Vegan Breakfast Casserole

5 from 114 votes

This vegan breakfast casserole is so filling and comforting with crunchy golden potatoes and chewy vegan sausage in a cheesy cashew sauce.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Breakfast/Brunch

Cuisine: Vegan

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 325kcal

10-inch cast iron skillet or oven-safe skillet (If not using an oven-safe or cast iron skillet, you will need a regular skillet and a baking dish.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C
Make the cheesy sauce by combining all ingredients and blending into a really smooth paste. Set aside.
Place the diced potatoes in a saucepan, cover with water by an inch, then bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to a simmer, and cook the potatoes 10 minutes or until very tender. Drain out the water and reserve the potatoes.
In a large skillet, heat the oil. Add the onions, garlic, parsley and rosemary (or sage) 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.
Add the sausage, red pepper flakes and potatoes and continue to cook, about five minutes. Check seasoning and add more pepper and salt if needed.
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.
Transfer the skillet or baking dish to the preheated 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. Garnish with more parsley if you wish, and serve hot or at room temperature.

I've made this recipe with different varieties of potatoes, and they all work, but russets are my favorite because they thicken the sauce nicely and make it even creamier.
You can add more vegetables to this casserole, including zucchini, mushrooms, sweet potatoes or carrots or even spinach. Zucchini, mushrooms, carrots and spinach can be added to the skillet directly, but cook the sweet potatoes before adding them, as you would the potatoes.
To replace the cashews with a nut-free option, use 1.5 cups of any nut-free nondairy milk and add 2 tablespoon cornstarch to the blender.
You can use any vegan sausage you like, but Italian sausage is preferred. Avoid using a sausage with a very strong flavor, like chipotle sausage, as it will overwhelm the other flavors.
You can also use cubed, seasoned tofu or tempeh instead of the sausage.
Use no-salt seasoning in the sausage-potato mixture to reduce your salt intake and add flavor.
You can put the casserole together a day or two earlier and bake the morning you plan to serve.