Today I’m going to be showing you how to make a great recipe for a super tasty vegan eggplant casserole the whole family will enjoy. Whilst thick slices are packed with BBQ flavors, I’ll also share ideas on how you can change this up, which can really help create variety for those of you with limited safe ingredients.
Be sure to watch the episode and read the directions before you start so you’re comfortable with the process. Also, a little heads up, this is both a vegetarian eggplant casserole and vegan eggplant casserole.
Watch the Episode
You can watch me make this easy eggplant casserole recipe on Dang! That’s Delicious. You can also check out my Youtube channel for more episodes.
Tools to Make Your Gluten-Free Vegan Casserole
These are the tools you’ll need today for your casserole.
- Vegetable Peeler
- Sharp Knife & Cutting Board
- Large Pot
- Colander (for draining your sweet potatoes)
- Large Skilet/Large Pan
- Cooking Spoon
- Casserole Dish/Baking Dish
How to Make a Smaller Version of This Large Plant-Based Recipe
This recipe is great if you’re planning on serving a lot of people. I opted to make a large version because one taste tester is allergic to tomatoes, so I need to essentially make two casseroles. However, if you’re serving one person, or a small family, here’s how you can make a smaller version of this vegan eggplant casserole.
Cut the amount of sweet potatoes in half, or only use 1/3rd of what I used. The nice thing about this casserole recipe is that it’s super flexible. In fact, if you use less sweet potato mash, your casserole will have a lot more bite to it, which is something you may really enjoy.
You can cut all of the ingredient amounts in half. You can easily cut all of the listed ingredient amounts in half and still have enough casserole to feed the whole family. You may even have some leftovers to take for lunch.
Cut all of the ingredient amounts by 2/3. You’ll want to take this road if you’re feeding one person or a small family, or don’t want leftovers.
How to Jazz Up This Vegan Eggplant Casserole
Here are just a few variations you can make to create a totally different flavor profile.
- Top with a simple dairy free creamy sauce and sprinkle chopped fresh parsley on top.
- Serve portions of your delicious casserole in a fresh bread bowl (regular or sourdough would be nice).
- Top with vegan mozzarella or vegan cheddar cheese (be sure to melt your vegan cheese under your broiler).
- Make a delicious sour cream sauce to drizzle on top with a little tomato paste and cayenne pepper.
- Top with a creamy cashew sauce (or a simple cashew cheese sauce).
- Make a delicious cheesy sauce to drizzle on top with raw cashews, lemon juice, black pepper, garlic powder, and nutritional yeast.
Switch up the Spices
I created a BBQ flavor profile, but you can easily shift it with Italian seasoning or something like sumac. You may have noticed my mix excludes garlic granules/garlic powder, and that’s because one of the taste testers is allergic to garlic. Here’s a few ways to change the flavor profile of this recipe:
- Leave out the tomato and make a cheesy eggplant casserole with a smoked gouda cheese sauce (you can make this in your blender or on the stove top béchamel style).
- Create an herby tomato sauce rather than my BBQ tomato sauce.
- Leave out the tomato and make a creamy parmesan sauce in your blender (you’ll need to make quite a bit) and this will give you eggplant parmesan vibes.
- Go completely French and use Herbs de Province instead of the BBQ seasonings I used. You can still use the tomato sauce, or swap it for a simple cream sauce.
Ingredients for Your Vegan Eggplant Casserole
I’ve broken the ingredients into sections to make it easier for you. Big tip: get your sweet potatoes started so that by the time the vegetables are done cooking, the mashed potato is ready as well.
Mashed Sweet Potato Ingredients
- 2.4 KG Organic Orange Fleshed Sweet Potatoes (cubed, 85 ounces/5.3 pounds)
- 225g Dairy Free Butter (8 ounces/2 standard US sticks)
- 170mL Milk of Choice (6 ounces)
- 2 TBSP Organic Date Sugar
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
Onion Ingredients
- 300g Organic Onion (diced, just about 11 ounces)
- 60g Dairy Free Butter (2 ounces, 1/2 standard US stick)
- 1/2 TBSP Organic Date Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Smoked Salt
Additional Vegetables
- 860g Organic Eggplant/Aubergine (cubed, 30 ounces/just about 2 pounds, I used 3 eggplants)
- 480g Organic Bell Pepper (diced, 17 ounces/about 1 pound)
- 1.5 tsp smoked salt
Tomato Sauce Ingredients
- 680g Organic Tomato Sauce (28 ounces, I use the tall glass jar from BioNaturae)
- 4 TBSP Organic Date Sugar
- 2 tsp Organic Ground Ancho Chili
- 1 tsp Organic Ground Mustard
- 1/2 tsp Organic Ground Cumin
- 1 tsp Organic Garlic Granules (optional)
Directions for Your Eggplant Casserole
Mashed Sweet Potato Directions
wash, peel, and cube your sweet potatoes. It’s OK if the cubes are on the large side. Place all of the sweet potato cubes into a large pot and cover the potatoes completely with water. Salt the water and give it a little mix.
