Make these Scalloped White and Sweet Potatoes next time you need a decadent and impressive side dish. These make-ahead potatoes are thickened with whipping cream and cheese so there’s no flour at all. That makes them naturally gluten free but no one will care about that. They’ll just ask for more so don’t even think about serving small polite squares.
Organize For Success
More than one of my followers have told me they make a double recipe of this recipe. I call that smart planning for holiday dinners and entertaining all winter long!
Shauna also said she has even make them in advance and froze them. I've never done that but more than one person has told me it works well.
Best Holiday Entertaining Tip
I love the idea of choosing a tried-and-true recipe for a special occasion. This means you know the recipe is a hit and you can put some effort into the presentation.
This recipe is written with the nice presentation in mind but go ahead and make it now, just like any scalloped potato dish. They you'll know how fabulous it is and when you need a side dish for the next special occasion you'll have this one in mind.
You never know, these Scalloped White and Sweet Potatoes might just become a new holiday tradition.
Best Tools for Making Scalloped Potatoes
If you’ve ever wanted to buy a mandoline, this is the reason to buy it. You can make uniformly thin slices of any vegetable with a few different tools but the mandoline is made for this job.
Sweet Potatoes vs Yams
The contrast of the orange and white coloured flesh of the potatoes is what makes this dish special. (And the whipping cream in my opinion). When you go to the store that's what you need to buy.
With the popularity of sweet potato fries you would think sweet potatoes have orange flesh. Wouldn't you?
Being a foodie I always thought yams had orange flesh and sweet potatoes had white flesh. I don't keep information like that in my head so I did a bit of research. It turns out that’s actually true but it’s more complicated than that.
Sweet potatoes come in varieties (of course they do!) and the colour varies depending on the variety. The flesh can range from white to orange and even purple.
Yams are a white tuber not commonly available. According to my research because of a labelling law some sweet potatoes are labelled as yams. Apparently when sweet potatoes came to North America shippers and produce suppliers needed to distinguish them from potatoes. They simply called them yams and the rest is history.
All About Sweet Potatoes
For food history buffs you can read more here, Sweet Potatoes 101.
To learn all about the varieties of sweet potatoes and growing them visit this post over at Happy DIY Home, 20 Types of Sweet Potatoes.
For everyday cooks there's an excellent chance you'll easily find something orange and something white to make this amazing Scalloped Potato dish.
In the comments below let me know if you made this recipe and what you learned.
Originally published in October 2015, updated November 2021
More Recipes to Serve Scalloped Potatoes With
- Braised Beef Short Ribs in Coffee Ancho Chile Sauce
- Pork Tenderloin with Asian Flavours
- Chicken Cacciatore
- Beef Rouladen
Scalloped White and Sweet Potatoes
Equipment
- mandoline for perfectly thin sliced potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 medium orange fleshed sweet potatoes (1-1½ lbs)
- 3 medium white or yellow fleshed potatoes (1-1½ lbs)
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon dried thyme (optional)
- salt and pepper
- 8 oz Gruyere or Swiss cheese, shredded
- Optional garnish - fresh thyme
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Peel potatoes and slice thinly. I used a mandoline with 1.5 mm blade.
- In a 4-cup measuring cup add whipping cream, egg, garlic powder, nutmeg and thyme (if using). Stir until combined. Set aside.
- Brush an 8-inch square, glass baking pan (or 2 loaf pans) with oil. Line pan with parchment paper leaving enough excess over 2 sides to cover the pan while cooking.
- Starting with orange potatoes layer them slightly overlapping to cover the bottom of the pan.
- Top each layer with salt and pepper, a generous sprinkling of cheese and some of the cream mixture.
- Repeat alternating orange and white potatoes until you have 6 layers, 3 orange and 3 white.
- Sprinkle top layer with remaining cheese and cream mixture.
- Fold parchment over the potatoes and cover with foil. Can be prepared in advance to this point.
- Bake in preheated oven for 90 minutes.
- Let rest in the pan for 15-20 minutes. Using parchment transfer cooked potatoes to cutting board. Cut and serve hot. Garnish with fresh thyme if desired.
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