This Vegan Vegetable Casserole makes an excellent Christmas table main dish. We have made it our Holiday Dinner's centerpiece, and it is now considered a staple of our feast.
This healthy veggie casserole is full of flavor; it has the looks and makes a great holiday dish as well.
This vegan veggie bake features soft sweet potatoes and eggplants, both of which have significant health benefits.
Ingredients for the Vegan Vegetable Casserole
How to Make a Vegan Vegetable Casserole
This baked veggie casserole recipe has three parts. The layers, the feeling, and a vegan bechamel sauce as a binder to make it creamier.
Slice your Sweet Potatoes and Eggplants
Vegetable Casserole Filling
You need to chop and sauté the filling ingredients for this vegan vegetable bake and then add the hydrated lentils. Let it cook.
How to Make the Vegan Bechamel Sauce
When making a plant-based casserole, I like it to be super creamy. So we add this super simple plant-based bechamel sauce to the next level to achieve it. Make sure you make it just right before you use it, so it's at its best.
Vegan Vegetable Casserole Pairing
It is in the Wine Culture where you will genuinely find quality wines and support sustainability. For this reason, in this blog, when we recommend wines, we do not want you to go to a supermarket shelf to buy wines for the usual varietals resulting from monoculture. Instead, we recommend wines taking you to the places where they come from. Thus, we advocate for living wines, with Culture, with Terroir.
Casseroles are baked dishes that I associate with comforting and tasty food, and they are also dishes that I share at a large table, in the company of beloved people who are often dressed for a party. This dish asks me to choose a wine because there is joy, love, and flavor.
The flavors of harmony
This casserole has a protagonist of flavor and several complementary actors that stand out. Our protagonist is fennel, a delicious vegetable that I invite you to incorporate into your diet; you will find joys only for the spicy aromas and flavors that it gives, among which the anise stands out, or more specifically, the licorice. Our featured complementary actors are the cinnamon you use in the filling and the nutmeg and white pepper you use in the béchamel.
The appearance of the Umami flavor
Also, as it is a baked dish, wonderful caramelization causes the Maillard reaction to appear in the saucepan, especially its gratin surface. Consequently, the casserole tastes like umami; it is tasty and creamy, so the wine I choose has to be delicious and creamy as well.
Let's get into the Wine Pairing
When choosing wines, if you live in a producing area, always choose local, find out about your producers, the history of your location, and the winemaking practices, and explore all the styles available in your area.
If you do not live in a producing area (or close to one of them), support the specialized stores near you, just as you would support your local farmers' market. Talk to the specialists, ask them about their wine's selection, the wine's origins, their production practices, and the reasons that led to their inclusion in their selection.
With wine, as with any food on our table, it is always good to think about the path it went through before reaching us. It is also essential considering the kilometers and the means of transportation used. Be aware of the carbon footprint of the food and wine you consume, and you will make your small contribution to sustainability.
I recommend a Napa Valley Merlot first. With this casserole, I feel like I'm celebrating, and I deserve an exceptional wine. The Merlot grape develops notes of licorice very well in its aging in wood, and the style of the Napa Merlot is also unctuous and mellow.
Another option that I recommend is a Tinto Crianza de Rioja. This Spanish wine is traditionally made with Tempranillo and Garnacha, and to a lesser extent, with Graciano and Mazuelo. It undergoes minimum aging of 24 months, of which at least six months must be in the barrel and up to 18 months in the bottle before being marketed. Therefore, this wine always tastes ripe fruit and licorice, and if it spends more than the minimum time in the barrel, it can also have a coconut aftertaste. That is why I recommend choosing a Crianza and not a Reserva because more time in the wood highlights the coconut aroma too much, which does not interest me too much for this pairing.
Do you know what a Premier Cru is?
The last wine I recommend is a Burgundy Pinot Noir, classified as Premier Cru.
What does this classification mean? Burgundy wines are classified according to the valuation of their vineyard of origin.
If the vineyard is not classified and belongs to the protected geographical area of Burgundy, it can be sold simply as Bourgogne; if the vineyard belongs to a municipality with specific protection within Burgundy, it can be sold as a Village, preceded by the name of the municipality. From here come the two specific classifications for vineyards. The first is Premier Cru, and the second and the most prestigious is Grand Cru. Therefore, the label of these wines will have the nickname Premier Cru, or Grand Cru, accompanied by the vineyard's name.
These wines are famous and in high demand, but I always find excellent wines among their less fashionable protected appeals and reasonably priced! Look for a Pommard Premier Cru or even a Pommard Village. Pommard is a Village that produces only Pinot Noir. It has several Premier Cru vineyards. A reclassification to Grand Cru is claimed for some of them, thus being a great bet to find that Pinot Noir aged in a barrel that shines with aniseed aroma reminiscent of licorice.
