Thanksgiving is right around the corner and it just wouldn’t be right if I didn’t share a cheesy potato dish with you all (like the good Midwesterner I was raised to be).
This recipe is adapted from our Everyday Cooking cookbook (!), is easy to make, and yields a wonderfully creamy, dreamy scalloped potato side dish just in time for the holidays. Shall we?
The base of this 10-ingredient dish is a vegan cheese sauce made with sautéed garlic, cornstarch, vegetable broth, almond milk, and nutritional yeast, which covers thinly sliced Yukon gold potatoes before being sprinkled with loads of vegan parmesan cheese. Swoon!
I love this dish because it’s easy to assemble, you can do other things while it’s baking (like eat chocolate), and it makes you look like a total boss in the kitchen. People won’t believe there’s no dairy!
We hope you LOVE this dish! It’s:
Cheesy
Carbs (!)
Comforting
Savory
Easy to make
& Super delicious
This would make the perfect addition to your menu for the holidays or side dish to bring to gatherings this winter. It just screams comfort!
If you’re into potato dishes, also be sure to check out our Crispy Baked Garlic Matchstick Fries, Oil-Free Cheesy Chili Potato Fries, Simple French-Style Potato Salad, and Vegan Sweet Potato Butternut Squash Tortilla.
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Easy Vegan Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 Tbsp olive oil or avocado oil (if avoiding oil, sub water)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced // 4 cloves yield ~2 Tbsp or 12 g)
- 1/4 tsp each sea salt and black pepper (plus more to taste)
- 2 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened plain almond milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth (or store-bought)
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 4-5 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2-3 medium Yukon gold potatoes (very thinly sliced)
- 1/4 cup vegan parmesan cheese (divided)
- 1/4 tsp paprika (optional)
- Fresh parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C). Heat a large rimmed, oven-safe cast-iron (or metal) skillet over medium heat. We used a 10-inch cast-iron and found it to be perfect for this recipe.
- Once skillet is hot, add olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Sauté for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently, until just lightly golden brown.
- Add cornstarch or arrowroot and whisk to incorporate. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add almond milk a little at a time, whisking to incorporate. Be sure not to flood pan. Whisk and go slowly to prevent clumps from forming. Continue until all of the almond milk has been added. Then add vegetable broth. Whisk to incorporate.
- Reduce heat to low. Let simmer for 4-5 minutes to thicken, whisking frequently.
- Turn off heat and remove skillet from burner. Transfer sauce to blender and add nutmeg, a pinch more salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast.
- Blend on high until creamy and smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more nutmeg, salt, pepper, or nutritional yeast to taste. Mixture should be very cheesy and savory to season the potatoes well, so don’t be timid.
- Lightly rinse out skillet (or grab a similar size baking dish) and generously grease with oil or vegan butter all the way up the sides. Lay down half the sliced potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Then lay flat and sprinkle on 2 Tbsp (10 g) vegan parmesan cheese (amount as original recipe is written // use half of total if altering batch size). Add remaining potatoes, season with a bit more salt and pepper, and loosely toss.
- Pour sauce over the potatoes and add remaining 2 Tbsp (10 g) vegan parmesan cheese (amount as original recipe is written // use half of total if altering batch size). Push down with your fingers to submerge the potatoes. The sauce should just cover the potatoes, so remove any potatoes that are well above the surface.
- Cover with foil and bake on middle rack of oven for 20 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for another 40-45 minutes (a total of 1 hour – 1 hour 5 minutes). Potatoes are done when knife inserted into the potatoes comes out without effort and the top is golden brown and bubbly.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving. As an optional garnish, top with fresh parsley and a dash of paprika for extra color. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 2-3 days or in the freezer up to 1 month. Reheat in a hot oven and rehydrate with more almond milk as needed.
Video
Notes
*Recipe heavily adapted from our Everyday Cooking Cookbook!
Susan says
If you double the recipe what size pan would you put it in? Thx looking forward to trying it!!!
Hi Susan, We’d recommend a 9 x 13-inch pan for doubling it. We hope you love it!
Robin Barth says
I LOVE all your vegan recipes…these are the best. Thank you. Robin B.
We’re so glad to hear it, Robin! Thank you for sharing! xo
Constance says
Thank you for this delicious recipe!! My family loves it and I’ve made it 3 times in two weeks. My 20 yr old son requested I make this for his end of semester party lol. The changes I made was using oat milk instead of almond, because of a nut intolerance. And we are low fodmap so I replace the olive oil and garlic with onion & garlic infused oil. The nutmeg is key! That last seasoning / tasting you do before putting the sauce over the potatoes is essential, and really tasty! I use my emulsion blender in the pan and skip transfering it to a blender.
Woohoo! We’re so glad you all enjoy this recipe. Thanks so much for the great review and for sharing your modifications, Constance!
Sarah says
Scalloped potatoes have an herby creamy sauce. What you’ve made here are au gratin potatoes.
Cindy says
Every comment section must have annoying useless commenters, as a rule 😁
Carson Stewart says
Thank you for this recipe it was really delicious. and I will definitely make this again. I don’t comment very often on recipes but I loved this so much that I made an exception.
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Carson! Thanks so much for sharing!
