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These gluten free scalloped potatoes are a creamy and delicious dairy-free version of the classic side dish! They are loaded with creamy golden potatoes, a tasty vegan cheese sauce, and tons of flavor! An easy, make-ahead dish that you can prep before the holidays and special occasions, or freeze for a later date.
What Makes This Recipe Work
In my opinion, potatoes are the perfect side dish at Thanksgiving (or any meal, really). Mashed, baked, whipped, sliced, and smothered with cheese- you really can't go wrong! I absolutely love scalloped potatoes, but I need to follow a gluten-free diet. So I knew I needed to make a healthier scalloped potatoes recipe for the blog. These are sure to be a crowd pleaser!
Typically, gluten free au gratin potatoes and traditional scalloped potatoes are smothered with a creamy cheese sauce made from flour, whole milk, heavy cream, and parmesan cheese. Instead, I made simple swaps to make them gluten free and created an easy vegan cheese sauce from coconut milk, vegetable broth, cashews, nutritional yeast, onion, garlic, and lemon. I cannot even believe how much this scalloped potato recipe tastes like real, cheesy potatoes. You won’t even miss the gruyere cheese!
I will be making this side dish again and again, no matter what time of year it is!
Recipe Highlights
- Simple ingredients
- Easy, make-ahead side dish
- Prepped in under 20 minutes and the oven does all the hard work
- Freezer-friendly
- Vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, Paleo, & Whole30
- Perfect for Holiday gatherings
Ingredient Notes
You only need a few simple ingredients to make these gluten free scalloped potatoes with vegan cheese sauce, and I bet you already have most of them in your pantry!
Yukon Gold Potatoes: Yellow potatoes are super creamy, which is why I like to use them for this recipe. You can leave the skin on or peel them if you prefer. If you only have russet potatoes, they will work too. If you prefer to use sweet potatoes for this recipe, you can!
Vegan Butter: I use the Miyokos brand. If you're not vegan you can use Ghee (dairy-free) or regular butter if you prefer.
Vegetable Broth: You can substitute chicken broth if you want these to be dairy free but not vegan.
Coconut Milk: Use a can of unsweetened, full-fat coconut milk. Don't use refrigerated coconut milk as it is too thin.
Raw, Unsalted Cashews: If you have a Sprouts near you, you can get these in the bulk section!
Lemon Juice: Use freshly squeezed juice from a lemon. Refrigerator lemon juice will work in a pinch.
Nutritional Yeast: If you don't have nutritional yeast in your pantry yet, run and get some! This is a complete protein that you sprinkle on dishes to add amazing flavor without needing any dairy free cheeses. It's perfect for the vegan cheese sauce recipe as it adds a cheesy flavor without any dairy!
How To Make Gluten Free Scalloped Potatoes
- Cut your potatoes into ⅛-inch thick rounds. You can leave the skin on or peel them first, whichever you prefer. Add them to a large bowl.
- Add all of the “cheese” sauce ingredients (cashews, water, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, ½ tsp salt, 2 tsp onion powder) into a high-powered blender. Blend on high for 30 seconds or until the vegan cheese sauce is very creamy and no cashew chunks remain. Set the sauce aside.
- Heat the vegan butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and stir for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add in the coconut milk, chicken broth, vegan cheese sauce, and additional 1 tsp sea salt.
- Whisk well over medium heat for a few minutes until the sauce bubbles and begins to thicken.
- Layer ⅓ of the thinly sliced potatoes on the bottom of the baking dish.
- Pour ⅓ of the white sauce over top of the potatoes and use a spatula to spread it out evenly. Repeat this two more times until you have used up all of the potatoes and all of the thickened cream sauce.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake the potatoes for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, then bake for an additional 30-35 minutes until the casserole is bubbly and golden brown on top and the potatoes are tender.
- Serve with chopped fresh parsley. Enjoy!
Mary’s Tips & Tricks
Variations: Try adding some leftover ham, chicken, or turkey to make it a meal! You could also add in some peas or mushrooms to this amazing potato bake (just sauté them with the ghee and garlic first for 5-7 mins before adding other ingredients) to get some additional veggies in.
Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days and enjoy that cheesy goodness over and over again!
Mandolin: You can use a mandoline slicer if you have one, or just use a knife. Personally, I prefer to use a knife. Either way, you need to slice the potatoes until they are ⅛ inch thick or less.
No Blender: If you don’t have a high-powered blender, I recommend soaking the cashews in hot water for at least 30 minutes.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! You can assemble the potatoes and vegan cheese sauce 1-2 days before. Cover the baking dish and store it in the refrigerator. Bring it to room temperature for an hour before baking!
Unfortunately, the vegan cheese sauce is made by blending the cashews into a creamy sauce. I haven't tried any alternative methods. If you do try a nut-free version, let me know in the comments!
Yes! This vegan cheese sauce is a great recipe for tons of dishes that call for a creamy, cheesy sauce. Try it with pasta for easy vegan mac and cheese!
