This post is sponsored by The Little Potato Company.
When I asked which potato side dish you'd like to see veganized, potatoes au gratin was by far the winner. So here we are! Easy vegan potatoes au gratin! This classic and comforting side dish is welcome all year long and especially welcome at the big food holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Now that we're covering veganized potatoes au gratin, which typically non-vegan potato dish would you like to see veganized next? Let me know!
For this veganized version of potatoes au gratin I went with a classic roux-based sauce with garlic, unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used soy), vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, and white wine vinegar. It's deceptively simple, creamy, and rich. For even richer flavour, substitute 2 teaspoon of white miso for the ¼ teaspoon of salt in the sauce.
Need a gluten-free option? I've included a roux-less cauliflower variation in the recipe notes. 🙂
My trick for making this dish as quickly and easily as possible is to use a food processor with a slicing blade and my go-to potatoes, The Little Potato Company's Baby Boomers. Their Little Potatoes are perfect for this recipe. They cook quickly, they're pre-washed, and they require absolutely no peeling. I fed them into my food processor straight from the bag and they were prepped and ready to be layered into my baking dish in just over a minute!
This side dish is super approachable. It's made with pantry staples you're likely to have on hand (especially if vegan cooking is the norm in your household.) The method is super easy: quick roux sauce (8 minutes or less), food processor slicing, quick layer assembly (potatoes, S+P, onion, potatoes, S+P, sauce, bread crumbs, done!). Cover with foil and bake. Easy!
I'm partial to casseroles with crispy bread crumb toppings so I topped these vegan potatoes au gratin with panko bread crumbs. For more classic potatoes au gratin, you can top them with vegan mozzarella shreds instead. Or go nuts and top 'em with crumbs AND cheese (which we highly recommend!!)
This side dish is freezer-friendly. Check out the recipe notes for freezing and reheating info.
This post is sponsored by The Little Potato Company.
We love them for their commitment to simple, healthy whole foods like their delicious Creamer potatoes. Thanks for supporting the brands that support I Love Vegan!
Learn more about why we love Little Potatoes at www.littlepotatoes.com
Vegan Scalloped Potatoes au Gratin
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 serving 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: Vegan
Description
These easy vegan scalloped potatoes au gratin make for a comforting side dish all year round! Less than 30 minutes of active time. Freezer-friendly. Gluten-free substitution in notes.
Ingredients
- Cheesy Vegan Cream Sauce
- 2 tbsp vegan butter or olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used soy)
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp vegan butter (optional)
- 1.5 lb bag of The Little Potato Company’s Baby Boomers (Creamer potatoes), sliced thin
- ½ white onion, sliced into thin rings
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs (or 1 cup vegan mozzarella shreds)
- Dried parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Prepare Cheesy Vegan Cream Sauce (below)
- Line a 9” x 13” casserole or baking dish with parchment paper. Optional: Spread the parchment with 1 tablespoon vegan butter. Spread ½ of the sliced potatoes out in an even layer. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the sliced onion over the potatoes. Follow with the remaining sliced potatoes, once again seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Top with Cheesy Vegan Cream Sauce. Sprinkle with panko bread crumbs. Garnish with dried parsley (optional.)
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes. If necessary, briefly place casserole under broiler to toast bread crumb topping. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Cheesy Vegan Cream Sauce
- In a small skillet or saucepan, heat 2 tablespoon vegan butter or olive oil over medium heat. Add 4 cloves minced garlic and sauté until garlic is fragrant and translucent (do not brown.) Whisk in the flour and salt. Continue cooking for 1 minute.
- Very slowly whisk in the vegetable broth followed by the non-dairy milk. Add the nutritional yeast and white wine vinegar. Whisk vigorously to combine. Cook for another 5 minutes, whisking often.
- Optional: Transfer to a blender and blend on high for 30 seconds. Set aside.
Notes
Tip: For best results and quicker preparation, use a food processor to slice the potatoes.
Freezing: After cooking with parchment paper, re-cover with aluminum foil and freeze in casserole dish. Once thoroughly frozen, pop the potatoes au gratin out of the casserole dish and transfer to a freezer bag. (Cooking to freeze: You can fully cook potatoes au gratin according to directions or partially cook them for 30 minutes, covered.)
Reheating from frozen: Preheat oven to 350F. Transfer frozen casserole back into the casserole dish it was cooked in and cover with aluminum foil. Bake potatoes au gratin for 40 minutes. If fully cooked, uncover and briefly place casserole under broiler to toast bread crumb topping. If partially cooked, uncover and bake for another 15 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Substitutions: You can also prepare these vegan potatoes au gratin in 2 – 9” x 5” baking dishes (as shown in pictures.)
If you have white miso on hand, substitute 2 teaspoon for the ¼ teaspoon of salt in the Cheesy Vegan Cream Sauce for richer flavour.
No nutritional yeast? You can substitute ½ cup vegan cheese shreds for the nutritional yeast in the sauce.
Make it gluten-free: Substitute the roux-based sauce for 2 ⅔ cups of the GF cauliflower-based sauce below. Use 1 cup of gluten-free vegan cheese shreds or gluten-free bread crumbs for the topping.
Gluten Free Cheesy Vegan Cream Sauce:
(Adapted from our Vegan Garlic Alfredo recipe. Makes slightly more than required for vegan potatoes au gratin - extra sauce is great on pasta!)
Ingredients
- 5 cups cauliflower florets
- 2 tablespoon vegan butter or olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used a blend of almond and soy)
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
Directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add cauliflower florets and boil until fork tender (approx. 10 minutes.) Drain and set aside.
- In a small skillet or saucepan, heat 2 tablespoon vegan butter or olive oil over medium heat. Add 4 cloves minced garlic and sauté until garlic is fragrant and translucent (do not brown.)
