Thanksgiving Special, Part 1 of 2 – Cheesy Vegan Cauliflower Casserole

Today we are delighted to share with you a traditional Thanksgiving casserole baked with vegan cheese and cauliflower. Let’s start with the ingredients for this dish. We will need one head of cauliflower. For the Crispy Topping, we need one cup of vegan Panko breadcrumbs and two tablespoons of softened vegan butter.

While the raw cashews are left to soak and soften, let’s prepare the cauliflower. Once the water begins to boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and place the washed cauliflower florets evenly in the steamer basket. Now the timer on the stove is up, so the cauliflower florets are ready.

Our next step is to prepare the Vegan Cheese Sauce for our casserole. We will place all these ingredients in a high-speed blender the soaked raw cashews, one cup of vegan broth, two cups of soymilk, a quarter cup of lemon juice, a quarter cup of nutritional yeast, a quarter cup of tapioca flour, two tablespoons of yellow mustard, and one and a quarter teaspoon of salt. Cover the lid. Blend for one to two minutes till the cashews turn into a smooth paste. Then pour the blended Vegan Cheese Sauce into a pot and cook over medium heat. Cook for four to five minutes till the mixture thickens and becomes slightly stretchy.

We are now ready to assemble our casserole dish. Spoon half of the Vegan Cheese Sauce into the oiled casserole dish to cover the bottom of the dish, layer the steamed cauliflower florets on it, and then spoon the remaining Vegan Cheese Sauce and spread it evenly to cover the layer of cauliflower florets. Top with an even layer of the buttered Panko breadcrumbs we prepared earlier. Cover the dish with foil, and pierce tiny holes on the foil with a skewer to allow steam to escape when baking.

The oven has been preheated to 200ºC (400ºF). Place the casserole dish in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the vegan cheese sauce is hot and bubbling. Then remove the foil and continue baking for another 10 minutes or until the Panko breadcrumbs on the top turn light golden brown.

This is a very versatile recipe as it gives you the opportunity to be creative and add other ingredients to suit your preference.