This easy potatoes au gratin without dairy will have you questioning why you ever felt like you needed dairy in this dish!
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Gratin potatoes, potatoes au gratin, dauphinois. No matter which one you personally call it, it’s creamy potatoes and it’s absolutely delicious.
I’m doing a garlic and herb spin on the dish because I love adding more flavor and know you’ll love it too.
What’s the difference between scalloped potatoes and au gratin potatoes?
Essentially these are similar but different. The similarities lie in the fact that these dishes are baked, layered potato dishes.
Scalloped potatoes are traditionally made without the addition of cheese and use a flour-based roux in order to thicken the cream sauce.
Au gratin potatoes on the other hand often does have cheese, and sometimes breadcrumbs.
To further confuse things dauphinoise, a French term, is traditionally interchangeable with au gratin, but does not use cheese and it’s based in a cream sauce.
And just to make everyone thoroughly lost, many modern versions of these dishes call for cheese in all three.
Jump to:
Why You’ll Love this Dish:
- Big Flavor with Simple Ingredients – This is such a simple ingredient list, but when put together creates something magical.
- Prep Ahead – This is one of those holiday meals that can be made a day or two ahead to save you time on the back end.
- Allergen friendly – We’re making this friendly for everyone with our allergy swaps down below.
Ingredients for Potatoes au Gratin
Gather your ingredients!
Potatoes
Our preference is Yukon Gold potatoes, but you can also use russets. The biggest key here is making sure you slice them thin enough, about ⅛″ (about 3mm). We use a mandolin in order to have them uniform and consistent for cooking purposes.
Garlic
There’s not a dish that I don’t want to put garlic in and this is no different. It adds to much depth and flavor to the dish.
Substitute: While it would definitely be different, shallots work in place.
Raw Cashews
We are using this plus water to make a thin cashew cream which later helps thicken our sauce we’re using on our potatoes.
Substitute: Roasted cauliflower, silken tofu, or sesame seeds could work as a substitute as long as you have a high speed blender.
Nutritional Yeast
We’re using these to impart a cheesy-esque flavor without the addition of overly processed vegan cheese options.
Spices
We’re using a combination of fresh herbs, aromatics, and dried spices in order to bring flavor to all aspects of this dish and layer the flavors.
Other Vegan Potatoes Dishes to Try:
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Gratin Dauphinois
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews (140g)
- 1 ½ cups water (360g)
- 2 tablespoons plant-based butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1-2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 Bay leaf
- 1 ½ cups plant-based milk (360g)
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast (20g)
- 1 tablespoon white miso
- 2 pounds yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced ⅛” (905g)
Instructions
- In a high speed blender, add the raw cashews and water and blend until well combined. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, add in the 1-2 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoon ground mustard, 1 each each garlic powder, nutmeg, and black pepper, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, and 1 bay leaf. Stir together. Set asie.
- In a medium sauce pan over medium low heat, add 2 tablespoon plant butter and let melt. Then add in your 4 cloves minced garlic and 5 sprigs of thyme. Stir together and cook for about 30 seconds on until fragrant. Then add the seasoning blend mixed together in Step 2 and stir together again for about 30 seconds, carefully not to burn.
- Turn heat to simmer and add in 1 ½ cups plant-based milk, the cashew sauce from Step 1 and whisk everything together well. Whisk well, allowing to simmer for 10-15 minutes until thickening. Do not let this boil.
- Remove from heat and remove the bay leaf and sprigs from the thyme. Add in juice from 1 lemon, 4 tablespoon nutritional yeast, and 1 tablespoon white miso. Whisk together until well combined.
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F(175˚C). Into a large oven-safe dish or 9×13 casserole dish, rub a clove a garlic all over the dish and these grease with spray oil or more plant-based butter. Place a small amount of the sauce down and then a layer of potatoes. Continue layering sauce and potatoes until no more remains.
- Place in oven and bake for 60-80 minutes. Remove and let cool for 10-15 minutes.
Notes
double check against our estimates
Video
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Make sure the plant-based milk and butter you use are safe for your allergens. Otherwise, depending on your allergens, soy sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos could be subbed for the miso, but only use ½ tbsp. For the cashews, again depending on your allergens, you could swap with silken tofu, roasted cauliflower or sunflower seeds.
This can be stored once cooled in the fridge for up to 5 days. You may need to thin the sauce some more if desired.
Yes, you can freeze the vegetables and the sauce (separately) up to 3 months once cooled.
A simple salad goes well and then we usually have a main dish. Some options would be our oven roasted cauliflower steaks, “honey” garlic tofu, or hasselback squash.
I had to leave a rave review on this recipe. I made this dish for my non-vegan family and it was the most loved dish on the table. Thank you so much for the recipe. Will definitely keep it for future holiday dinners. Cheers!
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a kind review! We are thrilled to hear that the Vegan Garlic and Herb Au Gratin Potatoes were the most loved dish on the table, especially with a non-vegan crowd. That is always such a great feeling.
THEEE ABSOLUTE BEST!!!! I made this recipe for Thanksgiving and before I could turn around, they were gone!!!! Preparing now to make again for Christmas!!! Sooooo gooooooddddd!!!
This is awesome! We’re so happy to here that this recipe was a hit for you and your family!
I don’t always like nutritional yeast, but this was delicious. The other flavors balanced it out perfectly. Thanks for another great recipe.
So glad the flavors won you over on nutritional yeast, that balance is exactly what we aim for! Truly appreciate you giving it a try despite your usual hesitation.
I made this last night because a few of my dairy-free friends are coming for Thanksgiving next month. It was fabulous! They’re going to love it. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you!!! We are so happy to hear that this recipe was a hit for you!