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Vegan Cauliflower Gratin – Creamy, Spiced Cauliflower Casserole. No Bake Skillet Gratin or Bake with a garlic breadcrumb topping. Add some chickpeas or vegan chiken subs for added protein to make a meal. Vegan Soy-free Recipe, Can be gluten-free and nut-free.
It is hot out here this week. It is also pretty ashy and humid with the many wildfires around (hope everyone is keeping safe) and difficult to heat up the house to bake. I made this gratin in a skillet for days like this and tested it out in the oven as well. The cream sauce is very versatile. I like Kashmiri garam masala(in my second book), Baharat(in my second book (Pre-order Now, starts shipping in 2 Weeks!!), Berbere or Jamaican Curry Blend in this cauliflower and the creamy sauce combination. You know me. Add spices of choice or just herbs.
The gratin is sprinkled generously with toasty breadcrumbs which have garlic and pepper flakes for a smoky heat. This crunchy garlicky topping is a must! Add some chickpeas or vegan chiken subs or tempeh for added protein to make a meal. Marinate the tempeh or chiken subs in more of the jamaican blend + salt + garlic and crisp on another skillet and then fold in with the greens.
Amazing, Creamy and ready within 25 Minutes! Add other vegetables for variation.
More Easy 1 Pot Creamy meals from the blog
- Cauliflower Parmesan Pasta Bake – sliced cauliflower, baked then dressed in vegan mozz and baked over pasta
- Pumpkin Sage Pasta with pumpkin cream sauce and crisp Sage
- Black pepper Mac and Cheese with Potato Carrot Cheese Sauce
- Cajun Cauliflower with Garlic Pasta – So Good!!
Creamy and amazing. Add more nutritional yeast, some black pepper, wine/lemon for a Cauliflower Mac.
Video:
Vegan Cauliflower Gratin - No Bake
Ingredients
- 1 tsp olive oil,
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 green chile, chopped (optional)
- 2 cups cauliflower, , 2 to 3 cups small-medium florets
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 cups or more chopped greens, , I use chard and spinach
- 1/4 cup cashews blended with 1 cup water, (blend for a minute, then rest for 2 and blend again until smooth)
- 1/2 tsp or more salt
- 1 tsp sugar or maple, (optional)
- 1 tsp spice blend of choice, (1 use a 1/2 tsp ground cumin + kashmiri garam masala or Baharat Spice blend, See notes)
- 1 tsp herbs of choice, , blend of oregano, thyme, sage
Toasted Breadcrumbs:
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, chile and a pinch of salt and cool until translucent. Add cauliflower, water and 1/4 tsp salt. Cover and cook for 6 to 7 minutes.
- Add greens and mix in. Cover and cook until wilted (3 mins) and cauliflower is aldente.
- Add cashew cream, salt sugar/maple, spices and herbs and mix in. Add other flavors if needed such as a 1 tbsp nutritional yeast for cheesiness, 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce or 1/2 tsp prepared mustard or additional depth in flavor.
- Bring to a boil uncovered and simmer for another minute to thicken to preference. Taste and adjust salt and flavor, adding more salt or spices if needed. Adjust the consistency if too thick with water.
- Meanwhile make the optional breadcrumb topping. Heat breadcrumbs, olive oil, salt, garlic and pepper flakes in a small skillet over medium heat. Stir occasionally until golden and toasted. 3-4 mins.
- Sprinkle all over the cauliflower and take off heat. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Oh my! I fixed this for our monthly potluck and it was quite a hit! I was asked for the recipe and I posted it on our Meetup page with a link to your recipe!! I used the bake method (easier to bake & take). My non vegan husband made me promise to make it again soon. Thank you!
yay!!!
Seasoned It with curry, kurkuma, ras el hanout. Yumyum gime Some
Thanks for This recipe. A perfect alternative for the traditional recipe with milk sauce.
Will be making This a lot This winter!
yes!! ras el hanout would be great in the sauce. Perfect winter meal!
Yummy! I love the breadcrumbs on this recipe. Chickpeas would taste delicious with this!
Love this great recipe!!! Going to make it for dinner. It looks so yummy in those images, and so easy to make.
What would you add to make it more protein dense? Tempeh? Tofu? Beans?
Add some cooked chickpeas, peas or quinoa. Add more spices as chikpeas will need additional flavor.
Good idea! Do you think some white beans blended with cashews could be good?
Yes, you wouldnt need that much cashews them, maybe a tbsp cashews and a 1/2 cup beans.
I made this for supper tonight and added a bell pepper and corn. My partner gave it 2 thumbs up! Delicious! Thanks Richa! It is a keeper!
yay!
Oh YUM. Just cooked a panful of this and doctored it up with Chipoltle and Cumin and fresh cilantro to finish. I am thinking…that the addition of some charred poblano, lime juice and zest and maybe a handful of charred corn would make this a whole new experience!
Thank you for this one and keep up the great work!
those are amazing flavor additions!! lemon + chipotle .. yumm!
Looks great! However I noticed that the clicking the Print button shows different amounts of every ingredient compared to the main page.
I just checked and it shows the same values to me. Maybe a server glitch at the time. maybe you clicked metric and it was displaying the metric values? Can you send me a screenshot (you can email it or message me on facebook.com/veganricha)
It works fine now, weird. Earlier it was showing things like 0.75 tsp oil.
What kind of pepper is green chile?
Serrano, bird’s eye or jalapeno. If you dont want the heat, omit it or use a tbsp of green bell pepper.
I am making this tomorrow!