This Gluten-Free Vegan Potatoes Au Gratin is an easy and healthy recipe made with clean, real food ingredients. It's a creamy and cheesy plant-based dish that can be prepared in under 10 minutes and is perfect as a main meal or side dish!
Here's Why This Recipe Works
Here's why this recipe works - my top 3 reasons:
- Healthy Comfort Food Makeover Recipe - This Gluten-Free Vegan Potatoes Au Gratin dish is a healthier vegan makeover for the traditional comfort food we all grew up with and loved, except I've cleaned it up and veganized it for you! If you have ever found yourself looking down at a bag of potatoes and wondering what to make with them, this recipe will make your day 🙂
- Can Be Prepared In About 10 Minutes - Instead of making boring baked potatoes, you can have this creamy and "cheesy" meal prepared in less about 10 minutes. Even though you have baking time, it's still pretty fast and easy to make. There are basically two steps to making this recipe - prepping the veggies and making the vegan cheese sauce in a Vitamix, which takes less than 5 minutes, then just pouring the sauce over the veggies. That's it! All you have left to do is put it in the oven for about an hour while you multi-task with something else - the cooking time is non-active so you really don't need to do anything to it while it's baking in the oven.
- Made With Clean, Real Food Ingredients - If you buy a processed store-bought brand of au gratin potatoes, they usually contain an ingredient list like this and aren't vegan or gluten-free:
S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Betty Crocker Au Gratin Potatoes Ingredients: Potatoes, Corn Starch, Whey, Salt, Soybeans, Oil, Partially Hydrogenated, Dried Cheddar Cheese (Milk Pasteurized, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes), Flour Enriched (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Vitamin B3, Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B1, Riboflavin, Vitamin B2, Folic Acid, Vitamix B9, Maltodextrin, Corn Starch Modified, Dried Onions, Disodium Phosphate, Milk Non-Fat, Dried Garlic, Mono and Diglycerides, Sodium Citrate, Dried Blue Cheese (Milk Pasteurized, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes), Lactic Acid, Natural Flavors, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Soy Flour, Sodium Bisulfite to preserve freshness.
A processed, store-bought version is basically a box of GMO's (corn starch, soybeans, soy flour, maltodextrin,), dairy and food colorings.
My healthier plant-based recipe is made with clean, real food ingredients and is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, oil-free and paleo-friendly.
Expert Tips + Ingredient Substitutions
Here are some expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:
Potatoes: Wash and dry them well before slicing. Leaving the skins on, slice them very thinly, about 1/8-inch thick, which will help them cook quicker.
Onion: I like to use red onions in this recipe, but you can use your favorite onions variety or whatever you have on hand. I do not recommend sweet onions since this is a savory recipe.
Avocado Oil: It can be substituted with organic extra-virgin olive oil in the same amount.
Almond Milk: I prefer to make homemade almond milk, but you can use your favorite non-dairy milk. Just make sure it's "unsweetened" since this is a savory recipe. Another great option is to use Joi Organic Almond Milk which is made with 100% organic almonds.
Tapioca Powder: I added this ingredient to thicken the cheese sauce. It could also be substituted with arrowroot flour or even non-GMO cornstarch if your diet allows corn.
Himalayan Pink Salt: This is my salt of preference, however, it can always be substituted with sea salt.
Optional Toppings: There are several different toppings that would work well with this recipe, but I wouldn't use them all together, just choose one. For example, chopped chives, chopped parsley, chopped green onions or my homemade gluten-free bread crumbs.
Serving Size. This recipe will make approximately (4) servings. Nutritional information is for (1) serving.
Want More Healthy Plant-Based Recipes?
Check out these:
- Roasted Potatoes with Habanero and Basil Pesto
- Spicy Turmeric Twice Baked Potatoes
- Roasted Smashed Potatoes with Smoked Paprika Habanero Sauce
- or my CLEAN EATING Cookbook with 75+ plant-based recipes made with clean, real food ingredients just like this one that you will love!
Did You Make This Recipe?
