Every bite of these cheesy vegan scalloped potatoes is ultra-rich, super creamy, and loaded with spinach! Complete your weeknight dinner or holiday meal and impress your family with this decadent oil-free and gluten-free side dish!
I'm SO excited to share this easy vegan scalloped potatoes florentine recipe with you! This vegan casserole is pure healthy comfort food, and I think that you're going to fall in love with these decadent potatoes just like I have. Honestly, I can't stop eating these dairy-free cheesy potatoes. I've been eating leftovers for breakfast all week, it's that good!
These potatoes are SO rich and SO creamy, and the addition of spinach is such a yummy twist on a traditional classic. Any chance that I get to hide some extra veggies in a meal is a win for me! Every bite is loaded with perfectly cooked potatoes, onions, garlic, spinach, and the creamiest cashew-based white sauce! Seriously, it's so decadent and delicious.
Also, I tested this plant-based potato casserole recipe a few different ways: with cashews, without cashews, with cauliflower, with frozen spinach, etc. to come up with the best combination for you, and I definitely found it! (If you have a nut allergy, I shared the instructions on how to make these vegan scalloped potatoes without cashews below.)
I highly recommend that you add this creamy vegan cheesy potato casserole recipe to your Thanksgiving feast and Christmas dinner menu, they're 100% holiday-worthy! Vegans and non-vegans alike love these creamy potato and spinach casserole!
How to Make Vegan Scalloped Potatoes
First, you need to boil the raw cashews for 10 minutes (or you can soak them in cool water for 2-3 hours). Then drain the water and discard it. While the cashews are boiling, prep the veggies. Mince the garlic cloves, peel the potatoes and onion, use a mandolin to slice the potatoes and onion into slices that are about ⅛ inch thick, and roughly chop the fresh spinach.
Next, add the softened cashews, almond milk, vegetable broth, garlic powder, onion powder, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper to a high-powered blender (this is the Vitamix blender that I use and love!). Blend the sauce on high until it's smooth and creamy (Photos 1 & 2).
In a large, 9x13-inch deep casserole dish (I love this ceramic casserole dish!), pour a little bit of the cashew sauce into the bottom of the casserole dish and evenly spread it around (Photo 3). Then add a layer of thinly sliced potatoes, red onions, spinach, garlic, and more cashew sauce. Repeat these layers until you run out of ingredients (Photos 4-9).
Reserve 1 cup of the cashew sauce to pour over the top of the vegan potato casserole. I also like to save a little bit of spinach to sprinkle on top to show that it's Florentine-style (Photos 10 & 11).
Cover the potato casserole with parchment paper (this is the best unbleached and chlorine-free parchment paper!) and bake it for one hour. After 40 minutes, carefully remove the parchment paper and let the casserole bake uncovered for 20 more minutes or until the top layer is golden brown (Photo 12).
What are the Best Potatoes to Use?
The best potatoes to use for this creamy vegan casserole are Yukon gold potatoes or russet potatoes. Yukon gold potatoes are a medium-starch potato (aka the best all-around potato) because they're so versatile and taste very creamy and buttery. Russets are a high-starch potato, so they taste fluffy and bake well too.
How Do You Cut Scalloped Potatoes?
The easiest and quickest way to thinly and uniformly slice the potatoes for this vegan casserole is to use a hand mandoline. This is the hand mandoline that I used to slice the potatoes. It's very easy to use and I like the hand guard that comes with it. Be very careful, this tool is extremely sharp and you can easily cut yourself.
What Goes Well With It?
I also always serve this vegan cheesy potato casserole as a side dish to vegan turkey at our Thanksgiving feast and Christmas dinner, but you could also serve these dairy-free cheesy potatoes as a side dish to your weeknight meal. Any of the following recipes would be great with a side of creamy potatoes:
- Vegan Meatloaf
- Lentil Sloppy Joes
- Vegan Lentil Cabbage Rolls
- Lemon Garlic Cauliflower Steaks
- Pesto Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Can You Make It Ahead of Time?
Yes, you can make the vegan potato casserole the day before you want to eat them. Follow the instructions to assemble the casserole but don't bake it yet. Cover the casserole so it's airtight and store it in the refrigerator until you're ready to bake it the next day.
How Long Does It Last In The Refrigerator?
Store the creamy potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. Learn more about storing potatoes, here.
Can You Freeze It?
This vegan casserole freezes very well! You can store the leftover potatoes in a freezer-safe airtight container in the freezer for 3-4 months.
When you're ready to reheat the potatoes, remove the container from the freezer and put it in the fridge to defrost for 24 hours. Drizzle a little bit of almond milk over the potatoes, cover it with parchment paper, and bake it at 350 degrees (make sure the container is oven-safe or transfer it to one that is) for 30 minutes or until it's hot all the way through.
You can test to see if the potatoes are hot all the way through by sticking a knife in the center of the casserole for 10 seconds. Remove the knife and feel the tip of the knife. Does it feel hot or cold? If it's still cool, let it cook an additional 10 minutes and check again.
How to Make Vegan Scalloped Potatoes Without Cashews
You can make the potatoes without cashews by using a medium head (or half of a large head) of steamed cauliflower instead of the raw cashews. If you have a nut allergy, you'll also need to use different plant milk besides almond milk, like unsweetened rice or oat milk.
To be honest, I think that the cauliflower version is very tasty, but I prefer the cashew version because it tastes richer and creamier. However, if you're vegan and you can't eat cashews, I think you'll love the cauliflower version too!
Substitutions & FAQ
- Almond Milk Substitutions: You can substitute unsweetened coconut milk or unsweetened cashew milk for the almond milk.
- Spinach Substitutions: I used spinach for this vegan scalloped potato recipe, but you could also use thinly sliced kale, swiss chard, or collard greens.
