“Au Gratin” Potatoes (Grain-free, Dairy-free)
Yum, yum, yummy! These “cheesy”potatoes remind me so much of the old-school au gratin potatoes that my mom used to make (from the box). Do any of you guys remember those? Unfortunately, those potatoes had cheese and milk and butter and flour. It was so good, so I have been working on trying to get that creamy, cheesy taste I am looking for in a dairy-free, grain-free recipe. I think I’ve got it!
Now, I should state up front, that potatoes sliced this thin and piled on top of eachother with different delicious sauces is almost always good, no matter what you are choosing to add! And I did not suffer as I worked hard to find and eat the perfect dairy-free, grain-free recipe for this, so no worries there haha ;p! Nope, I enjoyed alll the variations! But I feel like this one turns out creamy, with a cheesy taste and texture that makes you not miss the dairy. Even my daughter, who LOVES everything dairy :-/ had several helpings of these! Woop woop!!
It is much faster to use a mandolin or the slicer side of a box grater to do this, but I have done it with my chef’s knife and got them super thin and even too. So use whichever is easiest for you. Please watch your fingers! I really sliced into mine doing the potatoes on the box grater a few weeks back and it’s still healing! (Ouch!) I bought some special cutting gloves on Amazon after that because I wanted to be able to make these potatoes or others like them whenever I want and I didn’t want to maim myself any further. Haha! 😛 I’ve used them multiple times now and they work great! I’m able to slice much faster without being scared that my fingers are getting too close. 😀
The sliced onions that are layered between the potatoes can be sauteed before adding to the casserole, but I was able to adjust the temp and time so that they really cook and melt into the potatoes so you can skip that for this recipe.
TIPS: As I’ve said before, check your vegan cheese and vegan butter ingredients to be sure that they do not have grain products in them if you are trying to be strict with your diet. Some of them add wheat, rice or corn to get their texture.
Also, I really love the umami flavor that a little fish sauce gives to a dish. I have both regular and vegan fish sauce and I really like them both. It is totally optional though. I like the little extra depth of flavor it adds to things, so I’ll often use little splashes in my dishes.
Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Enjoy!!
"Au gratin" Potatoes (dairy-free, grain-free)
Ingredients
- 8 sm-med russet potatoes sliced thin like chips
- 1 med onion sliced thin
- 1/3 cup almond flour (or chickpea or coconut) I used a paleo mix we have, but use any grain-free flour you have
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup dairy-free shredded cheese divided into thirds
- 1 tsp paprika for the top
FOR THE CREAMY SAUCE:
- 1 can coconut milk (full-fat)
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 cup dairy-free shredded cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 splash fish sauce (vegan fish sauce is good too) optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease the bottom of a 9x13" pan. (Or a 2 qt casserole dish)
- Prepare a large bowl or container with cold water and a few ice cubes. This will keep the potatoes from turning that reddish brown color while you are slicing.
- Wash your potatoes and slice them into very thin slices, as if you were making chips. I have used a knife and I have used the "slicer" side of my box grater which slices like a mandolin, but it could be sharper! I felt it was faster using that side of the box grater versus the knife but my slices were thin and even both ways. (Watch your fingers either way!!!) Put the potato slices in the cold water as you go.
- Slice your onion into thin slices. Add to a ziplock bag.
- Add the grain-free flour, the garlic powder, the dried thyme, salt and pepper to the ziplock bag. Shake until it is all mixed and the onions are all coated in the flour mixture.
- You are going to have 3 layers of potatoes. Spread out the first 1/3 of the potato slices in the bottom of the pan, covering the whole bottom.
- Add 1/2 of the onions spread evenly on top of the layer of potatoes. Sprinkle 1/3 of the vegan cheese on top in an even layer.
- Repeat with the second layer of potatoes, covering. Then repeat the onion layer using the second 1/2 of the onions in an even layer atop the potatoes. Again, sprinkle 1/3 of the shredded cheese on top.
- Repeat with the final layer of potatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the paprika evenly on top.
FOR THE CREAMY SAUCE:
- In a small sauce pan, mix 1 can of full-fat coconut milk, the vegan butter, the nutritional yeast, the shredded vegan cheese, thyme, salt, pepper and the optional fish sauce and heat until it starts to bubble lightly.
- Pour the sauce over the potatoes and onions. Gently press the casserole down into the liquid. It is okay if it all doesn't go in the liquid at this time, it will soften.
- When the oven beeps, remove the foil, use your spatula to gently press the potatoes down into the liquid, sprinkle the last 1/3 of the dairy-free cheese on top and continue to cook for another 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!