Dairy Free Scalloped Potatoes are comfort food at its best. Potatoes baked in a casserole covered with a creamy vegan white sauce. Herbs sprinkled over the top for a finishing touch
Comfort food can take a step forward and still give you that old nostalgic feeling. This Dairy Free Scalloped Potatoes recipe is a great example of that.
Since it is lower in fat, it can also provide lots of comfort. Right out of the oven comes a bubbling casserole filled with potatoes and creamy sauce.
The difference is that dairy-free milk is used in the roux, and the vegan scalloped potatoes casserole is sprinkled with a few fresh herbs, which cranks up the flavors a notch.
Table of Contents
Chef Tips
There is no onion in this recipe either so it covers all of the picky eaters. You, of course, can add finely chopped onion into the melted dairy-free butter before you add the flour.
It will be great that way too but since I had to make it 'onionless' for my 'big kid' I thought I would give exact measurements for that.
There isn't any cheese in real scalloped potatoes. If there is cheese then it is Potatoes Au Gratin. So if I wanted Potates Au Gratin then I would add a little nutritional yeast to the sauce.
Potatoes come in all colors and sizes. Some are better for boiling, some are better for baking.
I used russet potatoes for this casserole. They are such a straightforward tasting potato that holds up really well with lots of sauce.
Sliced, diced, roasted, baked, fried, creamed, mashed, served alone or added to casseroles they are a perfect vegetable. You can even make them into Baked Potato Soup.
This vegan scalloped potatoes recipe was so good last night. Ed verbally complimented me on the potatoes and went back for more. He is so happy there are leftovers for tonight.
Me too. Besides looking forward to a dish it is also almost like having the night off. That is something we can all use once in a while, right?
How do you make a roux
A roux is the beginning of a sauce and it starts with butter and flour. In our case, it's dairy free butter.
Melt the dairy-free butter in a saucepan or skillet. For this recipe, a saucepan is used. I like to use one that holds at least four cups. This aids in stirring and making a larger quantity than you thought you might.
Add the flour and it is often the same amount as the butter. Stir until all is well blended. It will seem like a thick clump of moist flour. Keep stirring for about a minute. This cooks out the raw taste of flour.
How to make a sauce from roux
- Pour in the dairy-free milk or whatever liquid your recipe calls for. It could be a broth or stock but this recipe is for dairy-free milk. Bring to a low boil and stir often. It will thicken as it comes to a boil.
- Make sure you don't curdle the milk and as soon as it just starts to bubble turn the heat down to medium.
- Not all dairy-free milks will curdle but be careful - just in case.
- The sauce may become clumpy but keep stirring. The clumps will smooth out. I love this type of stirrer as it helps make it smoother faster than a wooden spoon.
- Keep stirring until it's smooth and thick and add the salt and pepper. If it becomes too thick just add more milk or even a little water.
- Stir well and taste to make sure it's seasoned enough.
- After all the baking, you'll get a nice forkful of sliced potato that almost melts in your mouth.
Another great russet potato recipe that is impressive for company, yet still simple, is Twice Baked Potatoes. It gets ooohs and aaahs every time.
Potatoes are such a great side dish. From one method to another they are crowd pleasers. They are such delicious vegetables in themselves that potatoes usually don't need much preparation.
You do make a sauce for this classic dairy free Scalloped Potatoes Recipe and it's NOT intimidating at all. Just creamy goodness all throughout the whole casserole.
My most popular recipe on the web!
Whether these easy vegan scalloped potatoes are served in a fancy casserole dish or in a clear pyrex dish they look beautiful. Eyes will light up and everyone will say "Pass the Potatoes, Please'.
I don't think anyone can have enough potato recipes and you might as well start by having the most delicious and classic ones.
Scalloped Potatoes, first, Twice Baked Potatoes, second, Roasted New Red Potatoes, third, Potato Patties, fourth, Fried Potato Slices in an Iron skillet, fifth, Hasselback Potatoes, sixth. All Classics!
Can you freeze scalloped potatoes
- IF FREEZING:
- You'll need to make the casserole in two smaller casseroles so that you can slip them into the large freezer bags.
- Partially bake for the first 40 minutes. Let cool, lay plastic wrap over that but tap it down so that it touches the top of the casserole, then cover with foil then slip in a freezer bag.
- TO BAKE:
- Defrost overnight in the fridge and then remove the foil and plastic wrap. Replace the foil and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Then uncover and bake another 30 minutes or until heated through.
๐ Recipe
Dairy Free Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon dairy free butter - to grease the bottom and sides of a 9"x13" casserole or butter two smaller casseroles
- 6 cups russet potatoes - peeled and sliced
- 4 tablespoons dairy free butter
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 3 cups dairy-free milk - unsweetened
- 1 ยฝ teaspoon salt
- ยฝ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
Instructions
- Peel and slice potatoes to measure 6 to 7 cups.
