Potato Stacks with Garlic, Thyme, and Parmesan
Potato stacks are the perfect side dish for a dinner party or holiday meal. They’re made with cream, fresh thyme, garlic, nutmeg, parmesan cheese, and potatoes. The crispy potatoes have a soft, creamy center piled with flavor.
What are Potato Stacks?
This potato dish is the star of any dinner table or holiday meal as it’s similar to scalloped potatoes. The edges of the potatoes become crispy from the metal muffin cups while the center is perfectly tender. Parmesan cheese is an excellent pairing with potatoes, and this dish is no exception. You can substitute your favorite type of melty cheese if you prefer.
If your oven is full of other holiday dishes, you can cook these crispy herb potato stacks in the air fryer or counter oven instead. Even though this side dish is made with humble potato, the flavor combinations in this recipe will have you making this dish again and again.
Looking for an easier potato side dish? Try our Cheesy Baked Mashed Potatoes.
Ingredients
You can find these simple ingredients in your local grocery store.
- Heavy cream: Heavy cream gives the potatoes a creamy flavor and bakes without separating.
- Thyme leaves: For best flavor, use fresh thyme.
- Garlic: Make sure the garlic is fresh and smells strongly of garlic for the best results.
- Nutmeg: This is a wonderfully warm fall spice.
- Russet potatoes: Russet potatoes are ideal for making these potato stacks but you can also use another starchy potato instead. Some great options include Yukon gold potatoes or white, yellow, or purple potatoes. Don’t use small fingerlings or petite potatoes since they won’t hold up as well.
- Kosher salt: Salt is important for potatoes to balance the starch.
- Black pepper: Freshly cracked black pepper adds flavor and a bit of spice.
- Parmesan cheese: This hard, strong cheese pairs wonderfully with potatoes.
What’s the Best Way to Slice the Potatoes?
The beauty of these crispy potato stacks are the thin slices of potatoes that create these little mounds.
Mandoline Slicer: The best way to get your potatoes the perfect consistent slices is to use a mandoline slicer. This very sharp tool is used to make thinly sliced potatoes, other vegetables, fruit, cheese, or meat.
You do this by sliding the ingredient along the edge of the horizontal blade on the lowest setting. Be sure to use caution, as you can easily cut your fingers if you’re not careful.
Chef’s Knife: If you don’t have a mandoline slicer, you can use a chef’s knife instead. The safest way to do this is to cut a slice off the bottom of the potato to get it to sit flat on the surface. Keeping your fingers out of the way, make cuts as thin as possible with a sharp knife.
How to Make Potato Stacks
Here are some brief instructions on how to make these cheesy stacks. You can find the full recipe below.
- Prepare a standard muffin tray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Warm together cream, thyme, garlic, and nutmeg in a small saucepan.
- Toss the potato slices with salt and pepper and layer them into stacks in the prepared muffin pan.
- Spoon the cream over each potato stack and then sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
- Bake until the potatoes are knife tender and golden brown on top.
- Remove the muffin pan from the oven and let sit. Run a knife around the edges to loosen up the stacks and carefully remove them to a serving platter.
Recipe Tips
Here are a few tips and tricks to ensure you get the best crispy parmesan potato stacks every single time.
- Garnish! Top each potato stack with a sprig of fresh herbs for a beautiful presentation.
- Get the right size potatoes. Make sure you buy medium to small-size potatoes so they fit in a standard muffin pan.
- No need to peel potatoes. In a hurry? Feel free to leave the skin on the potatoes before slicing them. Just clean the outside and scrub away any dirt.
- Heavy cream is the key. Do not replace heavy cream with half and half or milk. It will not thicken during baking and you’ll end up with oily potatoes.
Variations
You can easily make this tasty side dish with your favorite ingredients. Here are some options you can try:
- Use other fresh herbs like rosemary or oregano. If you don’t have fresh herbs, you can use dried herbs instead.
- Melty cheese like gruyere cheese, Havarti, mozzarella cheese, comte, cheddar, asiago, or romano.
- Use your favorite seasonings depending on what you’re serving the potatoes with. Try using ginger, cardamom, coriander, garlic powder, onion powder, or cayenne pepper.
Other Ways to Cook This Dish
If you aren’t able to use your oven because it’s been taken over by the Thanksgiving turkey, you can also cook these potato stacks in an air fryer or countertop oven.
Simply prepare the potatoes as you normally would in the muffin tin and then pop it in the air fryer at 350 degrees and cook until the potatoes are soft all the way through.
