Sliced Potato Bake

This crispy-topped sliced potato bake is creamy and cheesy with subtle flavours of garlic, leek and chipotle. They are so wonderful to serve as a comforting side dish on the weekend or for a special occasion.

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This sliced potato bake is my take on scalloped potatoes or potatoes au gratin but not as rich or heavy. The potatoes are thinly sliced and arranged in an accordion snail fashion in a round skillet, giving this dish such a gorgeous appearance. They look a bit like hassleback potatoes. Yes, it’s a bit of a process to get those thin potato slices tightly packed into the baking dish but the result is worth it!

The flavour comes from the cream sauce infused with garlic, leek and smoky chipotle. Topped with cheese and baked until crispy, soft and gooey, this baked potato skillet recipe is comforting and irresistibly delicious.

I hope you will love this potato bake as much as me and my family.

👉 For more potato recipes, check out this crispy smashed potato salad, country skillet potatoes, roasted Greek potatoes with feta and peppers, or these fun Spanish tortilla egg potato muffins.

What You’ll Need

Here is what you will need for this potato bake. Find the full measurements in the recipe card below.

• Potatoes – you can use regular brushed potatoes such as Sebago or Yukon Gold. These need to be scrubbed clean as we’re keeping the skin on during baking. If you want, you can of course peel the potatoes first. Potatoes need to be sliced thinly and evenly.
• For the cream sauce – this is the sauce that you pour over the potatoes and that gets absorbed into the spuds while you cook, so the idea is to make it flavourful AND creamy. As such, you will be using cream and milk, plus garlic, leek, salt, and pepper to infuse the sauce with flavour.
• Chipotle in adobo – this is an optional addition to the cream sauce. It’s a popular ingredient used in Mexican and Southwestern cuisines and consists of chipotle peppers, which are smoke-dried jalapeños, that have been rehydrated and canned in a sauce made from tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, salt, and spices. The peppers are smoky, spicy, and slightly sweet and can be used to add depth and heat to a variety of dishes.
• Cheese – I like a mixture of Cheddar and Parmesan which melts into the potatoes as they bake, adding to the flavour and creaminess of the dish. You will also need a little bit of butter.

Variations & Substituions

• Make a Swedish version: Instead of using smoky chipotle, add 3 salted anchovies to the cream mixture but keep them out when straining; this will add wonderful umami flavour without the fishiness.
• Make it extra garlicky: Add extra chopped garlic in between potato rows.
• Add some bacon: Fry up bacon rashers until crispy, chop into small pieces and add in between potatoes.
• Lower-calorie version: instead of heavy cream, use light cream or light sour cream and light milk. Replace the melted butter at the end with olive oil or light olive oil spray to reduce the overall fat content and thus the calories. You can also opt for reduced-fat or part-skim cheese options.
• Tomato version: Instead of using creamy baking sauce, make 1-2 cups of seasoned tomato broth. Combine 1 cup of vegetable stock with 1 cup of tomato passata or marinara sauce, chopped garlic, salt, pepper, herbs and a little olive oil and pour over the potatoes. Then add the cheese as in the dairy version.
• Vegan creamy variation: Substitute the heavy cream and milk with plant-based alternatives like oat or almond milk and some vegetable stock. Use vegan cheese or nutritional yeast as a replacement for the cheddar and Parmesan cheese. Replace the butter with a vegan butter substitute or extra-virgin olive oil. Omit the chipotle in adobo or use a vegan-friendly alternative like chipotle hot sauce.

How To Make Potato Bake With Sliced Potatoes

Jump to the full recipe card below for more detailed instructions, ingredients list and nutrition info.

• Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) and lightly grease a cast iron skillet or round baking dish.
• Heat heavy cream, milk, minced garlic, chipotle in adobo, and leeks over medium heat in a saucepan. Season with salt and pepper without boiling.
• Strain the mixture using a fine sieve and set aside. You will pour it over the potatoes once they are sliced and arranged in the skillet.

• Use a mandolin or a sharp knife to cut the potatoes into 2mm-thick slices. Discard the end slices of each potato and place them in stacks on a work surface. Arrange the slices standing on their sides, 1 stack at a time, in tightly packed rows in the prepared skillet or casserole dish. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Sprinkle cheese mixture between potato rows and pour the hot cream mixture over potatoes until evenly covered.
• Cover with aluminium foil and bake for 60 minutes or until tender. Remove foil, brush potatoes with melted butter, and bake for another 20 minutes until golden and crispy.
• Let rest for a few minutes, then sprinkle with fresh herbs, optional sea salt, and black pepper.