Perfect for your Easter brunch or dinner, these mini pommes Anna (baked potato stacks) are pretty and tasty. Flavoured with garlic, thyme and butter, they are a treat. And they can be made ahead!
I love potatoes, in pretty much any shape or form, but when they are tasty AND pretty, well that’s a bonus! These mini potato stacks are known as Pommes Anna, usually baked up in one large cake, but in this case, in to a dozen mini cakes. They bake up easily in a muffin tin.
Pommes Anna would be perfect for Easter brunch or dinner. You can do the first bake ahead, then refrigerate and do the final bake when you’re ready to eat. See the Cook’s Notes below the recipe for more tips on this recipe.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Potatoes – You’ll want to use a waxy potato for these, such as yellow fleshed Yukon gold potatoes. Look for smaller potatoes. You don’t want them any larger than the top diameter of the muffin cup opening (so they all will lay flat).
Recipe tips!
- When layering your potatoes, your finished stacks will look prettiest if you place a well buttered small round potato slice evenly over the thyme sprig on the bottom, so the thyme is “framed” by the potato. After that, just layer, keeping one edge of each slice tucked right up to the side of the muffin cup and overlapping, until you fill to the muffin cup edge (don’t stack potatoes in one layer straight up). I usually start with the smallest rounds at the bottom (where it’s smallest) and working up to the larger slices for the wider top.
- Watch during the final 8-10 minute bake when your stacks are thyme side down. The underneath will brown up, but you don’t want it to get too brown, so maybe take a peek at the 6 minute mark or so and check on them.
- It would be tough to slice the potatoes evenly thin without a mandoline, so that’s really suggested. You’d need a steady hand and lots of patience to do it by hand.
- Don’t skimp on the garlic or the salt in these potatoes. Both add great flavour (especially the salt!).
Making ahead, storing and freezing
To make ahead, prepare the stacks through Step 7 in the Recipe Card below, then allow the potatoes to cool a bit. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Proceed with the rest of the recipe when ready.
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
The cooked pommes Anna can be frozen for up to 3 months. Reheat from frozen in a 350F oven for 20-25 minutes.
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email and I’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Seasons and Suppers.
You can unsubscribe at any time.
Get the Recipe: Mini Pommes Anna
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 12 small fresh thyme springs
- 2 teaspoons thyme leaves, coarsely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 lbs small waxy yellow-fleshed potatoes, (Yukon Gold)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, reduce by 1/2 teaspoon if using salted butter
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. (regular bake setting – adjust as needed for convection or fan assisted)
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Brush 12 muffin cups generously with butter. Place 1 thyme sprig in the centre of each muffin cup.
- Add chopped thyme and garlic to the remaining butter in the saucepan and stir over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Using a mandoline, slice potatoes crosswise into very thin rounds (1/16"-ish). Place in a large bowl. Pour herb butter over potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Toss well to coat.
- Divide potato slices among muffin cups, layering overlapping slices to create a circular pattern. When the muffin cup is filled to the rim, press down lightly with a fork to compact. Drizzle any remaining butter in the bowl over the potatoes.
- Cover muffin tins tightly with aluminum foil. Place the muffin tin on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven until the potatoes can be easily pierced with a knife, about 35 minutes. Remove foil.
- Prepare another baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Invert muffin tins onto the prepared sheet, banging them a bit to loosen potatoes. If any potatoes/thyme have stuck to the muffin tins, gently use a butter knife to loosen and place on potato stacks. (IF MAKING AHEAD) Allow potatoes to cool a bit, then cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Proceed with the rest of the recipe when ready.
- Increase oven temperature to 425° (If you made ahead, remove the baking sheet with potatoes, remove the plastic wrap and preheat oven to 425° F., allowing potatoes to sit at room temperature while oven heats). Place in a 425°F oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully, using a spatula, flip potato stacks over (thyme side down) and bake for another 8-10 minutes, until under-side is nice and golden. Remove from oven and flip thyme-side-up to serve. (If you made ahead and your potatoes were cold/room temperature when they went into the oven, you may need a few minutes longer on each side.)
Notes
More potato recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress-free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Do you know if I can freeze these for a few weeks before doing the final cooking?
Hi Sherri, I don’t know from personal experience, but potatoes tend to freeze pretty well, so I suspect it would work.
You have a beautiful blog! Cheers!
Thanks very much :)