Versatile in flavor and impressive in appearance, this surprisingly easy-to-prepare sweet potato stackers recipe is the perfect side dish to serve alongside just about any main dish. A great alternative to classic sweet potato casserole, this recipe takes about 20 minutes of prep time when you follow the uncomplicated step-by-step instructions below.
After you give these crispy sweet potato stacks a try, we also have a Sweet Potato Souffle recipe that is a family favorite during the holiday season. And our Easy Mashed Sweet Potatoes are a fun spin on traditional mashed potatoes.
Ingredients You’ll Need
While these sweet potato stacks look like an elevated showstopper, this is truly a simple side dish—they’re essentially sliced sweet potatoes in a muffin pan. The rest of the ingredients may already be in your fridge and pantry. Otherwise, they can be easily obtained at your local grocer. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Sweet potatoes: We used the traditional orange sweet potatoes in this recipe. They’re the most common type of sweet potato that you can find in stores and hold their shape beautifully when sliced. Seek out relatively narrow potatoes of similar diameter so they will fit into the muffin tin cups uniformly.
- Fresh thyme leaves: We prepared our sweet potato stacks recipe with fresh thyme, though dried thyme will work, if that’s what you have on hand. Just keep in mind that you’ll need to adjust the recipe to only 1 teaspoon, if you’re using dried. You can also swap in other fresh herbs, such as fresh rosemary and sage, if you prefer. But remember: small amounts go a long way!
- Unsalted butter: If you only have salted butter in hand, that will work too. However, be sure to adjust the amount of additional salt you use in the seasoning step. While we love the flavor combination of butter and sweet potatoes, you can use an equal amount of olive oil or ghee for a dairy-free alternative.
- Garlic: We tested this recipe with both fresh garlic and granulated garlic. We found that while both options are acceptable, the granulated garlic dispersed more evenly amongst the stacks, and we preferred the milder flavor overall.
- Seasonings: The naturally sweet flavor of the sweet potatoes doesn’t require much else by way of seasonings. And thus, we use an elegantly simple blend of Kosher salt and black pepper only.
- Maple Syrup (optional): If you’d like to lean into more of a sweet flavor profile, a drizzle of maple syrup adds a delicious touch. Alternatively, you can also make these sweet potato stacks with brown sugar.
- Ground cinnamon (optional): If you’re adding maple syrup, ground cinnamon pairs well. Again, just remember that a little of this spice goes a long way.
- Shredded Parmesan cheese (optional): If you’d like to make these sweet potato stackers more on the savory side, a ½ cup of grated parmesan cheese (or gruyere cheese) does the trick. Crispy parmesan sweet potato stacks are always a favorite when served with beef stew and pot roast.
How To Make Sweet Potato Stacks in A Muffin Tin?
Consider this recipe a grown-up version of a layered sweet potato bake. By finely slicing our sweet potatoes in muffin tins, we end up with lovely little stacks of potatoes that are crispy on the outside and buttery soft on the inside.
- Preheat your oven: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F/204 degrees C.
- Grease your muffin tin: Using a pastry brush and 1 tablespoon of butter, apply a thin layer of coating to the inside of each individual muffin cup. Set the pan aside.
- Slice your sweet potatoes: Using a mandolin or a sharp chef’s knife, slice the potatoes as thinly and evenly as possible. Transfer them to a large mixing bowl.
- Prepare your potatoes: In the bowl of sweet potatoes, add the rest of the melted butter, chopped thyme, garlic powder, kosher salt, and pepper. If you’re going with the maple syrup and cinnamon, add them at this step. Or, alternatively, if you’re using Parmesan for a savory touch, add the grated cheese at this step.
- Coat your sweet potatoes: Using tongs (or your clean hands work fine too!), toss the sweet potatoes to ensure that all of the slices are evenly coated with the rest of the ingredients in the bowl.
- Assemble your sweet potato stacks: Layer the sweet potatoes in each muffin cup until they reach approximately ¼ inches above the rim. We used 30 (yes, 30!) ⅛ -inch slices of sweet potatoes in the batches pictured here.
- Bake: Bake your garlic butter sweet potato stacks for 30-35 minutes until tender and golden brown.
- Cool and serve: Remove the muffin tin from the oven and allow your sweet potato stacks to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, delicately remove them from each muffin cup using an offset spatula (or a butter knife) and transfer them onto a serving platter. Garnish each stack with chopped thyme and serve while still warm.
