Scalloped Sweet Potatoes
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These easy Scalloped Sweet Potatoes are a must-try with dinner! Sweet potatoes and a rich cheese sauce are baked together to leave you with the best creamy and comforting holiday side dish.
Why you’ll love this family favorite recipe!
Simple twist on a classic – Making scalloped potatoes with sweet potatoes instead of yellow or white potatoes makes this side dish perfect for fall and winter.
Cheesy and creamy! The potatoes are drowning in a sauce enriched with milk, melted Gruyère, and grated Parmesan cheese. Yum!
Holiday side dish – You’ll find me reaching for these creamy scalloped sweet potatoes this Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s one of the best holiday side dishes, just like my honey butter roasted carrots and these cheesy mashed potatoes.
Table of Contents
Name a more iconic side dish for family dinners than scalloped potatoes. Go ahead, I’ll wait!
See, it can’t be done. This cheesy, creamy side dish has been making American families happy for years, but today, we’re switching things up with these Scalloped Sweet Potatoes.
Just as comforting, creamy, and crowd-pleasing as my scalloped potatoes and ham, this recipe puts a seasonal twist on the classic. I layered sliced sweet potatoes in a dish, covered them with a savory cream sauce enriched with two kinds of melted cheeses, and baked it until bubbly.
It’s everything I want on cold evenings or alongside the Thanksgiving turkey: warm, savory flavors, buttery soft potatoes, and plenty of melted cheese.
Scalloped Potato Ingredients
Sweet potatoes – Of course! I peeled and sliced 2 large sweet potatoes (4 medium potatoes) for this recipe.
Fresh aromatics – This casserole gets its warm flavors from a mix of sautéed onion, garlic, and fresh thyme. Rosemary and sage would be delicious additions if you’re looking for extra flavor.
Milk – Whole milk will yield the creamiest sauce, but 2% or skim milk works, too. Or replace the milk with 3/4 cup heavy cream for a richer sauce.
Cheeses – I made the cheese sauce with shredded Gruyere and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. If you need a substitute for the Gruyere, swap it for Fontina, Swiss, Colby Jack, Monterrey Jack, or any other good melting cheese.
This list is to provide further clarification on a few of the ingredients. See recipe card below for the full ingredient list.
Variations
- Gluten-free option – You should be okay to replace the all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free flour mix.
- Running low on sweet potatoes? Combine them with sliced Yukon Gold potatoes or Russet potatoes.
- Add meat, like crispy bacon, prosciutto, or diced ham, when you’re layering the potatoes.
How to Make Sweet Potato Scalloped Potatoes
Step 1: Sauté the aromatics. Start by sautéing the onion in a skillet with the melted butter until soft. Stir in the garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper, and sauté for 1 minute.
Step 2: Thicken the sauce. Next, whisk the broth, milk, and flour together in a bowl. Pour it into the skillet with the aromatics and simmer until thickened. Set it aside to cool.
Step 3: Add the cheese. Once cool, stir handfuls of cheese at a time into the saucy onion mixture until smooth.
Step 4: Assemble. Place the sliced sweet potatoes in a casserole dish and spoon the cheese mixture over top. Smooth it out with a spoon.
Step 5: Bake. Cover the dish and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, then continue baking until the top is golden brown.
Step 6: Serve. Let the scalloped potatoes rest for 10 minutes, then serve hot. Enjoy!
Erin’s Tips and Tricks
- The easiest way to slice sweet potatoes for scalloped potatoes is with a mandoline. It takes out the guesswork and gives me evenly-sized potato slices every time!
- Scalloped sweet potatoes take around 1 hour to bake in the oven, depending on the thickness of the sliced potatoes.
- Finish the scalloped potatoes under the broiler during the last 2 or 3 minutes so the top gets nice and golden.
My Pro Tip
Two Tricks For a Thick and Cheesy Sauce
- Cool the onion mixture for at least 10 to 15 minutes.
- Stir handfuls of cheese into the onion mixture at a time. The residual heat will melt the cheese without breaking the sauce.
Skipping either of these steps will result in a thin or broken cheese sauce, and the last thing you want is watery scalloped potatoes.
Scalloped Sweet Potato FAQs
This should be fine, although I haven’t tested it. Just cover and refrigerate the assembled dish overnight, then take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before baking so it can come down to room temperature.
Add these scalloped potatoes to your holiday menu ASAP! They go well with all of the classics, like this gluten-free apple stuffing, the roasted turkey, the glazed ham, and these glistening Instant Pot carrots.
Storage
Refrigerator: Wait for the leftovers to cool, then transfer the scalloped potatoes to an airtight container (or cover the casserole dish). Refrigerate for 3 to 4 days.
Reheating: Place the leftovers in a 350ºF oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until warmed through and creamy again.
More Holiday Casseroles
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Scalloped Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 small or 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into ¼” rounds
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 2 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ cup broth, chicken or vegetable
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and spray a 9×13 or similar size casserole dish with nonstick spray; set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat, then add the onion and sauté for 5-7 minutes until soft. Add the garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper and sauté for 1 minute.
- Next, whisk the broth, milk and flour together in a bowl or glass measuring cup, then pour into the skillet. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, then remove the skillet from the heat. Allow the mixture to cool for 10-15 minutes.
- While the mixture cools, peel and slice the sweet potatoes and set them into the prepared casserole dish. Next, grate the cheeses into a small bowl.
- Once the 10-15 minutes is up, stir the cheeses 1 handful at a time into the onion mixture until smooth.
- Use a large spoon to spoon the cheese mixture over the sweet potatoes, then use the back of the spoon to smooth it out.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Last, broil for 2-3 minutes.
- Wait 10 minutes before slicing. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
