Creamy Sweet Potato and Muenster Gratin
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My sweet potato and muenster gratin is the perfect side dish for your next holiday gathering. It’s easy to make and packed with flavor, thanks to the combination of sweet potatoes, muenster cheese, and a creamy béchamel sauce. Plus, it’s sure to impress your guests!
This popular and super-southern ingredient bakes up into a luxurious side dish which is sure to be a hit with any crowd. The combination of sweet and savory ingredients will have ’em coming back for seconds every time you make it.
The unusual pairing of mild flavored Muenster cheese adds just the right amount of tang and saltiness to the perfectly cooked starchy base, while milk and cream morph that cheesy goodness into a silky sauce, making it intoxicatingly delicious! This delightful side might just steal the spotlight at your next dinner.
Gratin is a French cooking technique where ingredients are topped with a mixture of cheese, butter, and herbs giving the bake a wonderfully crispy crust. The resulting consistency just beneath the surface of the bake is altogether decadent, and one beautifully textured and artful side.
Ingredients for This Gratin Recipe
- Large Sweet Potatoes – the basis of this dish and an altogether filling starch
- Muenster Cheese – a neutral dairy on its own, but a tangy and savory compliment to the cooked starchy base
- Ground Nutmeg – provides not only flavor, but an olfactory experience to the overall dish
- Garlic Cloves – fresh equals sweet as it caramelizes during the oven bake
- Salted Butter – offers a necessary seasoning to otherwise sweet ingredients and also hastens browning
- Heavy Cream – a thickener
- Milk – creates a silky texture
- Minced Fresh Herbs – choose any combination of fresh such as thyme, sage, parsley, marjoram, or rosemary
- Kosher salt and Black Pepper – necessary seasonings to taste
Equipment You’ll Need
The most important equipment for this is a shallow baking dish to help your gratin get not only the look, but the texture you want. I recommend a cast iron braiser and have linked to the one I am using in my photos in the recipe card below.
As long as whatever you are using is shallow and oven safe, you should be fine. You will also need your oven, a saucepan, a paring knife, and a mandoline…or the patience to shave your potatoes by hand!
How to Make A Gratin
Before You Begin
Preheat the oven and lightly grease a shallow enameled cast iron braiser with butter. You can use salted or unsalted for this step, but be sure and grease it liberally.
Make a Thin Béchamel
To a saucepan, add the cream, milk, chopped herbs, Kosher salt, black pepper, and the remaining butter. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, until the butter is melted and the mixture is heated through. Cut the heat but leave atop the warm burner.
Prep the Potatoes
Peel the sweet potatoes. Remove any black spots with a pairing knife. I use a mandoline to thinly slice the potatoes, about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick but if you haven’t one, use a sharp kitchen knife but be intentional about thin slices.
Assemble the Gratin
Begin a layering process using overlapping potato rounds in the bottom of the braiser, covering the entire bottom of the dish. Alternate sprinkling the potatoes with a portion of the nutmeg, Muenster cheese, and cream mixture.
Repeat the process with the remaining ingredients to form all the layers of your dish. Press down on the layers to completely submerge the potatoes in the cream mixture and top with additional cheese and a very small final grind of nutmeg.
NOTE: for a visual extra, tear whole rosemary leaves from their branches and sprinkle a tablespoon or so over the final layer of potatoes before you top with the final scattering of Muenster. The oil from the cheese will keep the rosemary from drying out as it melts.
Bake
Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and continue baking until the cream has been absorbed, the potatoes are cooked through, and the top is browned, another 30 to 45 minutes.
Remove from the oven. Allow the gratin to stand and cool slightly. Sprinkle with additional fresh minced herbs if you like.
Tips for Success!
1. Be sure to pat your potatoes very dry before layering! This will ensure the delightful, melty texture you want.
2. Think presentation! Sprinkle fresh herbs such as whole rosemary leaves over the final layer of potatoes before you top with the final scattering of Muenster. The oil from the cheese will keep the rosemary from drying out as it melts.
3. I like to garnish the top of my sweet potato gratin with some extra cheese and freshly chopped herbs to add a little extra flavor.
How to Store and Serve Sweet Potato and Muenster Gratin
Allow the gratin to stand for 15 minutes prior to serving. This crucial cooling time allows the dish to finish baking outside of the oven and gives the flavors more time to blend together.
