Sweet Potato Gratin
This Sweet Potato Gratin is creamy, flavourful and so delicious! A simple dish that is perfect for holiday dinners.
If you’re looking for a super delicious side dish for your holiday dinner this Sweet Potato Gratin is perfect! This is an easy to make dish that feels a little extra special.
Recipe Snapshot
EASY: This dish is easy to make and assemble.
PERFECT FOR THE HOLIDAYS: Delicious for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas!
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS: Easy to find, simple ingredients.
Savoury, sweet, cheesy + creamy.
This sweet potato gratin side dish is both savoury and sweet. Savoury with rosemary, and sweet with sweet potatoes. Cheesy and creamy with cream cheese, whole milk and shredded cheese. A scrumptious combination!
With hints of rosemary and cinnamon.
Yes, you read that right! There’s a dash of cinnamon in this recipe. Feel free to leave it out if you like. It just adds a little extra flavour…cinnamon pairs well with sweet potatoes. But don’t leave out the rosemary…it’s a perfect herb for holiday side dishes!
Baking Tip!
You can use a 9×13 casserole dish to bake this sweet potato gratin. Or I have another option that I really like, an enamel cast iron round braiser. (affiliate link) I have this one here, and you can see it in my pictures. I like it because I can take it from the stove right to the oven. And you can sauté the shallots, onions and spices in this dish, then simmer the cream and cheese. Then add the sliced sweet potato, cover in the sauce, top with cheese and bake. One dish. I love that.
Sweet Potato Gratin Recipe Tips
- Sweet Potatoes: Slice 2 lbs of sweet potatoes into 1/8 inch. You can use knife or mandolin to slice them.
- Cheese: Make sure to use flavourful cheese, like old cheddar (I use a mix of orange and white cheddar for colour), as well as freshly grated parmesan. Gruyere cheese is also a delicious option.
- Milk: You can use half + half or whole milk for this recipe. Heavy cream can be used as well, but it will very rich.
- Shallots: This recipe calls for shallots because I love them, but feel free to use onions (about 1/2 cup minced).
- Rosemary: If you don’t have fresh rosemary, use 1 tsp dried rosemary leaves instead.
- Make Ahead Tip: You can assemble this sweet potato gratin ahead of time. Sometimes I like to assemble it in the morning (leave off the shredded cheese topping then add it right before baking), then slip the dish into the oven closer to dinner time. This is especially helpful when I’m putting together a holiday dinner and I’m pressed for time.
- Baking Tip! Sometimes dishes like this (with potatoes) take longer to bake than you might think. I like to give them a 2 hour baking window in case they’re not done by dinner time. They can sit/rest while the rest of dinner comes together…and I have found that it’s pretty hard to over-bake them, you just have to watch the cheese topping and cover it if needed.
- Lactose Intolerant? Sometimes I will make this dish with lactose free dairy for one of my family members, and it can be done. Just be aware that the milk/cheese will separate slightly, but the flavour is still delicious!
Sweet Potato Gratin
This Sweet Potato Gratin is creamy, flavourful and so delicious! A simple dish that is perfect for holiday dinners.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Resting Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baking
Ingredients
- 2 lbs sweet potatoes, sliced thinly
- 2 cups shredded old cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 shallots, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
- dash ground cinnamon
- 3 cups whole milk (or half and half)
- 4 oz cream cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Prepare a 9×13 casserole dish by greasing the inside with butter or cooking spray (or see above for how I bake it in an enamel braiser).
- Shred the cheeses: cheddar and parmesan. Mix together, then separate into two: 3/4 cup goes into the sauce, 1 1/2 cups goes on top. Set aside for now.
- Peel and thinly slice the sweet potatoes, about 1/8 inch thick. Add to the prepared baking dish.
- In a skillet add about 2 tbsp olive oil, then over low-medium heat sauté the shallots and garlic until tender.
- Stir in the flour, cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add the salt, pepper, paprika, fresh rosemary and cinnamon. Sauté for about 2 minutes.
- Slowly whisk in the milk.
- Then add the cream cheese and 3/4 cup of shredded cheese and stir until melted. Don’t let the mixture boil.
- Pour the milk/cheese mixture over the potatoes, making sure to cover them well. Press any exposed sweet potatoes down into the cream sauce.
- Sprinkle on the remaining 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese.
- Cover (with foil or an oven proof lid) and bake for 1 hour.
- Then after this time, remove the cover and continue to bake for 30 minutes more, until the top is golden brown and bubbling and the sweet potatoes are tender.
- Let the dish stand for about 15 minutes before serving.
Keywords: sweet potato gratin, scalloped sweet potatoes
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Have a delicious day!