Wine Pairing Summary
- United States (California) - Red with barrel - Merlot (Napa Valley)
- Spain - Red wine aged in barrel - Rioja (Tempranillo, Garnacha, and others)
- France - Red aged in barrel - Burgundy (Pommard Village or Pommard Premier Cru)
Why adding Nutritional Yeast to your diet is a good idea?
According to WebMed, nutritional yeast is rich in nutrients often lacking from vegetarian and vegan diets. It’s also free of gluten, soy, and sugar, making it an excellent dietary addition for people with food sensitivities. However, research shows that its nutritional content can benefit any diet.
Check our 5-mins Vegan Parmesan "Cheese" Recipe and Vegan Bechamel Sauce Recipe
5 Sweet Potatoes Health Benefits you didn't know
- They are Highly Nutritious as they are a great source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
- May Support Your Immune System.
- Promote Gut Health. The fiber and antioxidants in sweet potatoes beneficial to gut health.
- Support Healthy Vision.
- May Enhance Brain Function.
Some Eggplant Health Benefits
The benefits of eating eggplant include:
- Improved bone health: the compounds that make up for the purple color in eggplants have been linked to reduced osteoporosis, stronger bones, and increased bone density.
- Prevents anemia: it is imperative to pay special attention to iron intake. Not getting enough iron in your diet can be very dangerous to your health. Also, as vegans, we need to ensure we get the right amount of iron as it is more commonly found in animal products.
- Helps with digestion: eggplants are high in fiber, meaning that eating eggplant is a great way to improve gastrointestinal health.
Our suggested Vegan Christmas Menu Post
- Onions Stuffed with Porcini Mushrooms and Christmas Stuffing
- Homemade Festive Spiced Cranberry Sauce
- White Truffled Mashed Potatoes
- Christmas Rosemary Bread Buns
- Green Beans with Citrusy Flaked Toasted Almonds
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #ourplantbasedworld on Instagram. Cheers!
Vegan Vegetable Casserole
Ingredients
Layers
Lentil stew
- 8 ounces lentils
- 5 ounces spring onions chopped
- 3 ounces celery chopped
- 3 ounces fennel chopped
- 2.5 ounces leek chopped
- 3 garlic cloves chopped
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 teaspoons oregano dried
- 1 sprig rosemary chopped
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon ground
- 2 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- 1 teaspoon sea salt adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper adjust to taste
Vegan Bechamel Sauce
- 8 tablespoons chickpea flour or any other flour
- 4 cups almond milk unsweetened, I prefer almond or soy, as tend to be creamier
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg ground
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter or margarine
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt adjust to taste
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper black pepper also work
Optional to serve:
- vegan parmesan to grill check out the recipe
- Green Beans with Toasted Almonds check out the recipe
Instructions
- Soak the lentils for 15 minutes in warm water.
- Preheat the oven to 400º F (200ºC).
- Lay the eggplant and sweet potato slices on an oiled pan.
- Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Make the lentil stew by heating the oil in a saucepan.
- Add the chopped onion, leek, celery, fennel, garlic. Sautee for 5 minutes and add the lentils and 30 fl oz of water.
- Add the tomato puree, nutritional yeast, and spices.
- Stir until the lentils are soft, but don’t let them lose their shape. It should take about 15 minutes. The stew should be on the drier side but still creamy.
- Line up your eggplant and sweet potatoes and along with your lentils.
- Oil a pan where you are going to assemble the casserole.
- Start making the vegan bechamel by melting the vegan butter on a saucepan and adding the flour.
- When it starts to brown, cook it for 1 minute more and add the vegetable milk.
- Stir with a whisk until it starts to get creamy. Add the nutmeg, salt, and pepper. This sauce gets sticky very quickly, so; you should make it just when everything is ready to assemble. It all should take no more than 20 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF (175ºC).
- Start assembling the dish by arranging the eggplant and sweet potato slices in the bottom of a medium baking pan.
- Continue by laying a layer of lentil stew, followed by a layer of bechamel sauce.
- Add another layer of sweet potatoes, then eggplants, lentils, and finish with bechamel sauce.
- Optionally top with grated vegan parmesan or regular one for a vegetarian version.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes. Test to see if the sweet potatoes are tender by inserting a sharp knife down through the center. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 30 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
- United States (California) - Red with barrel - Merlot (Napa Valley)
- Spain - Red wine aged in barrel - Rioja (Tempranillo, Garnacha, and others)
- France - Red aged in barrel - Burgundy (Pommard Village or Pommard Premier Cru)
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Please note that some of the links here are affiliate links and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links. I use all of the products listed and recommend them because they are companies that I have found helpful and trustworthy.
Sounds lovely and delicious
In fact is super delish! Perfect for a day on healthy indulgence!
thank you! Hope you are inspired to make it!
Sure will give it a try