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Potato Pave is an elegant side dish for any formal gathering or holiday celebration! This fancy finger food uses sliced potatoes layered with heavy cream, herbs, and lots of Parmesan cheese, twice-baked for an irresistible crispy texture. The flavors are amazing!
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Pave Potatoes
One of the best potato recipes I have ever tried is pave potatoes. I first had these at a restaurant, and both my husband and I could not believe how good they are!
I knew I had to come up with a version of the recipe to keep on hand. For my own potato pave recipe, I like to add savory bacon and sharp Parmesan cheese. It's the perfect flavor combination!
You can serve a large crowd using my recipe, or halve the ingredients to feed your family with leftovers. I guarantee you will love these amazing little potatoes!
Potato Pave Recipe Ingredients
- Thin-sliced smoked bacon
- Russet potatoes
- Heavy cream
- Thyme
- Parmesan cheese
- Butter
- Salt
- Sriracha or other hot sauce
Pave Potatoes Recipe
- Cook thin-sliced smoked bacon in batches until fried, but not yet crispy, and set aside. Peel and thinly slice russet potatoes using a sharp knife or mandolin. Line the base and sides of 9 by a 13-inch baking dish with parchment, allowing the parchment to hang over the sides, and cover the bottom with two layers of sliced potatoes. Drizzle with some of the heavy cream, thyme, Parmesan, and a sprinkle of salt. Cover with a layer of bacon.
- Top with another two layers of potatoes. Continue layering the cream, thyme, Parmesan, salt, then bacon and potatoes. Continue to repeat layers in this order, finishing with two layers of potato and topping it off with cream, thyme, Parmesan, salt, and melted butter.
- Fold in the tops of the parchment paper and cover with plastic wrap. Place a smaller baking pan on top (it should fit into the first pan to rest on top of the potatoes) and add a heavy weight, such as cans. Allow resting for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and remove the smaller pan and weights along with the plastic wrap. Cover the top with foil and bake for 1 hour, until the potatoes are tender. Remove the foil and set it aside. Bake for another 20 minutes to brown the top of the potatoes.
- Add the foil back to the baking pan and top with the smaller baking pan and weights for a second time. Chill in the refrigerator overnight. This step is crucial for the potato pave to keep its shape, so don't skip out on chilling it!
- When ready to make the next day, preheat the oven to 425°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the potatoes to a large cutting board and use a knife to trim the edges. Cut the remaining potato pave into small squares, and skewer each one from top to bottom with a toothpick to keep the potatoes together.
- Transfer each skewer to the prepared lined baking sheets, making sure they are on their sides and not touching each other. Bake in preheated oven until lightly golden, 10 minutes or so. Gently flip and bake for another 10-15 minutes until crisp and golden. Rest on paper towels to drain excess oil.
- Serve sprinkled with fresh thyme and hot sauce, and enjoy!
Potatoes Pave Tips
- I often use the oven for cooking large batches of bacon. It is so much easier than frying a few in a skillet at a time. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet or two with aluminum foil to catch the grease for easy cleanup and top with wire racks. Arrange the bacon in a single layer, not overlapping, on the racks and bake until fried, but not crispy, about 14 minutes. You still want them pliable enough to layer over the potatoes without crumbling.
- I added a little salt between the layers to help bring out the flavors. Be careful not to overdo it with the saltiness of the other ingredients!
- The layers of potatoes and bacon are compressed between baking with the help of weights on the top. I covered the layers with a smaller baking dish and hand weights. Cans or anything else heavy would work well.
- Make sure to use a sharp knife to cleanly cut the squares.
- I used toothpicks to hold together each of the slices, but you can also use mini skewers.
- For slicing the potatoes, you can use a mandolin slicer to save time and make it easy! Always be careful when using a mandolin and follow how-to-use mandolin instructions.
What are Pave Potatoes?
"Pavé" essentially translates to "paving stones" in French, and refers to flat, rectangular-shaped foods. It is used for certain cakes and layered dishes, and in the case of potato pave, requires the use of heavy weights (such as cans) to weigh the food into shape while it sets.
Potato pave is sort of like scalloped potatoes, only served as a finger food all neatly packed together. The word pavé essentially means "paving stones" in French and has been used to describe certain cheeses and dishes like Pavé aux Amandes (a French tart cake).
Potato Pave FAQs
Pave potatoes must be compressed overnight; this will press all the layers of potatoes together. After the layers are cut, use toothpicks to keep them together.
Use russet potatoes to make potato pave, as they are firm and hold their shape well. You want to make sure to use a firm potato in order to hold the layers together; soft potatoes (such as Yukon Gold) will not work well for this dish.
A mandolin is a very sharp tool to help get the most precise, thin slices of vegetables; in this case, potatoes. You can use a mandolin or the tip of a sharp knife to get the perfect layer of potatoes for potato pave.
How to Store Pave Potatoes
Once cooked, potato pave lasts in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, place on a plate and microwave on high using 30-second intervals until warm.
