Looking for a version of the cheesy, rich comfort food that conjures up all of the good feels of this classic side dish but without the high carb count? Look no further. A quick boil of daikon radish slices mellows out the radish “bite” and tenderizes them enough to ensure that every bite of this keto potato gratin is deliciously fork-tender. If you can’t find daikon radish at your local supermarket, check out your nearest Asian grocery store.
Ingredients List
- 2 lb daikon radish, peeled
- 1½ tsp sea salt, plus more
- 3 Tbsp butter, divided, plus more for greasing the aluminum foil
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- 3/4 tsp pepper, plus more as needed
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup (3 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup (3 oz) shredded Gruyere cheese
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Fill a large pot three-quarters full with water, then bring it to a boil over high heat.
- Cut the daikon radish crosswise into 2 or 3 pieces. Using a mandolin or a very sharp knife, slice the daikon into thin ⅛-inch slices.
- Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the boiling water. Add the sliced daikon and cook until they’re tender but still holding their shape, about 10 minutes. Drain the daikon into a large colander set in the sink, then gently rinse them with cold water. Once drained, pat the slices dry with clean kitchen or paper towels.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Position a rack to the upper third of the oven. Use one-third of the butter to grease an 8 x 10-inch casserole dish. Coat one side of foil big enough to cover the baking dish with a bit of butter.
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the cream, salt, pepper, thyme, onion powder, and garlic powder until simmering around the edges. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the liquid has reduced by about one-third, 6 to 8 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in the remaining butter, and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the shredded cheeses. In the prepared casserole dish, layer a third of the daikon slices, slightly overlapping. Sprinkle one-third of the cheese on top. Repeat until you have three layers of daikon slices. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Pour the reduced cream mixture over the layers. Cover the gratin with prepared aluminum foil and bake until the cheese is light golden brown and the liquid is bubbling around the edges, about 45 minutes. Remove, reserve the foil, sprinkle the gratin with Parmesan cheese, and bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes more. Switch the oven setting to broil, then briefly broil until the gratin crust is deep golden brown and bubbling, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Remove the gratin from the oven and cover with the reserved foil. Let stand and set for 10 minutes. Serve.
I am the Food Services Manager/Chef for a luxury drug and alcohol program. We are leaning toward Keto even more this year (2024). I am always googling Keto recipes and this one turned out FANTASTIC! I read all the reviews and I just want to note that recipes are a GUIDELINE, especially if you cook a lot or are a professional for many years. I used fresh thyme and parsley, chopped bacon, and caramelized onions with garlic instead of the dry ingredients. I used avocado oil on bottom and sides of pan, using a paper towel. I layered the dry cooked slices of Daikon in the pans, and sprinkled salt, fresh grated pepper, bacon bits, onion, garlic, Parmesan cheese and shredded cheddar between each layer. I did not add salt to the cream. This is the way I normally make potato gratin. I tasted it when it came out of the oven and it tastes just the same as the potato version! The clients, who have been potato deprived LOVED this! Very impressed, and thank you!
Wow, this tastes as good as it looks! The texture and neutral flavor of the cooked daikon mimics potato perfectly. So satisfying!
Had a little trouble finding Daikon Radishes but it was worth the effort. Delicious! I’ll definitely make it again.
It’s worth it, right?!
This might be favorite new side dish. I think I could make this for potluck and get folx to eat daikon too – you’d never know!!
Most definitely one of my new “go to’s,” delicious! So much like scallop potatoes that you’d barely tel the difference.
Loved it so much that it also makes my “Would serve to guests” top 10 list!!!
Thanks!
That makes us so happy 🙂
The daikon preparation is genius. That alone is worth 5 stars. From there, anyone should be able to find their own way as if using a normal recipe.
But then, a few things go terribly wrong: (1) Too much butter is called for… there’s just no purpose to so much in the pan … or the foil. The butter added to the cream, similarly, doesn’t really seem to add much dimensionality and it easily pools up. (2) Way, way, way too much salt is called for… too much in the boiling water, too much in the gratin cream mixture. I used only 1 tsp instead of the 1.5 directed and I couldn’t stand how salty the resulting preparation was. Next time, I’m following a traditional recipe or just using my own cooking skills to make a determination on salt. For that matter, salt would be best added in pinches, sprinkled at each layer step, along with pepper, with far less salt in the actual cream sauce. (3) Thyme powder is nice, fresh thyme is better. (4) One 2 lb daikon is a little light when laid into a traditional 8 x 12 pan. I’d have opted for a smaller pan or more daikon and gratin. (5) Similarly, the amounts of cheese used are slightly light, at least an extra half ounce each (cheddar and gruyere) would be better… and… back to the issue with the salt: adding the salty parmesan on top only increases the overall saltiness of this. I’d skip parmesan and consider buttered keto bread crumbs or use less parmesan and, again, reduce the overall salt in the actual dish.
