Potato Stacks
This potato stacks recipe is yet another amazing way to showcase delicious Yukon gold and sweet potatoes with very little effort on your part. It’s the perfect side dish for a weekend family dinner or a vegan holiday feast.
If you thought that after crispy smashed potatoes and rumbledethumps I’ve exhausted my potato creativity, just you wait!
Sometimes, the key is to strip is back to basics and enjoy potatoes with only a few seasonings that highlight the main ingredients: sweet potatoes and Yukon gold potatoes.
Did you know that you can search the recipes in the PlantYou Planner database by ingredient? If you love potatoes, you can take advantage of that feature and enjoy your favorite starch in many different ways.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- One word: potatoes. Except in this recipe, we are using two types – sweet potato and Yukon gold.
- Making potato stacks is a great way to keep the simple, comforting quality of potatoes, while also elevating the presentation. Talk about restaurant-level dish!
- Minimal ingredients make this dish both affordable and accessible. Adding herb oil to potato slices adds a lot of flavor with little effort.
- This recipe uses a mandolin, making the slicing much quicker and easier. After that, most of the process is hands-off.
- Potato stacks is an amazing and elegant way to complement main dishes like breaded tofu cutlets and vegan ham.
Key Ingredients
- Yukon gold potatoes (or similar) are ideal for roasting, not to mention their beautiful color.
- Sweet potatoes add some contrast to your dinner table and some sweetness to this side dish.
- Fresh thyme does wonders in the oven. Plus, your entire house will smell amazing!
- Herb oil is a quick and simple way to season your potato stacks with herbs, garlic, and nutritional yeast.
Hack It!
- If you’re using a different variety of potato or sweet potato, you may need to adjust the cooking time. An easy way to check if your potato stacks are cooked is to put a toothpick or a butter knife through: it should slide through with ease.
- If you do not own a mandolin, you can manually slice potatoes into thin slices. Be sure to factor in the additional time this takes.
- If you do not have a muffin tin, may I suggest my vegan scalloped potatoes recipe? It’s a nice way to utilize potato slices in an elegant way.
- Naturally, you can adjust the seasonings to your liking by adding extra salt or swapping out herbs and spices.
How to Make Potato Stacks
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400F. Prepare a muffin tin by lightly coating it with spray oil. In each muffin cup, add a sprig of thyme.
Step 2: In a bowl, add all of the herb oil ingredients and stir until combined. Set aside.
Step 3: Ideally using a mandolin, thinly slice the sweet potatoes and Yukon gold potatoes (1/16 inch). Split the herb oil between two mixing bowls, and mix in each type of potato.
Step 4: Stack the potato slices into each muffin cup to the very top, as the potatoes will shrink in the oven. I like to do sweet potato stacks separate from Yukon gold.
Step 5: Sprinkle with flakey salt and cover with foil. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake for further 20-25 minutes, until the stacks are crispy.
You can broil on high for 2 to 3 minutes at the end, watching closely, to get really crispy stacks.
Step 6: Serve immediately with your main of choice. Add extra thyme and flaky salt as desired.
Frequently Asked Questions
The quantities as listed should lend 12 servings – enough for a full muffin tin or two smaller ones.
However, depending on the size of your potatoes and muffin tray dimensions, you may have a different amount of potato stacks. Just go with the flow!
You can definitely make this recipe by manually slicing potatoes. However, a mandolin is a great tool to invest in, and it makes the slices uniform. So even if you only use it for potato stacks, it’s a great utensil!
If you’re setting up for something festive, I would recommend making a centerpiece dish like glazed vegan ham or vegan roast beef.
In a more informal setting, I love pairing potatoes with pie, like my sweet potato black bean chili with cornbread crust or easy veggie pot pie.
More Plant-Based Festive Side Dishes
If you love having a physical cookbook you can refer to, both PlantYou cookbooks feature my signature infographic design and easy, budget-friendly vegan recipes. Plus, cookbooks make a great holiday gift! *wink-wink*
The Recipe: Potato Stacks
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes, medium to large, about 1½ lbs
- 5 Yukon gold potatoes, medium to large, about 1½ lbs
- 12 sprigs thyme, small
- Flaky salt, to top
Herb oil
- 4 ½ tbsp vegan melted butter or olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp dried parsley
- 2 tsp thyme leaves, finely chopped, fresh or dry
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp salt
Equipment
- Mandolin preferable, but a sharp knife can be used instead
- 12-slot muffin tin or two 6-slot muffin tins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Lightly coat a 12-cup muffin tin with spray oil.
- In a bowl, add all of the herb oil ingredients and stir until combined. Set aside.
- Ideally using a mandolin, slice the sweet potatoes and Yukon gold potatoes 1/16th of an inch thick. Put the sweet potatoes in one bowl, and the Yukon golds in another.
- Split the herb oil between the two bowls, and coat the potato slices.
- In each muffin cup, add a sprig of thyme, followed by the sliced potatoes. I make one muffin cup yukon gold, and the next sweet potato. These don't have to look perfect. Stagger the potato slices for good looking stacks, and fill the muffin tins completely as the potatoes will shrink in the oven.
- Add flakey salt on top, and cover with foil. Place in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, until the stacks are crispy. You can broil on high for 2 to 3 minutes at the end, watching closely, to get the crispy stacks you desire.
- Enjoy with more thyme and flakey salt as desired. This is the perfect holiday side dish!
Notes
- If you’re using a different variety of potato or sweet potato, you may need to adjust the cooking time. An easy way to check if your potato stacks are cooked is to put a toothpick or a butter knife through: it should slide through with ease.
- If you do not own a mandolin, you can manually slice potatoes into thin slices. Be sure to factor in the additional time this takes.
- Naturally, you can adjust the seasonings to your liking by adding extra salt or swapping out herbs and spices.
