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This veggie-loaded Vegan Cauliflower Casserole is layered with ooey-gooey cheese, topped with buttery breadcrumbs and then baked to perfection. It's easy and delicious!
Autumn is right around the corner and that means it's time for everything warm, comforting and definitely cheesy! Am I right? So, to celebrate, I'm sharing this Cheesy Vegan Cauliflower Casserole to kickoff the season.
It will fit right into your weeknight dinner routine, weekends or for your holiday table. It'll be on our Thanksgiving table along with my Meatless Loaf, Sourdough Bread Stuffing, Vegan Greenbean Casserole, and my Sweet Skillet Cornbread Recipe. I can't wait!
This veggie-packed casserole is also kid-friendly. I mean, who wouldn't eat their veggies when they are smothered in a cheesy sauce?
How to Make Vegan Cauliflower Casserole
(full ingredient amounts in recipe card below)
STEP 1
Combine the breadcrumbs, garlic and melted butter together. This will create a buttery and crispy top to your casserole!
Note: You'll need to soften the cashews first for the vegan cheese sauce. To do this, boil water in a small pot and remove from heat. Add cashews and cover for 15-20 minutes until they're softened.
STEP 2
Cover and steam the cauliflower in about 1" of water in a Large Pot. Cover and steam until just tender (about 7-10 minutes). Uncover and remove from heat.
Note: You can also boil the cauliflower until just tender (about 5 minutes). Drain really well before putting in the casserole dish.
STEP 3
Time to make the vegan cheese sauce! To get started, drain and rinse the cashews (discard soaking water). Now place all cheese sauce ingredients in a High-Speed Blender. Blend until cashews have completely broken down and the sauce is smooth.
Note: If you don't have a high-speed blender, the cashews might not completely break down and this could result in a gritty texture. You can try soaking the cashews longer for 12 hours or more.
STEP 4
Now for the stretchy cheesy goodness! Pour blended vegan cheese sauce into a medium skillet/pot over medium heat (I used the same pot for steaming the cauliflower). Cook for 4-5 minutes until it thickens up a lot and becomes slightly stretchy. Stir often to prevent it from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Note: If the cheese sauce is too thick for your taste, you can add a little soy milk or broth to thin it out. Taste for seasoning and add more if needed.
STEP 5
Pour half of the vegan cheese sauce into the greased casserole dish and spread along the bottom. Now add the cauliflower florets on top in mostly one layer.
STEP 6
Top with more vegan cheese sauce! Pour the remaining cheese sauce on top of the cauliflower and spread out evenly. You can sprinkle the top with fresh-cracked pepper if desired.
STEP 7
Now sprinkle the top with prepared panko breadcrumbs and cover with foil. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is hot and bubbly. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until breadcrumbs are light golden brown.
Topping Ideas:
- Fresh-Cut Parsley
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- Vegan Parmesan Cheese
Enjoy!
Tidbits:
- I recently switched to Sari Foods Nutritional Yeast. I like it better because the vitamins and minerals are naturally occurring. They don't add any synthetic vitamins, so it's better for you and it doesn't taste as bitter either. It's a few dollars more than most brands but so worth it. (*It doesn't contain B12, so you'll have to supplement if you depend on nutritional yeast for that)
- If you have Vegan Lactic Acid, you can use that in replace of the lemon juice. It adds a similar tangy flavor that cultured cheese has. I usually add 1 ¼ teaspoons in place of the lemon juice. You'll need to add a few tablespoons of broth or non-dairy milk to make up the liquid portion of the lemon juice.
I'd love to hear from you
If you make this Vegan Cauliflower Casserole, let me know what you think by ★ star rating it and leaving a comment below. It would really make my day. You can also follow me on Instagram and share your creation with me. Just tag me @veganhuggs and hashtag #veganhuggs so I don't miss it.
Recipe
Cheesy Vegan Cauliflower Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower , cut into bite-size florets (about 2.5 pounds)
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs (GF if preferred)
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter , melted (+ more for greasing dish)
Cheese Sauce
- 1 cup raw cashews , soaked in very hot water
- 2 cups unsweetened soy milk
- 1 cup vegetable broth , low sodium
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup tapioca flour/starch
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic , (+ a pinch for breadcrumbs)
- 1 teaspoon granulated onion
- 1 ¼ teaspoons sea salt , more to taste
Optional Toppings
- Fresh-cut parsley
- Crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F (200° C). Lightly grease a 3-quart casserole dish and set aside.
