Butternut Squash Scalloped Potatoes (Vegan)
Butternut Squash Scalloped Potatoes – your classic cheesy, creamy scalloped potatoes lightened up, vegan-friendly, and better for you, thanks to butternut squash!
Butternut Squash Scalloped Potatoes – your classic cheesy, creamy scalloped potatoes lightened up, vegan-friendly, and better for you, thanks to butternut squash! This post is brought to you by Daiya.
One of the most luxurious side dishes I reserve for the indulgent holidays is creamy scalloped potatoes, the layers of thinly sliced potatoes wilting onto one another in stacks of creamy submission, cheesy and irresistible. It’s certainly not a dish I consider making often, if not for the cream, at least when it comes to traditional recipes, but for the time it takes to bubble away in the oven. And when my husband adopted a plant-based (mostly dairy-free) diet, I resolved to find a lighter, vegan-friendly scalloped potato dish that would be tempting to make all year round.
The cheese part was easy. I already knew that I would use Daiya to make my creamy sauce — after all, I already use their mozzarella on our veggie pizza. I am so pleased to partner with Daiya to make this gratin – even before I started cooking more plant-based meals for my husband, I already knew Daiya well; after all, they are a leader in plant-based brands with its dairy, soy, and gluten-free foods.
For this recipe, I turned to their Daiya Cutting Board Collection Shreds — deliciously dairy-free and plant-based, the shreds have a dairy-like flavor, texture, and aroma, with the same stretch and melt as dairy-based cheese, making it perfect for melting between slivers of potatoes! The shreds are available in Cheddar (which I use here), as well as Mozzarella (perfect for pizza!), and Pepperjack Style.
When I picked up my Yukon gold potatoes, I saw the stack of butternut squash footsteps away and knew exactly how I was going to lighten up these scalloped potatoes. Taking inspiration from my creamed corn, I made a cheesy sauce by puréeing the butternut squash into a light whip and folding in dairy-free milk and the Daiya Cheddar.
As the potatoes bubbled away in the oven, the sauce melted into the potatoes, giving it a slightly sweet cheesiness that is utterly irresistible. I like it with a few drops of hot sauce to give it a bit of heat to balance the decadence, but it’s delicious on its own, too! But let’s address the best part: lightened up, I love that we can make it all year round – after all, it’s a shame to save it for just the holiday season!
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN SCALLOPED POTATOES
Who knew that there could be a dairy-free scalloped potato recipe that is not just lightened up, but with veggies snuck in? This simple gratin is easy to make!
- Brown the shallots, garlic, and butternut squash, and add the almond milk. Cook until the squash is tender, then blend until smooth.
- Stir in the vegan cheese and season with salt and pepper.
- Spread half of the potatoes into the serving dish. Spread half of the cheesy butternut squash sauce over the potatoes, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup of vegan cheese. Repeat.
- Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the sauce is bubbling.
- Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and serve warm, garnished with parsley.
MORE HOLIDAY SIDE DISHES
Pumpkin Sage Polenta
Pumpkin Spaetzle
Broccoli Risotto
Spaetzle with Garlic Mushrooms and Baby Kale
Stuffed Butternut Squash with Farro, Chickpeas and Kale
Roasted Butternut Squash Winter Salad with Kale, Farro and Cranberry Dressing
Habanero Spiced Pumpkin Soup
MORE PLANT-BASED RECIPES
Spiced Butternut Squash Lentil Soup (Vegan)
Sweet and Spicy Crispy Tofu with Zucchini Noodles
Vegetarian Pasta Puttanesca
Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Garlicky Kale
Learn more about Daiya and their commitment delighting your senses with its line of delicious, better-for-you foods. Daiya can be found in more than 25,000 grocery stores in the U.S., including Sprouts, Kroger, Safeway and Publix, as well as most natural food retailers.
Disclosure: This post was created in partnership with Daiya. Thank you for supporting brands that matter to me; sponsored posts such as this help behind the scenes at Kitchen Confidante. All opinions in this post are, as always, my own.
Butternut Squash Scalloped Potatoes (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil plus more for brushing the serving dish
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 8 oz diced butternut squash
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup almond milk
- 4 Yukon gold potatoes sliced into 1/8-inch rounds
- 2 cups vegan cheese divided
- kosher salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F with a rack placed in the center of the oven. Prepare a serving dish by brushing with olive oil. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add the butternut squash, season with salt, and let it brown lightly, cooking for about 4 minutes. Stir in the almond milk. Bring the heat up to medium to let simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the squash is fork-tender. Transfer the butternut squash and milk into a blender and puree until very smooth.
- Return the pureed butternut squash to the same saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Stir in 1 cup of the vegan cheese, and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. If you find the sauce is too thick, add a touch more almond milk, if necessary.
- Spread half of the potatoes into the bottom of the serving dish. Spread half of the cheesy butternut squash sauce over the potatoes, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup of vegan cheese. Top with the remaining potatoes, sauce, and cheese.
- Cover the pan and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the sauce is bubbling.
- Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and serve warm, garnished with parsley.
Recipe