8 Best Au Gratin Dishes of 2026 for Golden, Bubbling Crusts

Sixteen ounces is a full meal, not a side: a chicken cutlet parm, two manicotti, a generous scoop of scalloped potatoes with room left for the crust. The oval runs 10 by 5 inches with 1.5-inch sides, so the surface is wide relative to the depth — the proportion that lets a topping crisp while the middle stays creamy. Flared handles at both ends are wide enough for a folded towel.

What makes this the value pick is how little the savings cost you. The porcelain is grade A and free of lead and cadmium, the shape has handled baked rigatoni and stuffed shrimp, and the dishes go from oven to table without looking like a bargain. The bottoms are the one rough spot, literally: they are not finished smooth, so they can scuff a wood table. A trivet or a folded cloth fixes it.

Portion size is the thing to think through before you order. A dish this wide holds a lot, which is wonderful for a main course and slightly oversized for a small side or a child’s portion. If your table mixes big and small appetites, the 12-ounce set above splits the difference better.

Six dishes at this price also make them the set to bring to a potluck without flinching if one goes missing — which is not a sentence you can write about every dish on this list.

Glossy white porcelain is the default here, and it disappears into a table setting in the nicest way. Matte black does the opposite: the finish absorbs light, so the food is what reads across the table. If you serve gratin in the dish it baked in — and you should — that is a real difference, and it is why this four-piece set stood out before we ever put food in it.

Under the finish the numbers are generous: 16 ounces per dish, 9.5 by 5 inches, with 2-inch sides, the deepest set here. Depth buys capacity without spreading the dish so wide it will not fit a shelf, but it also leaves a little less exposed surface for a crumb topping, so give a deep gratin a few extra minutes at the end.

What we appreciate most is the practicality behind the looks. The handles at each end are shaped to be grabbed rather than admired, the maker describes the ceramic as chip and flake resistant, and the whole set is oven, microwave, and dishwasher safe. Four dishes is also the right count for two or three people who entertain now and then, rather than a cabinet full of six.

Four dishes at 16 ounces hold more food than six at 12, but they do not stretch as far across a table. For a couple who wants one handsome dish per person plus a spare or two, that trade lands exactly right.

Every other pick here is ceramic, and ceramic has a ceiling. These are 18/10 stainless with low sides and a wide surface, built for the last four minutes under a broiler rather than the first forty in a 400-degree oven. They are rated to 600 degrees Fahrenheit and work on gas, electric, ceramic, and induction cooktops, so a dish can start on a burner and finish under heat.

We think that combination earns its premium if the crust is why you make a gratin — the potato-and-cream kind where the top should shatter under a spoon. Stainless does not release food the way glazed porcelain does, so butter the pan properly and expect to deglaze rather than wipe. It also rules out the microwave, which makes these a cooking tool rather than a leftover container.

Sizing is the thing to check before you order. These read smaller in person than the photos suggest, closer to a single portion than a shared one, and there is no published diameter to work from, so compare them against a pan you already own if you are matching a recipe. Two pans is also a small set — this is one for a kitchen that already has baking dishes.

Not everyone needs six. This set lands two 16-ounce ovals, 8.7 by 5.3 inches and 1.8 inches deep, which is enough for a couple who wants a gratin on Sunday and a baked dip on Friday. They are light in the hand — the kind of dish you carry to the table one at a time without thinking about it.

The shape nods to the old Corningware gratin dishes, with a slightly flared rim and a glossy finish that reads warmer than bright white. That is a small thing until you set one next to a stark white plate and notice it does not match. On wood or colored stoneware you will not; against cool white china you will.

Durability is the caution. Thin porcelain and repeated microwave reheating is where cracking can show up, so treat these as baking dishes first, reheat gently, and keep them out of sudden temperature swings. The upside of the light build is that they travel well — an RV oven or a toaster oven handles them without complaint.

For a first set, a rental kitchen, or a two-person household, the pair is the sensible buy: you find out whether you actually reach for gratin dishes before you give up a shelf to six. Two dishes also store in the space a six-piece set eats, which matters more than it sounds in a small kitchen.

Thicker walls are the first thing you notice handling these. MALACASA builds its 8-by-5-inch oval with more material in the wall than the other porcelain sets here, and the mass does two things: it holds heat longer once the dish leaves the oven, and it takes longer to come up to temperature, which suits a slow bake more than a fast broil.

The striped handles are molded into the sides and wide enough for a thick mitt, which is more than some flared rims manage. The size sits in the middle of the group — 8 by 5 inches with 1.7-inch sides — good for a two-person bake of scalloped potatoes, a hot dip, or individual portions of mac and cheese. Oven, microwave, freezer, and dishwasher are all covered.

Our reservation is arithmetic. These cost about what the top pick costs and give you four dishes instead of six, so the thicker walls have to be worth two fewer portions. They are if you want a heavier dish that holds heat at the table and a set that will not crowd a small cabinet; they are not if you are feeding a family and counting plates.

Small appliances are where this set earns its place. At 7.5 by 4.5 inches and 1.4 inches deep, one of these slides into a toaster oven or an air fryer basket that would laugh at a 16-ounce oval, and it still holds 11.5 ounces — a single serving of scalloped potatoes, a baked fish fillet, one enchilada.

The ceramic is thick and heavy for its size, which is what you want in a dish headed from a 500-degree oven to a trivet. Watch the maker’s limits: no direct flame and no induction cooktop, and these are bakeware rather than stovetop pans. Six of them also make a good build-your-own bar for a casual dinner.

The bases are unglazed, and that is working as intended — the raw ceramic foot grips a rack or a trivet instead of sliding, which matters when you are pulling a hot dish out one-handed. It also means the bottom can look chalky and scuff a polished counter if you drag it, so lift rather than slide.

The catch is the size. An 11.5-ounce dish is a modest portion, and the narrow oval leaves less exposed surface for a wide crumb topping than a 9-inch dish does. In exchange you get a set that slips into a toaster oven without a fight, which is the whole point.

The maker rates this dish to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and that single number changes what it is for. Roast potatoes gratin at 425 for a dark, blistered top and you are past the rating; bake custards, eggs, small sides, and individual desserts and you are comfortably inside it. That is why we treat this set as the dessert-and-sides dish of the group rather than the workhorse.

Four ounces is small, smaller than anything else here, and the round shape is why it works anyway. A round dish 5.6 inches across with flared handles is the classic crème brûlée and French onion soup profile, and it makes a set of six feel like purpose-built tools rather than six random dishes. They are dishwasher safe, and they go from oven to table looking like they belong there.

Buy these as a complement rather than a replacement. If you already own a couple of oval gratin dishes and want six matching dishes for a dessert course, a tapas spread, or a holiday table, this set fills that gap neatly. Outfitting a kitchen from scratch, buy an oval first — this is the second purchase, not the first.