Vegan Scalloped Potatoes
This vegan scalloped potatoes recipe is creamy, savory, and delicious in all the right ways. If you love easy vegan cheesy potatoes, this will be your favorite recipe! It’s a delicious side dish for your favorite meals.
Serve this vegan side dish with some Vegan Chicken or this Vegan Meatloaf for a completely plant-based, easy, homestyle meal.
I grew up in a house where scalloped potatoes were made on the regular, especially for big family dinners. It’s easy to make scalloped potatoes vegan and I love that it’s also an affordable dish. Scalloped potatoes feature layers of thinly-sliced potatoes baked in a creamy, cheesy sauce. It’s why everyone loves it so much!
Truth be told, these vegan scalloped potatoes are not much different than this Cauliflower Gratin. It’s the same concept, just different ingredients. The same could be said for Vegan Green Bean Casserole, as well.
Why This Recipe is a Winner
- Using vegan butter makes the special potato sauce creamy, buttery, and delicious
- Thinly sliced onions bake between layers of potatoes, infusing flavor in every bite
- Adding vegan cheddar shreds to the sauce adds cheesy flavor and homestyle appeal
Key Ingredients
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:
- Vegan butter — I used Earth Balance, but any non-dairy margarine or vegan butter would work here.
- Flour — I used whole wheat pastry flour (different than whole wheat flour), or you can substitute all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour.
- Salt + Pepper
- Plant-based milk — Any plain, unsweetened (not vanilla flavored) plant-based milk works. My preference is soy milk because of its high protein content that most resembles dairy milk. You can also use cashew milk.
- Vegan cheddar shreds — We most often use either Follow Your Heart or Daiya cheddar shreds.
- Potatoes — You’ll need around 2 pounds of potatoes, either Red, Russet, or Yukon Gold. I prefer red potatoes because the potatoes are tender when baked but still firm. The Russet and Yukon Gold potatoes have a higher starch content and will be more tender (which can be nice).
- Onion — I use a yellow onion because they become sweeter as they cook.
How to Make Vegan Scalloped Potatoes
- Make a roux with vegan butter and flour.
- Stir in the plant-based milk to create a gravy-like sauce.
- Stir in vegan cheddar shreds until melted.
- Add layers of sliced potatoes, sliced onions, and sauce in a baking pan.
- Cover with foil and bake in a heated oven for 50 minutes.
- Use tongs to remove the foil and bake until the edges turn golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for slightly before serving.
Step Three: Bake
Cover the dish with foil to encourage the sauce to form and to coax the vegan cheese into melting. Place it in the preheated oven and bake for 50 minutes. Use tongs to remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes, until the edges turn a golden brown.
When it’s done, remove it from the oven and set it aside to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
Melting Vegan Cheese
Covering the top of the casserole dish with foil for the beginning part of the bake helps the vegan cheese melt.
Then use tongs to remove the foil to get the golden crust on the top of the casserole.
Storage Tips
To store, allow scalloped potatoes to come to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate. These will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Marly’s Tips
Use these tips and tricks to make these vegan scalloped potatoes perfect every time:
- For thinly-sliced potatoes, cut them into 1/8″ thick slices
- To chop potatoes, wash and scrub them and leave the skins on. Then cut about 1/4 to 1/2 inch off each end, then begin slicing.
- Regarding onions, some people like them more than others. This recipe calls for using 1/3 of a medium-sized onion. You can use an entire onion, thinly sliced, but I find 1/3 gives plenty of onion flavor without overwhelming the picky ones (you know who I’m talking about!)
- You can use canned coconut milk in place of plant-based milk. Coconut milk scalloped potatoes are very creamy!
- Salt is one of those flavors that is very taste-dependent. There is salt in the vegan butter, the cheese, and we’re adding 1/2 teaspoon to the sauce. Let eaters add more to their individual servings if they so choose.
Why are They Called Scalloped Potatoes?
We call them scalloped potatoes because of the look of the dish and the scalloped effect of the potatoes’ layers next to each other. This definition of the difference between scalloped and au gratin potatoes indicates that the lines between scalloped and au gratin potatoes have been blurred.
Do You Have to Peel Potatoes for Scalloped Potatoes?
Peeling potatoes for scalloped potatoes is traditional, but you don’t have to. In fact, potato skins contain fiber and nutrients, and they don’t distract from the flavor. Wash the potatoes and slice them, and you’re ready to go!
Reader Reviews
★★★★★
Angie
This is my favorite potato recipe. Thanks!
This recipe got great reviews from our family! Will make again. Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe.
Passade
More Vegan Potato Recipes
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Vegan Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons vegan butter
- 6 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups plant-based milk (plain, unsweetened, not vanilla flavored)
- ¾ cup vegan cheddar shreds separated
- 2 pounds red potatoes thinly sliced
- ⅓ medium yellow onion peeled and thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×9 inch baking pan with vegetable cooking spray or a thin coating of olive oil.
- Heat the vegan butter over medium heat in a small saucepan until melted, about 30 seconds. Add the flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring in between. The goal is to create a thick sauce. Add salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Add the plant-based milk, a little at a time, stirring in between. This should create a gravy-like sauce. If your sauce has lumps, simply transfer to a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth.
- Remove from heat and add ½ cup vegan cheddar shreds. Stir until melted.
- Cut potatoes into thin slices.
- Place ⅓ of the potato slices in the bottom of the prepared pan. Top with ⅓ of the sliced onions. Pour ⅓ of the cream sauce evenly over the top of the potatoes and onions. Repeat until all the potatoes, onions, and sauce is used. Top with remaining cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake in a heated oven for 50 minutes. Use tongs to remove foil and bake for 10 minutes, until the edges turn a golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
- To store, allow scalloped potatoes to come to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate. These will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Recommended Equipment
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Notes
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
That’s it for these vegan scalloped potatoes. Enjoy!
This post was originally published in 2019 and was updated to include new text in 2020.
This is my favorite potato recipe. Thanks!
What is the best kind of vegan cheese or one you would recommend for this dish?
Hi Arti! When it comes to vegan cheddar, we oftentimes will use Daiya cheddar shreds or Follow Your Heart cheddar shreds. Daiya also sells a cheddar block that you have to great, but I find it melts better as a result. I believe they add an ingredient to the shreds products (for non vegan cheeses too) that makes the shreds not stick together. I think this is why it doesn’t always melt as nicely. But it still has great flavor and given enough temperature it will melt. If you want something besides cheddar, I find the Field Roast Chao to be absolutely delicious (although a bit pricey). I hope this helps!
Can i not use foil and just put in the oven???
Hi there Durga. Yes, you can put it straight in the oven without foil. I find foil helps the potatoes cook through a little more evenly and it also helps the cheese melt. However, you don’t have to use foil.
Can you use baking potatoes instead of red?
Hi Linda! Yes, you can use russet potatoes. They work great in this recipe because they have a good amount of starch will helps to create the creamy sauce. I’ll add this to the notes section. Thanks!
Superb recipe. Good job!
Thank you! Any suggestions on how to make this gluten free?
Sure. I haven’t tried this yet, but you could use an all-purpose gluten-free flour. I would use the ones for baking because I believe they have thickening agents in them. Hope this helps!
This recipe got great reviews from our family! Will make again. Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe. 🙂
So glad you liked this vegan scalloped potatoes recipe!