Bring the potatoes to a boil, then allow them to boil for 3 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium heat or medium-low heat and allow the sweet potatoes to simmer until you can just pierce them with a fork. You don’t want to overcook the sweet potatoes and have them super soft, as super mushy mash will throw off the final texture of our eggplant casserole.
Drain the sweet potatoes, then return them to the pot. Immediately add your dairy free butter, salt, date sugar, and milk of choice. Mash the potatoes just enough so that the butter is covered by hot potatoes, and leave it to melt.
Once the butter has melted, use your potato masher to mash the sweet potatoes and mix everything together. That’s it for this step. Set your mash aside until it’s time for assembly.
Eggplant & Veg Instructions
Wash and cube your eggplant. I opted to leave the skin on, but you can peel it off if you’re not a fan. Dice your bell pepper and onion, and you’re ready to cook.
Heat a large pan on medium-high heat, and add the dairy free butter. Allow it to melt a bit, then add your diced onion and smoked salt. Mix everything together and cook your onions for 5 minutes.
Now, add the bell pepper and cubed eggplant. Mix everything together and cook for an additional 15 – 20 minutes. The goal to have some of your vegetables take on a golden brown color, for all the excess water to cook off, and to have softened vegetables. As your veggie cook, only stir as needed to prevent burning/sticking. Once they’re done, it’s time to add the tomato.
Tomato Sauce Instructions
Once your veg has cooked down beautifully, add the tomato sauce and all of the seasonings, along with the date sugar. Mix everything together very well and continue to cook for a few minutes, then turn the heat off.
Assembly
Preheat your oven to 350f/175c, then transfer your cooked vegetables into the mashed sweet potato pot. Use your cooking spoon to mix everything together well. I opted for a folding action rather than a rapid stir to make sure the vegetables stayed in tact.
If you’ll be adding something like vegan “ground beef” or a vegan sausage, now’s the time to fold that in as well. With everything mixed together, transfer your mix to a baking dish. In the video, I used a disposable baking dish because these had to be transported to the taste testers. I DO NOT recommend this. We found out the hard way that these containers fall apart. Use a glass baking dish or casserole dish.
Before baking, I topped with gluten free bread crumbs to add another layer of something interesting and a little crunch. If you have a safe panko bread crumb, that’s an even better option.
Bake your vegan eggplant casserole at 350f/175c for 20 – 30 minutes. That’s it! You’re all done and ready to serve a very delicious meal.
How to Store Your Eggplant Casserole
You’ll want to transfer leftovers to an airtight container and store your leftovers in the fridge for up to a week. This recipe is not freezer friendly. Big tip: Use a glass baking dish that has a lid. This allows you to bake, serve, cool completely, then pop the lid on and put the whole thing in the refrigerator. Talk about an easy clean up.
More Vegan Recipes I Think You’ll Love
Here are more vegan casserole recipes along with a few vegan dinner recipes I think you’ll enjoy.
- Vegan & Gluten Free Chickpea Breakfast Casserole Recipe (I’m told this is a very hearty casserole)
- Vegan Pesto Recipe (made without pine nuts, top 9 allergy free, and great for pastas)
- Fried Eggplant Recipe (Gluten Free, Vegan, Top 9 Allergy Free)
- Easy Cheesy Vegan Green Beans (these are loaded with cheesy flavor, but are top 9 allergy free)
- Chickpea Mock-Tuna Wraps (this is a great vegan meal to take for lunch as well)
- Gluten Free Lasagna Soup Recipe (this recipe is bursting with great flavors, and is a very popular recipe on my membership site)
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Answering Your Vegan Eggplant Casserole Questions
Can I use eggplant slices instead of eggplant cubes in this recipe?
You can, but depending on the size of your eggplant slices, you’ll throw off the eatability of this vegan eggplant casserole. As is, you take a spoonful or forkful and get a nice balanced bite. If your eggplant slices are long, you’d have to cut up your casserole before you could eat it. It’s not the end of the world, it’s just not as easy.
