This delicious, creamy Vegan Cauliflower Casserole is the ultimate comfort dish and a bonus is that it is also healthy for you! Simple cauliflower florets, smothered and baked in a cheesy sauce is easy to prepare and so tasty!
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I love to prepare casseroles when I'm serving a crowd, especially around the holidays. This creamy Gluten-Free Vegan Cauliflower Casserole is definitely kid-friendly and a crowd-pleaser.
It will easily be a hit at your next gathering,
I will be serving this cauliflower casserole this Thanksgiving with my Lentil Meatballs, Skillet Cornbread, Baked Candied Yams, and Southern Green Beans And Potatoes.
Ingredients Used To Make Cauliflower Casserole
Raw Cashews, Nutritional Yeast Flakes, Red Bell Pepper, Onion, Garlic, Tahini Paste, Salt, Paprika.
What is nutritional yeast flakes? Nutritional yeast flakes are deactivated yeast, a yellow powder or flakes similar in appearance to cornmeal. Found in the bulk sections of many health food stores and is popular with vegan/vegetarians to use in recipes for a creamy, nutty or cheesy taste. It is also popular as a source of protein and B vitamins especially Vitamin B12. I especially like it to make vegan cheese sauces, gravies, soups and on popcorn.
Where To Purchase Nutritional Yeast Flakes
Nutritional yeast flakes are sold in most health food stores or online on Amazon. This is what I like Sari Foods Nutritional Yeast Flakes.
How To Make Vegan Cauliflower Casserole
Preheat the oven and lightly grease a casserole pan. Set aside. Lightly steam the cauliflower florets but you can even roast the florets.
Using a high-speed blender, make the cashew cheese sauce and added a cup of cauliflower florets to make a really thick and creamy sauce. Then I smothered the remaining cauliflower florets in the sauce and bake until bubbly. Oh yes, the smell and taste are just mindblowing!
More Delicious Cauliflower Recipes
Gluten-Free Vegan Cauliflower Hash Browns
Easy To Bake Cauliflower Wings
Quick And Easy Roasted Cauliflower
Roasted Cauliflower In Spicy Marinara Sauce
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Nutrition
- Energy:
- 274 kcal / 1145 kJ
- Fat:
- 17 g
- Protein:
- 14 g
- Carbs:
- 27 g
Cooking Time
- Preparation:
- 15 min
- Cooking:
- 40 min
- Ready in:
- 55 min
Ingredients
- 1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 cup raw cashews, soak for at least 2 hours
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
- 1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 tablespoon onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon tahini paste, (optional)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- pinch Cayenne pepper, (optional)
- paprika, and parsley for garnishing
Instructions
- Preheat oven 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a casserole dish and set aside.
- Wash and steam cauliflower florets for 5 minutes or until florets are tender. Reserve a cup of steam cauliflower to blend with the cashew cheese sauce. Place remaining florets in a casserole dish and set aside.
- Rinse and drain cashews. Place cashews in a high-speed blender with water, nutritional yeast flakes, red bell pepper, onion, garlic, tahini, salt and cayenne pepper,
- Process until smooth and creamy. Add the cup of cauliflower florets and blend, scraping down the sides of blender with a spatula. You may need to add extra water.
- Pour sauce over cauliflower florets. Sprinkle top with paprika. Bake for 35 minutes or until edges are slightly brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly, garnish with parsley and serve.
Jen made this yesterday,absolutely delicious,ate the leftovers for breakfast.thank you,thank you
That’s wonderful Chy, I’m so happy you enjoyed it. I’m grateful that Jen found my recipe.
You are amazing and this dish is amazing! I’m now at a point of trying to find one of your recipes that I don’t like- it’s proving impossible.
Wow Jen, you have made my day. Thank you so much, I’m happy you are enjoying my recipes. I recently made it and can’t wait to make it again as soon as I go shopping for more cauliflower.
Simple and delicious….I’ll be replacing this for a low(er) carb scalloped potato dish. Thanks!
Christine, thank you I’m so happy you enjoyed it.
I’m very excited to try this (recommended from a friend). I have a ton of frozen cauliflower ‘rice’ (the cauliflower that is already minced). Do you think this would work instead of cauliflower florets?
Danielle, sounds like a great idea. I’m going to start freezing my cauliflower when I have a surplus.
Thanks Michelle! Excited to give it a try tomorrow night :)
This is delicious! We aren’t vegan (egg, dairy, gluten free) so I added turkey bacon to the top and it tasted very similar to the scalloped potatoes and ham of my childhood. My kids loved it!!
Annie I’m so happy you enjoyed it, such a great way to get your children to eat their veggies!
My family love it? this is so… yummy,and healthy vegan recipe,and next time that I will make this recipe again I suggest put chilli flakes or jalapeño (optional).its delicious ….thank you who made this recipe .
Rosana, so happy you loved it.Sounds great to add a little heat, usually, 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper takes it to another level. Thank you for your feedback.
My husband loves this recipe. He is a Minnesotan, made the move to Oregon and is now vegan. This a perfect hot dish for his native roots. We plan on making it for Thanksgiving, but oven space is limited. Do you think I could make this in a crockpot? If so, what temp and for how long?
Hi Rachel, it is good to know that your hubby loves it! I heard great things about Oregan, they seem to have great vegan restaurants and health food stores there. I have not tried it as yet in a crockpot and I’m curious to know how it turns out. I used my crockpots in the past to make hot processed and liquid soaps but it seems that I need to unpack them and test some recipes this winter!
When replacing the cashews with almond flour, how much flour do you use? A cup?
Kelli you would use 1 cup, make sure its blanched, skin removed. Best to use a high-speed blender and you may have to blend more than once to get it smooth. If you are using a regular blender, blend at least 3 times resting the blender after each process.
This would be almond flour that I bought in the store. Is that ok to use?
Can’t eat cashews, do you know what can be used instead?
Almond flour or soaked blanched almonds if you used a high-speed blender to get a smooth sauce. If allergic to nuts then substitute with sunflower. seeds Hope you love it!
This is the best! So yummy and creamy! I was shocked at how good it tastes when it is so good for you! Thank you so much…
Thank you Sara, I’m so happy you enjoyed it and thanks again for your feedback!
Step 3 calls for garlic but garlic is not listed in the ingredients! Is garlic part of the dish or not? Thanks for sharing.
So sorry Larry, yes please add 1 clove of garlic!