With all those cozy feels and guiltless goodness, this cauliflower dish is bringing it! Bake up this delicious and creamy Vegan Cauliflower Au Gratin for the perfect tasty dish that the whole family will love. Low in fat, but packed with tons of flavor and topped with a seasoned crispy panko crumb topping, this tasty casserole will quickly become a family favorite.

Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.

Hi there, Ameera here!

We are a casserole loving family, especially during the cold winter months. Dad is always begging for us to make casseroles. Every time we turn on the oven, he asks “Are you making a casserole today? You know how much I love casseroles!”

It’s funny how excited he gets when he finds out we are making a casserole. He prefers testing days over photoshoot days for obvious reasons. On photoshoot days, he has to wait until the photoshoot is over to dive in. He gets too antsy. LOL

I can’t tell you how often we have to chase him out of the kitchen because he can’t understand why all his little sneak “eats” add up claiming photo opportunities.  LOL

The same thing happens when we bake cookies. He is thee original cookie monster!

Lowering the Fat

We designed this dish specifically to have lower fat content than traditional au gratin dishes because as you know, a traditional au gratin (not WFPB) is made with butter and heavy cream.

Normally when approaching a dish like this, we would definitely go the uberly decadent route with a rich cashew cream, but then the fat content of the dish would have been much higher, so we decided to try to get this one as low in fat as we could with just a tiny bit of fat from one tablespoon of almond butter (or nut/seed butter of your choosing.)

Just as an FYI, we have plans to make an au gratin using cashew cream, but we wanted to test drive this one first, and we were very happy with the results.

However, if you are looking for that uberly decadent au gratin casserole, then this recipe is not for you. It is delicious for what it is, and that is a low-fat cauliflower au gratin casserole.

This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.

Almond Butter

Now we could have totally left the almond butter completely out of the dish, and you certainly can if you wish, but we wanted to add just a smidge. Why? Well, that little bit of fat from the almond butter is just enough to trick the brain into thinking the dish is more decadent than the fat content really is. It just adds more dimension to the dish.

Fat in Food

Our bodies are designed to seek fat (healthy fats or not so healthy fats.)  Fat sends endorphins to the brain telling us to eat more. That is why we take such great pleasure in eating fatty dishes.

If this subject interests you, then we suggest reading “The Pleasure Trap” by Alan Goldhamer and Douglas J. Lisle. The authors provide great insight into the science based facts that make us susceptible to our biological drives to consume fats, processed foods, etc.

I’ll let Mom tell you more.

Hi!  Robin here!

Love this cauliflower au gratin!  Monkey said it all, we were going for an au gratin casserole that was lower in fat than a traditional cashew cream-based dish. But stay tuned, as we will have a more decadent version for those days you want to splurge.

TP109 nearly devoured the whole pan. He kept saying make this again and again! He gave it a 9.9 because he felt that it didn’t make enough for him to eat 3 large helpings. LOL

We would love for you to give this recipe a try!  We just know you are going to love it.

If you try this comforting dish, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us!  We would love to hear from you.

Products Used:

• Large nonstick skillet, Dutch Oven or stock pot
• 14 x 20 baking sheet
• Small casserole dish

Vegan Cauliflower Au Gratin

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 20 Minutes
• Cook Time: 30 Minutes
• Total Time: 50 Minutes (+5 Minutes Rest)
• Yield: 4-5 Servings 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Stovetop, Oven
• Cuisine: French

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Description

Bake up this delicious, creamy, and low-fat Vegan Cauliflower Au Gratin for the perfect comforting dish that the whole family will love. Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Sauce Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. cauliflower florets, trimmed *
• ½ cup yellow onions, fine dice
• 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted almond butter *
• 2 Tablespoons GF flour (or flour of choice) *
• 2/3 cup vegetable broth *
• ¼ cup unsweetened plain plant milk
• 1 ¼ cup water (or broth)
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast

Spice/Herb Ingredients:

• 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
• 2 Tablespoons dried minced onions
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• ¾ to 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper (+/-)

Topping Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons panko crumbs *
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt *

Optional Serving Ideas:

• Cooked brown rice (or rice of choice)
• Potatoes (boiled, mashed, roasted or baked)
• Side of greens (steamed or raw with a splash of vinegar)
• Side salad