- Place in a large bowl of water as you go along slicing. This will keep the potatoes from turning brown.
- Melt the dairy free butter in a large saucepan.
- Add the flour and stir over medium-heat for a few minutes. Keep stirring so that it is all blended well.
- Pour in the dairy free milk.
- Bring to a low boil stirring often.
- After the sauce comes to a boil turn down the heat to medium and cook until it is smooth and thickens a bit. About 10 to 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper and stir.
- Layer the potatoes in a large 9" x 13" casserole dish, overlapping in a staggered type of style. This lets the sauce get down in between the nooks and crannies.
- Pour the sauce all over the top. Cover with a lid or foil.
- Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.
- Uncover and bake another 60 minutes.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle fresh herbs over the top.
- Let stand for 10 minutes. The sauce will thicken.
Noelle Matthews
Hi there,
There aren't instructions for freezing. Do you bake and freeze, or freeze and bake when you're ready?
Ginny McMeans
How did I miss that Noelle! I'll add it in the instructions but you freeze before baking. For this reason you need to make the casserole in two smaller casseroles so that yo can slip them int the large freezer bags. I make the casserole, lay plastic wrap over that but tap it down so that it touches the top of the casserole, then cover with foil then slip in a freezer bag. To bake: defrost overnight in the fridge and then remove the foil and plastic wrap. Replace the foil and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Then uncover and bake another 30 minutes.
Ginny McMeans
Thanks Justine! You really don't need dairy thanks to the great non dairy milk out there nowadays.
Meg @ With Salt and Wit
What a great side dish to any meal! I am going to be making these really soon!
Katerina @ Diethood
This is my kind of casserole! Love scalloped potatoes, aka the ultimate comfort food. ๐
eat good 4 life
I love potatoes and what a great way to make these. I think I will make something like this soon! Great recipe.
Liz
Looks so YUMMY! Did I read that correctly---bake for a total of 1.5 hours? Just want to be sure! Thanks for sharing!
Ginny McMeans
Yes, that's right Liz. 1 1/2 hours. Thanks for clarifying and you are very welcome.
KT
Can olive oil or some other fat be used in place of the dairy free butter? I'm all out of earth balance at the moment.
Ginny McMeans
Yes, you can KT. You just need a fat and flour to make a roux.
Susan
Hello
Can u recommend a non dairy milk I have used almond milk unsweetnen and I didn't like it it was way you over powering
Ginny McMeans
I find AlmondBreez overpowering but not Silk. At least not to me. Other ones you can use are Coconutmilk and Cashewmilk. Give those a try.
Cm
Should the potatoes be completely covered in sauce? Thanks
Ginny McMeans
Yes, CM. Essentially completely but some potatoes will be poking up here and there. The sauce cooks down and thickens.
Donna
Hello
When freezing this recipe, do you cook it and then freeze it, or freeze it before cooking?
Thank you!
Donna
Ginny McMeans
Hi Donna! You partially cook and then freeze. There are more specific detailed directions at the very end of the recipe.
kimberly
Ceda!!! I am sorry to hear that you are a fellow recent dairy allergic friend!! ๐ ... We discovered NAET and had great results!!!! It is a lengthy process, but is totally worth it! You can Google it and watch YouTube videos about it.Their website has a provider lookup. Out of the five from our family, I am the only one who hasn't done the treatments yet--hence why I am looking up vegan recipes (which I CAN'T WAIT to try tomorrow! OMG it looks so good!...and you can freeze it... whaaaaat?? love it already!). Thank you thank you for being a master vegan chef! ๐
Whitney
Delicious I skipped the cashews and it was just as great!!
Carrie Lance
I made this tonight, omitting the thyme, and adding 8oz chopped ham and about 3 TBSP nutritional yeast. My goal was to create a breakfast casserole, as my son cannot have dairy or eggs. My addition of the ham made it a bit salty, so i'll adjust that next time, but it tasted very good and creamy. Thank you so much for this recipe! It's been a challenge coming up with savory breakfast options...we were such cheese and egg people before! ๐
Ginny McMeans
I am thrilled that you found this recipe Carrie. We need our sons to be healthy! Thanks for letting me know and for your kind words.
Judith
Would a gluten free all purpose flour work as well?
Ginny McMeans
Yes, many will work Judith. The ones I can think of are good are gluten free all purpose flour, chickpea, almond and coconut. Coconut may add that flavor though so you have to make sure your 'eaters' like that.
Deb
Tried this and it was delicious!