How To Make Ahead and Store Leftovers?
If you plan on doing some advance meal preparations whether it be for a dinner party or holiday event, these muffin-tin sweet potatoes are the perfect flexible and easy side dish.
- Make Ahead: These crispy sweet potato stacks can be prepped 1 day before you plan on serving them. Simply follow the instructions through Step 6, where you’ve assembled the stackers in the muffin tin, then wrap them tightly with aluminum foil and refrigerate. The next day, remove them from the refrigerator to bring to room temperature about 30 minutes before you plan on baking them, then bake as directed.
- Storage: If you have leftover sweet potato stackers, they will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Be sure to bring them to room temperature before placing them in an airtight container.
- Reheating: To reheat your leftover sweet potato stacks, place them on a baking sheet (there’s no need to grease it this time). Warm your stackers in a 350-degree F oven for 5-7 minutes, or until heated through.
If you make your own Sweet Potato Stacks following our recipe, I would greatly appreciate it if you could take a minute to rate it and leave a comment below. It is a great way to support this website and help those planning to make it. Also, if you took pictures, I’d love to see them. Share your creations on Instagram using #foolproofeats so I can share them with the Foolproof Living community.
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Diet Key
This Recipe is:
Sweet Potato Stacks Recipe
Sweet potato stacks with crispy edges and tender centers, baked to perfection with butter and thyme—a showstopping side dish perfect for any time of the year, but especially for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners when you want to impress.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 – 4 sweet potatoes, peeled (approximately 2 ½ pounds)
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced – plus more as garnish (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, + 1 tablespoon for greasing the muffin tin (melted and cooled divided)
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup, optional
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F/204 degrees C. Brush each muffin cup of a 12-cup muffin tin using 1 tablespoon of butter (for the whole muffin tin). Set it aside.
- Using a mandolin slicer or a sharp chef’s knife, slice the potatoes as thinly (and evenly) as possible. Transfer the sliced potatoes to a large mixing bowl.
- In the bowl, add the melted butter, chopped thyme, garlic powder, kosher salt, and pepper. If using, add the maple syrup, and ground cinnamon.
- Using tongs or clean hands, toss to ensure that all of the potato slices are evenly coated with the rest of the ingredients in the bowl.
- Layer the sweet potatoes in each muffin cup until they reach approximately ¼ inches above the rim. We used 30 ⅛ -inch slices of sweet potatoes.
- Bake sweet potato stacks for 30-35 minutes until tender and golden brown.
- Remove from the oven, let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Using a butter knife or an offset spatula, carefully remove them from the muffin tray and transfer them onto a serving platter.
- Garnish with chopped thyme and serve while still warm.
Notes
- Yields: This recipe makes 12 roasted sweet potato stacks. The nutritional values below are per stack.
- The size of the potatoes: When shopping for this recipe, pick out potatoes that are similar in size and large enough to fit in a muffin cup.
- Evenly sliced sweet potatoes are essential: The most crucial aspect of this recipe is that your sweet potato slices are thin and uniform in thickness (otherwise, baking times will be inconsistent). Using a mandoline slicer makes this task foolproof. If you don’t have one, then the next best option is a very sharp knife. Slicing them thinly with a knife requires a bit more patience, but it is doable. Do your best to slice them as thinly (and evenly) as possible.
- Greased muffin cups are the key to crispy sweet potato stacks: When testing this recipe, we tried lining the muffin cups with parchment paper, but the potatoes wouldn’t crisp. Don’t be shy when greasing your muffin cups – use plenty of butter.
- Layer plenty of sweet potatoes in your stacks: The sliced sweet potatoes in your muffin pan will compress while baking, so be sure to fill your muffin cups just slightly above the rim to get the most height out of your stackers. We used 30 slices of sweet potatoes in each muffin tin. You might consider it a lot, but it will shrink after it is baked.
- There is no need to cover it with foil: During our recipe testing, we did not feel the need to cover the sweet potato stack with aluminum foil during the baking process.
- Make ahead: You can prep everything a day before, cover it tightly with foil, and store it in the fridge. On the day you plan to serve, remove it from the oven 30 minutes before you plan to bake it and bake it as directed in the recipe.
- Storage: Bring them to room temperature and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 98kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 129mg | Potassium: 213mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 8160IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 0.5mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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