This crispy, cheesy, absolutely delicious potato side dish will have your friends and family doing backflips off the dinner table this holiday season.
These wonderful roasted potato stacks are SO easy to make with simple ingredients and feel a little more special than your traditional holiday mashed potatoes. They bake up to golden brown perfection with two types of melty cheese and are truly love-at-first-bite.
I included a few tips and tricks for making them, plus some of my go-to sauces if you’re a dip girl like me. Serve them up for a holiday dinner or brunch and enjoy!
Wait, what are “potato stacks?”
If you’ve never heard of (or seen) potato stacks before, you’re in for SUCH a fun, elevated side dish. Roasted potato stacks are essentially thinly sliced potatoes tossed in butter and herbs, then carefully placed on top of each other in a stack and roasted to crispy perfection. The result is a beautiful layer of potatoes with crispy edges and soft middles.
In my cacio e pepe version, we’re placing each potato stack onto a pile of cheese AND adding cheese on top to get a crispy, cheesy exterior to each stack! Some people assemble the sliced potatoes in a muffin tin to hold their “stack” shape, but I think they’re easy to pile up on a regular, lined baking sheet.
Everything you’ll need to make these cacio e pepe potato stacks
The best part about this recipe? You just need a handful of super simple ingredients:
- Potatoes: I like to use Yukon gold or yellow potatoes because they have the perfect buttery texture.
- Cheese: grate up some fresh Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano Reggiano cheeses to create the cheesy base and top of the stacked potatoes.
- For the potato mix-ins: you’ll toss your sliced potatoes in salted butter, fresh garlic, lemon zest, and plenty of salt and pepper. The cheese and black pepper give them a cacio e pepe flavor!
- To garnish: I like to serve them on a platter and top them with fresh parsley and flaky sea salt for a pretty look.
Can I make them vegan?
I haven’t tested this, but this recipe may work with vegan butter and your favorite vegan cheese shreds! Let me know in the comments if you give it a try.
Crispy stacked potatoes in 4 simple steps
- Prep your pan with cheese. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, mix the cheese together, then make 12 separate piles of cheese evenly spaced on your baking sheet. You’ll use about half of the shredded cheese doing this.
- Prep the potatoes. Use a mandoline or very sharp knife to slice the potatoes THIN (about 1/8 of an inch). Add them to a bowl and toss them with those mix-ins.
- Stack & bake the potatoes. Layer the potato slices on top of each pile of cheese, placing the wider potatoes at the bottom. Each stack should be about 1 1/2 inches tall. Top each stack with the rest of the cheese, then bake until golden brown and fork-tender.
- Cool, garnish & serve. Let the potatoes cool on the baking sheet, then place them on a platter and add your garnishes. Serve them up and watch guests devour!
Should I peel the potatoes?
I actually like the crispiness of the skins, but you’re welcome to peel the potatoes first if you’d like.
Jazz them up with a dip
These cheesy potato stacks are absolutely delicious on their own, but you know ya girl loves a good dip! Try them with one of these:
- Roasted Garlic Whipped Feta Dip
- Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Feta Dip
- Healthy Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing
- Bleu Cheese Yogurt Dip
- Garlic & Herb Whipped Cottage Cheese Dip
- Spicy Green Feta Sauce
Get all of my dips & sauces here!
Storing tips
Store any leftover potato stacks in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. I recommend reheating them in the oven at 350 degrees F until heated through to keep them crispy. The leftovers make a wonderful brunch side, too!
Can I freeze them?
I wouldn’t recommend freezing potato stacks because the texture won’t hold up well when thawed and/or reheated from frozen.
Tools you’ll need
Get all of my kitchen essentials here!
More potato dishes you’ll love
- Crispy Parmesan Roasted Potatoes with Garlic, Lemon & Herbs
- Crispy Smashed Potatoes
- Dad’s Creamy & Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes
- The Best Creamy Garlic Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
- Perfectly Crispy Roasted Breakfast Potatoes
Get all of my side dish recipes here!
I hope you love these crispy roasted potato stacks! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Crispy Cacio e Pepe Roasted Potato Stacks
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (1.3 ounces) finely shredded Pecorino Romano cheese
- ¾ cup (1.3 ounces) finely shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- 1 ½ lb. Yukon gold or yellow potatoes (about 5-6 small potatoes)
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Zest of 1 lemon
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more for garnish
- Finely chopped parsley, for garnish
- Flaky sea salt, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix the shredded Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano Reggiano cheeses together in a bowl. Take half (¾ cup) of the shredded cheese and make 12 1-tablespoon piles of cheese on the parchment-lined sheet.
- Slice the potatoes ⅛ of an inch thick using a mandoline or very sharp knife. Add sliced potatoes to a large bowl, then pour in melted butter, minced garlic, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Use your hands to toss everything together until the potatoes are very well coated.
- On top of each pile of cheese, layer the potato slices into 1 ½-inch stacks, using the widest potato slices at the bottom and smallest on top. Top each potato stack with 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese, then bake for 30-35 minutes until the potatoes are fork-tender and the cheese is golden brown.
- Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then place the potato stacks on a platter with more freshly ground black pepper, parsley, and flaky sea salt on top.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on November 5th, 2024, and republished on December 22nd, 2025.
Made these for Christmas Eve dinner and not only were they so delicious but they were also so fun and easy to make!
YES such a fun side! Glad they were a hit!
Made this for Christmas lunch and it was a hit!
I put some of the cheese in the bowl at the end, once the potatoes were coated in butter, garlic & all, and mixed again.
Had to bake them a good 45 minutes but maybe it is my oven.
Thanks for another delicious recipe!
Amazing! Glad they turned out beautifully!
I would very much like to try your potato stacks recipe but you did not include the temperature to roast them at. You only said 350 degrees to reheat them
Hi! In step one you’ll see to preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, which is what you’ll bake them at.