Garnish potato stacks with more parmesan cheese after they come out of the oven for added richness and flavor!
How to Serve
You can serve this elegant side dish with sour cream, chives, or scallions.
You can also serve them for holiday dinner with dishes like:
Storing Tips
Refrigerate: Store these potato stacks in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.
Reheat: You can reheat them in 30-second increments in the microwave until they’re heated through.
Freeze: To freeze them, make the stacks in the oven, allow them to cool completely, place them in a single layer in a container, and store in the freezer for up to three months. Potatoes might not have the same texture and taste when thawed.
FAQs
You can make these potato stacks dairy-free with olive oil or bacon fat instead. They will not be as creamy but will have deliciously crispy edges.
Besides topping them with fresh herbs, you can top them with cooked bacon.
Your fork or sharp knife should slide right through the stack with no resistance when they’re done baking.
Video: How to Make Potato Stacks
More Holiday Side Dishes
- Hasselback Potato Gratin
- Lemon Asparagus Risotto
- Red Skin Mashed Potatoes
- Roasted Asparagus with Lemon
Potato Stacks with Garlic, Thyme, and Parmesan
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 12 potato stacks 1x
- Category: Side
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Creamy on the inside and crispy on the outside, these creamy potato stacks are simple to make, delicious to eat, and really can’t be beat. It’s my new favorite way to serve potatoes for the holidays!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 2 lbs. medium russet potatoes (about 4-5), peeled and sliced 1/8 to 1/16 inch thick
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Special Tools
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Spray 12 cup standard muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small sauce pan, whisk together cream, thyme, garlic, and nutmeg. Bring to a slow simmer and remove from the heat. You want the cream just heated through. Discard the thyme.
- Toss the potato slices with salt and pepper and layer them into stacks in the prepared muffin cups, filling each one to the top but not over the top.
- Spoon cream over each potato stack, filling almost to the top. You will have a couple or so slices exposed. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the potatoes are knife tender and golden brown on top.
- Remove the muffin pan from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edges to loosen up the stacks and carefully remove them to a serving platter. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Potatoes: Other starchy potatoes can be used instead, such as Yukon gold potatoes or white, yellow, or purple potatoes.
- Cream: For best results, do not replace heavy cream with half and half or another milk alternative. In my experience, half and half will separate during baking, and potatoes turn out oily.
- Leftovers: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 potato stack
- Calories: 164
- Sugar: 1.8 g
- Sodium: 251.7 mg
- Fat: 11.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 13.1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 35.2 mg
Recipe originally published November 2015
these are insanely delicious! I made the right decision of doubling the recipe right away, these were GONE
Made these the other night and they were fabulous!! Used a sprig of rosemary from my garden to infuse the cream, as I didn’t have any thyme. These were the creamiest potatoes I’ve ever tasted! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!
Thank you Sandra!
During these times now nobody can get out would I be able to use half-and-half in this recipe?
Half and half contains less fat than heavy cream, therefore, it can not be thickened by straight reduction because it will curdle before it thickens. However, half-and-half can be thickened by adding it to a roux, which is a mixture of flour and fat.
I was looking for easy singe serving portions to make for Christmas dinner for a large group, and these looked SO good. (It ended up being the only dish with nothing left over.) I’m not used to cooking with anything but red potatoes, so I just had to trust the reasoning behind the russet potatoes. Couple of changes I made:
-I could only find whipping cream, NOT heavy whipping cream at the last minute, and it was fine.
-I used some dried thyme with the cream mixture and actually kept it in. It made the stacks look pretty and was only a mild flavor
-I added the grated parmesan close to the very end of baking so it didn’t burn
-I used toothpicks to hold the stacks together to let them cool and gel a little, then guests removed them before eating. Worked very well and they held together
-Thyme sprig on top was the perfect presentation!
Thank you Heather for your feedback! So happy that these potato stacks were a hit.
Would gruyere cheese work in place of Parmesan?
You certainly can!
I made these stacks for New Year’s Eve. Substituted Gruyere for the parmesan but other than that followed the recipe. These potatoes are amazing, a huge hit and fun to make! I will definitely be making again. Thanks and Happy New Year!
Thank you Edie! I so appreciate your feedback. So happy to hear you enjoyed these potato stacks.
Don’t tell me one stack is a serving, because who would settle for only one? Made this recipe for the first time tonight and I love them! The nutmeg is a nice touch, and the crusty Parmesan top is lip-smacking good! This is a great recipe for a night with just the family or with special guests! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Kim! So glad to hear you enjoyed it.