Is there a way to quickly prep the vegetables?
A food processor is going to be the fastest way to prep the vegetables if you have one. The Breville prep and chop food processor, whilst expensive, would get the job done quickly. However, the sweet potatoes may be too large for a food processor to handle and you’d still need to do some chopping.
Can I cook the vegetables in olive oil instead of dairy free butter?
You absolutely can. My oil of choice is organic extra virgin olive oil, but you use what you love.
Could I use fresh tomatoes rather than a tomato sauce?
You could use fresh tomatoes, however, you’ll totally change the overall taste, texture, and mouthfeel of your recipe. So long as you’re OK with that, fresh tomatoes wouldn’t be a problem.
If I were going to use fresh tomatoes, I’d actually leave the recipe as is, then before serving, add a single layer of diced fresh tomatoes with the seeds removed. It’s a great way to add a super fresh component to the dish without altering it too much. I’d maybe even sprinkle on a little vegan parmesan cheese because that could be a nice pairing.
Can I use sliced eggplant or eggplant rounds for this recipe?
Slices of eggplant or eggplant rounds won’t really work for this recipe. The idea is to create a casserole where you can pick a forkful or spoonful of food and eat it in one bite. Sliced eggplant would leave you with long pieces that need to be cut before you could take a bite. Eggplant rounds on the other hand will just be large and cumbersome. Either way, I don’t suggest it, but, it’s not like it’s illegal or anything to use the slices or rounds.
Neither the taste or texture will change if you use slices of eggplant or eggplant rounds, only the eatability will change.
Could I swap your tomato sauce mix for a jarred pasta sauce or marinara sauce?
You can, just you know that a pasta sauce is going to bring a totally different flavor profile to the table. I think you’ll end up more in the ratatouille realm than BBQ, but that’s not a bad thing either.
Can I use a baking pan instead of a casserole dish?
No, you can’t use a baking pan because it’s not tall enough to give you the casserole effect. Now, if you’re OK with that and don’t mind having a short final product, yes, you could use a large baking sheet instead of a casserole dish. The taste and texture won’t change because you didn’t use a casserole dish, and, the Earth will keep on spinning 🙂
Does it matter what type of eggplant I use for this recipe?
Not really. This vegan eggplant casserole has so many layers of flavor that I don’t think you’ll notice the distinct flavor different varieties of eggplant bring to the table. The only variety I wouldn’t use would be baby eggplant because those may take you longer to prep.
Could I add something like a vegan “ground beef” to this recipe?
Yes, you can fold in a vegan ground beef or meat crumbles. You could even fold in vegan sausage if you have one that would pair nicely with the flavor combination. Just make sure the vegan meat substitute is cooked and broken into small pieces before you use it. You’ll want to fold it in during the assembly step when you mix everything together.
Should I line my baking dish with parchment paper before adding the ingredients?
No, you don’t need to line the bottom of your baking dish with parchment paper. You also don’t need to spray the dish before using it. After baking, you’ll see that your casserole comes out very easily with a large spatula.
Can I make this recipe with gold potatoes instead of sweet potatoes?
Yes, you could make this recipe with gold potatoes, or even red potatoes. The amount of potato and dairy free butter to use is the same, but you’ll need to check the amount of milk. Start with less, and only use enough to get to a firm mashed potato.
Would this recipe be a good side dish?
I think it makes for a good side dish, but also serves as a hearty main dish. It’s going to come down to portion size, and what else is on the menu.
Will this recipe taste good at room temperature if I take it for lunch?
That’s going to be a question only you and your tastebuds can answer. In terms of function, the casserole won’t fall apart or anything like that. However, not everyone loves the taste of savory meals at room temperature. If that’s you, you’ll want to test out hot, cold, and room temperature eating of your leftovers. That will help you plan how to use your leftovers and if they’ll be good for your lunch. If you find that the taste is great when cold, you can pack two ice packs with your leftovers to keep them cold until lunch time.
Could I swap the sweet potatoes for rice?
You could, but I wouldn’t bake it as a casserole. If you want to use rice instead, cook the vegetables, add the tomato sauce and spices, and continue to cook for 10 – 15 minutes to let the flavours meld together. Then, use that to top your cooked rice. You could do the same with pasta honestly, and both dishes would be delicious.
Can I reheat leftovers in the microwave, or do I need to reheat this in the oven?
I’ve been told by the taste testers that you can reheat leftovers in both the microwave and oven. Since I don’t have a microwave, I couldn’t tell you the settings or time. I’d start with 1 minute and go from there.
