Vegan + Gluten Free Breakfast Casserole Recipe (Top 9 Free)

Table of Contents

As I write this, Veganuary has started, and I thought, why not kick it off with a delicious savory breakfast casserole that’s not only gluten free, but a top 9 allergy free breakfast casserole? So that’s what we’ll be making today. In addition to being super allergy friendly, this is also an easy vegan breakfast casserole you can enjoy with people who have a range of dietary restrictions.

For those who love to meal prep like I do, you can also make this in advance the night before you need it, then have an awesome breakfast ready to go the next morning.

Key Ingredients & Flavor Profile

I don’t want to chat too much before we cook, but I’m so excited for this vegan breakfast casserole recipe because it’s loaded with veg, but it’s also chickpea based. There aren’t a tonne of these types of vegan casseroles floating around, especially featuring basic ingredients, so it just makes my heart sing to be able to share with you.

Watch the Episode

Watch me make this easy eggless breakfast casserole on Dang! That’s Delicious. You can watch more episodes on my Youtube Channel.

Tools to Make Your Vegan Gluten Free Breakfast Casserole

You will need some specific tools today to make this happen. Here’s what I used:

Box Grater (to shred your carrots)
Pot (for boiling your chickpeas)
Potato Masher (for smashing said chickpeas)
Large Skillet/Pan
Baking Dish/Casserole Dish (can be a ceramic dish or glass dish)

Part 1 Ingredients for Your Delicious Breakfast

700g Organic Chickpeas aka Garbanzo Beans (3 glass Jovial jars, drained)
800mL Water
2 tsp Pink Salt

Part 1 Directions

Start by draining your jars of chickpeas. I use the Jovial organic chickpeas because I also use the aquafaba. In fact, for this particular recipe, I used the aquafaba to make these awesome pancakes, along with gluten free + vegan + top 9 allergy free lady fingers. The chickpeas were stored in the freezer until I used them for this easy vegan breakfast bake.

With your chickpeas drained (I really hoped you saved the aquafaba), put them in a pot large enough to hold them, and cover with water. I used 800mL of water, but you can use the amount that covers the chickpeas. I just have that number there for your reference.

Boil your chickpeas for 20 minutes or longer. The goal is to help them soften up a bit. Once they’re done, drain them, then return them to your pot. Use a potato masher to mash/smash your chickpeas. You aren’t trying to make a smooth mash or anything of that nature, you’re only breaking down the chickpeas and they should resemble a super dry egg yolk that’s been smashed up.

Part 2 Ingredients for Your Delicious Breakfast

60g Dairy Free Butter (2 ounces, you can use other cooking fats as well)
400g Organic Shredded Carrot (3 large carrots)
210g Organic Diced Onion
1 tsp Sea Salt

Part 3 Ingredients for Your Delicious Breakfast

120g Organic Chopped Organic Spinach
50g Organic Maple Sugar
3 tsp Organic Smoked Paprika
1 tsp Organic Ground Mustard
1.5 tsp Organic Sage
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 tsp Organic White Pepper
5 drops Liquid Smoke

Part 4 Ingredients for Your Delicious Breakfast

470mL Milk of Choice
Drained Chickpeas (from step 1)

Part 5 Ingredients for Your Delicious Breakfast

100mL Milk of Choice
16g Arrowroot

About Your Milk of Choice

Any non-dairy milk will work in this recipe (almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, flax milk, oat milk, etc.). I used a homemade oat milk, made using organic Purity Protocol oats.

Brands I Use

The chickpeas are Jovial Foods. You can use any of the brands available for chickpeas, but I use Jovial because their aquafaba is superior to other brands.

All of my seasonings and spices are from Spicely Organic, they have a top 8 free facility and the products are corn free.

My liquid smoke is from Lazy Kettle Brand.

Directions for Parts 2 – 5

For this recipe, I opted to prep my produce the day before filming just to make that day easier. It takes about 10 minutes to chop and shred everything. You can do it a tay or two in advance, or the morning you’d like to make this recipe.

Start by preheating your oven to 350f/175c. Heat your large pan/skillet on medium heat, add your cooking fat, and allow it to melt/heat up. Once it’s mostly ready to do, add your diced onion, shredded carrots, and 1 teaspoon of sea salt. Cook for 10 minutes and stir as needed to prevent burning/sticking.

Next, add all of the Part 3 Ingredients to the pan (spinach thru liquid smoke). Mix everything together very well and continue to cook for 10 minutes. When the 10 minutes are up, turn the heat off.

Now, it’s time to smash and thicken. Whilst the vegetables continue to cook in the background, smash your chickpeas that were drained and returned to their pot. Once they’re smashed, add the 470mL of milk, and mix well. Heat this mixture on medium heat until the milk is hot.

As that heats, combine the Part 5 Ingredients together in a measuring cup. Use a fork to mix well to ensure the arrowroot has dissolved completely. When the bean/milk mix is hot, pour in your slurry and whisk like mad. You should feel resistance start to form and the contents of your pot should thicken beautifully. Turn the heat off and it’s time to assemble. This is also a good time to preheat your oven to 350f/175c.

