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This Vegan Loaded Baked Potato Casserole is made with a layer of creamy oven-roasted potatoes, then topped with a cheese mixture and vegan bacon and baked until melted and bubbly. It’s the perfect comfort casserole for weeknights or weekends in. All you need is 6 ingredients, plus vegan sour cream and chives to garnish!
Table of Contents
This Loaded Baked Potato casserole is essentially a combination of our Oven-Roasted Breakfast Potatoes and Vegan Twice Baked Potatoes! And if you love our Potatoes au Gratin, you’re guaranteed to love this dish. It’s the perfect comfort food main or side to serve when you’re craving rich and creamy potatoes!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Potatoes: For the best, classic casserole, we recommend using starchy russet potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes. Avoid waxy potatoes such as red potatoes.
- Oil: A bit of oil is drizzled over the potatoes, peppers, and onions to encourage roasting and browning, and add flavor. We used olive oil, but any neutral cooking oil with a higher smoke point will work.
- Bell pepper: We like the added sweetness of red bell peppers, but any colored pepper can be used.
- Onion: Opt for either yellow onion, white onion, or sweet onion. Red onion can even work if you enjoy a milder onion flavor.
- Vegan cream cheese: Opt for any dairy-free cream cheese of choice. We recommend the brand Kite Hill and have used both their plain and chive cream cheese with great results. If you don’t have access to store-bought cream cheese or prefer to make your own, try our homemade vegan cream cheese recipe!
- Vegan cheddar shreds: Similar to the cream cheese, you can opt for any vegan cheese shreds of choice. Cheddar or sharp cheddar will add the most authentic loaded baked potato flavor.
- Bacon: You’ll need 3 ounces of a meatless bacon, plus more for garnish.Try a store-bought version, or go the homemade route with one of these recipes: Tofu Bacon, Tempeh Bacon, Eggplant Bacon, Rice Paper Bacon, or Shiitake Mushroom Bacon. You can even use leftover bacon from making our Vegan Carbonara recipe!
For Serving
- Vegan sour cream: We typically use store-bought sour cream from brands such as Tofutti, Forager, or Follow Your Heart. If you don’t have access to store-bought options, make a homemade cashew sour cream or nut-free sour cream.
- Chives: Freshly chopped chives add so much fresh flavor that helps to balance the richness in the hearty vegan potato casserole. Green onions and freshly chopped cilantro would also be delicious!
Equipment Needed
How to Make a Loaded Vegan Potato Casserole
- Parboil the potatoes. Rinse and scrub the potatoes, then chop into 1″ cubes. Place the chopped potatoes in a medium-sized pot on the stovetop and cover with about 2″ of water. Bring the potatoes to a boil for 10-15 minutes, but be sure not to overcook. The potatoes should be slightly soft on the outside but still raw on the inside.
- Combine with the onions and peppers. Once the potatoes have been parboiled, drain the water and add them to a large cast iron skillet along with the peppers and onions. Drizzle the potatoes and veggies with olive oil, salt, and black pepper and mix until well coated.
- Roast for 45 minutes. Place the cast iron skillet in the oven and roast the mixture for 45 minutes.
- Prepare the cheese mixture. While the potatoes and peppers cook, combine the cream cheese, cheese shreds, and meatless bacon in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Mix until fully incorporated and set aside until the potato mixture is done.
- Dollop the potato casserole with cheese mixture. After 45 minutes, remove the cast iron from the oven and dollop with the cheese mixture in a thin layer all over the potatoes.
- Bake for a final 15 minutes. Place the skillet back in the oven until the cheese is melted and gooey.
- Serve. Once cooked, remove the vegan potato casserole from the oven and drizzle with dairy-free sour cream, more meatless bacon, and fresh chives. Enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
Just like our Vegan Twice Baked Potatoes, this Loaded Vegan Potato Casserole can be served as a delicious side dish or even a main course. We love to pair it will a protein-rich main and a side of veggies like sautéed green beans to round out the meal.
If you’re looking for a few main courses that pair well, we recommend the following recipes:
Main Courses to Try
Gluten Free
The Best Portobello Mushroom Steaks
Appetizers and Sides
Grilled BBQ Tofu (Stovetop Option!)
30 Minute Meals
5-Ingredient Vegan Chili
Recipe FAQs
No need! The potato skin adds additional flavor, nutrition, and texture to the potato casserole. With that being said, if you prefer a very lush and creamy texture, you can peel the potatoes before parboiling.
We wouldn’t recommend it. The cheese mixture will become grainy and separate upon thawing and won’t be as smooth and creamy as when baked fresh.
We haven’t tested it, but it would likely work well! We would recommend parboiling them and cooking as instructed (roast sweet potatoes cook very similarly to russet potatoes). Please leave a comment down below if you decide to give it a try!
Storage Instructions
Leftover vegan potato casserole will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
To reheat, place a single serving of casserole in a microwave-safe bowl and heat through in 30 second intervals until warmed through. Alternatively, place the leftovers in an oven-safe casserole dish, cover with foil, and bake in an oven preheated to 350F for 10-15 minutes.
More Vegan Casserole Recipes You May Enjoy:
Make sure you tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you make this recipe. We love to see your photos!
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Vegan Loaded Baked Potato Casserole Recipe
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings
Description
This Vegan Loaded Baked Potato Casserole is made with a layer of creamy oven-roasted potatoes then topped with a cheese mixture and vegan bacon and baked until melted and bubbly. It’s the perfect comfort casserole for weeknights or weekends in. All you need is 6 ingredients, plus vegan sour cream and chives to garnish!
Ingredients
- 3 pounds russet potatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 6.5 ounces dairy-free cream cheese
- 7 ounces dairy-free cheddar shreds
- 3 ounces meatless bacon, cooked and diced, plus more for garnish
- 4 tablespoons dairy-free sour cream
- Chives, for garnish
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven. Set your oven temperature to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Parboil the potatoes. Rinse and scrub the potatoes, then chop into 1″ cubes. Place the chopped potatoes in a medium-sized pot on the stovetop and cover with about 2″ of water. Bring the potatoes to a boil for 10-15 minutes, but be sure not to overcook. The potatoes should be slightly soft on the outside but still raw on the inside.
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Combine with the onions and peppers. Once the potatoes have been parboiled, drain the water and add them to a large cast iron skillet along with the peppers and onions. Drizzle the potatoes and veggies with olive oil, salt, and black pepper and mix until well coated.
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Roast for 45 minutes. Place the cast iron skillet in the oven and roast the mixture for 45 minutes.
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Prepare the cheese mixture. While the potatoes and peppers cook, combine the cream cheese, cheese shreds, and meatless bacon in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Mix until fully incorporated and set aside until the potato mixture is done.
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Dollop the potato casserole with cheese mixture. After 45 minutes, remove the cast iron from the oven and dollop the cheese mixture in a thin layer all over the potatoes.
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Bake for a final 15 minutes. Place the skillet back in the oven until the cheese is melted and gooey.
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Serve. Once cooked, remove the vegan potato casserole from the oven and drizzle with dairy-free sour cream, more meatless bacon, and fresh chives. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
Just made this tonight and loved it! Savoury and so simple and quick to put together! The only thing I had little trouble with was to mix & then spread the cheese mixture as it was quite thick but it could be bc of the brand of vegan cream cheese I bought. Otherwise very nice thanks for sharing this recipe! 🙂
What temperature should you be roasting the potatoes at? Thanks!
Sorry about that, it’s 425 degrees! I just updated the recipe.
Looks tasty