Outside of major holidays (this potato dish complements EVERYTHING from my baked Easter ham to my Christmas filet of beef to a roasted Thanksgiving turkey!) I recommend serving this delicious gratin alongside some freshly grilled chicken and a side salad, but it goes great with any protein and veggie.
If you have any leftovers, you can refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat any leftovers in the microwave food about one minute or until heated all the way through.
Modifying the Norm to Make It Not Entirely Average
- Cook and drain mild country sausage (bulk), breaking up into fine crumbles as it renders, and add to the layering process.
- Top the fully baked gratin with crispy pancetta or prosciutto pieces, offering a salty, umami flavor profile.
- Top with crispy oyster croutons (fried oysters) for a very hearty main dish.
Creamy Sweet Potato and Muenster Gratin
Equipment
- cast iron braiser I like this one
Ingredients
- 3 large sweet potatoes peeled, black spots removed, sliced 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick on a mandoline
- 1 cup Muenster cheese shredded or finely cubed from a single, large block
- 1 tablespoon nutmeg fresh; plus more to taste
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 4 tablespoons salted butter softened; divided
- ¾ cups heavy cream
- ¾ cups whole milk
- 2 tablespoons herbs fresh; minced; any combination of thyme, sage, parsley, marjoram, and rosemary
- Kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a shallow enameled cast iron braiser with 1 tablespoon of salted butter.
- To a saucepan, add the remaining 3 tablespoons butter, cream, milk, chopped herbs, Kosher salt, and black pepper. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, until the butter is melted and the mixture is heated through. Cut the heat but leave atop the warm burner.
- Begin a layering process using overlapping sweet potato rounds in the bottom of the braiser. Make sure the entire surface of the cast iron bottom is covered. Next, sprinkle with 1/3 of the nutmeg followed by 1/3 of the Muenster and 1/3 of the warm cream mixture. In the skillet, arrange the potatoes in an even layer.
- Repeat with the remaining potatoes, nutmeg, Muenster cheese, and cream mixture to form 3 layers. Press down on the layers to completely submerge the sweet potatoes in the cream mixture and top with additional cheese and a very small final grind of nutmeg. NOTE: for a visual extra, tear whole rosemary leaves from their branches and sprinkle a tablespoon or so over the final layer of potatoes before you top with the final scattering of Muenster. The oil from the cheese will keep the rosemary from drying out as it melts.
- Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and continue baking until the cream has been absorbed, the potatoes are cooked through, and the top is browned, another 30 to 45 minutes.
- Remove from the oven. Allow the gratin to stand for 15 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with additional fresh minced herbs if desired.
Notes
- Cook and drain mild country sausage (bulk), breaking up into fine crumbles as it renders, and add to the layering process.
- Top the fully baked gratin with crispy pancetta or prosciutto pieces, offering a salty, umami flavor profile.
- Top with crispy oyster croutons (fried oysters) for a very hearty main dish.
- For a visual extra, tear whole rosemary leaves from their branches and sprinkle a tablespoon or so over the final layer of potatoes before you top with the final scattering of Muenster. The oil from the cheese will keep the rosemary from drying out as it melts.
- Be sure to pat your potatoes very dry before layering! This will ensure the delightful, melty texture you want.
- I like to garnish the top of my sweet potato gratin with some extra cheese and freshly chopped herbs to add a little extra flavor.
The nutrition value can vary depending on what product(s) you use. The information below is an estimate. Always use a calorie counter you are familiar with.
Please note that table salt and iodized salt are NOT substitutions for Kosher salt. Do not deviate unless otherwise specified.
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Despite the higher sugar content in sweet potatoes, there are nutritional benefits for eating sweet potatoes over your average white potato. For one, they have an extremely high vitamin A content, and are a good source of healthy fats. Sweet potatoes also have a lot of fiber.
Gratin is absolutely a texture game. Your dish should be no deeper than 3 inches, and make sure your potatoes are sliced super thin! The braiser linked in the recipe card above is the one I like and am using visible in my photos.
Gratin includes a cheese component, while scalloped potatoes typically do not. This offers a different textural experience.
You absolutely can! Simply swap out the dairy ingredients with your preferred, dairy free alternative. As a note, make sure your heavy cream and milk substitutes aren’t sweetened, as this is a savory dish.
