Description
Cheesy, cozy, and satisfying, this Vegan Cauliflower Gratin is a simple dinner that makes it easy to enjoy your veggies. Packed with protein!
Ingredients
Scale
Casserole
- 1 medium head cauliflower, chopped into bite-size florets
- 2 large potatoes, peeled if desired and cut into ½ dice
- ¼ cup gluten-free Panko breadcrumbs or regular if not GF
- 1 medium onion, diced, optional (see note 1)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced, optional
- Fresh chopped parsley and/or vegan Parmesan topping, optional
Sauce
- 1-16 oz (~400g) block medium or firm tofu (see note 2)
- ½ - ¾ cup non-dairy milk (just enough to blend)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1.5 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp turmeric, optional
- ¼ tsp black pepper, optional
- 3 tbsp tapioca starch, optional (see note 3)
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (or 232 degrees Celsius).
- Note: Chop your potato small (around ½ inch dice) as it takes longer to cook than the cauliflower.
- Optional for more flavor: Saute diced onions in a nonstick skillet for approximately 5 minutes. After the onion has become translucent (about 4 minutes), add the garlic and saute another minute. You can choose to use oil if you wish, but I always just use a bit of water.
- Make vegan cheese sauce: Whiz up your vegan cheese sauce in the blender while these cook.
- Assemble: Add a single layer of chopped cauliflower and potato to a large baking dish and add half the onions and garlic, sprinkled or spread over the top (tip: use a set of tongs if you’d like to sprinkle the hot vegetables over the cauliflower and potatoes).Pour on half the vegan cheese sauce, making sure to cover every vegetable.Now add the rest of the cauliflower, potatoes, onions, and garlic. Cover with the rest of the vegan cheese sauce. Sprinkle your panko crumbs on top.
- Bake: Cover with aluminum foil and place your vegan cheesy cauliflower bake in the oven. Bake covered for 20 minutes and uncovered for 20 minutes. You may choose to broil it the last few minutes if you’d like to really brown the top. I did not broil mine and it still got fairly browned.
- Serve: Serve with fresh chopped parsley and/or vegan Parmesan topping and enjoy!
- Store: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The leftovers of this make for a light and delicious lunch. You may also freeze it in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Note 1: Onions and garlic, though an optional step, add so much flavor especially when you saute them for a few minutes before assembling your cauliflower bake. So I highly recommend them.
- Note 2: I mentioned above that the base of the sauce is tofu. Tofu is my favorite nut-free base for cheese sauces. If you CAN have cashews and you’d like to use those, go ahead and use about a cup and a half of soaked cashews instead of the tofu. But since I’m using tofu, let me mention the type. I normally use firm tofu even for blended recipes because I buy them in bulk at Costco. However, this recipe will work with virtually any type of tofu (though extra firm might not blend super duper well). If you use silken tofu, just cut out the non-dairy milk.
- Note 3: For a more stretchy and robust texture, I recommend blending in a few tablespoons of tapioca starch. This is a thickener that, when cooked, provides some pull and stretch to the vegan cheese sauce. Optional, though.
- Note 4: Sub half the cauliflower for broccoli, or add mushrooms if you like. Keep the amounts of veggies the same though, unless you plan to make more sauce. The vegan cheese sauce in this recipe is just enough to layer in and pour some on top for cheesy goodness.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Entree
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Vegan, Gluten-Free, Oil-Free, Nut-Free, Sugar-Free, Vegan Cauliflower Gratin