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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.
I cook at lot of your recipes and I have never commented before. We made this tonight and my 6 year old daughter LOVED it. We used the baked version with broccoli, mushrooms and chickpeas. Awesome. Will become a fixture I am sure. Love how el dente the cauliflower and broccoli came out. Will use as a side dish for Christmas. Many thanks.
awesome!!
This is just pure comfort deliciousness. I did your baked version. Super yum – love your recipes
awesome!
Made this tonight for dinner- soooo yummy! Next time will have to double (or triple) the recipe:)
Looking forward to trying more of your recipes. Thank you!
awesome!!
This was my first time making one of your recipes and it turned out delicious!! I didn’t bother with the breadcrumb topping. Everyone loved it, including non-vegans. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
yay! awesome!!
I made the baked version of this tweaking the recipe a bit for taste and ingredient availability….I used canned green chilis, added mushrooms, vegetable broth instead of water….spinach for greens, and a vegan Parmesan mixed with breadcrumbs for topping…….and as usual, your recipe did not disappoint….you are magical for the vegan cook…
I have a vegan gluten-free Friend coming over for dinner. Would like to try this. This is gluten-free right ? What can I add to make this more of a main dish ? (The rest of us are having big wagyu steaks!)
This is not gluten-free. You would have to use gluten-free and vegan breadcrumbs for the topping. You can also make http://fettabbau-trim.today/2017/05/butter-tofu-paneer-tofu-butter-masala-recipe.html%3C/a%3E and serve it with a pilaf or make the roasted cauliflower slices with gravy https://fettabbau-trim.today/2013/06/cauliflower-steaks-with-mushroom-gravy.html%3C/a%3E, make extra gravy and some mashed potatoes too. Also, totally unnecessary to mention steaks on a vegan page. 42 million cows are slaughtered per year for food in the US, thats 4800 per hour, 80 per minute, more than 1 per second.
You can add some chickpeas to make this a main. Add a bit more herbs and spices so that the chickpeas pick up some flavor.
When you say cashews, do you always mean raw cashews? Or would roasted work?
yes i mean raw. If i use roasted, then that will be mentioned. Roasted would make the sauce taste roasted as well rather than a cream profile.
I was so thrilled when I saw”no bake” on the pintrest image. I just have a cooktop right now and it hasn’t been easy to find a varity of recipes with no oven required. I was expecting somthing cheesyish but I didn’t add the nutritional yeast and I liked the creamy spiced sauce without it. The bread crumb topping was what really did it for me though. It’s a totally delicious dinner. Thank you!
Awesome!! you can add some nutritional yeast for cheesyness. Witht he spices, its not necessarily a needed flavor. i use it cheesy flavor with herbs, more variations to keep the dish fresh!
This is an easy but so very tasty recipe. It will be a family favourite. Thanks!
So good. So easy. ????