I’ve never been a big fan of sweet potatoes – they were always presented to me as substitutes for white potatoes. I never found this to be an even substitution because they were sweet, while the white potatoes were savory. How would that ever satisfy a craving?
It turns out that most sweet potato recipes call for things that make them sweet – brown sugar, cinnamon, syrup for dipping sweet potato fries, etc. I became determined to find ways to make these more savory so that I could vary my vegetables even more with this nutritious food. This gratin is my first attempt and it turned out very well – better than I ever expected.
These are the very simple ingredients, along with some salt, pepper and fresh thyme from my garden.
I peeled and sliced the sweet potatoes and the zucchini. The next time I make this, I’ll salt the zucchini at this stage to take out some of the water – this will keep the end result from being watery.
Arrange the veggie slices in rows and let them overlap.
Sprinkle first layer with shredded cheddar cheese, salt and pepper.
Repeat with two more layers, then add fresh thyme to the top layer and pour milk over everything.
Pop it in the oven for about 35-45 minutes, until the veggies are cooked and a knife goes through them easily, and the milk and cheese is bubbly.
Serve with your favorite protein.
- 2 medium zucchinis, peeled and sliced (salt the slices with about 1-2 tsp. salt for 30 minutes prior to starting assembly to remove excess water)
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp thyme
- 3/4 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
- 1 cup milk
- Fresh or dried thyme
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray a 9x13" pan with cooking spray.
- Alternating rows, place one layer of zucchini and sweet potatoes on the bottom of a 9×13 pan.
- Sprinkle with some salt and pepper.
- Top first layer with 1/4 cup of the cheddar .
- Add the next layer of zucchini and sweet potatoes, top with salt, pepper and cheese.
- Add the last layer of zucchini and sweet potatoes, salt, pepper.
- Sprinkle thyme on top of vegetables.
- Pour milk over the entire dish.
- Top with the last 1/4 cup of cheese.
- Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked and the top is browned.
- Let cool 5-10 minutes before serving.
- Enjoy!