I got this idea for luscious sweet potatoes gratin after I made my now-famous recipe for potato Gratin Dauphinois, then solidified it when I made bacon-rosemary mashed potatoes. I thought, what if I change up these recipes a little bit, using a different starch and a few new spices? I’m all about experimentation, and I was tired of the same old — though delicious — potato gratin/mashed potatoes recipe. I wanted a new game. And of course, I wanted it sweeter.
I opted to use sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes have less starch than their paler tuberous cousins, so the recipe required a little noodling to thicken the sauce up. I had a block of cream cheese in my fridge, so I used that. The texture of this gratin it nice and thick, with a velvety smooth finish from the cream cheese.
The end result is a savory sweet potatoes gratin that curled my toes. Think potatoes au gratin, but just a touch sweeter. I added a few winter spices to the mix, so this warm, comforting dish tastes similar to pumpkin pie; while it’s baking, the scent of nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon will drift through your house, beckoning everyone to dinner.
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch slices (unrinsed)
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup cream cheese
- 1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 tablespoons cold butter, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup crème fraîche
- Chopped parsley, for garnish
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). Dot the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish or standard 3-4 quart casserole dish with the butter.
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring sweet potatoes, milk, cream cheese, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and ground cloves to a simmer. Turn heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring and turning over the sweet potatoes at least once a minute.
- Once the sweet potatoes are done simmering, add half of the sweet potatoes to the baking dish. Sprinkle gently with salt and pepper, and spread around half of the crème fraîche. Sprinkle with half of the garlic.
- Add the rest of the sweet potatoes to the dish, and finish with another layer of salt and pepper, the rest of the crème fraîche, and the remainder of the diced garlic. Pour the remainder of the sweet potatoes cooking liquid into the dish.
- Slide baking dish into oven and cook for 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. If you like, finish it with 2 minutes in the broiler to get the golden brown top. Allow to sit 10 minutes before serving, garnished with chopped parsley.
This content was originally posted on FearlessFresh.com.
Yum! This looks like the ultimate comfort food. :)
Sounds like a good fit for a pending snow trip. Hearty, healthy, warm.
This sounds so delicious and perfect for a winter Sunday supper. I love using sweet potatoes instead of regular in things like this. Great idea!
Oh, this has my name on it. I love sweet potatoes, though I’d have to convert it to dairy free. Not sure what I’d use for the creme fraiche. Any ideas?
Hrmmm. Can you have soy? How about soy sour cream? Not sure how it would heat, but it’s worth a shot.
What size/depth of baking dish did you use for this particular temperature/baking time? This recipe looks delicious!
Thanks Any average-sized baking for casserole dish will work. I used an 8×8 square or a standard 4-quart casserole. :)
Sweet potato gratin–love it. I had the same question as GF Diva. So sour cream works (I’m okay with dairy I just usually don’t have creme fraiche around).
Oh boy, that’s a keeper. And the good news is I’ll have to eat it all myself because hubby doesn’t like sweet potatoes. Or maybe this will win him over?
Love this recipe. Sweet potatoes are way up there on the list with me. I eat them all the time – but never quite this way. Sounds delish.
sweet potato and cream cheese — sounds like a tasty combination and not one I’d have thought about. I have had sweet potatoes with marinara sauce though…
This sounds stunning. I’ll have to remember it for when our weather cools down.
This sounds amazing. I’m bookmarking it. I have many potato fans in my family.
This sounds so good… but I wonder, are you really able to find sweet potatoes so easily? I haven’t been able to find them in years. They keep trying to sell me yams as sweet potatoes. Maybe they’re harder to find in the south (Florida, Texas)? Yams might be ok in this recipe, but I would really love it with sweet potatoes. Next time I find some…!
I finally had the opportunity to make this on Sunday. Divine! I enjoyed have the leftovers with lunch, Monday and today. This will be a hit with everyone on Thanksgiving.
This is pretty good. However there is a bit too much liquid. So either you have to simmer it longer than I did to absorb more of the fluid or cut the milk back to 1.5 cups.
Why do so many “blog” cooks not say how many servings their recipes make?
Please don’t include me on your email list.
Can this be prepped the day before its baked?
Yes it can! You’d just want to let it sit out of the fridge for half an hour before baking.