My favorite recipe for vegan scalloped potatoes- ultra creamy, cheesy, garlicky and comforting. Absolutely NO dairy!
Oh vegan scalloped potatoes, where have you been all my life?
Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I nailed it with this recipe! Sometimes (ok, often…) I have complete recipe testing failures. I try, I fail, I try, I fail again, and hopefully get it after several tries. But with these scalloped potatoes, oh my word, they were amazing from the start!
These potatoes are SO creamy, garlicky, flavorful and over-the-top delicious. The epitome of comfort food, and a must have at any holiday meal! They will be gone so fast, and no one will guess they are vegan.
HOW DO YOU MAKE VEGAN SCALLOPED POTATOES?
- First, peel and slice your potatoes about 1/8 inch thick. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Make your creamy sauce in a high powered blender like a Vitamix (raw, soaked cashews, vegetable broth, unsweetened non-dairy milk, nutritional yeast and salt)
- Saute an onion, thinly sliced and some garlic.
Now, layer half the potatoes in a 9 x13 inch greased baking dish.
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Pour half of the sauce on top. It will be very watery at this point, which is fine. It will thicken up as the potatoes bake. Spread the onion/garlic mixture on top.
Add the rest of the potatoes, and pour the rest of the sauce on top. It will look like this before you put it in the oven:
Bake, uncovered for 60 minutes, then remove from the oven and check for doneness. The sauce should be bubbly and thick, and the potatoes should be fork tender. If not, bake a little longer, 10-20 more minutes. Then, sprinkle with vegan parmesan and fresh chopped chives, if desired and serve warm!
CAN I MAKE VEGAN SCALLOPED POTATOES AHEAD OF TIME?
Yes, you can. Simply make the potatoes as instructed and let cool completely to room temperature. Cover tightly and refrigerate 2-3 days. I wouldn’t go longer than that. When ready to serve, bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until warmed through.
Want more vegan comfort food recipes?
Vegan Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 pounds yukon gold potatoes
For the creamy sauce
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked in hot water for 5 minutes
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used coconut milk)
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
For the rest
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- Optional for serving: vegan parmesan, chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Peel your potatoes, and slice them into 1/8 inch thick rounds. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Set aside.
- Make the creamy sauce: Drain the cashews. In a high powered blender like a Vitamix, add all the sauce ingredients (cashews, vegetable broth, non-dairy milk, nutritional yeast and salt) and blend on high for a few minutes until very smooth.
- Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and saute for 3-4 minutes, until translucent. Now add the garlic to the pan and cook, stirring constantly for another minute. Turn off heat and set aside.
- Spread half of the sliced potatoes in the baking dish. Top evenly with half of the creamy sauce, and then add the onion/garlic mixture across the top of the sauce.
- Layer the rest of the potatoes, and then the rest of the sauce. Bake for 60 minutes, then check a few potatoes to make sure they are fork tender and cooked through. If not, put back in the oven for 10-20 more minutes, until done. The sauce should be bubbly and thick.
- Sprinkle vegan parmesan and chopped fresh chives on top, if desired and serve. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- May leave out the onions and garlic if desired, but they add a lot of flavor to the dish.
- I like using yukon gold potatoes in this recipe, but russets will work as well. Or try sweet potatoes for variety!
- Try to slice your potatoes similar levels of thickness; this will help them cook more evenly. If you slice your potatoes thicker, they will take longer to cook, so keep this in mind.
This was a solid and easy base recipe. It smelled just like non-vegan version of my childhood while baking in the oven, which was so nostalgic!
I found the cashew-based sauce leans sweet in taste, and overall the recipe could use quite a bit more seasoning, as it was lacking in flavor overall for me. Next time I will add additional salt to the sauce, and I will also season the potato slices with salt and pepper before layering them into the dish. Thanks!
These potatoes turned out perfect. Since it was my first time making vegan au gratin potatoes, I followed the recipe closely. My family raved about this dish. Thanks Nora.
You are welcome, Georgia! I’m thrilled that the potatoes were a hit! Thanks for your wonderful feedback. It means a lot to me!