Assembly & Baking Your Delicious Breakfast

With your bean and milk mix thick, and your vegetables well cooked, pour the whole thing into your vegetable pan. Gently mix (you don’t want it to spill out). When everything is well combined, transfer all of your mix to your casserole dish. I opted for a square ceramic dish. The size of your dish will affect your bake time.

Place the mix into your preheated oven and bake at 350f/175c for 30 minutes. If you’re using a larger casserole dish, start with 15-20 minutes, then check on your dish. It should look like a set baked egg dish. You don’t need to cover the dish with aluminum foil before baking.

When your egg free casserole comes out of the oven, it will be a bit on the loose side (not super loose, but not baked egg firm either once you cut into it). You can serve it hot and a little loose, or, allow it to cool some before serving. As this cools, it sets even more to the point where it’s like a baked egg dish all the way through.

How to Store Leftovers

I opted to store leftovers covered in aluminum foil in the fridge for several days. The other option is to transfer your cooled vegan casserole to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to a week.

I don’t suggest freezing this recipe, as the thaw and reheat won’t be nearly as awesome as the fresh version.

If you’re only serving one or two people, and you have a lot of busy mornings, you could store leftovers in individual oven-safe containers that have an airtight lid. Then, in the morning, you take the lid off and pop the individual dish into the oven. You get ready for work whilst the leftovers heat, then boom. Breakfast is ready and so are you. This type of storage is a great way to make your mornings just a little easier if you ask me.

Ways to Jazz Up Your Easy Vegan Breakfast Casserole

There are several additions you can make to this recipe to make it your own. Jazzing up something like this can also help create variety in your meals. Each time you make this recipe, try something a little different.

You could even make a batch or double batch if you’re feeding a large crowd, and mix something different into several smaller portions and bake them up. This is a great idea if you have family members with different flavor preferences. You make one big batch, and tweak a little here and there, rather than having to make several separate recipes all together.

Fold in Chopped Vegan Sausage

For this ad-in, you’ll want to purchase a safe-for-you vegan sausage, vegan breakfast sausage, or vegan sausage crumbles. If you end up with full sausages, you’ll need to roughly chop them down before using them.

Assuming the sausages are pre-cooked, you’ll add them during the assembly step. Mix your chopped sausage or sausage crumbles in when you combine the bean/milk mix and cooked vegetables. If you use this add-in, the bake time remains the same, as does storage.

Add Garlic Powder

One of the taste testers is allergic to garlic. My usual breakfast seasoning mix contains garlic granules (you can also use garlic powder). It will help round out the flavors. You can also add chopped fresh herbs such as parsley just before serving.

If you opt to add garlic powder, I’d add a teaspoon of garlic powder, maybe a little less. If you don’t love garlic (but only like it), start with half a teaspoon of garlic powder.

Fold in Vegan Cheese or Nutritional Yeast

This add-in would help you make an amazing cheesy vegan breakfast casserole. What you’ll want to do is fold in several ounces of your fave shredded vegan cheese during Part 4. Your cheese doesn’t need to be fully melted before you add the slurry, but it’s also not a bad thing if it is. The reason we’re adding your vegan cheese during step 4 is because most dairy free cheese is notorious for claiming to melt but doing the opposite.

If you do want to add cheesy flavor to your baked casserole, I suggest the following cheese flavors:

Dairy Free Cheddar Cheese
Dairy Free Parmesan
Dairy Free Smoked Gouda
Nutritional Yeast (did you know Anthony’s Goods sells a non-fortified version??)

If you use this add-in, the bake time remains the same, as does storage.

Use a Blend of Beans

Rather than use just chickpeas (garbanzo beans), you can use two or three beans, so long as your ingredient weight stays the same. The nice things about this tweak is that you’ll have added benefits (nutritionally) from the additional bean variety you choose.

If I were to use a bean blend, I’d use one of these three blends:

Chickpeas + Navy Beans + Kidney Beans
Chickpeas + Cannellini Beans
Chickpeas + Cannellini Beans + Kidney Beans

Add a Sauce

This is the kind of recipe that welcomes something like a drizzle of hot sauce with open arms. If you want to add a sauce, you’ll want to add it when serving your casserole (don’t bake your casserole with a sauce on top).

This would pair really well with all types of hot sauce, BBQ sauce, a flavorful tomato sauce, and some Asian sauces.

Add Diced Red Bell Pepper to Your Veg Mix

Given my bell pepper allergy, I cook with it as little as possible. If you’re a huge pepper fan, you can add diced red bell pepper or green peppers (or any colour really) to your vegetable mix. You’ll add it when you add your onions in Part 2. If you like spicy peppers, you can use those as well. A spicy, smaller pepper, should be added with Part 3 Ingredients (rather than Part 2).

Add Diced Mushrooms to Your Veggies

If you’re a mushroom fan, small diced mushrooms could add another awesome layer of flavor to your casserole dish. If you opt to do this, add the mushrooms when you add the onions and cook them with the rest of the veggies.

Your mushrooms will release liquid as they cook, so your cook time may be a bit longer than mine.