- Combine the melted butter, breadcrumbs and a pinch of granulated garlic in a small bowl. Set aside.
- To soak cashews, boil water in a small pot and remove from heat. Add cashews and cover for 15-20 minutes, until softened (*see note).
- While the cashews are soaking, you can steam the cauliflower. Place about 1 " of water into a med/large pot that will fit your steamer basket. Place your basket on the bottom and cover pot with a lid. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat to med-low to maintain a low boil and place cauliflower florets into the basket. Cover and steam for 7-10 minutes, until just tender. Uncover and remove from heat.
- Drain and rinse cashews (discard soaking water). Now place all cheese sauce ingredients in a high-speed blender. Blend until cashews have completely broken down and the sauce is smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
- Pour cheese sauce into a medium skillet/pot over medium heat (I used the same pot for steaming the cauliflower). Cook for 4-5 minutes until it thickens up a lot and becomes slightly stretchy. Stir often to prevent burning. If sauce is too thick for your taste, you can add a little soy milk or broth to thin it out. Taste for seasoning, and add more if needed.
- Pour ½ the cheese sauce on the bottom of the greased casserole dish. Now add the cauliflower on top in one layer. Pour the remaining cheese sauce on top of the cauliflower. Now sprinkle with prepared breadcrumbs and cover with foil. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is hot and bubbly. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until breadcrumbs are light golden brown. Remove from oven. *Sprinkle with optional fresh-cut parsley and crushed red pepper flakes. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Kelly
This is the BEST EVER! If you are on the fence about making it- do it! I ended up doubling the recipe (to freeze some for later-it freezes great!) and adding one chopped up Field Roast "Apple Sage" sausage to each pan to make it feel more like an entree for us! It was incredible. I also added some Red Hot to my bowl to see what it would taste like- it took it to an 11. We had some left over the other night so to warm it up, I put it in a pan, and baked in the air fryer on 400 for 10 minutes and it came out crispy on the outside and deliciously creamy on the inside. I could see these being made into little puffs and air fried as appetizers! So versatile. Thanks again for our new favorite comfort food <3.
Jessica
Great recipe! I added sliced carrots and spinach. I didn’t have tapioca flour so used garbanzo bean flour which seemed to work well. To make it a little more of a main dish I added veg “meatballs” to the top. The non vegan (or even vegetarian) husband liked it. Yay! With this wonderful sauce, the possibilities seem endless. Thanks so much, we really enjoyed the recipe 😊
Melissa Huggins
Hi Jessica, Yay, so glad you liked it! Thank you for sharing your modifications. Sounds delish with the carrots and spinach! I'm glad the garbanzo bean flour worked well too 🙂
lillian
That incredibly shot of the spoon pulling up on cheese has me salivating like mad 😋😍 I definitely know what I'm making with that cauliflower in the fridge 😁
Melissa Huggins
Thank you, Lillian! Have a beautiful weekend! 🙂
Thankful
Thank you for this recipe. It was a hit at a non vegan Christmas party. I like bringing food that will make people talk and this one did. 😁 This sauce would be excellent with pasta as well. I made it with almond milk because that's what I buy and I also used arrowroot flour instead of tapioca because it's what I had on hand. It turned out excellent.
Melissa Huggins
I'm so happy everyone loved it! Thank you for sharing your feedback and modifications. Have a great weekend! 🙂
Trish
This dish graced our thanksgiving table and it did not disappoint! So incredibly delicious!! It’s only early morning here but I’m already dreaming of the leftovers of this dish. Thanks for a quick, super yummy dish!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Trish, I'm so glad you made it for Thanksgiving! We had it on our table too. Thank you so much 🙂
Tina
I made this and absolutely love it. It makes plenty of sauce. I usually double the sauce in recipes because to me it doesn’t seem like enough. I like saucy. That’s definitely not the case with your recipe. I do not have a high speed blender so I just boil the cashews for 10-15 minutes, then drain them. They mix up very well that way, not grainy at all. Thank you for sharing your awesome recipe!
