tinygreenforkI was just browsing around online looking for some new potato recipes when I stumbled across something called Potato Gratin or Gratin Dauphinois. I hadn’t heard of it before but it sounded pretty good. The recipe called for potatoes, onion, garlic – real simple ingredients but combined in a way that made my mouth water just reading about it. After researching and testing the recipe I came up with my own vegan version of this and I know you’ll love it!
This dish may look plain at first, but the flavours meld into pure deliciousness. I’ll walk you through how basic ingredients transform into this cozy, comforting casserole that’s become a cherished staple. From eagerly awaiting that first forkful to the aromas wafting as it bakes, it’s a meal that nurtures your soul. Whether enjoying with family or friends this vegan gratin cradles you in warmth and though seemingly simple, each bite sings with memories that linger long after the last tasty morsel melts on your tongue. This unexpected showstopper proves you don’t need fancy frills for food that sticks with you.
Choosing the best kind of potatoes
Choosing starchy spuds helps them all go melty and achieve that soft-yet-cheesy texture we want. So the best potatoes to use here are Yukon Gold, Maris Piper, or King Edwards (or Russet in the US). These kinds of potatoes have a lot of starch, so they get nice and soft when you cook them. The starch also helps them soak up the creamy sauce, and since the spuds already taste kinda buttery, they go really well with the rich sauce. Every bite of the cheesy potatoes is like a big hug of comfort food.
Vegan Potato Gratin
Description
This creamy potato bake layers up starchy spuds, garlic, and shallots for a rich, melty dish. The combo of oat milk and gooey vegan cheese makes a satisfying cream sauce to envelope those spud slices just right.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 210° C.
- Slice the potatoes to a width of 3mm/1⁄8in (use a mandolin if you have one). Place the sliced potatoes in a large bowl with cold water and ice.
- Finely chop the garlic and slice the shallots in thin slices.
- In a saucepan or frying pan add the vegan butter and slowly add the garlic and part of the shallots (keep some shallots and garlic for the potato layers) and cook for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the oat milk, rosemary, thyme, nutritional yeast and a bit of vegan cheese and cook for a few minutes until it tastes good, stirring frequently.
- Remove some of the sauce from the pan to keep for the potato layers. Leave a bit of it in the pan for the base layer.
- Start layering the potatoes and add the sauce in between the layers with the shallot slices and grated cheese making sure every layer is covered in sauce and cheese. Season every layer with pepper and leave the top layer without cheese (keep some cheese for the top for the end).
- Place the dish in the oven at 210° C for 90 minutes, get it out of the oven for the last 7 minutes add more cheese on top and a few more thyme leaves and place it back to bake for the last 7 minutes.
- Leave the dish to stand for about 10 minutes, garnish with fresh chives and serve.
Video
Notes
- When layering the potatoes in the baking pan, make sure to spread them out evenly so they cook nice and uniform-like.
- When you serve this bad boy you can eat it on its own for a real comforting main meal. Or serve it alongside some veggies and maybe a veggie burger or something for a complete dinner situation.
- It is ideal to serve this dish immediately but you can also freeze it if you want. Just make sure you let it completely cool down before you stick it in the freezer and divide it into portions wrapped in foil or plastic wrap to avoid freezer burn. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the oven or microwave. You can freeze potato gratin for up to 2 weeks for best results.
