This rich and creamy Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Gratin is flavored with garlic, fresh thyme, and Manchego cheese. The ingredients are simple but indulgent, making this a perfect side dish for your next holiday meal.
It seems like we just finished eating a huge Thanksgiving meal and it’s already time to start thinking about Christmas dinner. Between the big holiday meals and all the Christmas baking I plan on doing, I think I’ll have to ask Santa for some larger clothes this year! But hey, that’s what New Year’s Resolutions are for, right? I’ll worry about dieting in January.
I made my first Butternut Squash Gratin for Thanksgiving 2007, and although everyone seemed to enjoy it, I really thought it was kind of boring. That dish was made with butternut squash, heavy cream, fresh thyme, and Gruyere cheese. I know, it sounds good. But it was just lacking something. Although I never tried making a different version, it’s always been there at the back of my mind, waiting to be revised.
Since I’ve been doing a lot of experimenting with sweet potatoes in savory dishes lately, I thought it might be fun to add some sweet potato to the Butternut Squash Gratin to liven up the squash a bit. I also added some garlic to the cream and used fresh sage in addition to the thyme.
The first version tasted really good but I decided I didn’t care much for the sage. I loved the addition of the garlic and I thought the butternut squash and sweet potatoes went together nicely. The sweet potatoes added a great punch of flavor and just a bit of sweetness that really perked up the dish.
The final version of the recipe is still very simple, but the garlic and sweet potatoes give it that something extra I was craving. And I really love the Manchego cheese (that idea came from EAT).
I think this would be a great side dish for either Thanksgiving or Christmas as I think it would go nicely with just about any type of main course you could dream up. Although it might be a little too rich for anything but a special occasion, I do think most of us can handle a dose of heavy cream during the holidays!
Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Gratin with Manchego Cheese
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 pound peeled butternut squash, quartered lengthwise*
1 pound peeled and trimmed sweet potatoes**
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 cups shredded Manchego cheese (or Gruyère)
1. Get Ready: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small pot bring cream and garlic just to a simmer. Remove from heat and set aside. Butter a 9″x13″ shallow casserole dish or gratin dish of similar size and set aside.
2. Prepare the Ingredients: thinly slice the squash and sweet potatoes (no more than 1/8 inch thick) and keep them separate from one another. Measure out chopped thyme, salt, pepper, and shredded cheese and have them handy. Stir the cooling cream to help prevent skin from forming.
3. Build the Gratin: In the buttered casserole dish, spread half of the sliced butternut squash out in a single overlapping layer. Sprinkle the squash with 1/3 of the salt, pepper, and thyme and then about 1/2 cup of the grated cheese. Using half of the sliced sweet potatoes, build a new overlapping layer. Again sprinkle with 1/3 of the seasonings and 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Using the remaining squash, make another layer and sprinkle the last third of the seasonings and another 1/2 cup of cheese (you should have about 1/2 cup cheese remaining). Use the last of the sweet potatoes to make one final layer on top. Stir the garlic cream mixture then pour it evenly over the top of the gratin, being sure to cover the top layer of sweet potatoes. Shake the dish gently to distribute the cream. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.
4. Bake the Gratin: Cover the dish with foil and bake in the middle of a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, move the gratin to the top 1/3 of the oven and bake, uncovered, for an additional 20 minutes or until the top is nicely browned and the vegetables are tender when pierced with a sharp knife. You may also place it under the broiler for a few minutes if you wish the top to be a deeper brown (but watch it closely!). Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes before slicing.
Yield: 12 servings
Recipe Notes: *I used the neck of a medium butternut squash and quartered it lengthwise. Butternut squash can easily be peeled with a vegetable peeler. Measure out one pound of squash after it is peeled and the stem has been removed. Save the remaining squash for another use. **Peel the potatoes and remove the pointy ends (save them for soup!) so you’ll have more uniform slices. You need about one pound of prepared sweet potato.
Squash and sweet potatoes should be thinly sliced, no more than 1/8 inch thick.
You will need about 2 cups of shredded Manchego Cheese. If you can't find Manchego, you may substitute Gruyere.
Get your seasonings ready. You'll need chopped fresh thyme, salt (preferably kosher), and fresh ground black pepper.
Use half of the butternut squash slices to form a single overlapping layer in the bottom of a greased 9x13 casserole dish (or use a similar sized gratin dish).
