Sliced Potatoes in Muffin Pan
The first time I tried potato stacks, it was love at first bite! Similar to scalloped potatoes, they feature soft, tender potato piles with crispy edges. Topped with melty cheese, their taste and texture are truly incredible!
Jump to:
- You Will Love the Muffin Tin Potatoes
- Potato Stacks Recipe Ingredients
- How to Make Stacked Potatoes
- Potato Stacks Recipe Variations
- Tips for Potato Stacks in Muffin Tin
- How to Serve Muffin Tin Potatoes
- Storing Stacked Potatoes
- Potato Stacks Recipe FAQs
- Video: How to Make Potato Stacks
- More Holiday Side Dishes
- Potato Stacks Recipe
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Looking for an easier potato side dish? Try our Cheesy Baked Mashed Potatoes or Scalloped Potatoes with Cheese.
You Will Love the Muffin Tin Potatoes
As a result, I knew I had to learn how to make them, and they’ve been one of my favorite side dishes ever since. Now, I make them for every holiday and am even known to whip them up for weeknight dinners here and there. I just can’t get enough! Luckily, my family feels the same way.
With simple steps and a total time of just 45 minutes, they couldn’t be easier to make!
And with a five-star rating and over 100 reviews, I think it’s safe to say that readers agree! Take a look at what they have to say:
“Ahhhhmazing! Huge hit at Christmas, absolute favorite. Everyone asked that I do it again! Thank you for the recipe.” – Mindy
“I am not a huge potato fan but I LOVE these. So quick and easy to make but such an elegant presentation and divinely delicious!!!!” – Shauna
“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.)” – Heather
Potato Stacks Recipe Ingredients
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- 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.
How to Make Stacked Potatoes
Here are some brief instructions on how to make these cheesy stacks. You can find the full recipe below.
Step 1: Warm together cream, thyme, garlic, and nutmeg in a small saucepan.
Step 2: Toss the potato slices with salt and pepper.
Step 3: Layer potato slices into stacks in the prepared muffin pan and spoon cream over each stack.
Step 4: Sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese. Bake until potatoes are knife tender and golden brown on top.
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.
Potato Stacks Recipe 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 Potato Stacks
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!
Tips for Potato Stacks in Muffin Tin
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.
How to Serve Muffin Tin Potatoes
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 Stacked Potatoes
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.
Potato Stacks Recipe 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
If you try our potato stacks, please leave a star rating and a comment letting us know how you liked the recipe.
Potato Stacks Recipe
- 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 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
- 2 lbs. medium russet potatoes (about 4-5), peeled and sliced ⅛ to 1/16 inch thick
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- ½ 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 but since been updated with new images and content.
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Hi! I'm Katya -- a former corporate paralegal turned full-time recipe developer and blogger behind Little Broken. Here you'll find family-friendly and seasonal recipes made from real ingredients.
These were awesome! My girls have ask for these in place of mashed potatoes ever since I served them. When there are leftovers (not often) they reheat very well. So happy I found this recipe. Thank you so much!!!
Do you think if I’m doubling the recipe I could put the stacks in a 9X13 casserole dish instead of a cupcake pan?
I don’t think they will hold up. Once you stack them and pour cream, they will most likely fall apart in a casserole dish during baking.
These are so delicious. I want to make them for a large family Christmas dinner. Do you think I could double it and put the stacks in a 9×13 casserole dish instead of individual cupcakes?
I don’t think they will hold up honestly if you just stack them in a casserole dish. You can try it though?
These were delicious!
Thank you for the great recipe.
I would love to make these a few days ahead of dinner party and freeze them. What’s your recommendation for freezing and to reheat at what temperature and for how long?
Thanks!
I would not recommend freezing potatoes. They’re one of few vegetables that do not freeze well.
Good to know! A great potatoe recipe for a smaller dinner party. I appreciate your quick reply.
