This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
These cheesy scalloped sweet potatoes are the ULTIMATE comfort food side dish. Gruyère, Parmesan, cream, garlic, and seasonal spices bake to melty perfection. No one will be able to resist this side dish.
This sweet potato gratin recipe is everything a gratin/scalloped potatoes should be. We’ve got our cheeses. We’ve got our cream. We’ve got garlic. We let it bake for long enough for the sweet potatoes to soften, everything to beautifully meld together, and for the cheese to bubble up all golden brown and delicious.
You may also like these Easy Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes or my Cajun Scalloped Potatoes.
I had to restrain myself from eating way more of this than I should have. ‘Nuff said about that.
This sweet potato side dish would be great for any cold day, a Thanksgiving side dish, a Christmas side dish… or whenever you want some cheesy comfort food, honestly.
How to make scalloped sweet potatoes (summary):
Using a mandoline slicer, cut the sweet potatoes into 1/8″ thick slices. Grate the cheeses, add them to a bowl, and toss with your hands to mix them together. To a saucepan, add the cream, salt & pepper, garlic, cinnamon, nutmeg, and Italian seasoning over high heat. Remove it from the heat just as it comes to a boil. Arrange a layer of sweet potatoes on the bottom of a 10″ skillet (or a baking dish), then spoon on some of the cream mixture and then a layer of the cheese mixture. Repeat until you’ve built 4 layers. Bake for 60-75 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through, then let it sit for 10 minutes prior to serving. (Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below)
Recipe notes & tips:
- Use a mandoline to slice the sweet potatoes thin and evenly (1/8″ thick). I don’t know what I would do without this little device. I use a protective glove too for peace of mind.
- You don’t need to make these in a cast iron pan like I did, but just make sure that you leave an inch or so from the top of the pan/baking dish because the cream and cheese will bubble, and cleaning that stuff out of the inside of your oven ain’t fun. I was able to do 4 layers in my 10 1/4″ Lodge skillet. Place the skillet on a baking sheet for added spill protection in your oven if you wish.
- Don’t be tempted to skip heating the cream mixture. I heat it for a couple of reasons 1) the spices don’t dissolve properly in the cream when it’s cold and 2) Heating it helps infuse the spices and garlic in the cream so you’ve got a more uniform taste.
- You want around 2 pounds of sweet potatoes for this dish. That’s 2 medium-to-large sweet potatoes. I normally don’t weigh stuff, but you may end up with too much or too little, so that’s what those grocery store scales are for. Sweet potatoes get pretty massive, so what does “medium” even mean? Weigh ’em.
- Some of my sweet potato slices ended up being pretty huge, but that’s ok. As long as you arrange them in an even layer (some overlap is fine!), it doesn’t matter if the slices aren’t all the same size (but the same thickness is important).
More sweet potato recipes to try:
- Creamy Sweet Potato Soup
- Rosemary & Sage Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- Sausage and Sweet Potato Soup
- Turkey Sweet Potato Chili
Hope you love this recipe as much as I did!
Questions? Ask me in the comments below!
Cheesy Scalloped Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes (I used 2 medium-to-large sweet potatoes) peeled & sliced 1/8" thick
- 1 cup freshly grated Gruyère cheese
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cups heavy/whipping cream
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 4 dashes Italian seasoning
- Olive oil for greasing the pan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and move the rack to the middle position.
- Peel your sweet potatoes. Using a mandoline slicer, slice your sweet potatoes 1/8" thick.
- Grate your cheeses. Add them to a bowl and toss them so they're mixed.
- Add the cream, salt & pepper (I'm pretty generous), garlic, cinnamon, nutmeg, and Italian seasoning to a small pan on high heat. Watch it closely and remove it from the heat just before it begins to boil.
- Grease a heavy, oven-proof skillet or a large baking dish with olive oil.
- Arrange a layer of sweet potatoes on the bottom of the skillet, then spoon on some of the cream mixture and then a layer of the cheese mixture. We're making 4 layers, so you will want to use about 1/4 of everything for each layer. I overlap the sweet potatoes a bit in each layer. Tip: make sure you've got about an inch or so left at the top of the skillet/baking dish when you're done your last layer. The cream and cheese will bubble all over the oven otherwise.
- Bake for 60-75 minutes (will vary depending on your pan/baking dish). I wanted a dark golden cheese layer and the cream to be nicely thickened up, so I went for the full 75 minutes. A toothpick should slide in with no resistance. Let the gratin sit for about 10 minutes prior to serving. Enjoy!!
Notes
- This is the mandoline slicer I used to make this recipe. I suggest using a protective glove like this one to safely use a mandoline.
- This is the Lodge cast iron skillet I used for this recipe.
- I put some success tips in the blog post, so I suggest looking those over prior to making this recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
I was looking for a new scalloped potato recipe and have had good success with your recipes.
This was a huge hit with my family! Loved using the cast iron skillet, the potatoes cooked evenly and the top and sides were bubbly and crispy.
Did what you suggested and was generous with the spices and everyone commented how much they liked the flavor.
This is a keeper!
That makes me so happy!! Thanks for your review, Denise! 😀 XO
Yup. Keeper….who needs Mac and Cheese when you can have this? Sweet potatoes are healthy, right? Yum.
Wonderful!!! So happy you enjoyed it! XO
This is actually the first recipe I’ve tried from your blog and I loved it! I made them over Easter during isolation for myself and my boyfriend, but I look forward to making them again when my family can gather again. I’m already searching for another recipe of yours to try. Thanks!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Meg!! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂 Hope you enjoy my other recipes too!
I am planning on making this for Thanksgiving. Do you have any tips for making it ahead and reheating closer to dinner time? Thank you!!!
Hi Lauren! I haven’t tested either of these tips, but I would assemble the scalloped potatoes (follow all steps prior to baking them) then cover the skillet/baking dish tightly with plastic wrap (like make sure it’s touching the top of the potatoes) or tin foil, and then bake it closer to dinnertime. If making more than a few hours ahead, I’d refrigerate it and take it out of the fridge an hour or so prior to baking. Baking time may take a bit longer since it’s still be cold, so keep that in mind. Alternatively, if you wanted to fully cook the potatoes ahead of time, I would take them out of the fridge about an hour prior to when you’re planning on reheating them, and then reheating them on a fairly low heat in the oven (like 350F, middle rack). I think it would take quite a while for them to come up to temperature, like 45-50 minutes. You could broil the top for a few minutes at the end so it’s golden and bubbly.
10 🌟 s Made them for Thanksgiving, hands down the absolute best I’ve ever had! Creamy and cheesy, and loaded with flavor. I’m going to adapt them for Christmas with russets and rosemary, so we’ll see what happens. Thanks for the awesome recipe.
So glad you liked it!! Merry Christmas!
I’m totally making this for thanksgiving this year! Looks amazing!
That’s great! Enjoy, Emily. 😊
Oh, this looks so good. Heating the cream is absolutely essential, or somebody is going to get a shot of nutmeg which isn’t a good thing. One tiny step, but it makes all the difference. Thanks for the inspiration.
Haha yes… that would be an interesting surprise! Thanks, Lizzie!
I love sweet potatoes and gruyere. I’m requesting this for Christmas. Make it for me.
No can do!