These Scalloped Potatoes with Crispy Vegan Bacon is a wonderful dish and a wonderful way to easily get some hearty comfort food in your diet. It’s gluten-free and wonderfully rich.
Indulge your taste buds with a delightful twist on a classic comfort dish—scalloped potatoes! In this vegan-friendly recipe, we'll be replacing traditional bacon with a smoky and savoury plant-based alternative, giving you all the flavour without compromising your values. Get ready to savour every creamy, cheesy bite of these Vegan Scalloped Potatoes with Crispy Plant-Based Bacon.
Vegan scalloped potatoes make an excellent side dish at holiday gatherings or a satisfying main course for a cosy dinner. Pair them with a crisp Italian style cucumber salad or these Tofu and Samphire parcels to balance the richness, and enjoy the joyous flavours of a plant-based comfort classic that's bound to please vegans and non-vegans alike.
If you don't want to use processed food you can substitute plant-based bacon with Mushroom Bacon (in this case you won't need to sauté the "bacon" before incorporating it into the bake).
How To Make Vegan Bacon and Potato Dauphinoise
Vegan scalloped potatoes (aka dauphinoise) is a harmonious marriage of creamy indulgence and smoky, savoury goodness. The classic comfort of velvety, thinly sliced potatoes layered in a luscious plant-based cheesy sauce meets the bold and flavourful notes of plant-based bacon. The vegan bacon, whether store-bought or homemade, adds a crispy texture and a rich, smoky taste that perfectly complements the mild sweetness of the potatoes. As the dish bakes, the vegan bacon becomes irresistibly crispy, creating a delightful contrast to the tender potatoes beneath. Each forkful is a symphony of textures and flavours—a satisfying blend of creamy, cheesy, and smoky goodness that will leave both vegans and non-vegans alike reaching for seconds. This reinvention of a classic guarantees a comforting and flavourful dining experience that aligns with ethical choices and doesn't compromise on taste.
First of all, peel and wash the potatoes. This step can be a little dull, but it’s certainly necessary for great potatoes! Then, cut them into thin slices. You can do this by hand if you’re confident in your knife skills, or you can use a mandoline or a food processor. Whatever helps you to get the best, most wonderfully thin slices. A great option is to use a long, thin carving knife. These are designed to push through something rather than saw or pivot, so they can allow for particularly clean cuts.
Next, add a splash of oil to a pan, and heat it until it’s hot. Then, add the vegan bacon, and cook it until it’s crispy - the texture of the bacon is important here, so don’t be afraid to give it another ten or twenty seconds in the pan to crisp up well.
Melt the butter or margarine and add it to a big mixing bowl. Try doing this in the microwave, as the variable power levels mean you can melt the butter without it splattering - simply use a lower power level.
Stir room temperature or slightly warm plant milk into the bowl, but make sure not to use fridge cold plant milk. It will harden the butter, and that will make the entire process more difficult. After the milk, add the parsley, vegan bacon, and seasonings.
Last, of all for the mixing bowl - add in the potato and stir it well with a spatula until all ingredients seem equally distributed. This will result in a wonderfully tasty dish as the potatoes will absorb the flavors better if the flavors are well distributed.
Now, butter an oven dish well, and carefully pour in the potato mixture. It might seem too wet at first, but it will thicken up nicely during the cooking process. The potato starch that’s naturally contained within the mixture will help with the thickening process greatly.
Bake the potatoes in a preheated oven at 180˚C or 355˚F - you’ll need to make them for up to an hour and a quarter, but make sure to keep checking them to see if they’re done. Use a wooden skewer or a fork, and make sure that it pierces all the way through in different points of the tray - we certainly don’t want any raw potatoes in the dish!
If the food isn’t cooked enough, then give it more time. The surface may start to brown a little too much, and we’d recommend covering it with some foil if that starts to happen - it will protect the surface well.
Allow the vegan bacon potato dauphinoise to set for ten to fifteen minutes before portioning and serving it - this will make sure everything stays in place a little better once you serve it up, and it will ensure the potato absorbs flavors a little more.
Whether you're a seasoned plant-based enthusiast or just exploring vegan alternatives, these Scalloped Potatoes with Vegan Bacon offer a delicious and satisfying experience. Share this recipe with friends and family to showcase the versatility and flavor that plant-based cooking can bring to a classic favourite. Get ready to delight your taste buds and redefine comfort food with this mouth-watering dish!
Scalloped Potatoes with Crispy Vegan Bacon Recipe
Ingredients:
1 kg Potato (Maris Piper)
300 g Plant Milk (Oat)
200 g Vegan Cream (unsweetened)
50 g Vegan Cheddar Cheese (finely chopped or grated)
20 g Vegan Butter (or Margarine)
100 g Vegan Bacon (adjust the salt accordingly)
⅓ cup parsley (finely chopped)
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground pepper
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Peel & wash the potatoes, then cut into thin slices (you can use a mandolin, a food processor or doing this by hand if you feel confident).
2. In a hot pan cook the vegan bacon with a splash of oil until crispy.
3. Melt the butter or margarine and add it to big mixing bowl.
4. Stir in room temperature or slightly warm plant milk (do not use it fridge cold as it will harden the butter), vegan cream, vegan cheddar, parsley, seasonings and the vegan bacon previously cooked.
5. Lastly combine the potato and stir well with a spatula until all ingredients seem equally distributed.
6. Butter a 25x35x5 cm oven dish and (carefully) pour the potato mixture. Don’t worry if it seems too wet, it will thicken up nicely during cooking thanks to the potato starch, naturally contained in them.
7. Bake up to 60-75 minutes in a preheated oven at 180°C (355°F). To check if the potatoes are done use a wooden skewer or fork. Make sure it pierces all the way through in different points of the tray. We definitely don’t want raw or hard potatoes! If not cooked enough, give it more time. If the surface is browning too much, cover it with some foil.
8. Allow the vegan bacon potato dauphinoise to set for 10-15 minutes before portioning and serving it.
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