This little pan of Amish-style cottage cheese potatoes reminds me of the sort of dish you’d find on a farmhouse table after Sunday service—simple, honest, and gone before you know it. Raw sliced Yukon Gold potatoes are tucked into a ceramic casserole, then generously spread with cottage cheese and a touch of butter for richness. Everything bakes together into a creamy, cozy side that asks almost nothing of you, but tastes like you fussed all afternoon. It’s the kind of recipe that fits right into traditional Midwestern cooking: a few good ingredients, a hot oven, and a dish that disappears faster than anything else on the table.
Serve these creamy cottage cheese potatoes alongside roast chicken, meatloaf, pork chops, or a simple skillet of sausage. They’re lovely with green beans, a crisp lettuce salad, or buttered peas to balance the richness. A jar of homemade pickles or a spoonful of applesauce on the plate brings that old-fashioned farmhouse feel. If you like, pass the black pepper at the table so everyone can season their own serving just the way they like it.
Oven-Baked Amish Cottage Cheese PotatoesServings: 4
Ingredients
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced (about 1/8 inch thick)
2 cups full-fat cottage cheese
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus a little extra for greasing the dish
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (optional, for serving)
Directions
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly butter a medium ceramic casserole dish (about 2-quart size) so the potatoes don’t stick.
Scrub the Yukon Gold potatoes well and pat them dry. Leaving the skins on, slice them thinly, about 1/8 inch thick, so they cook through and get tender in the oven.
Layer the raw sliced potatoes evenly in the bottom of the buttered ceramic casserole dish, overlapping them slightly like shingles. Sprinkle the salt evenly over the potatoes.
Using a spoon or clean hands, spread the cottage cheese over the top of the raw sliced potatoes, working it gently down between some of the slices so every bite turns creamy as it bakes.
Dot the top of the cottage cheese with the small pieces of butter, spacing them fairly evenly over the surface so the butter melts down through the cottage cheese and potatoes.
Cover the casserole tightly with foil to help the potatoes steam and soften. Place the dish on the middle rack of the preheated oven.
Bake, covered, for 45 minutes. Then carefully remove the foil and continue baking for another 20–25 minutes, or until the potatoes are very tender when pierced with a knife and the edges are bubbling and lightly golden.
Remove the casserole from the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes so the creamy layers can settle and thicken a bit. Serve warm, with freshly ground black pepper at the table if you like.
Variations & Tips
If you’d like a little more golden color on top, slide the uncovered casserole under the broiler for 2–3 minutes at the end of baking, watching closely so it doesn’t scorch. For a slightly tangier flavor, use small-curd cottage cheese or mix in a spoonful of sour cream with the cottage cheese before spreading it over the potatoes (this will nudge it beyond three core ingredients, but it’s a nice Sunday variation). You can also change the texture by slicing the potatoes paper-thin with a mandoline for a more scalloped feel, or a bit thicker for a heartier bite—just adjust baking time as needed until they’re tender. If you’re cooking for two, halve the recipe and use a smaller ceramic dish, checking for doneness a bit earlier. Leftovers reheat well in a low oven, covered, until warmed through; they’re especially good alongside scrambled eggs the next morning, turning one simple bake into two comforting meals.