Dani says
I made this for our Christmas Eve dinner. The vegans all said the potatoes were delicious! I only subbed the milk due to a nut allergy (I used soy). I did add some Lawry’s seasoned salt, a bit of freshly-grated nutmeg, and a touch of onion powder to the sauce. I was surprised by how delicious the sauce tasted! I’m not vegan but this was really tasty. I doubled the sauce recipe so I have extra and will make the girls some mac and cheese.
We’re so glad everyone enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing, Dani! xo
Hilary says
Very tasty and easy. I steamed the potatoes first (while I made the sauce) but didn’t slice them very thinly. I added a couple of layers of onions cooked in stock and also a chopped red pepper. I baked the dish for about 30 minutes.
I’ve also made your pasta with lemon sauce a few times – yum! Thank you!
Love it! Thanks so much for the review, Hilary!
House spouse says
This has become one of my favorite go to recipes. I’ve made it quite a few times and it turns out perfect every time. It’s so creamy and delicious. I make it in my 10 inch cast iron and me and my partner usually end up eating all of it in one sitting, just the two of us lol. Gold potatoes definitely work the best. I add some smoked paprika mm mm mm. I’m making some right now.
Whoop! We’re so glad you’re enjoying it. Thank you for sharing! xo
Kelsey says
Hi there!
Can you make it ahead and reheat it? If so, do you have any recommended instructions?
Best,
K
Hi Kelsey, you can reheat this in a hot oven and rehydrate with more almond milk as needed. Hope this helps!
Homeschool Mom says
Loved this! I estimated how much potato to use since I was using re-hydrated dehydrated slices. I made a double batch and put about 1/3 in a 10″ cast iron and 2/3 in a 12″ cast iron (I divided poorly, lol). The shallower potatoes did get a better golden topping than the pan with more in it, but both were delicious. It tastes SO creamy for how little cashew is in it. I wound up using about 1.5 T. of cornstarch mixed into an equal amount of cold water to stir into the sauce because the arrowroot clumped up on me before I could even add my liquids. The clumps were resolved by blending, but I needed to thicken the sauce. When I was blending it, I chose to add just a dash more nutmeg and a tad bit of garlic powder (we love garlic). The garlicky flavor was quite strong since I used some Armenian garlic from our garden. YUM! This recipe is a keeper for sure!
Don’t skip making the dairy-free parmesan, we’ve been using this recipe for years and it looks so simple, but it doesn’t disappoint!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications! xo
Rebecca says
This is the worst recipe I’ve ever tried. The potatoes had a very unappealing brown color and they tasted terrible. I won’t be making these again.
Hi Rebecca, we’re so sorry that was your experience! Is it possible you waited a while between slicing the potatoes and cooking? That can cause potatoes to brown. Did you use homemade vegan parmesan or a store-bought product?
Rebecca says
No, I made the potatoes as soon as I sliced them. I used store bought Parmesan that I grated myself. My sister made the same recipe and it was the same weird brown color an inedible as well.
Emily says
Yum yum yum! Minimalist baker never fails to wow me. I’m not vegan but I do try to limit my animal product consumption, so when I found myself madly craving cheesy potatoes, I knew who would rescue me. Make these! (Used one giant potato because that’s what was on hand and cut it into bite-size slices).
Woohoo! Thanks so much for the great review, Emily, so glad you enjoyed!
Suee33 says
To make this even easier and FASTER.
First, this is a delicious scalloped potato recipe – I double the sauce – make it entirely in the blender – then pour the sauce from the blender over the top, spray the foil with oil, cover and bake. It will thicken on its own and makes this recipe so easy!
My granddaughters really LOVE this recipe and actually so, do we!!
Thanks
Suee33 says
FYI,
I DO use more potatoes and make it in a 9×13 inch glass pan.
Nice!
Love that! Thanks for sharing, Sue. So glad you all enjoyed!
Ramona says
Finally made this – fantastic! So flavorful and sauce was nice and thick. My new “go to” Scalloped Potato recipe:)
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Ramona! Thank you for sharing! xo
Ramona says
Will this recipe work with Red Potatoes? Looks amazing — as all your recipes do!!!
Yes! Thank you for your kind words, Ramona!
Coby says
Listen, it was an MB Christmas at my house this year! Your cinnamon rolls, vegan sausage for breakfast, and these potatoes with dinner. I looooved these potatoes! I made non-vegan scalloped potatoes for the rest of my family, and these for me (so I had the leftovers all to myself, and I’m not mad about it!). They are so flavorful! I used cashew milk instead of almond milk, and while I put your vegan Parmesan between the layers, I used the Follow Your Heart brand of Parmesan to sprinkle on top. A great dish that I will definitely make again!
We wish we were at your house for Christmas =p Thank you so much for all the lovely review! xo
Judith Coteff says
Can I use a cheddar cheese?
Yes!
Nadege says
This was perfect first time and I did not have to edit it at all! So easy too and never made cheese sauce let alone vegan and it turned out great! Thanks guys!
Woohoo! So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Nadege! Thank you for the lovely review!
Frances West says
Very tasty results. Well worth the effort. The cast iron skillet is a must to achieve the desired results. I’ll make this again!!
Wonderful! We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Frances! Thank you for the lovely review! xo
Lola says
So delicious! Super easy recipe too. I made it in a casserole dish for easier clean-up/storage of leftovers and it worked perfectly.
Yay! Love to hear this. Thanks so much, Lola!