If you want to use an oven to reheat the potatoes, preheat to 350°F and place the potato pave on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Heat for 10-15 minutes, checking frequently until warmed through.
Can I freeze potato pave?
To freeze potato pave, allow to cool completely at room temperature. Place in an airtight container or freezer bag, label, and freeze for up to 6 months.
Before reheating the pave potatoes, allow to thaw and come to room temperature. I would not recommend cooking the potatoes directly from the freezer. Preheat oven to 350°F and place the potato pave on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Heat for 10-15 minutes, checking frequently until warmed through.
Pave Potatoes Variations
Potato pave is the kind of recipe you can really play around with, and isn't this the best part about being in the kitchen? Try some of these variations next time you're preparing this perfect side dish!
Follow my recipe as instructed, simply swapping or adding a few ingredients for each combination:
- Classic: The original pave potato could not be any more simple. It's just sliced potatoes, heavy cream, salt, and pepper!
- Loaded Pave Potatoes: Continue to use bacon, but swap the parmesan for cheddar cheese. After the potatoes are baked, dollop with sour cream and fresh chopped chives.
- "French Onion" Pave: Caramelize two large sweet onions and substitute parmesan cheese for grated gruyere or swiss. Between each layer of potato, sprinkle with onions and cheese, ending with a layer of cheese on top of the potatoes.
- Philly Cheesesteak Pave: In one large skillet, sauté one large onion, green pepper, and 8 ounces of white mushrooms, all diced, until soft. Add this mixture between each layer of potato with shaved beef (optional) and swap parmesan cheese for provolone.
Best Potato Side Dishes
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Potato Pave
Equipment
- 1 Mandoline slicer (optional, knife can be used)
- 2 Baking sheets (one smaller than the other)
- Parchment paper
- Heavy cans (or other heavy items) for weighing down pave
Ingredients
- 3 pounds smoked bacon thin-sliced
- 6 pounds russet potatoes
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- 6 sprigs thyme fresh
- 5.3 ounces Parmesan cheese grated
- ½ cup butter unsalted melted and slightly cooled
- Salt to taste
- Sriracha or other hot sauce for serving
Instructions
- Cook thin-sliced smoked bacon in batches until fried, but not yet crispy, and set aside. Peel and thinly slice russet potatoes using a sharp knife or mandolin. Line the base and sides of a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with parchment, allowing the parchment to hang over the sides, and cover the bottom with two layers of sliced potatoes. Drizzle with some of the heavy cream, thyme, Parmesan, and a sprinkle of salt. Cover with a layer of bacon.3 pounds smoked bacon thin-sliced, 6 pounds russet potatoes, 1½ cups heavy cream, 6 sprigs thyme fresh, 5.3 ounces Parmesan cheese grated, Salt to taste
- Top with another two layers of potatoes. Continue layering the cream, thyme, Parmesan, salt, then bacon and potatoes. Continue to repeat layers in this order, finishing with two layers of potato and topping it off with cream, thyme, Parmesan, salt, and melted butter.½ cup butter unsalted
- Fold in the tops of the parchment paper and cover with plastic wrap. Place a smaller baking pan on top (it should fit into the first pan to rest on top of the potatoes) and add a heavy weight, such as cans. Allow to rest for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and remove the smaller pan and weights along with the plastic wrap. Cover the top with foil and bake for 1 hour, until the potatoes are tender. Remove the foil and set it aside. Bake for another 20 minutes to brown the top of the potatoes.
- Add the foil back to the baking pan and top with the smaller baking pan and weights for a second time. Chill in the refrigerator overnight. This step is crucial for the potato pave to keep their shape, so don't skip out on chilling it!
- When ready to make the next day, preheat the oven to 425°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove the potatoes to a large cutting board and use a knife to trim the edges.
- Cut the remaining potato pave into small squares.
- Skewer each one from top to bottom with a toothpick to keep the potatoes together.
- Transfer each skewer to the prepared lined baking sheets, making sure they are on their sides and not touching each other. Bake in preheated oven until lightly golden, 10 minutes or so. Gently flip and bake another 10-15 minutes until crisp and golden. Rest on paper towels to drain excess oil. Serve sprinkled with fresh thyme and hot sauce, and enjoy!Sriracha or other hot sauce for serving
Notes
- I often use the oven for cooking large batches of bacon. It is so much easier than frying a few in a skillet at a time. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet or two with aluminum foil to catch the grease for easy cleanup and top with wire racks. Arrange the bacon in a single layer, not overlapping, on the racks and bake until fried, but not crispy, about 14 minutes. You still want them pliable enough to layer over the potatoes without crumbling.
- I added a little salt between the layers to help bring out the flavors. Be careful not to overdo it with the saltiness of the other ingredients!
- The layers of potatoes and bacon are compressed between baking with the help of weights on the top. I covered the layers with a smaller baking dish and hand weights. Cans or anything else heavy would work well.
- Make sure to use a sharp knife to cleanly cut the squares.
- I used toothpicks to hold together each of the slices, but you can also use mini skewers.
- For slicing the potatoes, you can use a mandolin slicer to save time and make it
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