I’ve been tortured and tantalized for months now with photos and videos of Potato Stacks on Pinterest and Facebook. I was having serious potato envy. I was like, “I want I want I want!!” And finally, I took the leap. Cheesy Au Gratin Potato Stacks. Yum.
Cheesy Au Gratin Potato Stacks
At first, I thought Cheesy Au Gratin Potato Stacks looked like a bit of a “gimicky” idea, kind of a fun change up – what I didn’t realize was how seriously good they are. Those Cheesy Au Gratin Potato Stacks are stupid simple, cook really fast fast fast and the muffin tins maximize that bit of caramelized, cheesy goodness that you get around the edges of the potatoes on a full-sized pan. Instead, each serving is seriously enhanced by a bit of delicate crunchiness around the bottom edges!
About Cheesy au Gratin Potato Stacks:
That’s a serious bonus if you ask me. Coz not only do Cheesy au Gratin Potato Stacks taste fabulous with their rich creaminess and serious good taste, but they’re also a play on contrast and texture – and that’s something that shouldn’t be discounted. Beyond the gorgeous flavor of the cheesy potatoes, each little stack is like having the best part of your full-sized pan of au gratins all to yourself. And even better, each one is the best part, so everyone gets their own best part all to themselves.
These are so good, it’s probably a good thing that they have some portion control built-in. And portion control could be an issue – they’re so warm & cheesy gooey and the bottoms are all crispy. You’re gonna love them. Your fam is going to love them. They are pure-dee comfort in a little package.
Cheesy Au Gratin Potato Stacks
Making Cheesy au Gratin Potato Stacks:
These stacks are stupid simple. I think I held off on making these potato stacks originally because, for some reason, I thought they were going to be fussier than they were. It takes just a few minutes to cut the few potatoes (next time I’ll use the food processor – they don’t have to be perfect, which was another misconception I had) and portion everything out into the muffin cups, but other than that they’re a no brainer.
There’s no sauce to make; you’ll just layer the potatoes and cheese (you can get pretty fast as you pick up a handful of potatoes and start “dealing” them out like you would cards from a deck. Then you’ll top with more cheese and drizzle in the cream. As they bake, the ingredients all meld together into a cohesive little serving of potatoes. Easy Peasy…or rather Easy Cheesy!
Cheesy Au Gratin Potato Stacks cook so quickly they’ll free you up from those boxed scalloped potatoes – that is if you sometimes serve up those boxes just because they’re fast. Honestly, who has time to bake up a whole casserole of au gratins from scratch potatoes on a weeknight? The only hard part of making Cheesy au Gratin Potato Stacks is letting them sit a for few minutes when they come out of the oven. That’s a pretty vital step if you want them to hold together. And you do want to give them a few minutes, so you get that perfect bite of soft, cheesy potato and crispy crust.
Saving Money on Cheesy au Gratin Potato Stacks:
Has anyone noticed potatoes are getting pricier at the store? I’ve noticed that so many are now “name brand” and in smaller bags. And they do look prettier, all washed and uniform in size but you pay extra for that. Look to see if you can’t find larger, 10-pound bags of potatoes and pick them up. You can give them a sort yourself and use the larger, more uniform ones for bakers and the odd-sized shaped ones for recipes like this where size doesn’t matter. Potatoes that aren’t well-washed store better anyway, and you’ll want to store them in a dark place, a paper bag works well, away from onions.
These days I buy most of my cream at Aldi, where at regular price it is about half of that at the grocery store. I do see it at Costco, in a quart package, but it’s actually more than Aldi. If you don’t have either option, pick it up around holiday sales and stash for when you need it. Cream keeps for weeks past it’s “buy by” date.
As far as the cheese goes, for this recipe, a sharp Cheddar is probably my fave. The cheaper grocery store sharp Cheddar is a little meltier than a good aged Cheddar, and you can’t go wrong with that in this recipe. Gruyère cheese or a combination of Parmesan and Cheddar or Gruyere may be substituted and they’re great, too. Again, watch the sales. Cheese keeps unopened for weeks in the fridge and can be frozen if needed. Once frozen it becomes crumbly so you’ll probably only want to use it in recipes where it’s shredded or melted.
Cheesy Au Gratin Potato Stacks
Cheesy au Gratin Potato Stacks
Potato Stackers aren’t just cute – these cook quickly and best of all, the method maximizes the ratio of cruspy crustiness to cheesy goodness! Now au Gratin Potatoes are doable on any old weeknight!
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
- Category: Side
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Divide potatoes into two equal piles. Layer half of potatoes in a lightly greased or sprayed 12 cup muffin pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese, a good pinch per cup. Top with remaining potatoes. They’ll come slightly above the rim of each cup but will drastically shrink down.
Mix together cream, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a microwaveable container. Heat on high for approximately one minute. Dole cream mixture into muffin cups, about a tablespoon per cup, then divide the rest among them.
Bake, covered tightly with aluminum foil for 30 minutes, or until tender throughout when pierced with a point of a knife. Uncover, (reserving foil) and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake 5 to 7 minutes more or until cheese is melted and slightly golden.
Let stand for 5 minutes. Run a sharp knife around rim of each cup. Cover the muffin tray back up with the foil, crimping tightly, and invert onto a flat surface. Carefully release the foil and lift the muffin tray. With a thin spatula, transfer Stacks to a serving platter, inverting the Stacks back to right side up.
Notes
*Gruyère cheese or a combination of Parmesan and Cheddar or Gruyere may be substituted.
Keywords: Sides, Hearty Sides, Potatoes, Cream, Cheese, au gratin
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings 6.0 | |
| Amount Per Serving | |
| calories 247 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 17 g | 26 % |
| Saturated Fat 10 g | 48 % |
| Monounsaturated Fat 0 g | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g | |
| Trans Fat 0 g | |
| Cholesterol 57 mg | 19 % |
| Sodium 519 mg | 22 % |
| Potassium 495 mg | 14 % |
| Total Carbohydrate 20 g | 7 % |
| Dietary Fiber 2 g | 6 % |
| Sugars 1 g | |
| Protein 8 g | 15 % |
| Vitamin A | 130 % |
| Vitamin C | 38 % |
| Calcium | 42 % |
| Iron | 5 % |
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I’ll be taking this over to Angie’s Fiesta Friday #137, hosted this week by Loretta @ Safari of the Mind and Natalie @ Kitchen, Uncorked as well as Saucy Saturdays – they’re such a great group of bloggers!
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