun Beef Tenderloin with Bourbon Glaze
- Smoked Ham on the Big Green Egg
- Country Fried Steak
- Smoked Chicken Thighs
- Slow Cooker Turkey Breast
- Grilled Chicken Leg Quarters
📖 Recipe
Vegetable Au Gratin
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds vegetables cooked to the crisp-tender stage
- 1½ Tablespoons butter salted or unsalted
- 3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1½ cups milk skim, 1%, 2% or whole milk
- 4 ounces cheddar cheese grated
- ⅛ cup bread crumbs
- ½ teaspoon salt optional
Instructions
- Melt butter in skillet or sauce pan over low heat.
- Add flour to milk and whisk until smooth.
- Stir flour mixture into butter, whisking to get out any lumps.
- Increase heat to medium low, and cook, stirring constantly until thickened.
- Add cheese and stir until melted, adding salt if needed and remove from heat.
- Combine vegetables and cream sauce and put into a 9×9 inch (or similar size) baking dish. Top with breadcrumbs.
- Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until bubbling and top is lightly browned.
Notes
- Vegetables may be roasted, steamed or boiled.
- An alternate cheese may be used as long as it is a type that melts well.
- A light sprinkle on top of fresh herbs like parsley make your au gratin extra pretty!
Savita says
So creamy and delicious, loved the idea of making it with whatever is in my pantry. Great!!
Aimee Mars says
I never even knew vegetable au gratin was a thing! I’m so glad I stumbled across this delicious recipe. I needed 1 more for my Thanksgiving spread and this one is perfect.
Pam says
Hope everyone loves it like we do!
Dana says
This makes for such a great side for a cozy Sunday meal! Absolute comfort food at its finest.
Lima Ekram says
The creamy bread crumb + cheese combo is awesome!! The whole family loved it!
Pam says
So happy to hear that!
Tayler says
I made this with dinner last night and it was amazing! Definitely a new favorite side dish here.
Pam says
Yay! Thanks for letting us know.
Marie Turner says
This was part of our Christmas Dinner. I used fresh green beans, fresh peas, and carrots. I used the instructions to make it ahead, and everything turned out great! I’ll make this again.
Pam says
Yay! So happy to hear that!