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Slightly sweet bacon baked into an easy Candied Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes casserole. Cheesy au gratin potatoes with a creamy sauce creates the bests potato side dish that’s sure to impress a hungry crowd this holiday season.

Within this post you’ll learn how to make easy candied bacon in the oven, which pairs perfectly with savory cheesy au gratin potatoes. Plus you’ll learn the food science of why and how just a bit of flour thickens sauces (hint: it requires a certain key element to do this).

What Are Au Gratin Potatoes?

Au gratin potatoes are thinly sliced potatoes layered with a creamy sauce and cheese. You might also know them as scalloped potatoes. They’re indulgent, creamy, comforting and absolutely delicious. I’ve gone a step further and added candied bacon for the ultimate treat.

Tips for Making Au Gratin Potatoes

Instead of cheddar, you could use another good melting cheese such as gruyere or fontina
I recommend using Yukon Gold potatoes for this recipe
The au gratin can be made in advance just cover with foil and place in the fridge until you’re ready to bake
Leftovers taste great and can be reheated the next day
Freezing isn’t recommended as the dairy can curdle and split

Evaporated milk and vegetable stock, with a bit of butter and flour, create a rich, thick sauce for potatoes. Shredded cheddar and Parmesan cheeses gives it that signature ‘covered with cheese’ effect.

Candied bacon is baked in the oven with easy prep and cleanup. Brown sugar and black pepper is all you need, then let it roast while you move on to on the rest of the Au Gratin Potatoes recipe. Once the candied bacon is sweet and crisp, load it into the casserole. Just a hint of sweetness in the candied bacon works perfectly with the savory and umami flavors.

How To Make Candied Bacon

Preheat oven to 350º F.
Mix together bacon, brown sugar and 1-teaspoon pepper
Arrange bacon in single layer in foil-lined baking sheet. Bake 25–30 minutes until cooked and slightly crispy.
Cool and chop into small pieces

Why do starch and flour thicken sauces?

Starch consists of long chains of glucose sugar molecules joined together, to form a huge string. Starch from corn or wheat is stored in the form of tiny solid granules, containing a mixture of amylose and amylopectin.

These granules are starch molecules packed together in a tight rigid structure. When mixed into cold water, the granules absorb a little bit of water. When you add heat water molecules gain energy and bounce around and breaks down and interacts, which creates room for more water to be absorbed.

As they move around the join together. More and more chains bump together, they start to form a meshy network of interlocking chains throughout the liquid, which thickens your sauce to a silky, creamy texture. Read even more detail from The Molecular Circus.

Candied Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes recipe at-a-glance:

Flavor profiles: Savory bacon flavor with just a bit of sweetness, paired with umami cheese.
Texture: Tender potato slices soaked in a thick and creamy sauce, with bits of crisp bacon.
Dietary Options/Substitutions: For vegetarian au gratin potatoes, omit bacon. For gluten-free use GF flour.

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Recipe inspired by Gimme Some Oven’s Scalloped Potatoes recipe.