Easy and delicious comfort food! These vegan cheesy broccoli twice baked potatoes freeze well and are easy to make.
I used to love eating Twice Baked Potatoes. I would get them at places like Whole Foods before I ditched dairy, and I loved them. So savory, cheesy and comforting somehow. Well, have no fear, I have created a vegan version that I can confidently say is just as good, if not better, than the original I remember!
The process is really pretty simple, but a little time consuming. I suggest making these Cheesy Broccoli Twice Baked Potatoes on a weekend to prep for meals during a busy week. They keep in the refrigerator for 4-5 days and you could even freeze some to make them last longer! Trust me, they taste just as good once frozen, I’ve done it several times now.
When you scoop out the potatoes, make sure you leave about 1/4 inch on all sides, or they will break and fall apart.
For the filling, I used the same cheese sauce as in my Mac and Peas recipe. That stuff is so good! And easy to make, especially if you find already cut up butternut squash like I did at Costco for a good price. (The sauce itself also freezes well, so make a double batch and use for Mac and Peas another day!)
Mix in the steamed broccoli as well. YUM.
Then you scoop the mixture back in the potato skins. Top them high!
For extra cheesiness, I went ahead and topped these potatoes with some non-dairy cheddar cheese shreds. I used Vegan Gourmet, but I also like Daiya. If you can’t find this or don’t want to use it, they are very good without it!
I think you will love these Vegan Cheesy Broccoli Twice Baked Potatoes. They’re:
Cheesy
Savory
Comforting
Budget friendly
Kid-friendly
& Highly addictive!
If you make this recipe, let me know how it goes! Rate it, leave a comment and tag a photo @noracooksvegan on Instagram. Enjoy!
Vegan Cheesy Broccoli Twice Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 large russet potatoes
- 1 pound broccoli
- 1-2 cups non-dairy cheddar cheese shreds, OPTIONAL
Cheese sauce
- 2 cups cubed butternut squash
- 1/2 cup raw cashews, quick soaked for 5 minutes in hot water
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and scrub the potatoes clean.
- Prick the potatoes with a fork 6-8 times and bake on a pan for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until cooked through. To make the potato skin extra brown and crispy, brush with olive oil before baking.
- Once cooked, let the potatoes cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the cheese sauce: Cook the squash either by roasting it alongside the potatoes for about 20 minutes, or steam it. I used my Instant Pot and cooked on high pressure for 4 minutes with 1 cup of water added.
- Add the cooked squash, the soaked and drained cashews and the rest of the sauce ingredients to blender. Blend on high until very smooth. Set aside.
- Steam the broccoli for 8 minutes. Set aside.
- Next, slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh into a large bowl leaving about 1/4 inch of flesh so the potatoes retain their shape. Add about 3/4 of the sauce and mash with a potato masher or use a hand mixer.
- Add more cheese sauce if desired (this will depend on how large your potatoes are, there should be some leftover sauce though). Now stir in the steamed broccoli. Spoon the mixture back into the potato skins, filling quite high. Sprinkle with non-dairy cheddar shreds if desired.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve with more cheese sauce drizzled on top if desired.
Notes
- I used vegan gourmet cheddar cheese shreds for topping. Daiya is also a good brand.
- To freeze, simply wrap the cooled, twice baked potatoes in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag or container. To re-warm, you can either baked them from frozen until they warm through, or microwave for 2-4 minutes, until done.
- These potatoes are a regular in my kid's lunchbox! I just warm them up and stick them in a thermos.
Delicious! I followed your recipe exactly and prepared them a day ahead of my dinner party. I had extra cheese sauce so I was able to give it to our vegan in the group to take home. Vegan or not, everyone raved about them. You sure have made cooking for my vegan family member so much easier and eye opening!
Delicious! I didn’t have the time to make the cheese sauce so I used the Daiya Cheezy sauce instead. SO GOOD! I can’t wait to try again with Nora’s sauce!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Savannah! You’ll love it with the sauce! Thanks for your fabulous feedback and review!
Used carrot in place of the butternut squash as I was out of squash, otherwise followed the recipe as is. Nice recipe, very filling and satisfying!
Hi Sarah. Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback! I’m glad you enjoyed the baked potatoes!
These potatoes are spectacular! Hearty, savory and filling comfort food. The cheese sauce is fantastic. I always have leftover sauce and I make mac and cheese with it. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Made a half batch of these for dinner and they were so great! Actually I made a full batch of the cheese sauce so now I just might use it as a pasta sauce! First time on your site and I’ll be back for more now! Thanks!
Hi Angelina! Welcome! I’m glad you loved the potatoes, and the cheese sauce! Have fun with the recipes, and happy cooking!
We made these last week and they are absolutely delicious!
I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Hi there, I know it’s been awhile since your last comment on here so I’m hoping you see this! I’m wondering if the cashews have to be of the raw variety? Or maybe why those are used instead? I only have “Sunshine Country Fresh Roasted No Salt Cashews” from Walmart. Thank you! I’m not vegan but am trying to get to that point, thank you for your blog, you’ve provided a lot to go on!
Hi Alana! Raw cashews are best because they are very neutral in flavor so you really can’t detect a nutty taste in the final dish. However, if you have roasted no salt cashews, by all means use them. I have before in a pinch and they will work fine for this! I hope you love the potatoes, they are one of my most favorite things ever! Thank you so much.
Would this be good with beans added? Like say a white bean or a black bean?
Like whole beans mixed in? That might be okay, I would probably suggest white beans instead of black. I haven’t tried it myself, but let me know if you try it and like it!
Do you have the nutritional info on these? Calories etc.. I entered it as a recipe in mynet diary and it came out to 361 calories for 1 potato – not sure if that is correct or not. They are yummy! Thanks!!
Hi Sheila! I don’t put nutritional facts on the blog, so I’m not sure but that sounds about right! I’m more of the mindset of “eating until full” and trying not to worry about the numbers. 🙂 And I’m so glad you liked the potatoes!
Thank you for your reply! I also wondered – the 2 cups of water – that’s not to all go in the blender to make the cheese sauce is it? I tried that the first time and it was very liquid I ended up putting more of everything else in – this sauce is so good!! Next time I put a cup of water. Am I doing it right? Anyway, this is a staple sauce for me now. I use it on veggies and inside quesadillas and mixed with quinoa pasta for a mac and cheesy thing. OMG it;s good, but am I doing it right with the water? Thanks!
Hi Sheila! 🙂
I do use the 2 cups of water for the cheese sauce. I find that once I mix the sauce with the potatoes it got very thick. But to use the sauce on other things I would use less water, yes! I’m sure it’s just fine with less water as well for the potatoes. I would say if it’s working for you with less water, go with it! 🙂 I’m so glad it’s turned into a staple vegan cheese sauce for you.
This sounds delicious! It’s going on my must try list.
Thanks! Yeah, I couldn’t believe how yummy these turned out for how healthy they are!