Those are large and significant quibbles, but I can’t deny the overall intent and manner of execution are exceptional. So, I’m compromising and giving it 3 stars. Would not be hard for it to score 5+ though.
Appreciate all the feedback, Chris. Salt is such a personal thing and we agree that it’s better to start out lighter and add more as you go.
Then ya’ should have scored it higher and pulled your oar out of the water.
Respectfully, your rewrite of the recipe (except for the Daikon) is purely subjective. Hopefully you’ve perfected it to your own low salt/low fat lifestyle.
I think the recipe, for Keto is amazing! Wouldn’t change a thing.
This is an amazing recipe. The only change that I did was to add a smidgen of freshly grated nutmeg to the sauce. Also this is a great make-ahead dish I prepared it and assembled it ahead of time with the exception of the two cheese toppings. The next day I took it out of the fridge 2 hours before I was going to bake it off and just before baking I added the cheese and then the last 10 minutes I sprinkled on the parmesan. At that point I put my oven up to 500° and put it in the rack and it Browns perfectly without having to put it under the broiler I didn’t want to risk cracking my beautiful French stoneware casserole dish.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing.
I made these last night … they are EXCELLENT! A great substitute for potatoes and quells my potato withdrawal.
It’s one of our favorites too!
These are amazing…..LOVE LOVE them !!!!
Can one replace the Daikon radish with the China Rose radish (Raphanus Sativus)? I cannot seem to find Daikon radishes or the seeds to grow them here in South Africa. Thank you.
Hi Sally – we are not as familiar with China Rose radish here in the U.S. but it looks like the kind of radish that could work. Give it try!
I’m not able to get daikon where I am in Queensland Australia either. I used swede, aka rutabaga, instead and it was delicious.
Great idea! Thanks for sharing.
This is amazing comfort food that I am surely going to use this holiday season. I gave it four stars because I had to leave one star off even though the dish itself is perfect. The use of aluminum foil in direct contact with food is toxic and create several health issues. It’s bad enough that the WHO puts out advisories against using aluminum foil in contact with food. Chefs and food industry professionals tend not to understand the difference between restaurant quality products like the aluminum foil or cling wrap that they use are different quality from what is available to the average home cook on their grocery store shelves. If you’re home cooking buying your aluminum foil and plastic wrap from the grocery store then don’t cook with either product. The aluminum foil in grocery store foil is full of heavy metals that Leach into your food and the plastic wrap that you get at the grocery store is not safe for using in water bath cooking, etc.
Well worth the effort. Didn’t taste the radish flavor at all. I soaked them and dried them as suggested. I subbed Swiss for gruyere. A definite winner!!
Thanks, Susan. This is one of our favorite holiday recipes too!
This dish was amazing! Yes I froze some as I live alone. I’m used to freezing scalloped potatoes and these are sturdier. I really missed scalloped potatoes so my thanks for posting.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! We think it’s pretty amazing too 🙂
Has anyone tried freezing the leftovers. I’m cooking for one.
I NEVER write reviews, but I have to because this recipe is OUTSTANDING. My husband has not appreciated any of my keto-version recipes up until now, but after he tasted this au gratin he wanted only that for dinner, lol.
BRILLIANT, and worth the labor it took to make! Thank you, and I’ll be trying more of your recipes. Thanks to the Keto Twins for sharing this recipe on their channel, otherwise I may have never found it!
SPECTACULAR!. Absolutely delicious, used sour cream, single cream, andcheddar cheese. Next time, I need to remember to remove as much water as possible from the daikon before putting it in the oven. pArt from that AMAZING!
You would never know it’s not real potatoes, right?! Did you replace some of the heavy cream with sour cream? Not a bad idea.
DROP THE FREAKEN MIC!!! These are AMAZING!!! I really could not tell these were not potatos. Keto comfort food at its best. I used layers of thinly sliced onion instead of onion powder.
Thanks, Laura. We could not agree with you more!
I made this for my whole family and it was a hit! Everyone said they couldn’t tell it wasn’t potatoes. Thank you. 🙂
It’s truly remarkable!
Both my wife and I loved it! Tasted as good as any potato au gratin or scalloped potato recipe that we’ve had. We will make it again.
And without the carb guilt that comes with real scalloped potatoes, right!
Absolutely delicious!