This scalloped potatoes recipe is the perfect side dish. It’s got a creamy sauce and is satisfying despite the fact that it’s dairy free and contains only real food ingredients. Comfort food at its finest!
This recipe is also gluten, grain and soy free. It’s a great addition to your holiday table instead of mashed sweet potatoes.
Generally scalloped potatoes are made with white potatoes and cream, whereas this recipe uses white sweet potatoes (also known as asian yams or oriental yams) and a “roux” cream sauce made from almond milk, broth, cassava flour, nutritional yeast and other herbs and spices.
This recipe is great when you have leftover ham to use up and for this reason I have not included instructions here on how to cook the ham! If you are starting with an uncooked ham, Google how long and what temperature you should cook it at so that when you start preparing this recipe you’ve got your ham cooked and ready to go.
Recipe substitutions
Potato substitutions: For this recipe, I recommend asian yams (white colored sweet potatoes) for the best result. But if you aren’t able to access those, you can swap them out for the regular orange colored sweet potatoes or yams. You can even use white russet potatoes or yukon gold potatoes. However, regular white potatoes are not considered paleo diet friendly.
Olive oil substitutions: Swap out the olive oil for any other oil of choice. Coconut oil is good, or use vegan butter.
Almond milk substitutions: Swap this out for any other dairy free milk including coconut, cashew, etc. Just make sure it doesn’t have added sugar or flavors. To make it extra creamy, use coconut cream (full fat coconut milk) or even regular heavy cream if you tolerate dairy.
Vegetable broth substitutions: Swap this out for any other type of broth or stock. Bouillon cubes or homemade bone broth are also good.
Cassava flour substitutions: Swap this out for any type of gluten-free flour alternative or starch. If you are using tapioca flour, arrowroot flour, or potato starch, cut the amount needed in half or start with 1 tablespoon and work your way up until you get the thickness you desire.
Dried herb substitutions: Swap out the dried thyme for other fresh herbs if you’ve got them!
Flavor substitutions: In addition to the garlic powder below, onion powder is also a good addition. If you’ve got any dairy free cheese or vegan parmesan, you can sprinkle some of that on top as well. Use what you have and save the trip to the grocery store for later.
Dietary modifications
Make this recipe vegan: Omit the cooked ham.
Make this recipe AIP: Use coconut milk instead of almond milk, and omit the pepper. You could also swap out the vegetable broth for homemade bone broth.
Recipe pairing ideas
Traditional holiday dinner: These scalloped sweet potatoes are my take on a classic side dish and will be a big hit on your dinner table with turkey, green beans, and whatever else you cook for the holidays. You probably wont have the ham on hand and that’s ok, just leave it out. It still tastes great!
Recipe FAQs
Can you make this dish without a cast iron pan?
Yes, the process would be exactly the same without a cast iron pan. If you wanted to use a glass baking dish however, it will bake more quickly in glass. For this reason, check to see whether it is cooked through after 1 hour as opposed to baking it for the full 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Can you freeze these paleo scalloped potatoes?
Yes! The night I cooked this I ate it fresh but then I froze the rest for meal prep to take out during the week. This recipe is great for any meal – breakfast, lunch, supper or snack!
If I don’t have a mandolin slicer can I still make this?
Yes! Just make your sliced potatoes as thin as you can with a sharp knife. A food processor also (usually) comes with a slicing attachment which will work as well. For the best results just make sure everything is paper thin.
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Paleo Scalloped Potatoes and Ham Recipe
Equipment
- Potato peeler (vegetable peeler)
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 4 cups cooked ham
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Sauce
- 2.5 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 1.5 cups vegetable broth (or stock of choice)
- 1/3 cup cassava flour
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
Instructions
Sauce
- Combine the almond milk, thyme, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, sea salt and pepper to a sauce pan and heat over medium heat.
- Mix the cassava flour and vegetable stock together in a different dish and mix it thoroughly to remove lumps.
- Once the almond milk mixture is starting to simmer, add the broth/cassava mixture and whisk to combine.
- Whisk over low heat until the sauce thickens and set it aside until needed. If you find your sauce is not thickening, add some additional cassava flour or tapioca/arrowroot starch.
Assemble
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Remove the skin from your sweet potatoes using a vegetable peeler.
- Use a mandolin to make thin sweet potato slices and store them in large bowl of water to prevent them from drying out and changing color. If you do not own a mandolin, you can also slice them with a large knife, making sure to get the thinnest slices possible.
- Slice the ham as thinly as you can.
- Add oil to the bottom and sides of the cast iron skillet to prevent sticking.
- Layer the sweet potato and ham slices around the bottom of the pan in an even layer.
- Add a layer of sauce on top of the sliced sweet potato and ham.
- Continue alternating layers of potatoes/ham and sauce until all the ingredients have been added to the cast iron pan.
- Once complete, cover the cast iron pan with tin foil and bake for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, remove the foil and continue baking uncovered for another 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the top layer turns golden brown.
- Store your cooked scalloped potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 – 3 days. You can also freeze this in a sealed container for multiple months.
Notes
Nutrition
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Tara Klippert is a Registered Health and Nutrition Counselor and holds a diploma in Holistic Nutrition and Health Coaching. She shares her gluten free, dairy free & allergy friendly recipes.
Welcome to my blog! I share my *healthified* comfort food recipes that work with a variety of different diet approaches. AND all of my recipes are 100% gluten and dairy free. 
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