It’s easy to forget just how amazing and flavorful food can be without dairy. But the French have known it all along. This scalloped potatoes boulangère recipe is a dairy-free take on a classic dish that’s bubbled with broth instead of butter and cheese. The potatoes become soft and melty on the inside, but crisp up on top for a delicious potato chip-like contrast. It’s irresistible and offers the characteristics of a gratin, without buttery breadcrumbs or cheese!
To amp up the nutrition and flavor, this dairy-free Scalloped Potatoes Boulangère recipe contains fresh onion, garlic, and tomatoes. I love making it in September and October. It capitalizes on the late summer tomato bounty, but is hearty and comforting on cool autumn days.
As an added bonus, it meets most special diet needs since it is grain-free, top allergen-free, and easily made vegan. I find it rich enough to enjoy as the centerpiece of a vegetarian meal, but you can also serve it as a side dish at dinner or even on Thanksgiving.
Special Diet Notes: Scalloped Potatoes Boulangère
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, peanut-free, optionally soy-free, optionally vegan, plant-based, and vegetarian.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound ripe tomatoes, cored, peeled, seeded and chopped (see below) OR 1 (14.5-ounce) can drained diced tomatoes
- ½ to 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
- ½ teaspoon honey or agave nectar
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1½ pounds Russet potatoes, sliced ⅛- to ¼-inch thick (optionally peeled)
- ¾ cup chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon dairy-free buttery spread (can sub more olive oil, if preferred)
- 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
- Preheat your oven to 425°F and grease the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan or casserole dish.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the garlic, and saute for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, salt, sweetener, and pepper, and allow it to cook and thicken for 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
- Put ⅔ of the potato slices in a large bowl. Add the tomato sauce and gently toss to combine.
- Transfer the potato-tomato mixture to your prepared baking dish and even it out. Pour the broth on to cover.
- Put the remaining potato slices in a medium bowl and add the buttery spread and parsley. Gently toss until evenly coated.
- Arrange the "buttered" potato slices atop the potato-tomato mixture in your baking dish (in an overlapping pattern), until the entire dish is covered with an even potato layer. Sprinkle with the thyme.
- Place the dish in the center of your oven and bake for 75 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender all the way through, most of the liquid has been absorbed, and the top is golden. If the potatoes on top begin to crisp up too fast, turn them over to cook the other sides or tent the dish with foil, and finish baking.
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