High Protein Sweet Potato Gratin

I’m sure you’ve had potato gratin, but have you ever had sweet potato gratin? This was my first time making it and I’m a huge fan! I feel like it’s a little more flavorful than your typical potato gratin, because it’s a good mix of salty and sweet! It also packs in a lot of veggies too!

This sweet potato gratin is actually pretty high in protein, because we are using silken tofu and nutritional yeast in the sauce. If you haven’t tried using silken tofu in your creamy sauces to add extra protein, you’re missing out! It’s an absolute game changer!

If you are looking for some more high protein holiday dishes, be sure to check out my High Protein Scalloped Potatoes and High Protein Green Bean Casserole recipes!

Ingredients

• Extra Firm Silken Tofu – make sure to use silken tofu for this recipe or it will not turn out right. Regular (firm/extra firm) tofu has a much different texture and taste. You can find silken tofu at most grocery stores and also buy a shelf-stable option online. My go-to is Mori-Nu Extra Firm Silken Tofu. You can use any silken tofu for this recipe.
• Soy milk – my plant-based milk preference is soy milk because of it’s macros, but you can use your favorite!
• Onion, Garlic – these veggies add a ton of flavor to the sauce.

• Mushrooms – I used baby bella mushrooms, but any mild flavored mushrooms will work. Did you know that mushrooms are around 40% protein on a calorie basis?
• Baby spinach – I prefer to use fresh baby spinach, but frozen spinach will work too (just make sure to get the excess water out).

• Nutritional yeast – this is a shelf-stable ingredient that’s often used in vegan cooking to add a savory and cheesy flavor. You can find this at most grocery stores and also buy it online. Nutritional Yeast is also pretty high in protein!
• Salt, onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice.

• Sweet potatoes – I used about 3 medium ones, and thinly sliced them with a mandolin. If you’re going that route, be careful!
• Vegan Cheddar Shreds – I like to use Violife for shredded cheese, but you can use your favorite brand!

Directions

• Pre-heat the oven to 375 F (190 C).
• In a medium-heat skillet, saute onions until translucent. This should take around 3-5 minutes. Stir regularly to avoid burning/sticking.
• Add garlic and saute for another 3 – 5 minutes, stirring regularly to avoid burning.

• Clean and slice mushrooms.
• In a medium-heat skillet, saute the mushrooms and spinach – you want to get most of the moisture out of it otherwise it will be very liquid and soupy.

• Peel and thinly slice the sweet potatoes. I used a mandolin – be very careful if you do this. It’s important to make sure that the slices are a similar width, so that everything cooks evenly. I shoot for 1/8″ thick slices.

• In a blender, blend the cooked onion/garlic, milk, nutritional yeast, silken tofu, and all the spices until smooth and creamy.
• In a casserole dish, spread a thin layer of the sauce.
• Then layer as follows:
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Sauce

• Mushroom/spinach

• Cheese

• Sweet Potatoes

• Sauce
• Mushroom/spinach
• Cheese
• Sweet Potatoes
• Sauce
• Mushroom/spinach
• Cheese
• Sweet Potatoes
• Sauce
• Cover with aluminum foil and cook for 45minutes.
• Take out, add remaining shredded cheese on top and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes. This will keep the cheese from drying out.

• You will know this dish is done when sweet potatoes are fork-tender.

Silly Little Haiku

Is this a gratin?

Or just scalloped potatoes?

I never know which