These potato stacks are roasted in a muffin tin for a fun appetizer or side dish. The super easy recipe uses sliced baby potatoes with 2 kinds of cheese, lemon and rosemary.
Be sure to check out more of my muffin tin recipes including my fun sized muffin tin veggie quiches with puff pastry crust, muffin tin ground turkey meatloaf and adorable muffin tin fresh apple pies.
Potatoes in a Muffin Pan
So what do you call it? It’s a muffin tin in the US, a muffin pan in Canada and I’ve also heard it called a cupcake pan. They’re all the same! You’ll need a standard muffin tin with 12 wells.
I’ve seen these potato stacks done on a sheet pan, but I prefer the muffin pan. The stack is surrounded by the heat from the pan and helps the roasting process. If the stacks are too close to each other, the steam coming from them will prevent browning. The muffin pan keeps them separate.
To keep the stacks from falling or separating, each stack will have a toothpick inserted to keep it together. Just be careful when inserting the toothpick. Raw potatoes are firm and you’ll need to use a little pressure, so keep your fingers out of the way!
The toothpicks also make these stacks perfect as an appetizer,
Ingredients
Baby potatoes – Baby potatoes are the best size for stacking in a muffin tin. Baby gold (aka yellow), red or even purple potatoes will work for this recipe, but I like the sweeter, creamier gold.
The potatoes are sliced to about 1/8 inch thick. I use a knife, but if you have a good mandoline, it’s a great time saver and will make nice consistent slices.
Olive oil – I prefer extra virgin olive oil for its flavor. Since the flavor of the olive oil will be prominent, I recommend using a good quality one like California Olive Ranch oils.
Fresh rosemary is a classic pairing with potatoes. But I find that rosemary can be controversial. It seems that you either love it or hate it. So if you are not a lover of rosemary, fresh thyme or oregano are great alternatives.
Cheese – The recipe calls for a combination of parmesan (or parmiggiano if you prefer) and romano cheeses. They both add a wonderful tangy, umami flavor to the recipe. Other dry cheeses like gruyere and asiago are good options. Whichever ones you use, be sure that they are finely grated so that they incorporate into the mix.
Fresh Garlic adds a pungent pop and is excellent with the sweetness of potatoes. The best way to incorporate garlic into the recipe is to grate it on a microplane (essentially a super fine grater). The microplane practically liquefies the garlic making it instantly flavor the oil. If you don’t have a microplane, use the finest side of your box grater.
Salt – The cheeses add quite a bit of salty flavor but potatoes can take more salt than other foods. So the recipe still includes a little bit of added salt.
Muffin Tin Baby Potato Stacks
Ingredients
- 1Β½ lbs baby potatoes (yellow, gold, red or purple)
- 2-3 cloves fresh garlic
- ΒΌ c extra virgin olive oil
- 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 1-2 lemons
- 2 Tbsp packed finely grated parmesan cheese
- 2 Tbsp finely grated romano cheese best if both cheeses are grated on a microplane or fine grater
- ΒΌ tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
- ΒΎ tsp salt
- 12 wood toothpicks
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350β and lightly grease a standard sized muffin tin.
- Using a microplane or the finest side of a box grater, grate the garlic cloves directly into a large mixing bowl. You should have about 1Β½ teaspoons.
- Add all of the other ingredients to the bowl and stir well with a fork.
- Scrub and dry the potatoes.
- Slice the potatoes into β inch rounds. A mandoline can definitely be used to make the slices more even.
- As you work, add the sliced potatoes to the flavor mixture and stir.
- Once all of the potatoes are sliced and in the bowl, stir well to make sure that all of the slices are fully coated
- Create stacks of about eight slices with the largest slices on the bottom and graduating to the smallest slices on top – kind of like a round pyramid. (do not use the end pieces).
- Holding the stack together, carefully push a toothpick through the center stopping just before it pokes through the bottom (watch your fingers!) This will allow it to sit flat in the muffin pan
- The stacks should sit just above the top of the pan. Add more slices to make them taller if needed.
- As you work, give the bowl a stir every so often to be sure the slices stay coated with the liquid.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then turn the oven to 425β and bake for another 25 minutes or until the outside of the stacks are golden.
- To use the end pieces, line a sheet pan with tin foil or parchment. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the remaining potato slices to the pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 350β.
- Serve topped with finely grated cheese, a light sprinkling of chopped rosemary or lemon zest.
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