Cheesy Vegan Breakfast Potato Casserole

This Cheesy Vegan Breakfast Potato Casserole studded with crunchy golden spuds and chewy vegan sausage, all in a creamy, cheesy cashew sauce, delivers plenty of flavor and nutrition to get your weekend off to a great start. You can make this recipe ahead of time and pop it into the oven 30 minutes before serving. 

A savory breakfast like this Cheesy Vegan Breakfast Potato Casserole gets me out of bed and raring to go even on a Saturday morning. Which gives you an idea of just how delicious it is, because I’m the gal that hits the snooze button five times before I can open an eyelid.

There’s so much deliciousness in this dish even if you’re not a savory breakfast person, even if you’re not a potato person, and even if you can resist golden, crunchy food (What? Honestly? You exist?). You will still find something to love here. Perhaps it will be the delicious chunks of sausage flavored lightly with herbs and garlic. Or the creamy, cheesy cashew sauce with turmeric, so good that you’ll probably start eating it out of the blender.

I like making weekend breakfasts that are really nutritious, because mornings can sometimes get a little crazy, which means lunch can be rather late. A healthy, solid breakfast like this will sustain you for hours, and take away any need for snacking.

My favorite part about this breakfast is the ease of making it. Prep work is minimal, chop an onion, a couple of cloves of garlic, and crumble or slice some vegan sausage. Oh, and you do have to press the button on a blender.

I love getting the potato-sausage mixture and the cheesy sauce ready ahead of time– usually the night before– so I can just bung the casserole into the oven in the morning. The delicious smell wafts across the house, waking any last remaining sleepyheads and bringing them, magnet-like, into the kitchen.

Happy Saturday!

5 from 1 vote

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Cheesy Vegan Breakfast Potato Casserole

This Cheesy Vegan Breakfast Potato Casserole studded with crunchy golden spuds and chewy vegan sausage, all in a creamy, cheesy cashew sauce, delivers plenty of flavor and nutrition to get your weekend off to a great start. You can make this recipe ahead of time and pop it into the oven 30 minutes before serving. 

Course Breakfast/Brunch

Cuisine Vegan

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 8 servings

Author Vaishali

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp olive oil or any vegetable oil
• 3 medium red or yellow potatoes, cut in a 1-cm dice
• 4 links vegan Italian sausage (approx 14 oz), crumbled or sliced thinly
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• Salt to taste

For the cheesy sauce:

• 3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 30 minutes in 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp dry sage
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Make the cheesy sauce by combining all ingredients and blending into a really smooth paste. Set aside.

2. Place the diced potatoes in a microwave-safe dish and add 1 tbsp water. Cover and nuke on high for five minutes or until potatoes are tender.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

4. In a large skillet, heat the oil. You can do this in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or any skillet that can go from the stove to the oven, to reduce cleanup.

5. Add the onions, garlic and parsley to the oil. Season with salt and ground black pepper and saute, stirring, for five minutes over medium heat or until the onions are soft. 

6. Add the sausage and potatoes and continue to cook, about five minutes. Check seasoning and add more pepper and salt if needed.

7. If you are using a cast iron or a stove-to-oven skillet, arrange the potato mixture in an even layer and pour the cheesy sauce over it evenly. If using a baking dish, like I did, transfer the potato sausage mixture to the baking dish and pour the cheesy sauce on top.

8. Transfer the skillet or baking dish to the oven and bake 30 minutes or until the top starts to lightly brown. Switch to the broil function on your oven and broil for another five minutes on the highest setting, or until gold-brown spots appear on the potatoes and cheesy sauce.

9. Remove from the oven, garnish with more parsley if you wish, and serve hot or at room temperature.

Recipe Notes

You can make the cheesy sauce and the potato-sausage mixture the previous night. Mix them in the baking dish in the morning and proceed to bake.

More Savory Vegan Breakfast Recipes:

Savory Herb French Toast

Vegan Zucchini Breakfast Strata

Scrambled Chickpea “Eggs”