In grad school, my friend Charis and I fell in love with this one root vegetable casserole we found in a WIC calendar of all things! While making that recipe, I actually tried parsnips and rutabaga for the first time. I never knew they were so good – especially parsnips! Obviously, that calendar is long gone and I haven’t been able to find the recipe online but I’ve been wanting to recreate it for the blog for ages. This vegan root vegetable gratin is pretty darn close! Plus, it is the perfect recipe for chilly winter nights and uses seasonal ingredients. When shopping at Whole Foods for this casserole, I found some turnips with pink flesh which made for a more brightly colored dish. All the heart eyes over the colors in this dish!
This recipe is adapted from this vegan, gluten free butternut squash gratin from Food52. I love butternut, but I wanted to switch things up a bit. Plus, I had a bunch of carrots in my fridge that I needed to start using up! When adding the sauce to your root vegetables, it may not look like there will be enough for such a large casserole. However, the root vegetables release some moisture as this bakes so the finished casserole has plenty of sauce when it’s done. I packed the leftovers for lunch at work and they reheated deliciously.
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Not all filling casseroles have to be laden with cheese and cream. This vegan root vegetable gratin is still just as tasty without all the dairy.
Ingredients
- 2 (~5.5 oz. each) sweet potatoes, peeled
- 1 rutabaga (17 oz.), peeled
- 3 turnips (13 oz.), peeled
- 4 parsnips (10 oz), peeled
- 4 carrots (8 oz.), peeled
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 cups plain, unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- Dash of salt and ground black pepper
For the topping:
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 cup almonds
- Dash of salt and black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Slice all of your root vegetables (potatoes through carrots) as thinly as possible in a mandolin or using a knife. Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes or until translucent and lightly browned. Stir in the oregano, thyme, and garlic, Cook for 1 more minute.
- Add the corn starch and stir until onion mixture is well coated. Pour in the almond milk and stir with a whisk. Bring to a simmer and stir constantly until mixture starts to thicken – about the consistency of alfredo sauce.
- Whisk in the nutritional yeast and turn off the heat.
- Arrange the sliced vegetables in a 9″x11″ baking pan. Pour sauce evenly over the vegetables.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
- Make the gratin topping by putting the almonds in the food processor and blending until they are the consistency of bread crumbs. Add the nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper and pulse a couple more times until mixed.
- Remove gratin from the oven and take off the foil. Sprinkle topping evenly over the vegetables in the baking dish.
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for another 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender when pierced with a knife or fork.
My hubby is going to love this dish! We tried rutabagas and turnips for the first time last year and are big fans now. Those pink turnips really are lovely. Maybe I can sub purple sweet potatoes for the regular sweet potatoes to add a little color since I doubt our turnips will be as gorgeous as yours?
Hi Brie,
I’m sure the purple sweet potatoes would work just as well. I’m excited for you and your husband to try it out!