- Potato Substitutions: Yukon gold potatoes are my favorite to use for this vegan potato casserole recipe, but you can substitute russet potatoes. You could also use sweet potatoes to make scalloped sweet potatoes if you prefer.
- Can I Use Frozen Spinach? Yes, you can use frozen spinach instead of fresh spinach. You'll need to defrost the spinach first and squeeze out as much of the water that you can. If you add the frozen spinach directly (without draining it) to the casserole and bake it, the frozen spinach will add extra water to the dish and it will water down the creamy cashew sauce.
- Should I Use Small or Large Potatoes? I prefer to use large Yukon gold potatoes for this recipe. I've found that bigger potatoes are easier to peel and easier to slice with the mandoline.
- Can I Make it Without Nutritional Yeast? The nutritional yeast just adds a cheesy flavor to the filling but you can omit it if necessary.
Success Tips
- Don't skip boiling or soaking the raw cashews. This step is important because it helps to soften the cashews which makes them easier to blend. Also, soaking or boiling the cashews before consuming them will make it easier for you to digest the nuts.
- It's important to use unsweetened and plain plant milk. Don't use sweetened or vanilla-flavored plant milk because it will make the potato casserole taste sweet.
- Large Yukon gold potatoes are my first choice, but you could also use russet potatoes for this recipe.
- Remember to reserve one cup of the cashew sauce to pour over the top of the vegan casserole. I also like to add 1 tbsp of water to the blender (after you poured all the sauce out) and swish it around to get all of the leftover cashew sauce out. Add this to the casserole too.
- When you bake the potatoes, cover it with parchment paper for the first 40 minutes and then remove it for the last 20 minutes to brown the top layer. If you bake it uncovered, the casserole will get too dark after 60 minutes.
- Store the vegan cheesy potato casserole in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days or freeze it for a future meal.
More Vegan Potato Recipes You'll Love!
30-Minute Broccoli Cheese Soup
Roasted Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas
Mushroom Gravy & Mashed Potatoes
Slow Cooker Split Pea Potato Soup
Want more easy vegan recipes? First, read this Step-by-Step Guide to Veganism and then join our vegan Facebook community below!
Vegan Scalloped Potatoes Florentine
Equipment
- 9x13-inch Casserole Dish
- High-Powered Blender
- Hand Mandoline
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups raw cashews (soaked or boiled)
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk (or unsweetened coconut milk)
- 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth (or water)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp himalayan pink sea salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2.5 lbs yukon gold potatoes sliced ⅛-inch thick
- 1 medium red onion sliced ⅛-inch thick
- 3 medium garlic cloves minced
- 8 oz fresh spinach roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp chives chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Boil the raw cashews for 10 minutes (or you can soak them in cool water for 2-3 hours). Then drain the water and discard it. While the cashews are boiling, prep the veggies. Mince the garlic cloves, peel the potatoes and onion, use a mandolin to slice the potatoes and onion into slices that are about ⅛ inch thick, and roughly chop the fresh spinach.
- Add the softened cashews, unsweetened almond milk, low-sodium vegetable broth, garlic powder, onion powder, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, salt, and black pepper to a high-powered blender. Blend the cashew sauce on high until it’s smooth and creamy.
- In a large, 9×13-inch deep casserole dish, pour a little bit of the cashew sauce into the bottom of the casserole dish and evenly spread it around. Adding a layer of cashew sauce will stop the potatos from sticking and you won’t have to grease the bottom of the pan.
- Then add a layer of thinly sliced potatoes, red onions, spinach, garlic, and more cashew sauce. Repeat these layers until you run out of ingredients.
- Reserve 1 cup of the cashew sauce to pour over the top of the potato casserole. I also like to save a little bit of spinach to sprinkle on top to show that it’s florentine-style.
- Cover the potato casserole with parchment paper and bake it for one hour. After 40 minutes, carefully remove the parchment paper and let the casserole bake uncovered for 20 more minutes or until the top layer is golden brown.
- Carefully remove the vegan scalloped potatoes from the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes to set up and cool down a little bit. Garnish with chopped chives or green onions and enjoy!
Notes
- Don't skip boiling or soaking the raw cashews. This step is important because it helps to soften the cashews which makes them easier to blend. Also, soaking or boiling the cashews before consuming them will make it easier for you to digest the nuts.
- It's important to use unsweetened and plain plant milk. Don't use sweetened or vanilla-flavored plant milk because it will make the potato casserole taste sweet.
- Large Yukon gold potatoes are my first choice, but you could also use russet potatoes for this recipe.
- Remember to reserve one cup of the cashew sauce to pour over the top of the casserole. I also like to add 1 tbsp of water to the blender (after you poured all the sauce out) and swish it around to get all of the leftover cashew sauce out. Add this to the casserole too.
- When you bake the potatoes, cover it with parchment paper for the first 40 minutes and then remove it for the last 20 minutes to brown the top layer. If you bake it uncovered, the casserole will get too dark after 60 minutes.
- Store the vegan scalloped potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days or freeze it for a future meal.
Nutrition
*This post was originally shared on 11/4/19, but I updated it with more cooking options on 6/17/20.
Made this today for lunch and it was delicious; Creamy and Cheesy!!
Thank you! I'm so happy you liked it!
I have a question can you use red potatoes if I don't have the Yukon gold or russet potatoes.
Sure!
Hello - can this be assembled and refrigerated in the morning, then baked in the afternoon? Can it be assembled as far ahead as the day before? [I saw your comment about baking and reheating, but my first choice would be to bake it when I need it, not reheat it.] Thanks!
Hi, Jill! Yes, you can assemble it the day before and then bake it the next day. Just make sure to cover it so it's airtight until you're ready to bake it. Enjoy!
Awesome, thank you so much!!
Jill