This weekend, I finally got back into the kitchen… I’m not just talking about reheating soup and tossing salads (which is what I had been doing for most of last week). I did some serious cooking and baking!
It all started on Friday with a lack of inspiration for dinner. I had no idea what I wanted to make, and frankly, I didn’t really feel like cooking at all. I hadn’t really gotten back into the kitchen, and I was finding the whole transition somewhat difficult. Instead, I called our favorite restaurant to see if we could squeeze in a reservation, but they were booked for the night (no big surprise, but it was worth a try). I had to make dinner, and it was too late to go to the store for groceries, so I had to use what I had on hand – sweet potatoes.
I could have made a dozen things with the sweet potatoes, but I quickly became fixated on scalloped sweet potatoes au gratin – not the simplest choice considering I was in no mood to cook. I pulled out the mandolin, whipped up a sauce, and I went to work on my sweet potatoes. I was back in the kitchen… And loving it!
These potatoes are somewhat rich, though I did lighten things up by using fat free evaporated milk for the sauce instead of cream. I think they make a great meatless meal served with a green salad, but they’d also be perfect as a side dish, too!
Scalloped Sweet Potatoes Au Gratin
(Serves 6-8)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 leek, cleaned and chopped
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 – 12 ounce can fat free evaporated milk
- Freshly ground nutmeg
- Kosher salt
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
Melt two tablespoons of butter in a small sauce pan. Add the chopped leek and saute in the butter until tender and translucent. Whisk in the flour and cook for a few minutes until golden in color. Gradually whisk in the evaporated milk, and bring the mixture to a bubble. Cook for a minute until the sauce thickens, and then remove from the heat.
Grate some nutmeg into the sauce, and season to taste with the Kosher salt.
Meanwhile, spread a single layer of potatoes in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Spread a small amount of sauce on top of the potatoes, and sprinkle with cheese. Repeat layers of potatoes, sauce, and cheese, reserving extra sauce and cheese for the top layer.
Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in a small microwaveable dish. Stir in the bread crumbs and combine until evenly moistened. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top of the sauce and cheese on the last layer. Bake covered for 35 minutes, and then uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes until golden and bubbly on top.
Let the casserole cool for at least 15 minutes prior to serving.
Glad you are back in the kitchen! I have never tried scalloped sweet potatoes, but I love scalloped potatoes – growing up, they were my favorite food! I am sure I would go nuts over these.
OH my….this IS my kind of recipe!! I adore sweet potatoes….this sounds so DELISH & I can’t wait to try it!! And the addition of leeks….YUM!
I just posted about sweet potato pancakes last week, but in my new post I’m highlighting strawberry season here in Florida…time for crepes! Hope you’ll stop by ;)
Oh, the best! I put Granny Smith apples in my recipe and it’s so good. Makin’ me hungry!
I love the inclusion of Gruyère in this. I like the idea of the punchy sharpness of the cheese here.
Glad you are back at it. Love this recipe!
Glad you’re back Jen. These look amazing! For somebody who didn’t feel like cooking you sure knocked it out of the park :) Love the addition of nutmeg too. I find I’m adding nutmeg to soooo many dishes lately. LOVE!!!
I have never heard of these!! What a great idea and recipe!!
This looks delicious! I recently had a sweet potato gratin at a local restaurant and swore I would try my hand at it…now I have a recipe! :-)
These look incredibly delicious…I am obsessed with leeks right now and I just do happen to have sweet potatoes. Dinner perfection!
Wow-For a last minute dish, this looks fab! I love sweet potatoes-um bookmarked!
wow….these look amazing! Love sweet potatoes, but have never seen them like this! Thanks, Jen!
Love how you write *whipped up a sauce* and how happy you were to be back in your kitchen. These potatoes would be a big hit in this house and a nice change from my regular scalloped ones. I really need to get me a mandoline though.
This looks great! A fantastic way to use up the three sweet potatoes in my kitchen.
Wow! That is not what I would make post-surgery, but good for you! It looks wonderful. I love leek and sweet potatoes together and Gruyere is the perfect compliment. So glad you are back in the kitchen!
Yum! Thanks so much for this! I have 2 sweet potatoes languishing in the cupboard. I can’t wait to try it :)
great to have you back Jen – and especially with this dish; i lurv me all things potato!!!
I’ve never had sweet potatoes like this before! I’m glad you’re back in the kitchen! :-)
This sounds fantastic Jen! I prefer sweet potatoes over regular so I know I’d love these :) I just have to wait for my sweet potato-hating husband to be out so he won’t complain!
What a neat way to use sweet potatoes on an old classic. LOVE IT. This goes on my list to make soon! Thanks.
Glad you’re back to being able to play darlin’…this looks so yummy :)
Girl…if this is you when you DON’T feel like cooking, you have totally put me to shame!!
These look WONDERFUL…I totally LOVE sweet potatoes, and I am all about the meatless meals!! (if only I could get my husband on board)
So glad that you’re back in the kitchen and can’t wait to see what you whip up next!!
Happy Tuesday!!!
Gorgeous! Love the helpful step-by-step.
So glad to have you back love! These look simply scrumptious!!!!
Never had scalloped sweet potatoes! I’ll have to give this a try! :)
I just made these tonight and they were delicious! My husband loved them too – thanks for a great recipe! All your recipes are so good, I’ve actually tried quite a few of them with wonderful results. Keep up the great work!
I have been wanting to do Scalloped sweet potatoes for quite some time now. These look delicious!
I just *happen* to have a bag of sweet potatoes in the pantry and needed something to serve with ribs this weekend. Printing this out….
I am a huge fan of sweet potatoes but I have never tried them scalloped before. Will have to give them a try soon because these could not look more delicious.
Cheesy sweet potatoes would be so good!
WOW! I made this tonight & will now be making it a lot! Amazingly simple & low-fat too! I substituted parmesean cheese & panko crumbs since that’s what I had in the cupboard & it worked perfectly!
These are incredibly good! Made for company a few weeks ago and everyone is calling for recipe so they can take to Thanksgiving (as I’m doing!).
Love your site and blogs…thanks for all the great ideas, recipes, pictures, etc. Happy Holidays!
Hi Jen
Did you use fresh or dried bread crumbs in this recipe.
Jackie – I used dried bread crumbs. If you have fresh, just toast them in the oven for a few minutes to dry them out.
This recipe looks very yummie, I am going to try it for sure. Isnt there a difference between YAMS and sweet potatoes? Yams are orangish in color, Sweet potatoes are much lighter and a little different in flavour. Your photo appears to be Yams, are they not, yes-no?
I didnt see a baking dish size, in the photo it appears to be a large baking dish. It wont take much to figure that one out anyway. This week end is Canadian Thanksgiving so will try this one out, Thanks so much.
Hi, Phyllis – I’m always confused by the difference between yams and sweet potatoes. Either one will work in this recipe!