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Line a large 14 x 20 baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
3. Trim all the cauliflower into medium-sized florets, making sure to remove the harder ends. Place on the parchment paper, spread them out.  Bake/roast the cauliflower for 15 minutes.
4. In the meantime, make the topping by placing all the Topping Ingredients into a small bowl, whisk well, set aside.
5. Place all the Spice/Herb Ingredients into a small bowl, whisk well, set aside.
6. While the cauliflower is roasting, in a large ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven or skillet (or similarly large stockpot/skillet) add the diced onions, sauté over medium-high heat until the onions soften, approx. 7 to 9 minutes.  Add a splash of water (or broth) if needed, if the onions start to burn.  Then add the minced garlic, sauté for one minute, stirring constantly.
7. Next add the almond butter and flour, sauté stirring constantly, pushing the almond butter and flour into the onions and garlic. The mixture will be lumpy. Then add all your remaining Sauce Ingredients and the Spice/Herb Mix.  Increase the heat to high and whisk well for several minutes to incorporate the mixture into a smooth sauce.  Simmer for several minutes, then turn the heat on low until the cauliflower is done roasting.
8. Once the cauliflower is done roasting, remove from the oven, then place the roasted cauliflower into the sauce (see notes on cauliflower to sauce ratio) and stir well to coat the cauliflower. Then place the cauliflower/sauce mixture into a small casserole dish, sprinkle the Topping all over the top.
9. Bake in a 400 F oven for 10 minutes, then switch the oven to high broil and broil for 3 to 5 minutes until the top is golden brown.
10. Remove from the oven, allow to set for 5 minutes, then sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley.

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Notes

*Tips for Success:

• Trimming the Cauliflower Florets: We like to buy fresh cut-up cauliflower florets in a prepackaged 2 lb. bag at our local grocery store.  We then trim off any hard parts and long stalky stems as they tend to take longer to bake.  We typically end up with about 8 to 9 cups of trimmed, uniform cauliflower florets.
• Sauce versus Cauliflower Ratio: For this recipe, the cauliflower is not swimming in sauce.  There is enough sauce to thoroughly coat all the cauliflower.  If you prefer a saucier type of casserole, cut back on the amount of cauliflower.  If unsure, just roast all the cauliflower from the 2 lb. bag, then add the roasted cauliflower a little at a time to the sauce and stir until you find the perfect ratio of cauliflower to sauce.  If you have left over cauliflower that is perfectly fine to eat on its own as a side dish for another meal.
• Placing on Parchment Paper: While it is very tempting to just dump the cauliflower florets onto the parchment paper covered baking sheet, take the time to space them out onto the parchment paper so they have room to breathe/roast.  Place the largest pieces on the outer edges and the smaller ones in the center.  The edges tend to get more heat than the center.
• Oven Baking Time: Cauliflower retains a lot of moisture.  If you like your cauliflower more tender, bake them for 20 minutes or longer (roasting cauliflower).  We baked ours for 15 minutes and felt that was perfect.
• Making the Sauce:  When blending the liquids (water, vegetable broth, plant milk) into the flour/almond butter, you may feel like it is not going to come together. Use the back of a rubber spatula and mash the flour and almond butter into the liquids, stirring and pushing them together. It will come together as the heat increases the sauce, it will start to thicken, keep stirring until thick like a gravy.
• Almond Butter: This is a fantastic, flavorful recipe. We created this recipe specifically to be lower in fat compared to other au gratin types of recipes which use cashew cream.  However, if you are looking for a decadent type of au gratin casserole, you would need a recipe that uses a fair amount of cashew cream.  We used only one Tablespoon of almond butter, just enough to trick the brain that there is some fat in this dish while still being lower in fat.  Additionally, you can leave out the almond butter (or use another nut or seed butter) if you wish, with the understanding that the flavors will change accordingly.

*Notes Continued

*Vegetable Stock:   We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.

*Flour:  We used Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all-purpose baking flour blend.  You can use the flour of your choice.

*Almond Butter Substitutes:  You can substitute the almond butter with other seed and nut butters with the understanding that the flavors will change accordingly.  You can also leave it out completely also with the understanding that the flavors will change and the casserole will have less dimension of flavor.

*Panko Crumbs: We used Ian’s Gluten Free Panko crumbs for this recipe.  If you do not need to be gluten free, feel free to use any compliant panko bread crumbs of your choosing.  Ian’s is oil-free, but does have a tiny amount of sugar. Ian’s is generally accepted by the Whole Food Plant Based Community.

*Spices: This dish was based on a traditional style spice blend of an au gratin, but you could add an Italian twist with Italian seasoning or a Southwestern spin with smoked paprika, chipotle powder, etc. Or make your own flavor combination. The best part is you can taste the sauce before adding it to the dish – start with a little an increase to your desired preferences.

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Serving:  4 to 5

*Storage:  Use within 5 days.

This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.