Cheesy vegan scalloped potatoes

Creamy, dairy-free scalloped potatoes in casserole dish with serving spoon.

5 from 1 vote

Cheesy vegan scalloped potatoes

Side dishes don't get more comforting than these decadent, cheesy potatoes. Sliced potatoes are enveloped in a custard-like cashew cream and cooked until tender. Serve this delicious and cozy dish for Sunday dinner or your next holiday gathering.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1 35

Total Time1 45

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Keyword: casserole, holiday food, thanksgiving recipe

Servings: people

Calories: 267kcal

Author: Cadry Nelson

Ingredients

2 pounds potatoes thin-skinned, small to medium sized (about 7 smallish potatoes)
1 cup raw cashew pieces soaked if necessary
4 cups water plus more for soaking potatoes
1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon no chicken base
¾ cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 teaspoon white miso paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated onion
⅛ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon avocado oil plus more for oiling baking dish
½ heaping cup thinly sliced shallots
3 cloves garlic minced
3 Tablespoons non-dairy butter
½ cup all-purpose flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 baking dish and set aside.
If you like, peel the potatoes. Then cut the potatoes into ⅛-inch slices. For the best thin slices, I recommend using the slice function on your food processor or a mandoline. (I use the medium slicing blade on my food processor.)
Put the sliced potatoes into a bowl and cover with water, so that they don't brown while you make the rest of the recipe. Set aside while you cook.
Add the following to a high-speed blender: raw cashew pieces, 4 cups water, bouillon, nutritional yeast flakes, white miso paste, salt, granulated onion, and turmeric. Blend until completely smooth. (You'll know it's done when you don't hear any crunching sounds in the blender from the cashews breaking up.)
Don't have a high-speed blender? Standard blenders struggle to break up cashews completely without some help. Follow the workarounds in the notes section of the recipe card.
Bring a skillet to a medium heat and add avocado oil. Add thinly sliced shallots and saute about 5 minutes. During the last minute of cooking, add minced garlic. Once the shallots and garlic have softened and are fragrant, use a spatula to move them to a plate and set aside.
(If you'd prefer, you can keep the shallots and garlic in the skillet, but it's a little easier to get all the lumps out of the sauce without them.)
Add non-dairy butter to the skillet and melt it. Slowly add flour, incorporating it with the melted butter and stirring constantly. Cook for about 2 minutes as the flour becomes toasty brown.
Slowly whisk in the sauce from the blender, stirring constantly, and making sure to get everything on the bottom of the skillet while you cook. Increase the heat to medium-high, and cook until the sauce is thick and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Stir in the sauteed shallots and garlic. Then remove the sauce from heat.
Drain the sliced potatoes.
Now it's time to put together the scalloped potatoes with three layers of potatoes and sauce.
Start by putting the first shallow layer of potato slices into the oiled casserole dish. (Use about a third of the potatoes.) Don't worry about being super orderly. Then evenly cover the potato slices with about a third of the cheese sauce.
Add another layer of potatoes and cover it with more cheese sauce.
Add one final layer of potatoes, and cover it with the remaining cheese sauce.
Cover the casserole dish with a fitted lid or aluminum foil. Put it into the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove lid or foil and bake for 35 more minutes. (You'll know it's done when the potatoes are tender and the liquid is bubbly.)
Finish by broiling for about 4 minutes to brown the top of the potatoes. (Broilers vary by oven. Keep an eye on it, so that they don't get overly done.)
Remove from oven, and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Then serve.

Notes

Standard blender instructions

If you’re using a high-speed blender, you don’t need to soak the raw cashews before blending. However, if you’re using a standard blender, you'll need to help the blender to break down the raw cashews fully.

Choose one of these 4 options to soften the cashews. #1 is my preferred option.

Grind the dry raw cashews in a coffee grinder until they have the consistency of flour. (Because of the large amount of cashews, you'll likely need to grind them in batches.) Then add the ground cashews to the blender with the other cashew cheese sauce ingredients.
Put raw cashews in a bowl, cover them in water, and allow them to soak for a few hours to soften them. Then drain the cashews and add them to the blender with the other ingredients.
Boil the raw cashews in water for 15 minutes. Then drain & add to the blender.
Microwave raw cashews in water for 2 minutes. Then drain & add to the blender.

Storage instructions

Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator. They will keep for 4 to 5 days. They also freeze well.

If you're reheating from frozen, move the scalloped potatoes to the refrigerator to thaw, or use the defrost function on the microwave.

Reheating instructions

Leftovers can be reheated at 35o degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, or until warmed through. Or individual servings can be reheated in the microwave until warm.

Nutrition