Couldnโt think though of anything else to eat it with but just the same it was yummy
Ginny McMeans
Haha! Fantastic Deb and thanks for letting me know! With a casserole like this I usually do something like a seitan patty and a salad. Field roast has some vital wheat gluten sausages that are great too.
Becky
Iโm interested in making this but Iโm also gluten free. Do you have any experience substituting a GF flour in your white sauce?
Lori
Absolutely perfect! This recipe is a keeper. I used soymilk since that is what I had on hand, and a tsp of nutrional yeast. Otherwise followed the recipe exactly and it came out beautiful and delicious!
Jeanette
Made these amazing scalloped potatoes for Thanksgiving and just had to say how easy and delicious they were!! Huge hit with everyone, thank you!!!
Sara
These potatoes were loved by vegans and non-vegans! Thanks for a great recipe!
Anissa
Hi, Can you use oat flour instead of flour? Thank you
Ginny McMeans
Yes, you can Anissa. It will work great.
Suzy Vance
This recipe is delicious. I give it 10 stars! I made it last week as a test and I am serving these wonderful potatoes for Christmas. So, So good!
Rachel
Does this really only feed 6 for a side dish? I'm thinking of making them for Christmas with about 25 people. Should I double it?
Ginny McMeans
Well, it probably really serves 8 as a side dish. I'm thinking for Christmas there will even be smaller portions because there are usually so many more dishes. If you have two casseroles I would definitely make two casseroles for 25 people.
Natasha
These are phenomenal!! And they have become an instant hit in my home. Thank you so much for posting it!! I was wondering how it it would work if I added some thinly sliced onions and layered them with the potatoes. Would I need to increase the cooking time.
Ginny McMeans
That would work great Natasha! I left out the onions for picky eaters ๐
Debbie
Good base recipe... I tweeted it a bit.... sauted onions and mushrooms in Vegรกn butter... then added the flour and lastly 2 cans of coconut milk... delish
Ginny McMeans
It's always fun to play with recipes. Sounds good Debbie and thanks!
Ashley
I made this recipe for dinner tonight & it was so yummy!!! Thanks for sharing.
Michelle Rafuse
These vegan scalloped potatoes are amazing! I made them for company last night and they were a big hit. I was the only vegan at the table but they were enjoyed by everyone. My husband even said I didn't need to keep searching for a vegan scalloped potatoes recipe. I'm printing this and it's going in my recipe binder! I did make one change which was to add salted sauteed mushrooms to the potatoes.
Angela
Can't wait to try this recipe! I'm thinking of adding nutritional yeast to the sauce.
Ginny McMeans
You'll love it Angela. Someone else added nutritional yeast. They were really happy with it but then you'll have to call it Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes ๐
Chandra
This recipe is so good! I made it and then added cheddar daiya at the end on half of it. Both were delicious! Definitely going on my favorites list ๐
Krystle
Made this tonight and it is sooooooo yummy!! I couldn't stop going back to pick at it after dinner was over ๐ My boyfriend loved it too and said it's way better than his mom's "regular" non-vegan scalloped potatoes. Thanks for an awesome recipe!!
GIna
My son made these for Christmas 2017 and I had to get the recipe! Iโve made them several times since. They are so good!
adriana alba
I intend on making this for Easter Sunday. I'm so excited I stumbled across this recipe. Loved reading all of the positive comments as well!
Maribel
Can this be made all the way through, kept in the fridge (not freezer) then heated and served 2 says later? Or is it best to cook it halfway through as well?
Ginny McMeans
You can absolutely make it ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator Maribel. Make sure the potatoes are completely covered with the sauce so they don't turn brown. Also use saran wrap to make sure that no air is getting in. Take the casserole out of the refrigerator about 1/2 to one hour before putting in the oven. Take off the saran (plastic) wrap and replace with foil.
Jennifer
I made these for the second time today (Easter Sunday). I didn't have any thyme so I used a little bit of rosemary instead and the were just as delicious. Also I was running short on time to cook this so I Assembled it in a casserole that would fit in my microwave, covered it and microwaved it on high for 6 minutes then for 15 minutes on power #6, then uncovered it and baked it for 30 minutes. They were perfect and everyone loved them!
Ginny McMeans
Wow! That is amazing Jennifer! I had no idea you could start that off in the microwave. Fantastic and thanks so much for your kind words.
Jenesse
I made this recipe for my family last night. That includes 2 very picky Vegan children and my husband. It was straight forward and easy to follow and cook. I used soy milk ( unsweetened) and chopped green onion in place of thyme. It was so creamy and delicious. Honestly this is a new staple in my home. Served with a simple side of sauteed spinach and every left with happy & full bellies. Thanks for this wonderful recipe.