Sprinkle the squash with 1/3 of the salt, pepper, and thyme then sprinkle with about 1/2 cup of cheese.
Now use half of the sliced sweet potatoes to form another single overlapping layer.
Now sprinkle with another third of your seasonings and another half cup of shredded cheese.
Use the rest of your butternut squash slices to form another layer. This should be your third layer of vegetables.
Now sprinkle the remaining third of your seasonings and another 1/2 cup of cheese. You should still have about 1/2 cup of cheese remaining.
Now use the last of the sweet potatoes to form the top layer of the gratin.
Pour the garlic-infused cream evenly over the top of the sweet potatoes.
Finally, sprinkle the top of the gratin with the remaining shredded cheese. Feel free to add a little extra if you have it!
Bake the gratin, covered with foil, in a 400 degree oven. After 30 minutes, remove the foil. It should be bubbly and the vegetables should be almost tender when pierced with a sharp knife.
Bake the gratin, uncovered, in the upper third of the oven for an additional 20 minutes or until the top is nicely browned and the vegetables are completely tender. If you want it darker, pop it under the broiler for a few minutes at the end (make sure to watch it closely!).
Allow to cool for about half an hour before slicing. Enjoy!
Related Recipes:
- Cranberry Applesauce with Fresh Ginger
- Sweet Potato Buttermilk Dinner Rolls
- Mashed Potatoes with Cream Cheese
- Sourdough Stuffing with Apples and Bacon
- Curried Turkey Salad with Apples, Cranberries, and Walnuts
- Apple Galette
- Red Velvet Cake
Around the Web:
- Butternut Squash Gratin from Daily Bread Journal
- Smashed Butternut Squash and Potato Gratin from Dressing for Dinner
- Pumpkin Gratin from Thyme for Cooking
- Sweet Potato Gratin from Anne’s Food
- Sweet Potato Gratin with Manchego from EAT
Love the combination, very exciting. Will steal this one for sure……..:-)
Thanks
2:07 pm Dec 3rd, 2008I can’t believe my good fortune. A friend brought over an acorn squash and three sweet potatoes. I wasn’t sure how I was going to use them, but now I know.
I’m making this tonight.
2:12 pm Dec 3rd, 2008oh. my. word.
2:12 pm Dec 3rd, 2008i must make & then devour this.
Oops – I mean butternut squash.
2:13 pm Dec 3rd, 2008I had never thought about using sweet potatoes this way. looks great.
2:34 pm Dec 3rd, 2008Looks beautiful- and I imagine it tastes delicious! I love sweet potatoes. Can’t get enough of them!
7:25 pm Dec 3rd, 2008Yum… fantabulous
and that half hour waiting for it to cool would be torture!!
8:11 pm Dec 3rd, 2008Bring on those orange root vegetables! I love both squash and sweet potatoes, and of course everything tastes better with cheese. I’ve bookmarked this one.
9:16 pm Dec 3rd, 2008I want to make this right now, even though it’s almost 11:30. I’ll have to make it this weekend, especially now that it’s so cold outside. It looks perfect.
10:23 pm Dec 3rd, 2008I think this looks great, can’t wait to try it with my “butternut” friends.
12:31 pm Dec 4th, 2008Thanks
This looks to die for!! I absolutely love butternut squash and the idea to combine with sweet potatoes and bubbly cheese? Love it.
1:07 pm Dec 4th, 2008That looks really good and creamy!
6:30 pm Dec 4th, 2008Looks and sounds scrumptious! I make potatoes au gratin all the time, both with regular and sweet potatoes, even combined but never have tried it with squash. I think I will give it a try for the family over the holidays!
8:14 pm Dec 4th, 2008What a great combination, sounds delicious!
10:44 pm Dec 4th, 2008Thanks for reminding me of this! Living in Italy, sometimes I forget my old favorite comfort foods, in Tuscany, using cream in cooking in pretty much a no-no, but I think I will sneak this in on my hubby!
I will stick to the zucca gialla, sweet potatoes are hard to get here, maybe do potatoes and pumpkin!
homework!
12:10 am Dec 5th, 2008Nicole –
This one one wicked fall gratin! SUPERB! I also love the detailed description of each step with pics, etc. It is very easy to follow your recipes.
Also, I digg your gratin and herb dishes.