Try These Gluten-Free Side Dishes…
Easy Gluten Free Scalloped Potatoes | Vegan
Ingredients
- 3 lbs yukon gold potatoes
- 2 tbsp ghee, or vegan butter
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1 cup chicken broth, sub veggie broth for vegan
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley, for garnish – optional
"cheese" sauce
- ½ cup raw, unsalted cashews
- ¾ cup water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375. Lightly grease a 9×12-inch baking dish.
- Cut your potatoes into ⅛ inch thick rounds. I didn't peel them first, but you can if you want to. You can cut the potatoes using a mandolin, or a knife. Add them to a large bowl.
- Add all of the "cheese" sauce ingredients (cashews, water, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, ½ tsp salt, 2 tsp onion powder) into a high powered blender.*
- Blend on high for 30 seconds or until the sauce is very creamy and no cashew chunks remain. Set the sauce aside.
- Heat the ghee in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and stir for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add in the coconut milk, chicken broth, "cheese" sauce, and additional 1 tsp sea salt. Whisk well over medium heat for a few minutes until the sauce bubbles and begins to thicken.
- Layer ⅓ of the potato slices on the bottom of the casserole dish. Pour ⅓ of the sauce over top of the potatoes and use a spatula to spread it out evenly. Repeat this two more times until you have used up all of the potatoes and the sauce.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake the potatoes for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, then bake for an additional 30-35 minutes until the casserole is bubbly and browned on top.
- Serve with chopped fresh parsley. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
All nutrition facts are an estimate and automatically calculated. While I fact check them using My Fitness Pal, please note that they may not always be 100% accurate and depend on ingredients used. Weigh your total and divide by the number of servings for the most accurate grams per serving size.
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This recipe was originally posted on October 14, 2020 and republished on November 1st, 2022 with updated copy and photos.
Oops, missed the “make ahead” answer in FAQs since I skipped to recipe. Potatoes got a bit gray colored in frig overnight -not the most appealing. Loved the thin sliced potatoes, consistency etc but the coconut flavor from coconut milk is way too strong. Need to find an alternative and will try again.
Hey! Which brand coconut milk did you use? This recipe has lots of rave reviews regarding the flavor. Thai Kitchen brand is one of my favorites for the least “coconutty” flavor!
Terrifi recipe! We will make this again. Brought it to Easter dinner with family members who are gluten and dairy free (and some who are not). My gf, df mom and sis hadn’t had scalloped potatoes in decades! They were so excited and complimented the sauce for flavor and creaminess. Also received compliments from the non-gf/df guests. Only one portion made it home!thank you, Mary!
Thanks Kate!!
Sorry if I missed a prior note in this, but can you assemble ahead (night before)?
These were really good! Made for brother in law at Christmas and he loved them thank u!
Thanks Julie!
Big hit for Christmas Eve diner with a crowd that is not dairy:gluten free. Thank you for providing a side that fit for me and didn’t disappoint them.
Thanks Stephanie!
This recipe is a knockout! My husband couldn’t even tell it was dairy free. Tasted absolutely indulgent. Ate the leftovers for days. Try this! Sooo worth the effort!
Thanks Megan! So glad enjoyed them!
Thanks!!
I tried this recipe step by step for dinner last night. It seemed slightly to thin for the finished cheese sauce so I added a small amount of arrowroot slurry to thicken it more. We loved it and my husband couldn’t even tell there was no real cheese used making this. Thanks for a great recipe!
Glad it worked out!! the sauce definitely thickens up in the oven as it bakes 🙂
I am allergic to almonds, cashews and hazelnuts. Are there any other dairy free options to make the cheese sauce in your W30 scalloped potatoes?
Hi Terri! You can omit the cashews and do coconut milk instead!
Oh my goodness! Honestly I was expecting a heavy fake cheese taste – NOT AT ALL! All of my kids loved it. They don’t like mashed potatoes so I wanted to try something different besides the same old roasted potatoes and now this is going to be on repeat. I prepped it several hours ahead of time and followed her directions for cooking later and it turned out perfectly. Thank you!
Yay! So glad to hear it!
Hello,
Quick question before I make this. Should I use reduced-sodium chicken broth since we are adding additional salt? Or does the recipe intend to have salted broth in addition to the extra teaspoon of sea salt?
Thanks!
I usually use chicken broth that has salt so this is in addition to that!
Great, thank you for the clarification and quick reply! Your recipes are amazing!
Thanks Jill – I appreciate you!
Hi-
I made this recipe for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it! Well earned 5 stars. One question now though–I was wondering about halving the recipe in an 8×8 dish since I have a small family of 3. My concern would be halving the “cheese” sauce since there wouldn’t be much for my Vitamix to work with. Is it ok to add in the coconut milk and broth at this step so there is more volume in my blender? And then pour it into the skillet to thicken with the ghee, etc?
Thanks!
Hi! Yes I think that should work!! So glad you loved the recipe!