If you’re looking for something a little new and different to make for the holidays, serve as a side dish for dinner, or even brunch, then I’ve got the recipe for you.
These cheesy scalloped sweet potatoes are made with a lightened up gouda cheese and chipotle chile sauce for a hint of heat and smoky flavor.
This recipe was inspired by Abra’s roommate Kiltie, or as we like to call her Kilter Krocker. She’s basically the savory version of Betty Crocker and ridiculously adorable. After Thanksgiving last year, Abra told me about these fabulous smoky chipotle gouda scalloped sweet potatoes that Kiltie made for their Friendsgiving party.
I haven’t stopped thinking about these sweet potatoes since, so I recreated them, lightening up a few things here and there and they came out amazingly delicious. Your next side dish for your Easter brunch menu, perhaps?!
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What’s the difference between scalloped and au gratin potatoes?
Scalloped potatoes often use cheese, cream and sliced potatoes. On the other hand, potatoes au gratin usually have cheese between each layer and breadcrumbs on top; oftentimes they also are made with very thinly sliced potatoes. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter if you call them sweet potatoes au gratin or scalloped sweet potatoes, because they’re going to be delicious either way.
How to make scalloped sweet potatoes
Step 1: sliced 3-4 large sweet potatoes into 1/8th inch thick rounds and layer in slanted rows in a greased 8×8 inch pan. You don’t want to pack them overly tight so that they stand up in straight rows — slanted is best!
Step 2: make your cheesy gouda chipotle sauce by combining butter, flour and milk of choice in a saucepan until it resembles a creamy gravy. Stir in gouda cheese and chipotle chile sauce then pour over sweet potatoes. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes or until sweet potatoes are fork tender.
Step 3: Add a little more cheese on top, then broil until bubbly. Garnish the scalloped sweet potatoes with parsley. Serve immediately!
Can au gratin or scalloped sweet potatoes be made ahead of time?
You can absolutely make these a day ahead of time! Simply pour the sauce over the sweet potatoes as directed, then cover the potatoes with foil and instead of baking, place in the fridge until ready to bake.
More healthy side dishes you might like:
Slow Cooker Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Vegan Potato Salad with Herbed Tahini Sauce
I hope you enjoy these cheesy scalloped sweet potatoes! Feel free to use sharp cheddar cheese instead of gouda and additional chipotle chile sauce if you like a little kick of heat. Enjoy! xo.
If you make this recipe, please take the time to leave a comment below and rate the recipe, it helps us and other readers know how you liked the recipe. Thank you!
Chipotle Gouda Scalloped Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- For the sweet potatoes:
- 3 large sweet potatoes, sliced into 1/8th inch thick rounds
- For the sauce:
- 2 tablespoons salted butter (or sub vegan butter)
- 1/3 cup flour (whole wheat, all purpose, or gluten free 1:1 flour will all work)
- 2 cups milk (skim, 2%, whole milk or heavy cream all work)*
- 12 ounces smoked gouda cheese OR sharp cheddar cheese, shredded and divided (about 1 ½ cups)
- 2-3 tablespoons sauce from the can of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, depending how spicy you like it
- 4 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
- Lots of freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste
- To garnish:
- Fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray an 8x8 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray or grease with butter or oil.
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Place sliced sweet potatoes in three tight slanted rows as indicated in the photos. You don’t want them to be overly tight, make sure you leave enough space so the sweet potato slices are slightly slanted.
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Next make your sauce: add in 2 tablespoons of butter and place over medium heat. Once butter melts, whisk in half of the flour and cook for 10-20 seconds until a paste forms, then very slowly add 2 cups of the milk, while you add the rest of the flour and continue to whisk away any lumps. You’ll need to whisk pretty vigorously but it should smooth out easily.
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Once smooth, bring mixture to a low simmer for 5-10 minutes stirring every so often until sauce thickens up a bit, similar to a gravy. If it gets too thick, add in a few tablespoons more milk.
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Once thick, turn off the heat and stir in 1 cup shredded gouda cheese, garlic cloves and 2 tablespoons of the sauce from the can of chipotle chiles. Season with freshly ground salt and pepper to taste.
