Lighten up a favorite holiday dish with this full flavor, better for you, Pesto Potato Gratin recipe. It's perfect for the holidays or anytime of the year.
This post is sponsored by ALDI. I was compensated to create this recipe and share it with you. All opinions are my own.
When it comes to your holiday menu planning, do you stick to traditions, making the same dishes every year? Or, do you like to try something new each year?
I’m actually a combination of both of these. I have a few favorite recipes that must make their annual appearance, but I also like trying new dishes.
This year, ALDI challenged me to create a healthier version of a classic holiday dish. I gladly accepted and decided to tackle potato gratin, a beloved holiday side that is also a very, very heavy dish thanks to the use of heavy cream.
It’s hard to mess with holiday recipes because people are really attached to their own version. However, most of these dishes are super high in calories and fat. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be problematic if you want to enjoy that dish more than once a year. I personally am always on the hunt for lighter recipes that still deliver the big holiday wow factor.
Perhaps you too are looking for a lighter version of a festive dish without sacrificing flavor. If you said yes, then my Lightened-up Pesto Potato Gratin is for you.
This dish delivers the comforting nature of a creamy potato gratin, but uses reduced fat milk and olive oil-based red pesto (instead of heavy cream) to deliver full flavor with less saturated fat. It’s also stuffed with festive red and green peppers which looks beautiful while adding fiber and antioxidants.
I used gold potatoes in this recipe because #1, they are my favorite, and #2 they have a lovely creamier texture that helps achieve our goal without any added fat.
ALDI is my go-to store for holiday food because of their amazing prices and quality products. Shopping there makes holiday entertaining easy and affordable. I literally breathe a sigh of relief when I walk in ALDI to shop because I know I can find everything I need and I won’t totally bust through my food budget. I can buy everything from presents to stocking stuffers to organic vegetables to lunch meat to yogurt, all in one trip and all for a great price. This year, I even bought ALDI gift cards for my kids’ teachers as their Christmas gifts. Talk about a huge time saver.
If you’re still a little uncertain about shopping at ALDI or it’s been awhile since you visited, now is the time to go back. Who couldn’t use a little help saving money over the holidays? ALDI simplifies the shopping experience, which all translates to major savings to you the shopper. You can read more about why I love ALDI and how to successfully shop there at my post How to Shop at ALDI.
Without further ado, here is my Lightened-up Pesto Potato Gratin. I hope it becomes a family favorite and brings comfort to you knowing you can enjoy this dish year round.
PrintRecipe
Pesto Potato Gratin
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 -8 1x
Description
Lightened up a favorite holiday dish with this full flavor, better for you, Pesto Potato Gratin recipe. It's perfect for the holidays or any time of the year.
Ingredients
- Carlini Canola Cooking Spray
- 6 - 7 cups peeled and thinly sliced (less than ⅛” in thickness gold potatoes, from about half of a 5 lb bag)
- 1 red bell pepper (diced)
- 1 green bell pepper (diced)
- 1 small yellow onion (diced)
- ½ cup Friendly Farms 2% milk
- 1 tablespoon Baker’s Corner All Purpose Flour (optional)
- 1 teaspoon Stonemill Sea Salt Grinder
- ⅓ cup Rosso Pesto Sauce (red sun dried tomato)
- 1 cup Priano Shredded Parmesan Cheese*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Coat bottom of a 3 quart baking dish (an 8x8 or 9x9 square pan works well too) with canola cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, toss together potatoes with chopped veggies, reserving ¼ cup of peppers to sprinkle on top.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together milk, flour, salt and pesto. Pour over potatoes and gently toss to coat all the potato circles.
- Pour the potatoes and milk mixture into prepared baking dish and arrange potato slices as flat as possible. Sprinkle top of potatoes with remaining peppers and then the shredded cheese.
- Bake for 45- 50 minutes, until top is golden brown and potatoes are tender when pricked with a fork. If needed, cook under the broiler for 1-2 minutes to further brown and crisp the tops of the potatoes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5-8 minutes before serving.
Notes
A mandolin is the best tool to use for slicing the potatoes. If you do not have one, use a good, sharp knife and try to cut potatoes as thin as possible.
*Cheddar also works well in this recipe. ALDI has has very unique seasonal cheeses too so check out all the offerings and choose your favorite cheese.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
As noted in the recipe above, a mandolin is the best tool for slicing potatoes. You can certainly do the slicing with a sharp knife though. Here is the size you are going for:
For more fun and affordable ideas for celebrating the holidays, visit the ALDI site, Make Holidays Happen, which sounds a lot like Make Healthy Easy. (See, we are a match made in heaven.) =)
To a happy, healthy, stress-free, money-saving holiday season,