I'd love to hear about it! Please give it a rating and leave a comment below...it would make my day! 🙂
Gluten-Free Vegan Potatoes Au Gratin
Equipment
Ingredients
For the vegetable mixture:
- 4 medium organic potatoes (sliced thin)
- 1 organic red bell pepper (diced)
- 1 medium organic red onion (diced)
For the cheese sauce:
- 1 1/2 cup homemade almond milk (unsweetened)
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon 100% pure avocado oil
- 2 tablespoons organic tapioca powder
- 1 tablespoon organic coconut oil
- 1 clove organic garlic (freshly crushed)
- 1 teaspoon organic paprika
- 1 teaspoon organic garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
Optional toppings:
- 1 handful organic parsley (chopped)
- 1 handful organic chives (chopped)
- 1 handful organic green onions (chopped)
- 1 handful homemade gluten-free bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and set aside an 8 x 8 baking dish.
Prep the veggies:
- Slice potatoes very thin (1/8 inch or less), then dice the red bell peppers and onions.
- Place the veggies in a medium-size mixing bowl, then set aside.
Prepare the cheese sauce:
- Add all the ingredients for the cheese sauce to a Vitamix and blend until creamy and smooth.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference.
Assembly:
- Pour the vegan cheese sauce into the mixing bowl and gently toss with the veggies, making sure the sauce is evenly distributed and all veggies are covered.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and bake for approximately 50-60 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft and the sauce is thick and creamy.
- Remove from the oven and garnish with the topping of your choice.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
Hi, I'm Karielyn! I'm the published cookbook author of CLEAN DESSERTS and content creator of The Healthy Family and Home™ website since 2012. I specialize in creating easy, healthy plant-based and Medical Medium® compliant recipes that are gluten-free + vegan and made with clean, real food ingredients that you can feel good about eating.
Delia says
Can I use coconut milk? If so, the canned coconut milk or the carton style in the fridge section of the supermarket?
Thanks, looks yummy and now I want to try this one!
Karielyn says
Hi there Delia! Yes, you could use coconut milk. I would use either homemade coconut milk or boxed coconut milk and make sure it is unsweetened and not vanilla-flavored since this is a savory recipe.
Also, I've never tried using the canned coconut milk in this recipe, but I bet it would make the sauce extra thick and creamy, if you'd like to give it a try!
Thanks for the question and I hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
pasi says
Hi, so I do not have any tapioca. Any ideas on what else i could use?
I love this recipe btw have ade it many times yum!
Thank you!!
Karielyn says
Hi Pasi! I'm so glad to hear that you have made and enjoyed this recipe!
I used the tapioca to thicken the sauce, but you could use another type of thickener like arrowroot or even non-GMO cornstarch if your diet will allow corn products.
Also, if you were to leave it out altogether, the sauce would taste the same, it would just have a thinner consistency.
I hope you get one of these ideas to work out so you can enjoy it 🙂
Kayla Joy says
This was the most delicious dish! I'm definitely making it again!
Karielyn says
Hi Kayla! Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for trying out one of my recipes and for letting me know how much you liked it 😉
Shipra says
yes!!! This dish was AMAZING!
Already looking at the peanut butter chocolate cups.
thanks for the silicon muffin cups suggestion-looked on amazon...really good price!
with love and light.
shipra
Karielyn says
Hi Shipra! Glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe!
Good choice on the peanut butter cups...those are one of my favorites!
I love my muffin cups and they are perfect to use with peanut butter cups recipe too 😉
Shipra says
I appreciate your website immensely.
Usually when cooking, I use my ayurvedic cookbook called Heaven's Banquet.
She did not have a recipe for potato au gratin, so I looked online to see what I could find.
I too, ran into many sites claiming to be healthy and falling short of the "health" qualities . I suppose we all have our own definitions of health and yours resonate with my mine.
Again, thank you!!!
Oh, I also love the story about your son at the end of your bio...beautifully sweet and heart warming!!
Thanks for sharing.
Shipra Maurya
Karielyn says
Hi Shipra! Thank you so much for your kind comments...I really appreciate them!
I hope you find more recipes on my site that you'd like to try and come back to visit often 😉