Smoked Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes are baked to perfection in cast iron in your Traeger or other wood pellet grill. Tender, flavorful potato slices in a creamy thyme sauce, with a perfect smoky flavor and just the right amount of melty cheese. So good!
Can you REALLY Cook Side Dishes on a Pellet Grill?
You bet you can! There’s a whole tribe of people that do this exclusively! Since the heat is easily controlled in a pellet grill, it is really no different than baking it in the oven. The bonus is that the smoky flavor of the pellets (and the flavor choice is yours to make) is infused into the side dishes making them even more incredible than they already are. The sky is the limit on anything that you want to try, and the pellet grill can be any make or model. We have a Traeger but there are a lot of other pellet grills out there and they are all awesome and equally capable!
About the Ingredients
- Russet Potatoes – Also known as Idaho potatoes, these are the best choice, but Yukon Gold Potatoes are a close second.
- Heavy Cream – This recipe calls for 1 cup of heavy cream and 1/2 cup of milk. In a pinch, 1 1/2 cups of half and half can replace the total volume of milk and heavy cream. If just looking to replace the cream, evaporated milk works wonders and comes in a can that you can store in the pantry until you need it. I actually use evaporated milk as a substitution for heavy cream in a LOT of things!
- Shallots – While I love the flavor of shallots, any thinly cut onion (white, yellow, purple) could be substituted in this recipe. Chopped green onions offer another interesting flavor twist, especially with the smoky flavor. Yum!
- Dried Thyme Leaves – Fresh thyme is great to use instead of dried. Just use about 3x as much. If you don’t love thyme, you can try Herbes de Provence, tarragon or even rosemary instead!
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese – We use whatever we have available that contributes to the melty goodness of these Smoked Scalloped Potatoes. Mozzarella, cheddar jack, regular cheddar, gruyere… really any cheese with melting qualities. Here’s a link to an article about the best melting cheeses.
How To Make Smoked Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
These are so good. I can’t even describe the flavor experience that happens when you put them in the wood pellet grill. It is unexpected and really elevates the flavors!
To begin, set the wood pellet grill temperature to 375 degrees F and preheat with the lid closed, for 15 minutes. While it is preheating, spread butter generously on the bottom and sides of 9-inch cast iron skillet. Cast iron is the best cooking vessel for this recipe because of it’s ability to retain heat and contribute to the cooking but you can use a dutch oven or even a regular casserole dish for this. The temperature does not exceed what it would be if you used the same pan in the oven. It just may get a little smoky and need a good scrubbing after you use it.
In a small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, milk, flour, and chopped garlic.
Layer one half of the potatoes in the skillet, then layer one half of the shallots on top of them. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and sprinkle with half of the dried thyme leaves.
Pour half of the sauce mixture over the potatoes and shallots.
Repeat the process one more time, using the remainder of the potatoes, shallots, thyme leaves and sauce mixture.
Place potatoes in grill and cook, uncovered, for 50 minutes. We like to put them on the “hot” side of the grill. I actually didn’t know this was a thing until my husband explained it to me. Apparently the exhaust side is considered to be the hotter side. If you are only cooking the potatoes, I would put them right in the middle!
They will begin to brown a little on top and the whole time they will smell amazing!
Top potatoes evenly with shredded cheese and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender and cheese is melted.
Remove from grill and allow to stand five minutes. Serve. Enjoy!
Other Grill Recipes You May Enjoy
Homemade BBQ Sauce – great on beef, on pork, on chicken and as a dipping sauce – no added sugar or preservatives!
Bone Dust Spice Blend BBQ Dry Rub – A well balanced blend of spices provides the perfect flavor for almost every kind of meat!
Mexican Grilled Chicken Street Tacos – A simple, easy to make marinade locks the flavors of Mexico into this delicious grilled chicken.
Dilly Vegetable Foil Packets – Perfect for camping, these cook up on the grill alongside whatever else we’re cooking and they are delicious!
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Smoked Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
Equipment
- Wood Pellet Grill
- 9 inch cast iron skillet or baking pan
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp butter softened
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2 clove garlic chopped
- 5-6 medium russet potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 medium shallot peeled and thinly sliced
- kosher salt to taste
- coarse ground black pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- When ready to cook, set the wood pellet grill temperature to 375 degrees F and preheat with the lid closed, for 15 minutes.
- Spread butter generously on the bottom and sides of 9-inch cast iron skillet.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, milk, flour, and chopped garlic.
- Layer one half of the potatoes in the skillet, then layer one half of the shallots on top of them. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and sprinkle with half of the dried thyme leaves.
- Pour half of the sauce mixture over the potatoes and shallots.
- Repeat the process one more time, using the remainder of the potatoes, shallots, thyme leaves and sauce mixture.
- Place potatoes in grill and cook, uncovered, for 50 minutes.
- Top potatoes evenly with shredded cheese and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender and cheese is melted.
- Remove from grill and allow to stand five minutes. Serve. Enjoy!
* The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator.
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