The holiday menu isn’t complete without vegan au gratin potatoes! Tender potatoes are baked with a delicious dairy free cheese sauce for the perfect comforting recipe.
What side dishes do you love for Christmas dinner? When I was growing up, we always had some kind of potato casserole along with our main course.
A pretty common potato dish for the holidays is cheesy potato casserole, with crunchy potato chips on top. We had that all the time, and I wanted my boys to be able to enjoy it, so I created a dairy free version of cheesy potatoes.
If you’re looking for something a little different, you might want to try these vegan au gratin potatoes. The potatoes are thinly sliced, then baked for a long time in a cheesy, dairy free sauce. This is dairy free comfort food at its best!
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Scalloped or Au Gratin Potatoes
People often get scalloped potatoes and au gratin potatoes confused. What’s the difference? Scalloped potatoes are baked in a cream sauce, and au gratin potatoes are baked in a cheese sauce.
Both types are delicious! We regularly make vegan scalloped potatoes at our house.
Ingredient Notes
- Yukon Gold Potatoes – Yukon Gold potatoes are a great choice, because they have a naturally buttery flavor. If you can’t find those, you can use white potatoes.
- Vegan Buttery Spread – I like Earth Balance Soy Free Vegan Buttery Spread. You should be able to use a different brand of vegan butter if you prefer.
- Shallots – Either shallots or onions will work well in this recipe.
- Dairy Free Cheese – I used Daiya Cheddar Style Slices. I find that these slices melt very nicely. We love them in grilled cheese. The flavor and texture when melted is very similar to American cheese. You could use Daiya shreds – those should also work well. You should be able to use the type and brand of cheese that works for your family, but please make sure that you like the texture and flavor of that cheese when melted.
- Flour – To keep this dish gluten free, use a gluten free flour blend like Namaste Perfect Flour Blend. If you are not gluten free, feel free to use regular all-purpose flour or white spelt flour.
- Non-Dairy Milk – Use a neutral tasting non-dairy milk for best results. Rice milk, coconut milk, soy milk, or oat milk would all be fine choices.
Step by Step Instructions
- Peel and thinly slice the potatoes, and place them in a casserole dish.
2. Saute the shallots in vegan buttery spread. Stir in the flour, then the non-dairy milk and dairy free cheese. Stir well.
3. Pour the sauce over the potatoes in the casserole dish and cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
4. Remove foil and continue to bake for about 55 minutes until the edges are browned and the cheese sauce is bubbling.
Tips for Success
- Slice the potatoes very thin. This will result in a very tender texture and allow the sauce to permeate all the potatoes.
- Use a neutral tasting non-dairy milk. I used So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk Beverage.
- If you can find Yukon Gold potatoes, I do recommend using those as they have a wonderful, buttery flavor.
Storage/Freezing
Store leftover potatoes in the refrigerator. They should stay fresh for about 3 days.
You can freeze leftovers if you like, but the texture may change slightly. Store in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
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Watch the video below to see how easy it is to make this recipe.
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Recipe
Vegan Au Gratin Potatoes.
Ingredients
- 6 large Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and thinly sliced (for 6 cups sliced)
- ¼ cup vegan buttery spread
- ½ cup shallots chopped (you can also use onions)
- 3 Tablespoons gluten free flour blend or all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 ½ cups non-dairy milk I used So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk beverage
- 4 ounces dairy free cheddar cheese slices I used Dairy brand cheddar style slices
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Melt the vegan buttery spread in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped shallots and cook for about 5 minutes, until tender.
- Stir in the gluten free flour blend. Add half of the non-dairy milk and stir well. Add the salt and pepper and continue to stir. Add the rest of the milk and the dairy free cheese, then turn the heat to medium high. Cook while stirring constantly for a minute or two to allow the sauce to thicken.
- Place the thinly sliced potatoes in a casserole dish. Pour the sauce over the top. Dot the two tablespoons of vegan buttery spread over the top.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for 55 minutes. The edges should be browned and the sauce should be bubbling.
- Let stand for about 15 minutes before serving.
Jane
It puts me off that you used a shop bought “cheese.” I saw them the other day advirtised as heart healthy, then I turned it over. The unhealthy fat calculations were much worse than normal cheese. It seems to me that making it from scratch, like using nutritional yeast would be better.
Kelly Roenicke
You could try that! I don’t know how that would work out, but if you try it, please let me know!
Tasia
I made rest tonight for my family and subbed some items to go with what I had in my pantry. It turned out so yummy! I used Russet potatoes, oatmilk, yellow onion and Violife cheddar cheese shreds.
Cynthia
Like Elizabeth on 4/12, I was looking for a vegan au gratin potato recipe to try for something new for Easter. I tried it, and it was a big hit! We used a food processor to cut the potatoes thinly. We used red potatoes and kept the skins on, and they tasted delicious. The next time we make this, we will probably add some paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder to take it up a notch but excellent as is.
Elizabeth
Hello Kelly,
I came across your recipe and it looks delicious!! I’m making this for Easter, (April 2022), for my son’s girlfriend who is gf/df & have a couple questions:)
1. Can I par boil the potatoes (like for potato salad), & then slice them to cut down on cooking time?
2. Have you tried thickening it with gf flour or corn starch? I would need to do that for her.
3. Lastly, I use the “Simple Truth” shredded cheddar cheese from Kroger as I find it melts great! Would that be alright to use?
Thank you in advance for your time! I hope you see this before Easter!
Best Regards,
Elizabeth
Doris Kennedy
I’ve been looking for a good recipe for vegan au-gratin-potatoes and when I found this one, I decided to try it. I loved it and my son who is a vegetarian, also liked it. I’m going to make it every month.
Kelly Roenicke
I’m so happy you enjoyed them!
Darryl
We couldn’t stop eating these!! Yum!