This is a nut-free, oil-free Vegan Cheesy Potato Broccoli Casserole that is perfect as a main dish or a welcome addition to a potluck table.
Did you grow up eating those potato & broccoli casseroles that were made with lots of fatty cheese and sour cream and bacon? This one is like that.
The original recipe called for lots of cheese, sour cream and bacon. So we’re going to use lots of plant-based cheese, sour cream and bacon! You can use your own favorite recipes for those items, or use the recipes I provide here.
Click this link for my cheese sauce and note that I omitted the cashews and increased the tofu to a whole container instead of a half. You can make it with all cashews if you are not avoiding nuts for a sensitivity or an allergy or for weight loss.
Another great cheese sauce for this would be Brand New Vegan’s Amazing Vegan Cheese Sauce.
For the bacon, use your favorite plant-based bacon or do what I did here and use Butler’s Soy Curls marinated in Brand New Vegan’s Smoky Maple Tofu Bacon marinade and then air-fry them.
Start by marinating your bacon ingredient…soy curls or tempeh or mushrooms…you decide. Let that marinate while you are baking 3 large russet potatoes and cutting up 3 cups of broccoli florets. Make the sour cream and chop the chives or green onion. I’ll put the recipe for my tofu sour cream in the notes of the recipe below.
When your soy curls (or whatever you’re using) have absorbed the marinade, squeeze them out a little and put them in the air fryer or oven to get chewy and crispy.
Steam the broccoli in a steamer basket for best results. You can boil it briefly also, but don’t let it get too done. A fork should slide in with a little resistance.
When the potatoes are cooked, allow them to cool enough to handle and then chop them (skin included) into bite-sized pieces.
I cut them in half length-wise and then slice each half length-wise a couple times and then slice across to make bite-sized pieces.
To a large bowl, add the potatoes, broccoli, bacon, sour cream and chives or onion.
Mix gently and transfer to a casserole dish.
Cover with the cheese sauce and poke it down into the casserole in several places and smooth it out across the top.
Cover with parchment and foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10-15 minutes until you get the cheese on top to your liking. I like mine to be a little crusty and chewy, but you can leave it gooey if you like.
- 3 large russet potatoes
- 3 cups broccoli florets bite sized pieces
- 2 cups sour cream Recipe in notes below
- 1 cup chopped plant-based bacon Recipe link in notes below
- 2 cups cheese sauce Recipe link in notes below
- 2 tbsp chopped chives (or 1 green onion)
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Scrub the potatoes, pierce with a fork or knife and bake on the oven rack for about 1 hour. They are done when you can easily slide a knife into the center.
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While the potatoes bake, add the soy curls to the marinade and let them rehydrate fully. When they are soft and hydrated, squeeze out any excess liquid and then place them in the air fryer basket and air fry until they get a little crispy on the edges. It took about 7-10 minute on 400 degrees in my air fryer. Remove them and set them aside.
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Place the broccoli in a steamer basket over boiling water and steam for about 5 minutes or until it is slightly tender/crisp. A fork should pierce it with a little resistance. Remove it from the heat and set aside.
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If you haven't made the cheese sauce and the sour cream, this is a good time to do it. Recipes/links in the notes below.
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When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut into bite-sized pieces and add to a large bowl. Add the broccoli, soy curl bacon, and chives. Gently mix in the sour cream without mashing the potatoes.
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Transfer the potato broccoli mixture into a casserole dish. Pour the cheese sauce over the top and poke it down into the potatoes all over. Smooth it over the top and to the edges.
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Cover with parchment and foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes depending on how you like your cheese sauce. I like mine to set up a little bit, but you can leave it gooey by leaving the cover on.
Tofu Sour Cream
1 package firm tofu
2 T lemon juice
1 T red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1-2 T water if necessary for consistency
Add all but water to a high powered blender, using a tamper if necessary to get it going. Add water if needed to blend into a thick cream. Sometimes the tofu is wet enough that you don't need additional water, sometimes you do. That's it!
For the cheese sauce, I used my Nacho Cheese but I eliminated the cashews and used a full package of tofu.
This cheese sauce from Brand New Vegan is Amazing also.
To make the soy curl bacon, use Brand New Vegan's marinade for Smoke Maple Tofu Bacon.
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