Sweet Potato Gratin is a warm and comforting dish that is perfect for cooler months, especially around the holidays. If you're up for baking, no matter what time of year it is then this recipe is also a great anytime of year brunch dish. When I first made this dish, I made a regular béchamel sauce, filled with butter, cream and flour. All the things that currently don't work for my family's gut health. So I spent time tweaking the recipe until I created the perfect tummy troubles free recipe to share with you.
Making the Vegan and Gluten Free Béchamel Sauce
To make the vegan and gluten free béchamel sauce, I used coconut oil, coconut milk, almond milk and cassava flour. Do you cook with cassava flour? It's one of the few gluten free thickeners that really act like wheat flour. It creates the best sauces and gravy, without an altered taste. To bring out the flavor of the sauce, season it with fresh herbs and some spices. You can even add some sautéed mushrooms and caramelized onions to the sauce. Adding a bit of nutritional yeast, also gives it more of a "cheesy" flavor and is the perfect addition to this recipe. Do you use nutritional yeast in your cooking? Want to learn more about nutritional yeast and how to use it, then click here.
Look at how thick and creamy this sauce is. Can you tell that it is vegan? I certainly can't. When the sauce is at the desired consistency I remove the sauce from the heat and then add my seasoning.
Sweet Potato Goodness
For this sweet potato gratin recipe I used two kinds of sweet potatoes, golden/white sweet potatoes and regular sweet potatoes. You may use only one kind of sweet potato if you like or only have access to one variety of sweet potatoes. I prefer to slice my sweet potatoes really thin. I used a mandolin slicer to slice the the sweet potatoes into even slices. Do you have a mandolin slicer? They are really great for meal prepping. Get one here.
Layering the Sweet Potato Gratin
Layer your sweet potatoes however you choose. Start with some sauce at the bottom, then a layer of potatoes and repeat until you've used up all your sauce and potatoes. When I am not in a rush I get a bit fancy and make my top layer into a flower. To make the flower, start at the center of your baking dish, then make a circle with the sweet potato slices. Then tuck slices of sweet potatoes under each layer of circles until it looks like a blooming flower. To create a bit of contrast don't cover the top completely with the flower.
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The Printable Sweet Potato Gratin Recipe
- 2-3 lbs of sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
- 1 cup of full fat [url href="https://amzn.to/3fWA0kq"]coconut milk[/url],
- 1 cup of almond or cashew milk
- 2 tablespoons of cassava flour
- 1 tablespoon of granulated onion or onion powder
- 1 teaspoon of granulated garlic
- ¼ cup of freshly chopped parsley, may substitute with 1 tablespoon of parsley flakes
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- ¼ teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons of [url href="https://amzn.to/2AbkLVG"]nutritional yeast[/url]
- Pinch of Smoked Paprika
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F
- Add the coconut oil to a saucepan on medium heat and bring up to temperature
- When the oil is hot and melted, add the coconut milk and the almond or cashew milk
- Bring up to temperature them whisk in the cassava flour
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook until the sauce is thick and coats the spoon
- Then remove the sauce from the heat and add the granulated onions, granulated garlic, parsley, salt, black pepper, nutritional yeast and nutmeg. Use a whisky to mix together the ingredients for a really smooth sauce
- Spray a large quiche pan with cooking spray, then add about ¼ cup of sauce to the bottom of the pan
- Next, add a layer of sweet potato slices, then top with another ¼ cup of sauce. If you are using two kinds of sweet potatoes you can alternate the colors when layering
- Continue to layer until all your sauce and potatoes have been used. Do not add sauce to the top layer
- Spray the last layer of sweet potatoes with cooking spray, then sprinkle with a light dusting of smoked paprika
- Place sweet potato gratin on middle shelf of oven and bake for 45 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender
- Then remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes before serving
This dish pairs really nice with a side of Sautéed Spinach!
Rowana says
This looks very very yummy, i'm going to make this and post my dish for you to see.
Metemgee says
Can't wait to hear how it comes out!
Sally McGuire says
Wonder how the mac n cheese would come out without the egg? I'm allergic, which throws a big wrench into most Whole30 recipes.