Cheers!
11:13 am Dec 5th, 2008Gabi.
Oh how yummy. This is perfect for this time of year.
11:28 am Dec 5th, 2008I’m not sure you could include better photo instructions. They are so thorough I’m not even sure I need the recipe!
They are helpful though because I was wondering how you layered them: whether it would be mixed together our alternating.
Awesome recipe.
3:04 pm Dec 5th, 2008Nick
http://www.macheesmo.com
This sweet and savoury gratin looks and sounds so good!
1:13 pm Dec 6th, 2008That looks sensational I am making it! Yummmmmmm.
7:02 pm Dec 8th, 2008I made this for a dinner party on Saturday night. I popped it into the broier for a few minutes while I tended the asparagus and chicken. Completely forgot about it until smoke started wafting out of the broiler. I had to peel off the charred layer, but it was STILL delicious. Can’t wait to make this again without the charcoal top!
7:06 pm Dec 8th, 2008Oooh, looks delicious. But I’m always scared I’m going to cut of my arm when I’m cutting up raw butternut.
4:27 pm Dec 9th, 2008Tried this the other day and have to say, truly awesome recipe! Thanks a lot for writing this, much appreciated
2:33 am Dec 11th, 2008[...] butternut squash and sweet potato gratin from Pinch My Salt; [...]
1:22 pm Dec 12th, 2008[...] pinch my salt’s butternut squash and sweet potato gratin is flavoured with garlic, fresh thyme and manchengo cheese. All very nice ingredients and I think it’s a very fitting christmas recipe. [...]
1:31 pm Dec 14th, 2008We had this for dinner tonight — of course my mom made it, not me — and it was soooo good! Really really good! I loved the butternut squash and sweet potatoes together in the dish. Everyone should try this one.
12:02 am Dec 15th, 2008I just made this for dinner this evening and it was *so* good! Definitely a keeper!
9:19 pm Dec 16th, 2008this looks like a true crowd-pleaser! i plan on sharing this at a turkey fry potluck this weekend. thanks!
9:25 am Dec 18th, 2008I cooked this for a pre Christmas dinner party on Wednesday night and it got the thumbs up from all our guests. Fab! It is really tasty, thanks for sharing the recipe!
2:51 pm Dec 19th, 2008I served this with my ham last night to guests for Christmas dinner. What a hit!!!! That is a wonderful combination!!! I’ll try some more from your sight. Thank you so much!!!
9:47 am Dec 26th, 2008[...] then continued to prepared sweet potato and butternut squash gratin, a dish much too indulgent. I’ve never tried or tasted gratin before and predicted cheesiness [...]
9:48 am Dec 28th, 2008i just wanted you to know that i made this for my family on Xmas eve and it was huge hit. it upstaged the main dish. i love, love, love it. thank you!
12:22 pm Jan 9th, 2009You’re killing me with these pictures. Oh my gosh these look so good! Is it because I’m hungry? Nice site…
7:34 am Jan 16th, 2009Looks lovely and tasty. I love your step by step photos, so good for the new cook to learn from and us more experienced cooks too!
Cymraes from the Welshmarches.
4:58 pm Jan 22nd, 2009Sometimes those healthy NYE resolutions have to be put to the side. Especially if this dish is on the table!
11:57 pm Jan 26th, 2009This is really delicious. I have made it twice already. I wanted to turn this into a one-meal dish so I added prosciutto. My kids (2, 4 yrs) and husband (a professed meat-aterian) loved it. The second time around, I used chicken stock (about 3/4 to 1 cup) instead of cream, and ham. Delicious again. This is something I will definitely continue making over and over. And so easy!
7:29 pm Jan 30th, 2009I have been looking for a recipe like this. Thank you so much for posting this. I love your blog, just stumbled on it. It is so “fresh”
12:35 pm Feb 7th, 2009[...] at the markets. I found this recipe with great photos and a tutorial at a new fave…Pinch My Salt… and from there stumbled on to another site with a European flair called Rosa’s Yummy Yums. [...]
11:02 am Mar 3rd, 2009[...] and Cheddar, but I think the Roomano would make a fine substitute for one or both the cheeses. Pinch My Salt also has a recipe for a butternut squash and sweet potato gratin that sounds divine (and my [...]
6:10 am Oct 8th, 2009