This Vegan Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole is loaded with tender cauliflower and mushrooms baked in a creamy dairy free cheese sauce. The perfect easy, healthy and satisfying side dish for any dinner or holiday feast.
Cauliflower is just one of those vegetables that just tastes so bland. It's easy to over cook and you end up with soggy mushy cauliflower. But, it can be the most wonderful and versatile vegetable if used to its full potential. Like... cauliflower gnocchi anyone? How about some cauliflower 'steaks'? Or cauliflower wings? Mmmhm.
You don't even have to get all crazy and fancy like that to make cauliflower taste good. And this is where THIS creamy Vegan Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole recipe comes in.
Think: tender cauliflower baked in a thick, cheesy and creamy dairy free sauce loaded with flavour with a bit of crunch thanks to the breadcrumbs.
Never suffer from boring ol' cauliflower again, this recipe delivers.
Ingredients to Make Cheesy Vegan Cauliflower Mushroom Casserole
The bulk of this recipe is made from cauliflower (obviously), and we're also adding in mushrooms and onions for more texture and flavour.
What makes this Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole recipe so special? The cheese sauce. It's made with cashews, cashew milk, lemon juice, garlic, miso paste, mustard, nutritional yeast, tapioca starch and a touch of salt.
Let's talk a little about tapioca starch: it's been kinda my favourite ingredients in 2019. It's amazing for gluten free baking, works as a binder and a thickening agent. It's also the ingredient that makes this cheese sauce so stretchy and melty. I tried this with other starches and it just does not work.
To top it off, you can either go the vegan shredded cheese OR a bread crumb topping.
How to Make Vegan Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole
- Steam cauliflower until just fork tender.
- Fry up the onions and mushrooms until lightly browned
- Blend up all the cheese sauce ingredients.
- Pour cheese sauce into medium sauce pan, stir continuously and watch the magic happen.
- Add the cauliflower, mushrooms and onions into a baking dish and then pour in the cheese sauce. Stir to make sure everything is well coated!
- Top with bread crumbs OR vegan shredded cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes until bubbly.
How to Make Vegan Cauliflower Casserole Ahead of Time
Follow method as instructed up until topping with breadcrumbs/cheese. Once the cheese is cooled, cover the baking dish and store in the fridge for up to one day in advance. When ready, top with bread crumbs or vegan cheese and then bake as instructed.
How to Properly Store Cauliflower Casserole
While best eaten right out of the oven, left overs can be stored in an air tight container refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven at 400 for 5-8 minutes or in the microwave for 2 minutes on high until heated through
Helpful Equipment to Make This Recipe
- Baking Dishes: Two 8x8 inch Baking Dishes OR 1 9x13 inch Baking Dish
- Highspeed Bender
I wasn't too sure what to call this recipe. Vegan cauliflower gratin? Cheesy Cauliflower bake? Vegan Cauliflower Casserole... I think they're all the same thing. I went with casserole just because it sounded the coolest with all the C's 😂. Try to say "Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole" fast 3 times.
But anyways, I really hope you give this Cheesy Vegan Cauliflower Casserole recipe a try and love it as much as I do. Vegan casseroles are easy to make and I think it would be a huge hit for any up coming holiday dinners or as a casual weeknight side (or meal!!) nom nom nom.
Craving More Vegan "Cheese" Recipes? Try These Next!
- Cauliflower Gnocchi Mac n' Cheese
- Broccoli Mac n' Cheese Soup
- Vegan Supreme Mac n' Cheese
- The Best Vegan Cheese Sauce
If you recreate this Vegan Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
Hungry for more? Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Instagram, Youtube and Pinterest for more deliciousness!
Vegan Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 8 Servings 1x
Description
This Vegan Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole is loaded with tender cauliflower and mushrooms baked in a creamy dairy free cheese sauce. The perfect easy, healthy and satisfying side dish for any dinner or holiday feast.
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower, chopped into bite sized pieces (approx. 1000g)
- 4 oz button or cremini mushrooms, sliced (112g)
- 1 large onion, sliced (240g)
Cheese Sauce:
- 1 cup cashews (150g)
- 2 cups cashew milk (500ml)
- 3 tbsp lemon juice (45g)
- 4 large garlic cloves (12g)
- 1 tbsp miso paste (20g)
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast (40g)
- ¼ cup tapioca starch (30g)
- 1 tsp salt
Topping:
- 1 cup vegan shredded cheese
OR
- ½ cup bread crumb topping (mix together):
- ½ cup bread crumbs (54g // gluten free as needed)
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast (16g)
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F (180 C).
- Add chopped cauliflower into a large pot with a steamer basket. Steam for 10-12 minutes or until just fork tender.
- Add sliced onions and mushrooms into a medium pan and fry until lightly browned over medium high (around 5 minutes). Place into another bowl and set aside.
- Add all cheese ingredients into a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Pour the cheese sauce into the same pan used for the onions and mushroom and place over medium high heat. Stir continuously for 5 minutes until the cheese sauce becomes thick. Remove from heat.
- Pour half of the cheese sauce into a 9x13 inch or two 8x8 inch baking dishes. Add in the cauliflower, onions and mushrooms. Pour the rest of the cheese sauce on top and stir to make sure all the vegetables are covered with the cheese.
- Top with vegan cheese or mix the bread crumb mixture. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until bubbly. If you want to lightly brown the bread crumbs, broil for 1-2 minutes. Garnish with red pepper flakes and/or green onions and serve!
Notes
- Loosely adapted from this recipe.
- Nutritional Information Disclaimer: Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated on an online tool (Cronometer).
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Casseroles & Entrees
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: vegan, gluten free
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving
- Calories: 209
- Sugar: 6.5g
- Sodium: 447mg
- Fat: 9.7g
- Saturated Fat: 1.7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6.5g
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 24g
- Fiber: 5.2g
- Protein: 10.4g
- Cholesterol: 0
Keywords: cauliflower casserole, cheesy casseroles, dairy free casseroles, gratin, bake
SAVE IT FOR LATER! ↓
Okonomi Kitchen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. When you purchase something through my amazon affiliate links, I earn a small commission that helps me produce consistent content at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting my plant based kitchen!
Rae says
Oh my god this recipe was amazing. I came across it and randomly had all the ingredients (except for tapioca starch, but I had cornstarch so used a little less than what the recipe called for as a replacement) and holy heck it was SO GOOD. I also topped it with both a panko bread crumb mixture and shredded vegan cheese, and that extra layer really added to the experience. The "cheese" sauce is amazing, I'll be using it again for other recipes. Very easy to make, and the husband and I are full but not stuffed after a healthy serving. Thank you for sharing this!
★★★★★
Lisa Kitahara says
Hi Rae,
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe!! Yesss, both the panko + cheese is def a winner. Thank you for sharing!
Myka says
For the breadcrumb topping, can we use panko instead of break crumbs or do you recommend bread crumbs?
Lisa Kitahara says
Panko is perfect!
Gabby says
I made this for xmas and it was a huge hit! The sauce was absolutely to die for. I'm usually not super satisfied with creamy vegan sauces but this one turned out perfect. Thanks for helping impress my family for my first attempt at cooking the full holiday meal!
★★★★★
Anna says
This recipe is so amazing!! I'd never made a cheese sauce before and was a little worried how it would all turn out, but it was absolutely delicious! Can't wait to make it again ~~ thank you for the amazing recipe 😊
★★★★★