Laurie
Do you think you could make this the day before and then pop in the oven to reheat? Looking for something to make in advance for a Thanksgiving dinner I am attending.
Melissa Huggins
Hi Laurie, I would make it up until the baking point and leave the breadcrumbs off too. You can add them the next day right before baking. I usually add a few splashes of vegetable broth to the top (before breadcrumbs) to add moisture. It helps the cheese thin out too. You'll need to bake it longer to fully heat and keep it covered so it doesn't dry out. Just uncover to brown the breadcrumbs. I'd love to hear how it turns out for you. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Lisa
Melissa - i pisted thus today on FOK group and wanted to shsrr with you.
Have you ever found a dish that was just so good you had a really hard time stopping?
I found that dish today. Cheesy Vegan Cauliflower. There is very little to sub out if you want to keep it pure whole food. I tried cashew based cheeses before and never found anything i liked. But this one is so creamy, smooth and tasty. I kept finding excuses this afternoon to go in the kitchen to eat a spoonful. The web site photos are so much better than mine but you can see I finished off quite a bit today.
https://veganhuggs.com/cheesy-vegan-cauliflower-casserole/
Sylvia
This was yummy, yummy! Dangerously good.... hard to not take a second (and third) helping! Thank you for this wonderful recipe, Melissa.
Melissa Huggins
Hi Sylvia, I'm so glad you liked it! Thank you for the most wonderful feedback 🙂
Sylvia
Oh yum! Oh wow! So very delicioius! Thank you, Melissa!!
Gracie
I am a newbie to the Vegan world! Starting my third week! I am doing really well with no meat since I ate very little before.... but I am still cravin the no cheese
I tried a few ready made brand cheeses and they were gross lol
Does it taste better when you make your own with the cashews?
I am going to try this tmrw 😀😀
Thanks for the recipe idea
Melissa Huggins
Hi Gracie, Congratulations on your new vegan journey! I totally understand cheese cravings. I had them for a year after going vegan. It will get better as your taste buds adjust. Store-bought cheeses are always a hit or miss. However, so many new brands are hitting the shelves and I'm sure you'll find something you like. I prefer Chao Cheese slices and they melt really well. I also love Miyoko's brand of cheeses, but they aren't available in all stores (it's getting better though).
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the 'cheesy' taste of this recipe. I can't say that it will taste exactly like dairy cheese, but it's pretty darn close.
Thank you for stopping by and feel free to reach out if you have any questions. 🙂
Dianna
This looks totally amazing and perfect for fall. Thanks so much for coming up with this and sharing it! I can't wait to try it.
I also wanted to let you know that the number/type of ads on your site are bogging it down to the point that I could hardly scroll down to the bottom to see the recipe and leave a comment. 🙁
Melissa Huggins
Hi Dianna, thank you so much! It's one of my fall favorites!
I'm sorry about the ad situation. My old blog theme was causing everything to lag, but I fixed it this weekend with a new theme. It should be running much smoother now. Unfortunately, I need to keep the ads to fund my site, but I'll keep trying to improve user experience the best I can. Thank you for sharing your feedback with me. 🙂
Cherry Pye
Hello Melissa
My husband made this for dinner and we both loved, loved, loved it!
Loved the lemony flavour, the texture of the sauce...all of it was pure deliciousness.
We have been vegan only 15 months and my husband gets a bit despairing sometimes with what he perceives as lack of flavour in vegan foods but this recipe of yours had us both ooohing and aaaahing! Thanks so much! It will be going in our favourites file!
Melissa Huggins
YAY! This is so awesome to hear and I'm glad your hubby approved of the flavor profile. Thank you for making it and sharing your feedback. Have a lovely week! 🙂
Esther
Eager to try it! I'm curious about the casserole dish. What a gorgeous blue!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Esther, thank you so much! The blue dish is made by Lodge. It's an enameled cast iron casserole dish in Caribbean Blue color (3.6 quart). The link is below my recipe card. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Melissa Huggins
It looks like it's out of stock on Amazon. I'm sure you can find it somewhere else though. I paid about $65 for it.
Keely
I'm trying to see how well this fits into a diabetic food plan. However, the nutrition background above does not give the serving size. Can you add that?
Melissa Huggins
The serving size is a little over a cup. 🙂