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Indulge in healthy comfort food with these creamy, gluten-free, and vegan scalloped potatoes. They are everything you love about the classic side dish, without all the junk and artificial ingredients! Thinly sliced potatoes and a creamy vegan cheese sauce so flavorful you won’t even realize it’s the healthy version!
What Makes This Recipe Great
Scalloped potatoes are such a crowd-pleasing holiday staple. I remember looking forward to this delicious side dish even more than turkey on the holidays. There was something so comforting about those creamy, decadent bites.
We often ate the boxed version, which was full of flour, cheese, and soy. Ingredients that would now give me a stomachache with my dairy and gluten sensitivity. Feeling nostalgic, I was determined to create a delicious and satisfying dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan scalloped potatoes recipe.
After several attempts, I’m so thrilled to share my version of vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free scalloped potatoes. They actually taste better than the traditional version while being way healthier at the same time! Next time you’re looking for the best side dish, this easy recipe is it!
Ingredient Notes
These gluten-free scalloped potatoes are actually much easier to make than they look. You’ll only find healthy, real food ingredients to keep them Paleo & Whole30-friendly. See the full list of ingredients in the printable recipe card below.
- Potatoes: I’ve found that Yukon Gold potatoes work best for a creamy but light texture. You can use russet potatoes in a pinch.
- Vegan Butter and Cassava Flour: These two will make a roux to thicken the sauce. You can substitute it with ghee or coconut oil if needed. Cassava flour is an excellent flour to use to make gluten-free scalloped potatoes.
- Coconut Milk: I recommend using a can of full-fat coconut milk for the creamy sauce. You can also use cashew milk because it is thicker than other refrigerated non-dairy milk options like almond milk or soy milk.
- Broth: For vegan scalloped potatoes, use vegetable broth. For dairy-free scalloped potatoes, I like to use bone broth for extra nutrients!
- Nutritional Yeast: This is what will give these gluten-free scalloped potatoes their cheesy flavor while remaining completely vegan. It makes a super yummy vegan cheesy sauce that tastes like the real thing!
- Fresh Herbs: I used Thyme and Rosemary to give this dish amazing flavor.
- Oil: You can use coconut oil or olive oil for a vegan version. If you’re not dairy-free, feel free to use ghee.
Watch a Short Video of This Recipe
Recipe Step by Step
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and grease a 9×13 casserole dish.
- Use a mandoline slicer or a sharp knife to cut the potato into thin slices and set aside.
- Heat ghee in a saucepan over medium heat and whisk in cassava flour until thick, about 1 minute.
- Add in coconut milk, broth, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Whisk constantly for 5 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken and turn opaque. Remove from heat.
- Place 1/3 of the potato slices on the baking dish in an overlapping layer. Then, pour 1/3 of the sauce over the potatoes. Repeat this process 2 more times.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
- Remove the aluminum foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes. They are done when the potatoes are tender, and the top layer is golden brown and crispy.
- Serve your vegan scalloped potatoes for Christmas dinner or any holiday meal, or use them as the perfect side dish for a special occasion year-round!
Tips & Tricks
Leftovers: Store leftovers in an airtight container and eat within 3-4 days.
Paleo/Whole30: These vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free scalloped potatoes are completely Paleo and Whole30. Even the vegan cheese sauce!
Presentation: Honestly, it’s not difficult to make gorgeous layers of scalloped potatoes. Although taste is the most important if you want to impress your guests with your presentation, here are a few tips:
- Unless you have awesome knife skills (I do not), I highly recommend you use a mandoline slicer. It’ll ensure that your potato slices are thin and even for beautiful layering. I have this one and it works so well.
- I like to layer the potato slices across from left to right or right to left, overlapping each slice about halfway. Start the next line by overlapping them over the upper row in the same direction.
- The potato slices don’t have to lay completely flat or look perfect. They’ll actually flatten out as they bake. The golden, crispy top layer will make the dish look drool-worthy no matter what.
Vegan vs: Dairy Free: Vegan means abstaining from all products derived from animals. Dairy-free is eating non-dairy items, but still eating other products derived from animals. These scalloped potatoes are easy to make either way!
For dairy-free scalloped potatoes, feel free to use ghee. For vegan scalloped potatoes, use vegan butter or coconut oil. If you aren’t dairy-free or vegan, you can also use regular butter. Keep in mind that any swaps will change the nutritional information.
Recipe FAQs
Some versions include eggs, however, they are not needed for this recipe.
It’s best to cook them covered for 2/3 of the time with foil, then remove them and cook for the remaining time. This will prevent the top from getting too dark or burning.
Yes! If you want to prepare ahead of time, slice your potatoes and store them in cold water in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. This will prevent them from browning.
Absolutely! If you want to make these gluten-free scalloped potatoes a few days ahead of time, you can! Follow all steps to prepare the dish, then cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. When you are ready, cook according to the instructions on the recipe card. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Actually yes! The nutritional yeast in this recipe really does add a cheesy, delicious flavor. This vegan cheese sauce is a great way to enjoy the flavor of cheese without the side effects dairy can have.
If you make this recipe, please leave me a star rating and comment below! I love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Follow me on social media Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for even more delicious recipes!
Vegan Scalloped Potatoes | Gluten-Free
Video
Ingredients
- 3 lb Yukon gold potatoes
- 1/4 cup ghee, or coconut oil for vegan
- 3 tbsp cassava flour, or arrowroot starch
- 1 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth, bone broth or chicken broth, if not vegan
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp thyme leaves, chopped
- 1/2 tsp rosemary, chopped
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and grease a 9×13 baking sheet.
- Use a mandoline slicer or a sharp knife to slice the potatoes thinly and set aside.3 lb Yukon gold potatoes
- Heat ghee in a saucepan over medium heat and whisk in cassava flour until thick, about 1 minute.1/4 cup ghee, 3 tbsp cassava flour
- Add in coconut milk, broth, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper, and continuously whisk for 5 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken and turn opaque. Remove from heat.1 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk, 1/2 cup vegetable broth, 1/3 cup nutritional yeast, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tsp thyme leaves, 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1 tbsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- Place 1/3 of the potato slices on the baking dish in an overlapping layer, and pour 1/3 of the sauce over the potatoes. Repeat this process 2 more times.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake 30 additional minutes until potatoes are tender and the top layer is golden and crispy.
Notes
- Unless you have awesome knife skills (I do not), I highly recommend you use a mandoline slicer. It’ll ensure that your potato slices are thin and even for beautiful layering. I have this one and it works so well.
- I like to layer the potato slices across from left to right or right to left, overlapping each slice about halfway. Start the next line by overlapping them over the upper row in the same direction.
- The potato slices don’t have to lay completely flat or look perfect. They’ll actually flatten out as they bake. The golden, crispy top layer will make the dish look drool-worthy no matter what.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I have made this recipe multiple times for my clients. They love it! I substitute arrowroot flour for the cassava flour and that works just fine! Thanks!!
Thank you so much!!
The flavor is amazing, it I’m curious why mine looks SO different and is SO oily.. I followed the recipe using ghee (have never used ghee in anything) and it turned a dark brown color.. also there is SO Much oil in the pan after baking and letting sit for about 15-20 minutes.. it looks nothing like your pictures, but again the flavor it fantastic. Any ideas on where I went wrong to make it look golden and creamy colored like yours? More potatoes? Thanks!
I’m not sure why it was so oily! There should be some oil but not an inordinate amount. Did you use 3lbs of potatoes?