These are really good. First time I made them, I didn’t have the Pam pray, and I used the olive oil spray. That was a mistake. Potatoes came out greasy. This second time I had the Pam spray and that made a big difference. And letting it stand for 5 mins is also key too.
Will definitely make these again, family in agreement these are the new Christmas Potatoes. Did make a couple of changes. 1/ I never have much luck with a Mandolin slicer, so did the cuts by hand. Did have to cook a full 30 mins. 2/ FYI- only needed about 2 1/2 potatoes for the 12 stacks. 3/ Not fans of nutmeg so substituted crushed rosemary. Missed the instruction of tossing the potatoes with the S/P. So I put it right into the cream and it added a great depth of flavor and texture to the cream sauce. 4/ Finally, just a teaspoon of asiago to the top before baking. Delicious!!!
These were amazing and I’m not even a big potato fan. I experimented a bit with this idea and tried sliced apples sprinkled with brown sugar instead of potatoes. Used the cream with a little cinnamon added and made apple stacks!
Oh wow! That is so creative.
These are to die for!! So incredibly creamy and delicious. I didn’t have thyme, so I use a sprig of fresh rosemary instead. Turned out amazing. My kids had seconds and asked for thirds!
These are perfect for Christmas dinner or a special meal. Takes a bit more work than traditional mashed potatoes, but definitely worth it. Seriously one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.
Thank you Sara! I so appreciate your feedback.
I’ve made these potato stacks numerous times and they are ALWAYS a hit! My husband tells me they are restaurant quality! So creamy with that hint of thyme and yummy Parmesan! I’m making them tonight for a party and can’t wait to hear the great feedback. Thanks for an excellent recipe!
Thank you so much Karen! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe.
Okay.. I totally don’t mean to spam your comments but I didn’t rate the recipe earlier. <333
Thank you! I so appreciate the rating.
Hi, I’m going to make these Tom. But I was wandering if I could make ahead, then warm up in a cookie sheet? I’m at the lake so I’ll be doing it on the bbq. 🙂 Thank you
Cindy
To be honest, I’m not so sure how they will hold up on a cookie sheet after you take them out. They’re best when served immediately.
there is a picture that shows the stacks on a cookie sheet though???
That was simply for the photo. The potato stacks are baked inside a muffin pan.
Cindy…..turn your bbq into an oven with indirect heat! I have a lake place as well. You could definitely cook these in the muffin tins on the barbie!
Katya, thank you so much for sharing this! The potatoes were soooo delicious! And everyone scarfed them down in minutes. Hahah. I followed your recipe exactly and it was PERFECTION!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you Maheen.
What a great idea! I’ll definitly have to try them out. Since I’m vegan, I’ll make a vegan version which seems doable 😉
Boy, are these delicious! Easy and great for guests. Thanks for sharing this recipe even though it looks like it was several years ago and I just found it yesterday! Lol
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you.
Can you use another potato like Yukon gold? It’s what I have on hand.
Yes, you definitely can!
Outstanding. These were so simple to create and tasted divine. Thank you!
Thank you Amy! So happy to hear you enjoyed it.
These look amazing, and sorry for this question… BUT is there any non dairy alternative for the cream that you think would work? My daughter is lactose intolerant. If you say no, I will secretly make them anyway and eat them in the closet. Hehehe
I’ve never made them with a non-dairy alternative. For these to work, it has to be something with high-fat content that can thick up on its own (like whipping cream). But I vote make them anyway and eat in the closet 🙂
yes, you can use coconut milk (not the asian kind in the can but the non-dairy sub in tetra packs) or for a low fat version you can use chicken broth.
Ever since I tried this recipe a few years ago, it has been my ‘go to’ potato recipe. It’s now a tradition at Christmas, and everyone I’ve served this to absolutely loved it. So much better than regular scalloped potatoes, and so easy to make!
Thank you Dori. So happy to hear this has become your favorite!
Perfection
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.