Potato gratin with cancoillotte

“Cancoillotte is the cheese you eat with a spoon. Baked over potatoes, it’s Franche-Comté on a plate.”

Some recipes need no technique at all. Just good ingredients and a little time. Potato gratin with cancoillotte is one of them: boiled baby potatoes, a melted pot of cancoillotte, a few turns of the pepper mill, and the oven does the rest.

Forget béchamel and cream: here, the cheese itself makes both the sauce and the crust. With 8 to 10% fat, cancoillotte is one of the lightest cheeses there is — this gratin is far easier to digest than a tartiflette, and just as comforting.

It’s the Sunday-evening dish in Franche-Comté, served with a green salad and a slice of smoked ham. This version uses a garlic cancoillotte IGP (PGI): mild, melting, with that hint of garlic that fills the whole kitchen with its aroma. We’ve got just what you need!

Ingredients

Serves 4 — Prep: 10 min — Cooking: 40 min

Two main ingredients: baby potatoes and garlic cancoillotte IGP.

• 800 g baby potatoes (grenaille, or other small waxy potatoes)
• 1 pot of garlic cancoillotte (200 g)
• Coarse salt for the cooking water
• Freshly ground pepper

Optional:

• A pinch of nutmeg
• Chopped chives or parsley, added just before serving
• Fried smoked lardons or diced ham, for a heartier version
• A second pot of plain cancoillotte if you like your gratin generously coated

Step-by-step recipe

1. Boil the potatoes

Wash the baby potatoes thoroughly under cold water, scrubbing the skins. Don’t peel them: the thin skin holds the pieces together and adds flavour.

Put them in a large pan of cold water salted with coarse salt. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 20 to 25 minutes.

Start in cold water, skins on.

Check they are done with the tip of a knife: it should slide right to the centre with no resistance.

The tip of the knife should go through without forcing.

2. Drain and cut

Drain the potatoes in a colander and leave them to cool for 5 minutes, until you can handle them. Preheat the oven to 200 °C.

Drain well: leftover water thins the cancoillotte.

Cut them into large pieces (halves or quarters, depending on size) and spread them out in a gratin dish. Don’t crush them: you want pieces that hold their shape under the cheese.

In large pieces, in the gratin dish.

3. Melt the cancoillotte

Pour the pot of cancoillotte into a small pan. Warm it over a low heat, stirring, until it becomes liquid, smooth and glossy. Allow 2 to 3 minutes. Never let it boil: it would turn grainy.

Over a low heat, stirring: the cancoillotte turns runny.

4. Coat and season with pepper

Pour the melted cancoillotte over the potatoes, covering the whole surface. Gently shake the dish so it seeps between the pieces.

The cancoillotte coats the potatoes and seeps between the pieces.

Give it several turns of the pepper mill. No need to add salt: the cancoillotte is already salted and the cooking water has done its job.

Plenty of pepper. No salt.

5. Bake until golden

Bake for 15 minutes at 200 °C, until the top is golden and the cancoillotte is bubbling at the edges. For a more pronounced crust, finish with 2 minutes under the grill.

Into the oven: 200 °C, 15 minutes.

Fresh from the oven: golden, melting, fragrant with garlic.

Serve straight away, piping hot, with a sharply dressed green salad and, if you fancy it, a slice of smoked ham or a Morteau sausage.

Our tips for a perfect gratin

The right potato

Choose a waxy variety: grenaille, Charlotte, Ratte, Amandine. They hold their shape during cooking and don’t fall apart under the cheese. Avoid floury varieties (Bintje, Agata), which would turn to mash.

Low heat for the cancoillotte

A more golden gratin

Cancoillotte browns less than a pressed cheese, because it is low in fat. For a more pronounced crust, grate a handful of Comté over the top before baking, or put the dish under the grill for 2 minutes at the end.

A richer version

Fry 150 g of smoked lardons in a pan, without any added fat, and mix them with the potatoes before coating. You get a kind of lighter tartiflette, with an extra smoky flavour.

The traditional version, no oven

In Franche-Comté, melted cancoillotte is often poured straight over hot potatoes, without going into the oven. You lose the golden crust, but not the pleasure. It’s the answer if you’re in a hurry or have no oven.

Plain or garlic?

Garlic cancoillotte is ideal here: the garlic flavours the potatoes without overpowering them. The plain version is milder and creamier; children will love it, and it leaves room for a pinch of nutmeg or cumin. Both also come with vin jaune, for a more festive version.

Cancoillotte, a cheese like no other

Cancoillotte is a cheese from Franche-Comté made from metton, a skimmed-milk curd that is ripened, then melted with a little water and butter. The result: a runny, golden cheese that you spread cold and pour hot. It has held IGP status since 2022.

With 8 to 10% fat, it’s one of the lightest cheeses on the board — far lighter than a Reblochon or a raclette. That is what makes this gratin so easy to digest despite its generosity. To find out all about its history, how it is made and how to store it, read our complete guide to cancoillotte.

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