These came out great the first time I made them! I didn’t use nutritional yeast either, I was just out of it. The onion and garlic gave it great flavor. Thank you!
Made these a couple of weeks ago. This is the 4th vegan recipe of Nora’s I’ve tried and they’re all great. Looking forward to #5. My non vegan boyfriend agrees these potatoes are dangerous! We wanted to keep eating them. They came out super creamy and looked just like the before and after pics even though they looked too watery at first. Chives were the perfect touch on top. This makes a big batch, so it really seemed like 12 servings. I might half the recipe next time since it’s just us two. Hopefully it’ll still come out the same.
Why the nutritional yeast? I have Histamine Intolerance and can not use yeast. Will not using it make the recipe not work?
It’s for flavor, but you can leave it out no worries. The recipe will work just fine without it. Enjoy!
I’m not sure if this makes a difference, but nutritional yeast isn’t the same kind of yeast for bread. It’s non active, and used for flavor more than anything else.
I made these tonight for dinner, and they were just a bit too bland for my family’s palate. Next time I will season the potato before adding to the baking dish, and possibly add more seasoning to the cashew cream. I used almond milk and the sauce thickened fine with the added cashews—we loved the textures! So, we will definitely make this again in our household, yet tweak it a bit! Thanks for the foundation!
Nora you never let me down. I had some potatoes leftover and wanted to use them up. I looked up vegan scalloped potatoes and viewed some recipes and saw that you had one. I knew I’d have to follow your recipe because you’ve never led me astray. Thank you for sharing your incredible recipes! This is my first recipe review. The recipe is simple yet packed full of flavor with this classic dish that I haven’t had since I was a child. The onions and garlic really add amazing flavor to it. Thanks again!
You are welcome, Taylor! I am thrilled that you found my scalloped potatoes recipe and that you loved it! I love the texture and flavor of scalloped potatoes, such a comfort food! Thanks for sharing your fabulous review and feedback!
Thank you, this turned out so yummy and 60 minutes of baking was just the perfect cooking time. I’m definitely going to try this again.
This was honestly so delicious and easy! I actually swapped out the potatoes for rutabaga but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Highly recommend – it was a crowd favourite at our Christmas dinner (full of non-vegans)
Thanks for sharing your wonderful review and baking experience! I’m so glad you loved the scalloped potatoes!
This was the BEST scalloped potatoes ever. I made a dairy and dairy free version. This recipe had way more flavor than the regular one. I used a spiralizer to cut the potatoes which was super quick.
Thank you so much, Sima! I’m thrilled you loved the vegan version best 😉
My family loved it!
That is awesome! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review!
Another absolute hit! I made these today for Christmas dinner because my son is allergic to dairy and eggs, and everyone loved them. Definitely a keeper recipe! You have no idea how your recipes are changing lives – because of you, my son isn’t left out of family meals and holiday traditions. It’s important to him and so important to us. Thank you!
Hi Sara. I love the fact that your son is able to enjoy delicious food right along with everyone else! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback, and wishing you lots of happy cooking!
Did you use canned coconut milk or carton coconut milk? I’m going to be making it for Christmas so I’d like to know before I mess it up completely. I know others have had success with almond milk instead but canned coconut milk would thicken much more than carton non-dairy milk. Thanks!
Not canned coconut milk; I used the carton. I also often use almond, soy or cashew milk. Canned would be too thick and rich for this recipe. Hope that helps!
I have made these every single year for the last 6ish years and they are a huge hit every time. I’m not even vegan but appreciate vegan food so much. I continue to make these for all of my friends and family and I don’t even tell them it’s vegan..they say they are the best scalloped potatoes ever! I make a few tweaks here and there when needed. So delicious thank you for this amazing recipe!
Loved it! ate like 3 servings of it so much so that my husband said : at that point you should eat it directly from the plate…
I almost did not do the recipe because I was short on cashews and it being Christmas, everything was closed (I am in France) but saw a comment of someone who had reduced the amount of cashews for calories concerns and still loved it.
