Vegan tater tot casserole is made with mixed veggies and vegan chicken chunks with a delicious cashew gravy poured over and topped with a crispy tater tot crust!
Ready to whip up a scrumptious everyday winner? Let's get started!
This easy, comforting casserole is a favorite of ours, and it looks absolutely beautiful when made in a round cast iron skillet. This is a great recipe that non-vegans enjoy too, because it's so hearty and satisfying.
What you'll need to whip up this Vegan Tater Tot Casserole:
- tater tots (you knew that!!!)
- frozen mixed veggies
- raw cashews
- onion and garlic
- Braggs liquid aminos or soy sauce
- vegan chicken substitute (optional, but I love the Gardein chicken strips in this!)
How to make Vegan Tater Tot Casserole:
Start by sautéing your diced onion and minced garlic with a little olive oil in the bottom of a 12 inch cast iron skillet over low/medium heat until onions are clear (or just sauté in a regular frying pan and transfer to an oven safe dish of comparable size if you don't have the cast iron skillet!) (Photo #1).
Add raw cashews, cornstarch or flour, Braggs, onion and garlic powder, and water to your blender and blend until completely smooth (Photo #2).
Distribute 3 cups of frozen mixed veggies over the sautéed onions and garlic, followed by chopped pieces of vegan chicken substitute (I love the Gardein strips, but this is totally optional).
Pour blended gravy over veggie mixture and top with a tater tot arrangement of your choice! Bake at 425 for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly (Photo #4)!
How to store vegan tater tot casserole:
Transfer leftovers to a covered dish and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Rewarm in the oven for a crispy top, or in the microwave for a softer texture!
Don't want to buy store-bought veggie meat alternatives?
These Tender Vegan Steaks work great chopped up in this dish! Store extras in the freezer and use for a plethora of different dishes! An all-around favorite homemade veggie meat substitute.
Other hearty vegan entrees:
- Vegan Stuffed Acorn Squash - this one makes a great holiday dinner!
- Vegan Cheesy Rice and Cauliflower Casserole
- Vegan Wild Rice Casserole
- Creamy Vegan Stroganoff
- Vegan Chimichangas
- Vegan Manicotti
- Vegan Fried Rice with Scrambled Tofu
And how about some dessert to finish off the meal?
If you’ve tried this Vegan Tater Tot Casserole recipe or any other recipe on my blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I LOVE hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food!!!
Vegan Tater Tot Casserole
Ingredients
Saute:
- ½ cup onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
Blend:
- 2 cups water
- ¾ cup raw cashews
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch or flour
- 2 tablespoon Bragg's liquid Aminos, or soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 pinch rubbed sage
Distribute:
- 3 cups frozen mixed veggies
- 1 ½ cup chopped vegan chicken substitute
Top:
- 3 cups tater tots, heaping - may need more depending on pan size
Special equipment
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
- Start by sautéing your diced onion and minced garlic with olive oil and a pinch of salt in the bottom of a 12 inch cast iron skillet over low/medium heat until onions are clear (or just sauté in a regular frying pan and transfer to an oven safe dish of comparable size if you don't have the cast iron skillet!).
- Add cashews, cornstarch or flour, Braggs, onion and garlic powder, rubbed sage, and water to your blender and blend until completely smooth.
- Distribute 3 cups of frozen mixed veggies over the sautéed onions and garlic, followed by chopped pieces of vegan chicken substitute (I love the Gardein strips, but this is totally optional).
- Pour blended gravy over veggies mixture and top with a tater tot arrangement of your choice! Sprinkle the top with garlic salt for added yumminess!
- Bake at 425 for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly!
Sara
This is a great recipe! I was wondering if I can prep everything ahead (except the tater tots), refrigerate overnight and then proceed with adding the tater tots and cooking per instructions? Haven’t tried it this way and wondered if anyone can advise me.
Kate
Yes, I don't see why not! Let me know how it turns out.
Mallory
Love this recipe and so does the rest of the fam!! Easy and delicious.
Kate
Awesome!! So glad!
Christine
So good! My meat-eating boyfriend loved it!
Kate
So glad to hear!
Rachael
I don't usually give 5 star ratings, but I have to for this one. My very picky toddler couldn't get enough, he actually had seconds!
He has a nut allergy, so I substituted unsalted sunflower seeds for the Cashews. I also added a vegan Chick'n bouillon cube to the gravy to cover up the sunflower taste and that worked real well.
Thanks for the great recipe, this may just have to become a weekly dinner for us now!
Kate
Hi Rachael, I am SO GLAD to hear that!! I have a super picky 3 year old so I KNOW how amazing it is to finally make something he will eat (this is not one of those things lol).
Thanks so much for the tip for substituting sunflower seeds for the cashews!
Greta
Is there anything I can use in place of raw cashews? My son has a tree but allergy.
Kate
Hi Greta!
Rachael above just said she used unsalted sunflower seeds and added a vegan Chick’n bouillon cube to the gravy to cover up the sunflower taste and that worked real well.
Can your son eat sunflower seeds? Otherwise, any vegan Alfredo-type sauce (without tree nuts) would work, you'll need about 2 - 2.5 cups.
Or instead of water+cashews, try using plant based half and half or non-tree-nut vegan milk and blend it with the same ingredients, but maybe increase the cornstarch to 3 Tbsp to thicken it more!
2 cups vegan half and half or milk (not from tree nuts)
3 Tbsp cornstarch or flour
2 Tbsp Bragg's liquid Aminos, or soy sauce
2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 pinch rubbed sage
I've also made Alfredo sauce with potatoes to make it creamy and thick, so you can try blending a half a cooked potato (maybe a whole? start with half lol) with 2 cups of milk instead of cashews!!
Let me know what you end up using and how it works out for you!!
Anonymous
LesleySD
Do you precook the meat substitute or chop and throw it in still frozen?
Kate
If you're using the Gardein chick'n substitute you can just let it thaw a little and chop it up. They cook quickly and don't need extra water or anything to rehydrate, so they will cook just fine while the casserole cooks. If you're using anything else, just make sure it's not anything that needs to be rehydrated with a lot of water or cooked for a long time - in which case it should be precooked!