Vegan French Fry Casserole

5 from 7 votes

Vegan French Fry Casserole

Food doesn't get any more fun than this vegan French Fry Casserole. A creamy, healthy filling of veggies and meatless "beef" is topped with two layers of French fries.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1 15

Total Time1 25

Course: Main/Casserole

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 382kcal

Author: Vaishali · Holy Cow Vegan

Equipment

Cast iron skillet or baking dish

Ingredients

1 teaspoon avocado oil or any neutral oil
1 medium onion (finely chopped)
4 cloves garlic (thinly sliced or minced)
2 stalks celery (finely diced)
1 medium carrot (finely diced)
1 sweet potato (finely diced)
1 large bell pepper (any color. I used green, finely diced)
16 oz meatless "beef" (I used Beyond, you can use any brand or use vegan sausage. Try and stick with Italian sausage or original flavor as strongly flavored sausage, like chipotle, won't work well here)
2 teaspoons rosemary (or sage, Start with 1 tsp, taste, and add more if you want. If using fresh herbs use 1 to 2 tablespoon instead.)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ cup flour (I used gluten-free all purpose flour. Regular all purpose flour works just as well)
2 cups oat milk (or any nondairy milk, unsweetened)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
20 oz shoestring French fries (frozen, not thawed)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Heat the oil in a 12-inch cast iron skillet. Add the garlic and onions, celery and carrots. Season with salt and ground black pepper, and cook over medium heat until soft but not brown.
Add the sweet potatoes and stir in. Cover and let the sweet potatoes cook about 3-5 minutes until almost tender. Stir in the bell peppers, rosemary (or sage) and cumin and saute another couple minutes.
Add the "beef" to the skillet, breaking it up as you add it. Saute for a couple of minutes until it begins to brown.
Add the flour to the skillet and mix well until the flour is absorbed by the veggies. Add the oat milk and stir it in. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. Check seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed.
If you are not using an oven-safe skillet, at this point transfer the creamy sauce and veggies to a baking dish. Otherwise proceed with next step.
Layer the frozen French fries over the creamy sauce. I put one layer down first and then another on top of that. The bottom layer soaks in the sauce and the top layer becomes crispy and golden-brown, offering a nice texture contrast.
Place the skillet in the oven and bake 1 hour. Remove the skillet from the oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

You can use other veggies, including zucchini, mushrooms, potatoes and even greens like chard of spinach in this recipe.
Add a bit of hot sauce to the recipe for more heat. About 1 teaspoon should be great.
If you'd rather not use vegan meat or sausage, replace with tofu or tempeh. Cut into small cubes. To add more flavor, toss the tofu or tempeh in a teaspoon of vegetable bouillon seasoning.
Rosemary and sage add perfect smoky flavor in this recipe. You can replace them with another savory herb like oregano or thyme.
It's best and easiest to use storebought French fries in this recipe, but you can make your own. If you do, you will need to pre-bake them partially -- until about 75 percent done -- before you layer them in the casserole. Be sure to season them with salt and pepper before baking.

Nutrition