This is a great recipe that will live for years to come in my kitchen
Thank you again, Nora !
I am thrilled you loved the potatoes! Thank you for sharing your baking experience and wonderful review!
I’m hoping to make these later today. They look so delicious! Do you cover with foil while you bake it?
No, do not cover while baking. Enjoy!
These are our annual Christmas Eve meal! We all love them! Are we able to assemble and then freeze? Hoping to make them ahead of time and then cook on Christmas Eve.
So glad you enjoy them each Christmas Eve! I have never tried assembling, freezing, and then later baking. I’m honestly not quite sure how it will work, but it might.
So disappointed. I should stick to a cashew sauce I’ve made before. This was incredibly liquidy. I followed the recipe exactly and measured out my liquids in a glass measuring cup, but it wasn’t creamy at all like cashew sauce should be.
Had to switch to a different recipe since I was making this for a party. Not sure how it worked for others. 🤷🏻♀️
Did you follow through and bake the potatoes? Because the sauce SHOULD be quite watery when you first blend it. Cooking it in the oven with potatoes causes it to thicken and cook the potatoes perfectly. If you cooked them in a super thick sauce to start, your potatoes won’t cook and the whole thing would become hard and super thick in the oven. If you actually cook the potatoes, you will see they come out perfectly cheesy, creamy and delicious.
Cashews are expensive, got a more reasonably priced alternative?
I have sometimes replaced cashews with sunflower seeds which are quite a bit less expensive. It works well but isn’t quite as yummy in my opinion. They also give a bit of a gray tinge to the color of the dish.
I’ve had success with silken tofu to make cream sauces for applications like this.
Nora, you have never steered me wrong and this proves true yet again! I hosted my first friendsgiving last weekend and served these along with your Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies and everything was rated 10/10 by my non-vegan friends!!!
Do you think I can assemble this the night before Thanksgiving and then just bake the next day? I’m dying to try this.
I think you could, yes. Hope you enjoy!
Okay, Ms. Nora, you have done it again! I did hide a layer of spinach in mine and topped it with vegan bacon bits but the remaining was all you! Great recipe!
Hi Kim. Great ideas! I’m glad you loved the potatoes! Thanks for sharing your fabulous review and feedback!
Incredibly delicious! I used 1 cup of cashews and 1.5 cup almond milk and it was very creamy and thick at the end. Will try to lower the cashews to 3/4 cup next time to make it lower fat :).
These are phenomenal and one of the easiest 5 stars I’ve ever given. I have made these several times and like how customizable this recipe is. I’ve experimented by adding a touch of nutmeg and Violife parm which were both nice additions. This are so good I’m planning to make these instead of the traditional mash for Thanksgiving!
Hi Cameron. This recipe is a favorite at our house, especially for the the holidays! Thanks for sharing your cooking experience and fabulous review! Happy cooking!
We have a cashew allergy, could we use almonds instead?
I haven’t tested it myself, but it should work well. I would use raw slivered almonds (or else the skins will make the whole thing pretty brown I’m afraid. And soak them a bit longer to soften before blending.
This is the best scalloped potato recipe ever! I substituted mushroom broth and oat milk in the sauce and it was delicious! No way could anyone tell that this was a vegan recipe. This simple recipe makes tons of food with plenty of leftovers. Highly recommended!
Hello! Your substitutions sound amazing! Thanks for sharing those ideas, as well as your fantastic review! I love this recipe myself! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
Can this sauce be substituted in other recipes that call for a bechamel/cream-based sauce?
Yes, that should work! Enjoy!
Made this tonight, it was so simple with just a few ingredients and came together quickly! Can’t even tell it was dairy free 🙂 THANK YOU!
You are welcome, Caitlin! So glad you loved the recipe! Thanks for your fabulous feedback!
Had some white potatoes to use up. This was amazing. Really creamy with a lovely crispy top. Really enjoyed and easy to make.
I can just see your scalloped potatoes in my mind! I’m so glad you loved them! Thank you for your fabulous review!