Fluffy Loaded Baked Potato Casserole (Vegan)

If you love the idea of mashed potatoes but wished they felt like more of a meal, or a hearty side-dish, you need to try this loaded baked potato casserole! It’s fluffy, cozy and packed with savoury garlic flavour in every bite.

I’ve made a lot of potato dishes over the years, but this one caught me off guard. What started as a way to use up leftover potatoes and come up with a quick fix for Sunday dinner turned into an easy everyday weeknight staple that is now firmly set in my winter dinner rotation alongside these vegan tofu pot pie hand pies (that use puff pastry)! It’s the epitome of the kind of dish you bring to a potluck and leave with zero crumbs.

I’ve made it more times than I can count in my eight years being vegan, and each time seems to get even better than the last. Take your time to find your favourite plant-based bacon, cheese and toppings to switch things up from time-to-time and you’ve got yourself a new favourite dish! Don’t forget to level it up with our easy garlic chilli oil recipe for some zest!

Lessons I’ve learned so you don’t have to

What surprised me the most while testing was how often I was overdoing it. Too thick, too dry the next day, too salty. I’ve tried it all. Getting the right balance of flavours and texture took a few tries but these are the things I think made the difference.

• letting the potatoes sit and cool ever so slightly before mixing in the rest of the ingredients helps to keep the texture light and airy. Not all mashed to gather into one big goo.
• Loading the ingredients into the potato mixture, not simply topping the casserole makes all the difference! Every bite is packed with flavour, and the ingredients don’t get dried out.
• bake or broil quickly without the cover for a few minutes before serving gives the perfect golden topping with gooey melted cheese. don’t skip this step!

Recreating iconic loaded potato flavour (without the diary)!

A common challenge and complaint I hear is that recreating typical dairy-heavy dishes are difficult to get perfect without compromising taste or texture… or both! I tried it lots of different ways but what I found was that treating it more like a dip than a casserole is what brings it all together in terms of keeping the flavour just right.

• Add extra tang and umami flavours with the help of a squeeze of lemon and a good dose of nutritional yeast (I put it on everything I can)!
• a good pinch of smoked paprika and onion goes a long way in building that depth of flavour (especially if your vegan bacon doesn’t have quite as much zing as the real deal).
• salt!!! don’t under salt, it happens more often than you think!

The leftover instructions you didn’t know you needed

I know casseroles are usually enjoyed best the first night, and are commonly just quickly reheated in the microwave for convenience purposes. I mean hey, we all love a good leftover meal! But with this dish in particular, I found that the flavours actually deepen overnight – a lot like some of the more flavourful pasta casseroles or my favourite hamburger pot pie casserole.

Try reheating this dish in a skillet for best results! If you can lightly butter a pan and get a slight crisp on the bottom, I would go out on a limb and say it may even be better the very next day! Keeping it in the freezer for up to two weeks and reheating in the oven is your next best option!

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