- Add drained cauliflower, sautéed garlic, vegetable broth, non-dairy milk, nutritional yeast, white wine vinegar, and salt to your blender.
- Blend on high until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside.
Dottie
LOVE the Vegan Scalloped Potatoes au Gratin! I used Yukon Gold Potatoes but all else, the same. Nutritional yeast is my new best friend!
★★★★★
Garth and Charmaine
We made this wonderful recipe in a cast iron Dutch Oven and baked it on the grill. Total cook time was about an hour at 350º. We did not use the parchment paper, we sliced the potatoes about 1/4 inch thick, and we used Miyoko's smoked mozzerella in addition to the nutritional yeast. The results were amazing! This is hands down the best vegan potatoes au gratin recipe! We plan to make it often!
★★★★★
Tina
Omg these have quickly become a favorite! Easy and delicious!
★★★★★
Brittany
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it Tina!
Ray L.
Whoa! This looks so delicious, my family love potatoes! I'm definitely going to try this out during the holiday season. Thanks!
Medea
Will kids like this recipe? Any moms out there that already tried it? My husband told me that they might not like the onion taste....
Brittany
You can always reduce the onion or dice it instead of slicing it. I don't know, onions are great and you've got introduce kids to it at some point!
Carina
I love this recipe so much. It’s in the oven right now. Only thing is it’s taking forever I’m so frustrated lol it definitely needs to cook longer than 45 min! Can’t wait
Brittany
I suppose it depends on your oven, it took 45 minutes in my oven. Do you have an oven thermometer?
Aoibhin
Hey there! These look delish and I'm hoping to try them tonight but I don't have white wine vinegar on hand and would love to know if there's any other possible substitutions to replace it? Thank you for such an awesome recipe!
Brittany
Hi! Any acidic ingredient will do, regular white vinegar or lemon juice should be just fine!
Jen @ Lita's World
This looks so perfect for a dinner we're having this weekend with friends who recently decided to join us in the vegan world!! I can't wait to make it - thanks for the fabulous recipe!!
★★★★★
Kimberly Johnson
What is the liner at the bottom of the pan?
Brittany
It's parchment paper! 🙂
Nikki (NYNomads)
Mmm I read this post right before lunch, it made me so hungry! Thanks for he recipe, I think I'll make it tonight, can't wait.
http://www.nynomads.com
Living sustainably on $100/week in NYC
Brittany
Yay! I hope you like it! 😀
Heather
This was delicious recipe but I had to cook it 30 minutes more (for a total of 1 hour 15 minutes) before the potatoes cooked through. I used the small potatoes I found in Whole Foods, which doesn't seem to carry The Little Potato Company potatoes. I haven't found them yet but I'll keep looking. Other than the cooking time, this was a great recipe and really tasted great! Thanks. Heather in NYC
★★★★★
Brittany
Thanks for the note on cooking time! Do you think your potatoes were sliced as thin as mine? I want to add a note to the recipe. Thank you for trying these potatoes and for leaving your feedback, I appreciate it!! 😀
Heather
Maybe not. They were quite small but I only sliced each one three or four times. Next time I make it I'll try slicing them thinner.
Corrine
How about a cheesy potato casserole?
Brittany
Mmm... Another delicious idea, thanks Corrine! PS: You might be into our Cheesy Vegan Potato & Broccoli Casserole 😀
Corrine
I'll check it out!
Brittany
Thanks for entering our giveaway Corrine! You won a 1 month supply of Little Potatoes 😀 😀 I hope you love them as much as we do ♥
Lydia Claire
Well I need a true-to-taste buttermilk substitute to go in mashed potatoes and nothing comes close. =(
Brittany
Oohh, okay!! Nice one Lydia! I'm assuming you've already tried unsweetened soymilk + vinegar?
Lydia Claire
I have tried that. It's never the same. No where near the right tangy flavor. But I have faith it will be developed at some point in the future. =)
Brittany
Darn! But I'm glad you're optimistic for the future of vegan buttermilk!
Eileen
Wow, these potatoes look s delicious! So homey and comforting, For veganizing potato dishes, how about a classic potato pancake? Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!
Brittany
Thanks so much Eileen! And you can't go wrong with potato pancakes 😀 Thank you for commenting and entering!
Maritess
It's grilling season again and we usually serve burgers with potato salad on the side. Would love to see this favourite side dish "veganized"
Brittany
Ah yes, perfect! Our Vegan Rainbow Potato Salad is one of our most popular recipes! I'm thinking it's time to do a mayo-less version too. Thanks for entering! 😀
Nikolai
Perfect timing! I planned to make a cheesy potato bake for my S.O and their mum tonight, and a vegan equivalent for myself. Going to make a small version of your recipe for myself - it sounds fantastic.
Brittany
Ooh! That's wonderful, I sure hope you enjoy your dinner tonight 😀 Thanks for commenting Nikolai!!
Tanya
This is in the oven now (popped into my inbox as I was thinking about what to make for dinner). I made a few changes because I wanted a one dish meal. I substituted 1/2 the potatoes with peas and soy curls ("chicken"). Can't wait for it to be ready!! Thanks for the recipe and inspiration!
Brittany
Wow!! That's fantastic to hear! Your subs sound awesome for a one dish meal 😀 I hope you enjoy your dinner!! Thanks for commenting Tanya.
Taomi
Hey there! This recipe looks delicious as usual. 🙂 I love how comprehensive the recipe is too. I can't remeber if you've done potato pancakes, but that would be splendid!
Brittany
Hi! Thanks so much! Potato pancakes are great 😀 We've got a recipe for vegan latkes, but I've been thinking of doing a mashed potato pancake too!