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After tasting the sauce, you can decide if you want to kick it up a notch and add in a tablespoon more of the chipotle sauce. I definitely recommend it!
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Pour the sauce evenly over the sweet potatoes to cover them. Don’t worry, the sauce will get nice and creamy while baking.
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Cover the pan with foil, then bake for 45 minutes-1 hour. The sweet potatoes are done when the middle sweet potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork.
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Once they are done baking, remove the foil, sprinkle ½ cup gouda cheese on top, then turn on the broiler in your oven and broil for 1-2 minutes or until cheese is nice and melted and slightly golden brown. Remove from oven and garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
If you want to lighten these up a little more, use cashew milk from the carton. It's light and creamy neutral flavor is perfect for the cheese sauce!
Instead of gouda, feel free to use sharp cheddar cheese.
I think adding cooked chopped bacon to these potatoes would be amazing, or even sprinkling a few bacon bits on top for additional flavor!
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
30 comments
Im going to try to make this for Easter brunch! Can I use any other form of gluten free flour (coconut flour, almond flour) or will it affect the flavors?
Sorry for the delay! I recommend using an all purpose gluten free flour such as Bob’s 1:1 flour. Coconut or almond flour will not work the same.
Thank you!
So easy and delicious 😀 Turned out perfectly. Thank you!
So happy to hear that!
My husband and I absolutely loved this recipe! It’s definitely going to be a staple around here for sure! Definitely not using skim milk next time because they came out a little watery but it was to be expected.
We’re making these today to bring to dinner with friends! They love experimenting with new recipes on us, and we love doing it to them. We don’t know what they’re making but I’m sure it will be good and how could anyone hate these potatoes? Our meals end up pretty random sometimes but that’s the fun quirk of this friendship.
Such a great idea! I hope everyone loved these 🙂
I made some modifications to make this Plant Paradox compliant. This is so delicious and a major crowd pleaser. I’ve served this at two special occasions so far, and everyone raves.
Perfect! I’m glad everyone loves it!
FLAVOR EXPLOSION! Growing up, I had never been a fan of the sweet potato… even with marshmallows…NO. While looking through Pinterest for side dishes, I came across this and knew I had to make it on Easter. It was seriously… LOVE AT FIRST BITE! The appearance, texture, and the TASTE were better than I could have imagined. Thank you for blessing our taste buds with this recipe!
So delicious! Glad you loved these!
Had for dinner tonight and everyone devoured them! I did use extra chipotle sauce and added chopped peppers as well as everyone likes a kick!
Perfect! So good!
This sounds amazing. I would like to fix it for dinner but not sure what to pair with it protein wise. It wouldn’t be for breakfast or a holiday.
Thanks
Check out the dinner category for some great options! https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/dinner/
OMG! Absolutely incredible… makes me want to lick the plate. We put both white and sweet potatoes in as we have not really been big sweet potato fans… until now
Love that! So happy it was a hit!
Can this be made a day ahead and placed in fridge overnight? Can’t wait to try
Yep! Check out the full blog post for instructions on how to do so 🙂
I have been making a very similar recipe as yours for decades on Thanksgiving. I add fresh cranberries and chopped walnuts on top. The cranberries add a bit of sweet tart and the walnuts add some crunch factor (along with all the goodness of walnuts). It’s been my alternative to those overly sweet candies yams everyone makes and became a hit Friendsgiving potluck dish over the years (I’ve been designated the sweet potatoes and the turkey person every year).
Love that! Sounds delicious 🙂
I just made this this… It is so delicious that I am speechless!
Thank you for this recipe!
Love it! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
These were SO GOOD! We added add’l seasoning and used heavy cream — delicious! Definitely our new “party trick”
Love it! Glad you enjoyed!
Are russet potatoes an option here? The flavor combination sounds good but I don’t like sweet potatoes.
Sure!
I’ve made these for two thanksgivings in a row and they are a hit. The only dish that completely was gone both times and I double the recipe! Do not sleep on these. Not your traditional sweet potato side dish but one that will leave an impression. Didn’t change a single thing. My favorite recipe from Monique!!
Aw thanks, Lauren! I’m SO happy that everyone loved them (and finished the whole pan!!!)