Cheesy Thyme and Ham Potato Gratin Stacks

Cheesy Thyme and Ham Potato Gratin Stacks are a bite size mouthful of rich creamy goodness. They look elegant but are simple to make. The fresh thyme and the cream marry the cheesy ham and potatoes in this delightful recipe. This is one of my favorite savories for an afternoon tea but also can be served on a platter for a group, appetizer or dinner!

Here’s the instructions on how to make these savory packages.

Ingredients for the recipe

Here are the ingredients that you will need to make the Cheesy Thyme and Ham Potato Gratin Stacks. 3 pounds of yellow or golden potatoes (Yukon Gold work well), cream, unsalted butter, grated Gruyere (or any melting cheese), fresh thyme, Canadian Bacon finely chopped, garlic, salt and pepper.

Preparing the potatoes

This recipe calls for little stacks of thinly sliced potatoes. For that task, the best kitchen tool is the mandolin. If you have never used one, it is a kitchen utensil that has a flat platform with a slicing blade on it. Primarily used for vegetables, the blade adjusts to cut to the desired thickness. Make sure you use the vegetable holder so you don’t slice your fingers. For me, this is a must kitchen tool and makes this recipe so much easier to make. And of course, if you don’t have a mandolin, you can certainly slice with a knife.

Slice the potatoes to approximately 1/8th inch thickness. You can adjust your blade to this thickness.

• 

• 

Next you will want to create little round disks for the stacks. To do this, take a 1 1/2 inch cookie cutter and cut the potato slices into these little disks. You can get up to two disks out of each slice depending on how big your potatoes are. And don’t worry about the leftover potatoes – you can bake them up like fries, put them in a casserole and pour the remaining cream mixture over them or cook them for a rustic mashed potato. No wasting here!

NOTE: If you are looking for a more substantial serving size, use a larger cookie cutter like 2 inch or 3 inch. I am showing you an appetizer or afternoon tea savory size.

Preparing the cream mixture

To prepare the cream mixture for the Cheesy Thyme and Ham Potato Gratin Stacks, melt the butter garlic in a microwave bowl in 30 second bursts until the butter is completely melted.

While the butter is melting, chop up your fresh thyme. Strip the leaves from the stems for 2 tbsp of chopped thyme. Discard the stems. The chopped thyme will be added to your cream mixture as well as in the layers of the potatoes. Reserve some fresh sprigs for decoration when complete.

Add the cream, fresh thyme, salt, and pepper stirring to combine. Set aside.

• 

• 

Putting the stacks together

Prepare the cheese by grating it. I like to use Gruyere – its salty but buttery taste is rich in this recipe. But you can use any melting cheese – cheddar and Havarti work well and are easily accessible at your grocery store.

Prepare the Canadian Bacon. Take 6 slices and finely chop them.

• 

• 

Line up your ingredients and equipment

You will need your muffin tins, potatoes, cream sauce, cheese, Canadian bacon, fresh thyme.

You should have 2 – 12 cup standard size muffin tins or 1 – 24 cup standard size muffin tin. You might think that it would be best to go with a mini-muffin tin, but the stacks exceed the height of the mini muffin tin and will slide off during the baking process. So go with the standard muffin size. The muffin tins should be sprayed with cookie spray. No butter needed – there is enough in the sauce.

Next get the potatoes ready. You have already cut them into little disks. Stack 5 slices in each muffin cup.

Take your cream mixture and pour 1/2 tsp of the mixture over the top of the stack. Place a sprinkle of cheese, chopped Canadian bacon, and fresh thyme on the stack. Do this on all 24 stacks. Top each stack with the remaining 5 slices and repeat the sauce and toppings.

Baking

Once you have assembled all the potato stacks, you want to bake them in a preheated 350 degree oven. Cover the stacks with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for the remaining 10 minutes. You may need to take a knife or spoon to straighten up the stacks.

When the stacks are done, remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Then remove to another container. Take a butter knife and loosen the stack carefully lifting out – they will still be warm. I will store my stacks in a mini muffin tin but not until they are completely cooled.

These stacks are obviously delicious right out of the oven (after cooling of course). But you can make them ahead as well. Here’s the guidelines for cooking and reheating:

• Freeze them unbaked. To prepare, just defrost and bake in a 350 degree oven. Cover with foil as in the recipe and bake for 35 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for 10 minutes.
• Freeze them baked. To prepare, just defrost and reheat for 10 minutes or until warm in a 350 degree oven.
• Refrigerated completely baked. To prepare, just reheat for 10 minutes or until warm in a 350 degree oven.

Serving

When ready to serve, plate a single Cheesy Thyme and Ham Potato Gratin Stack with a sprig of fresh thyme. If you are serving many guests, then plate on a serving platter and top with thyme. Either way they are rich and delicious.

These products were used in the making of this recipe

This post contains affiliate links and I may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you . Look through the products and enjoy!