On paper, Pommes Boulangère is by definition a savory dish made up of sliced potato and onion, slowly cooked in liquid inside of an oven. In reality, Pommes Boulangère is a delicacy unlike any other. For some, the popular French-born recipe resembles that of scalloped potatoes, though slightly different and arguably far more flavorful. Today, the recipe is by no means specific to its French origins, with versions of it being recreated all over the world.
Up until recently, I had never heard of Pommes Boulangère. This came as a surprise, however, because at this point in my life I didn’t think it would be possible to find yet another unique potato recipe. Of course, I was immediately reminded of my naivete once I was introduced to Coree Larkin, a.k.a. CocoLarkinCooks on TikTok, and her recipe for Pommes Boulangère that uses only 5 everyday ingredients. I was so sure that I had seen it all but I was pleasantly surprised by Larkin’s recipe, which led me to decide it was time to try it out for myself. Here’s how it went down.
Credit: Nathan Hutsenpiller Credit: Nathan Hutsenpiller
How to Make Pommes Boulangère
To begin, use a Dutch oven or stock pot to caramelize 5 to 6 large sliced yellow onions over medium to high heat. Add olive oil and salt, stirring occasionally. This process will take at least an hour, at which halfway through you’ll need to add some fresh chopped thyme. While the onions caramelize, prepare the potatoes by first peeling, and thinly slicing them using either a knife or mandoline. You’ll need at least 5 to 6 potatoes peeled and sliced to really do this recipe justice.
When the onions are beautifully golden brown, turn off the heat and remove them from the pot. Using the same pot with all of its delicious flavors still inside, sans onions, add a little bit of butter and salt and then start to layer the potato slices in a spiral pattern to form a bottom layer. Start from the outside of the pot’s bottom surface and work your way to the middle. Add salt and pepper, along with a layer of caramelized onions and then repeat the first step with a second layer of potatoes laid in the same spiral pattern. Again, add salt and pepper, then continue with a second layer of the remaining caramelized onions. Finish off with a final layer of potato slices.
At this point, the Pommes Boulangère is nearly ready to bake. Preheat your oven to 400°F, then pour chicken stock into the pot. Fill the pot just until you can see the chicken stock peeking out around the surface’s outer edges, then top with a few slices of butter and more salt and pepper. Place the pot inside of the oven and bake for about 1 hour.
When the potatoes are perfectly golden brown and the edges are beautifully crisp, remove the pot from the oven and allow it to cool for at least 15 minutes. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Credit: Nathan Hutsenpiller Credit: Nathan Hutsenpiller
My Honest Opinion of Pommes Boulangère
First of all, ever since I made the viral French Onion Soup Noodles last year, I have been obsessed with caramelizing onions. That recipe gave me a newfound respect for cooking, and really opened my eyes to the versatility of onions, as it called for caramelizing them for a minimum of 3 hours.
Going into Corre Larkin’s recipe, I was hooked from the start after she mentioned caramelizing onions for at least an hour. That was all I needed to know going into making Pommes Boulangère for the first time. Despite the extremely simple ingredient list, it still yielded exceptional flavor solely based on those deliciously caramelized onions. For something that only requires three main ingredients along with some salt, pepper and butter, Pommes Boulangere truly does not disappoint. It was simple, yet delicious, and I couldn’t help but go back for second and third servings.
I did opt to keep the pot in the oven for an extra 15 minutes due to my oven’s inability to stick to the correct temperature, though I made sure to keep a steady eye on the prize, and pulled the pot out before anything got overly crispy. In the end, I was completely impressed with the results and will absolutely be making Pommes Boulangère again in the future.
3 Tips for Making Pommes Boulangère
- No mandoline, no problem. Fret not, if you don’t have access to a mandoline, just carefully slice the potatoes using your sharpest knife and try your best to keep the thickness the same. In my experience, using a knife gave my potato slices a little extra character, but in no way affected the recipe negatively.
- Not all ovens are the same. Keep in mind that all ovens are not created equally, so you might need to double check that the temperature is actually at 400° using an oven-safe thermometer. With that in mind, take the one-hour bake time as a suggestion, and keep an eye on the potatoes while they bake to make sure nothing gets burned.
- Use any type of potato. For this recipe I used Yukon gold potatoes, however any potato of your preference will do. In the end we are talking about baked potato slices and those are seriously always delicious no matter the type.
