Vegan Creamy Potato and Kale Gratin Recipe
This simple vegan kale and potato gratin recipe is the perfect comfort food dish loaded with layered potatoes, caramelized onions, garlic and kale in a creamy vegan bechamel sauce. Serve it as a main course with a side salad or as vegan side dish during the holiday season at Thanksgiving or other gatherings.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 225kcal
Ingredients
- 3 lbs gold potatoes
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1-1/4 teaspoon kosher salt divided
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper divided
- 4-6 whole garlic cloves with the skins on
- 1 whole onion medium-large
- 1 bunch lacinato kale or curly leaf
- 1/4 cup wine red or white
- 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk such as soy milk
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast divided
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425˚F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Slice potatoes, skin on, into 1/4" thick slices. Toss sliced potatoes and unpeeled garlic cloves in 1 tablespoon of olive oil 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper.
- Arrange potato slices in one even layer on the baking sheet and tuck in the garlic cloves. Bake for 20 minutes until they start to crisp and turn light golden brown then remove the sheet pan from the oven.
- While potatoes bake, heat a sauce pan on medium-high stove top. Cut onion in half and slice thinly. Remove stems from kale, stack leaves and roll them up, then thinly slice the leaves into fine ribbons. When sauce pan is hot, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté onions, lowering heat if they start to burn, for about 3-5 minutes. When onions are browning and translucent add kale and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper or to taste. Deglaze pan with red wine and let the liquid cook off, about a minute or so. Transfer onion-kale mixture to bowl and set aside until assembly.
- In the same saucepan, whisk together the flour and remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat until lightly browned. Slowly whisk in milk to avoid lumps. Whisk over medium heat until sauce thickens, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper or to taste, nutmeg and 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley. Set sauce aside until assembly.
- Arrange 1/2 of the potato slices into a single layer at the bottom of a casserole dish and spoon half of the cream sauce over them. Then spread the kale-onion mixture on top of cream sauce layer. Remove roasted garlic cloves from their skins and space them out over kale-onion layer. Layer on the rest of potatoes and pour the remaining cream sauce on top of them as the final layer. Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of nutritional yeast and chopped parsley over the cream sauce layer.
- Cover dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes at 425˚F. Remove foil and continue to bake for 10 more minutes until top is golden brown. Remove from oven and serve hot. Enjoy!
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. If you want to make ahead and freeze, assemble the dish in a foil baking dish. Cover and freeze after assembly. When ready to eat, bake it straight from the freezer in a preheated 425˚F oven for 35 minutes covered and 10 more minutes uncovered.
- Substitute any other hearty greens for the kale in this recipe.
- Try it with sweet potatoes instead of gold potatoes or a combination of the two.
- Swap the whole wheat flour with rice flour or cornstarch to make it gluten free friendly.
- Add mushrooms to the kale-onion mixture for another layer of flavor.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 225kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 98mg | Potassium: 848mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1744IU | Vitamin C: 50mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 2mg