Vegan Brunch Recipes I Think You’ll Love

If you love brunch, here are a few recipes I think you’ll really enjoy. The best part is that they’re all gluten-free, vegan, and top 9 allergy free. If you need more recipe ideas, be sure to check out the Advanced Recipe Search on RAISE.

More Gluten Free + Vegan Breakfast Recipes

If you’re looking for more gluten-free + allergy friendly + vegan breakfast recipes, here are just a few I think you’ll enjoy. These are all easy to make and are perfect for busy mornings.

Answering Your Egg Free Breakfast Casserole Questions

Could I use Just Egg in place of the chickpeas?

No, you won’t be able to use Just Egg in this recipe and still have the same results. If that’s a product you’d like to use, I suggest searching online for something like “vegan egg casserole recipe”. With that type of search, you should be able to find recipes that specifically use a vegan egg replacer like Just Egg.

If you’re also gluten free, make sure you include that in your search term to get a result that’s just right for your needs.

Would this pair well with toasted sourdough bread?

Absolutely yes! If you decide to pair this with your sourdough bread, you have two options. First, you could skip the baking step. Mix everything together well, then spread it over your toasted sourdough, as if you were making avocado toast.

The second choice is to follow the recipe completely and do the bake step. Then, cut your slices to be about the size of your bread so it sits on top. The downside to this option, in my humble opinion, is that the height of the casserole may throw off the bread to topping ratio.

To prevent that from happening, you could use a much larger baking dish than the one I used to bring the height down. If you do end up using a larger baking dish, be sure to watch your bake time. Check on your casserole 15-20 minutes after it goes in the oven to see if it needs the last 10 minutes.

Could I use shredded potatoes in place of the chickpeas in this recipe?

You could, in theory, but that’s not what this recipe was designed for. Additionally, I couldn’t tell you the ratio of potato to use in place of the chickpeas. I’d suggest searching online for “vegan shredded potato casserole” and that should get you a lot closer to what you’re looking for.

Should I use a cooking spray on the baking dish before adding the mix?

No, it’s not necessary. I didn’t use parchment paper or cooking spray and slices of the casserole came out beautifully. If you want a super perfect look, be sure to let the casserole cool before slicing, but honestly, this isn’t Instagram. Just enjoy your casserole 🙂

Could I mix in tempeh bacon to the mixture before it goes into the oven?

Maybe. Due to the food allergies I manage, along with those of the taste testers, this isn’t a product I’ve worked with. If it’s similar to vegan sausage (in terms of body and ability to bake), it could work.

If you opt to use tempeh bacon, you’ll want to cut it to be the size of sausage crumbles so it folds in nicely, and once eaten, you don’t have giant chunks of it running through your casserole.

Will chickpea flour work in place of the arrowroot for the slurry?

No, chickpea flour won’t work the same way as the arrowroot does. If you’re all out of arrowroot, you can use a white rice flour slurry, but the ratios are a bit different. My usual ratio is 18 ounces dairy free milk to 25g of rice flour, but that’s for a specific strength. You’ll need to mess around to get the right strength. Be sure to watch the video so you know what to aim for.

Can I use black pepper instead of the white pepper?

You can, but it will change the flavor profile a bit. White pepper is part of my breakfast seasoning blend that helps people think of the traditional flavors of breakfast sausage. Black pepper brings a different kick to the table, so just keep that in mind.

Would mashed sweet potatoes work in place of the chickpeas in this recipe?

They could, but you won’t have nearly the same set and results as I did. I’d suggest starting with an egg free breakfast casserole recipe that’s built on sweet potatoes rather than try to convert this one.

Would this be a good Christmas morning casserole?

In terms of function, yes, I could see this making a wonderful holiday breakfast. However, if you’re used to having winter flavored casseroles on your holiday mornings, this isn’t the recipe for you. In your case it would be good for non-holiday breakfasts.

I’ll also add this though: your holiday breakfast should be something you LOVE. If you make this casserole and are in love, especially if you jazz it up a bit, then absolutely use it for Christmas morning because it will make you happy.

Could I use olive oil in place of the dairy free butter?

Yes, you can use any cooking fat you enjoy. I don’t suggest coconut oil since it has a pretty distinct flavor. Olive oil and avocado oil would both be awesome choices to replace the dairy free butter in this recipe.

Would this be a good dinner to serve?

Absolutely yes! This is totally a healthy, hearty, and nutritious meal that could be served any time of the day. If your mornings are exceptionally busy, you could serve this for dinner, then use the leftovers for breakfast the next day and so on. Honestly, I think this is a great meal because the beans bring the protein, it’s packed with vegetables, and it’s a very well rounded dish.

If you have kids, you can also have them help make this egg free casserole, and help them continue to build their kitchen independence.

Could I use a food processor to prep the veggies?

Yes, you could use a food processor to prep your vegetables. If you have a large fancy food processor like mine, it comes with lots of attachments, including a shredding attachment. You could use that rather than shred the carrots by hand. Just make sure you pulse the ingredients rather than blend them into a soup-like mixture.

I’ll also add, if you have a KitchenAid stand mixer, they have a shredding attachment for that as well.