Doubled the recipe and it came out perfectly! Sprayed the muffin pan and then used strips of parchment paper to make an “X” in the bottom. I used the strips and pulled the potatoes right out of the pan. Perfect and so yummy. Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you Jen! So glad to hear you enjoyed these potato stacks.
That’s a great idea about using the parchment paper strips. I was wondering even with spraying the muffin pan if they fall apart when you try to get them out. I’m going to make this this weekend.
These look delicious and will definitely try them. How much cheese did you use. 1 cup?
You just need enough for a light sprinkle on top of the potato stacks
Tried last night and hubby and I thought they were delicious! Will definitely add to my recipe box!
Thank you Jeanne! So glad you enjoyed it. I appreciate your feedback.
Your site alone whets the appetite! I cooked the potato stacks today omitting Parmesan because I was serving with a creamed Spinach gratin that had Parmesan and other cheeses. The “stacks” were easy, lovely and delicious with just the right balance of nutmeg, thyme and garlic. The presentation was beautiful! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much! I love your twist and it sounds absolutely delicious.
I’m having a hard time believing that these stacks hold together with just cream in the pan and the parmesan sprinkled on top. Cream won’t set up into a “glue” when heated. Do you put any cheese between the potato layers to “glue” them together?
There’s no cheese in-between, just the cream. They hold up pretty well.
Tried this recipe. A little to “rich” for me. If I make these again I would use half & half instead of heavy ctream.
Hi Linda: Thanks for your feedback. Half and half does not have enough fat content to use on its own, therefore, the potatoes will not bake through as they do with the cream. My guess would be to create some type of creamy sauce/roux if you wanted to use something else in place of cream.
I ve been making all sort of potatoes in any shape and kind. This Russian girl LOVES potatoes! Thank you for giving me an idea I so long forgot… the thyme and garlic simmered in cream was EVERYTHING! I used silicone muffin tins to make 2dozen for Christmas. Ah..Mazing! Added extra pecorino romano for some “extras”. Super! Thank you again!
Thank you Tatiana! So glad you enjoyed it and thank you for your kind feedback.
This is absolutely deicious!!
We used strips of parchement papter~ perhaps 8 inches by 2 inches wide. Put them across the bottom and up the sides of the muffin tin cups. Used the strips to lift the potato stacks from the tin. It worked perfectly!
For the potatoes: we used a 2 mm slicing blade in food processor. It took less than a minute to slice 2 plus pounds of potatoes. Also, we sliced potatoes several hours in advance then covered with iced water to keep from turning brown. Stacked the potatoes and then trimmed to fit using a biscuit cutter
Also, in advance, we prepared the cream mixture, removing they thyme just before pouring over the stacked potatoes, so the full essence could be enjoyed.
Followed the directions. They needed perhaps an additional 15 minutes before they were tender.
Delicious, beautiful ~ what a lovely way to serve.
That’s so great Martha! So glad you enjoyed it and thank you so much for your kind feedback!
Instead of russets, how would you think that yukon gold potatoes would do with this recipe?
Hi Whitney: I think it would be just fine!
THIS. IS. DANGEROUS. OH MY GOODNESS….. What an incredible idea to use potatoes, i am SO making this for the family…. they will absolutely LOVE IT!! See, that’s why i LOVE your blog/site/insta….. your food is simple and yet amazing. So many creative and tasty and super quick ideas. Looking forward to trying this one out. YUMMY… i might even try some myself (i don’t do potatoes for EXACTLY THE SAME REASON YOU MENTIONED….weakness)
Ha ha! I’m glad I’m not the only one with no self control when it comes to potatoes. And these are worth every bite! I hope you enjoy them.
Hi! This potato recipe looks beautiful. I want to cook them for a dinner party. how long can they sit prior to serving?
I would say about 30 minutes.
Can these be made the night before and then baked?
I haven’t tried them overnight and honestly I can’t give you an accurate answer.
I’ve made these several times now. I love it and more importantly my family loves it, they’re a picky bunch.
Thanks so much Aimee!
Looks yummy. I am making them tonight. Have you tried minced Vidalia onions in this recipe.
Hi Amy! Hope you love it and no I have not tried adding an onion. Let me know if you do!
Love love love these I’ve been making these for over a year now! thank you for sharing
Thank you so much Chanel! So glad you’re enjoying these.