These Pepper Jack Potato Stacks are a crispy, cheesy, unique spin on potatoes au gratin! Thin slices of tender potatoes practically melt together in a cheesy, creamy sauce, all baked in individual stacks in a muffin tin. The individual serving size makes them extra special, extra crispy-edged, and extra delicious!
Looking for interesting potato sides? Try Colcannon (mashed potatoes with cabbage), my ultimate mashed potatoes with cream cheese, roasted baby potatoes in foil, or potatoes baked with tomatoes, olives, and feta!
The Story Behind the Recipe
Potatoes are so fun to experiment with, and there are seemingly endless iterations of potato recipes! I decided a few weeks ago I wanted to try my hand at some unique potato recipes, and it wasn’t long until I landed here, in potato stack land.
The concept is simple. You just layer thin potato slices in a muffin cup, then add cheese and a little cream sauce, and bake. The result is kind of like miniature potatoes au gratin. They’re cute and super delicious!
I decided to try them with pepper jack, which isn’t the most elegant cheese ever, but I liked the idea of potato stacks with a tiny big of a spicy kick. Besides, a recipe name that rhymes, like “Pepper Jack Potato Stacks?” I’m in! It helped when the concept turned out to be absolutely delicious.
Why You’ll Love Them
- Easy to assemble. It seems a little fussy to pile potatoes in individual muffin cups, but I promise assembly is a breeze. Honestly the worst part is cleaning out the muffin cups but a little soak gets you there pretty quick.
- Massive crowd pleaser. Everyone who tries these LOVES them.
- Make-ahead magic. Assemble these ahead of time (except for the shredded pepper jack that gets baked on top in the last few minutes to cooking), refrigerate for up to 2 days, then just pop them in the oven when you’re ready to bake and eat.
Pepper Jack Potato Stack Recipe Ingredients
- Olive oil – For brushing the muffin cups.
- Potatoes – You’ll want good ol’ russets, preferably medium-sized potatoes vs. super large because you want them to be small enough in diameter to fit inside the muffin tin.
- Heavy cream – A tiny amount of heavy cream in each muffin cup, flavored with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder, adds indulgent creaminess to these potato stacks.
- Garlic powder & onion powder – I wanted to add some flavor without having to do extra chopping or introduce any more textures to the final dish. I’m a huge fan of both garlic powder and onion powder for adding fuss-free flavor, and it makes a big, delicious difference here, too!
- Salt & pepper
- Pepper jack cheese – Feel free to swap in your favorite cheese if you prefer zero heat or other cheeses. Gruyere, cheddar, or Colby jack are all great too.
- Chopped scallions or chives – Optional, but pretty as a garnish.
How to Make Them
- Brush your muffin tin with olive oil
- Peel the potatoes and slice them into rounds.
- Grate the cheese.
- Mix together the heavy cream, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
- Place half the potato slices into the muffin tins.
- Top with a square of pepper jack.
- Top with remaining half of potato slices.
- Drizzle a little cream over each one.
- Cover loosely with foil and bake until tender.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle shredded pepper jack cheese over the top.
- Bake until golden brown and bubbly.
- Garnish with snipped chives or chopped scallions, if desired. Serve.
Tips for Success
- Be generous greasing the muffin tins. This will help the potato stacks to release as easily as possible and hopefully help with easier clean-up.
- Cut the potato slices thin. They don’t have to be mandolin-thin, but aim for 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.
I hope these Pepper Jack Potato Stacks are a huge hit in your house just like they are in ours! They’re fun to make and even more fun to eat. I like them as a little side dish surprise for a special occasion but they’re just a great weeknight dinner side dish too.
Crispy Pepper Jack Potato Stacks
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (peeled and sliced thin; about 3 medium potatoes; I suggest going with medium-sized potatoes vs. super large because you want them to be small enough around to fit into the muffin tin)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 6 ounces pepper jack cheese (divided; 3 ounces will be shredded and the remaining 3 ounces cut into 12 squares)
For garnish (optional)
- 2 tablespoons snipped chives (OR)
- 2 scallions (diced )
Instructions
Prep work
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush the 12 cups of a standard-size muffin tin with the olive oil.
- Peel the potatoes with a vegetable peeler and slice them into thin rounds – 1/8" to 1/4" thickness is fine, so as long as you have a sharp knife, you should be good. Imperfection is totally fine! Take 3 ounces of the pepper jack cheese and cut it into 12 square pieces. Again, they don't have to be perfect. Shred the remaining three ounces of cheese with a grater – you should have about 3/4 cup.
- In a small bowl, mix together the heavy whipping cream, garlic powder, onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Assemble the potato stacks
- Place half of the potato slices into the muffin tin, dividing them between 12 cups. They should fill the muffin cups about halfway. Top the potato slices with a square of pepper jack, then stack the remaining slices evenly over the top.
- Give the cream mixture a quick stir to redistribute any seasonings that settled, then divide it between the potato stacks – you'll need about 2 teaspoons per stack. Just pour it slowly over the top and the cream should fill in any empty spaces in the muffin tins.
- Cover the potatoes loosely with foil. Bake until tender when pierced with a fork, 30-40 minutes.
- Uncover the potatoes and sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top of the potatoes, dividing it evenly between each cup. Place the potato stacks back in the oven and bake until golden-brown and bubbly, about 10 more minutes.
- Garnish with chopped fresh chives or scallions and serve. I like to run a butter knife around the edges of the cups to help release the stacks.
Hi! I’m Karen – I’m a real person with real, vetted recipes – over 900 of them! Since 2009, every recipe on Kitchen Treaty is thoroughly tested and loved before I hit “publish.” I’m a home cook, certified plant-based pro, and mom. I’m a vegetarian married to a carnivore, and my goal is to coexist deliciously.
