Sweet Potato Spinach Quinoa Casserole – Vegan gluten free entree for Passover or anytime, topped with a rich coconut-saffron “gratin” sauce.
Developing a vegan entree for Passover is tough business. My vegan guests deserve an entree at the Seder table, but finding one that is flavorful enough for a holiday is a real challenge. Over the past couple of Passovers I’ve given myself the task of coming up with a vegan entree option that isn’t just an afterthought, but something truly comforting and filling. When you remove meat and dairy, then apply Passover restrictions to your list of options – there’s not a whole lot left to work with! Never one to shy away from a challenge, I put on my thinking cap and came up with something pretty amazing. Vegan or not, this casserole is really, really delicious!
This recipe was inspired by my Dairy Free Saffron Scalloped Potatoes, which are made with a delectable coconut milk and saffron-based sauce. It has the creaminess of a dairy dish with the exotic flavor of saffron, which elevates it to something truly special. To make the dish more filling, I sandwiched a layer of quinoa and spinach between the roasted sweet potato slices, topped it with sauce, then baked and broiled it gratin-style. The quinoa provides Passover-friendly protein and makes the dish more hearty overall. This recipe is something I’ve been developing in my head over a the course a few weeks, knowing that all of the ingredients are tasty and should work well together. Even so, I wasn’t sure it would work until I tested it– then retested it– then tested it again, because I couldn’t stop eating it! This Sweet Potato Spinach Quinoa Gratin is really unique, and it’s also a very pretty dish. It’s definitely worth a try as a vegan option for the Seder table, or for Meatless Monday, or just because. Enjoy!
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Sweet Potato Spinach Quinoa Gratin
Ingredients
- 2 whole large orange sweet potatoes (2 lbs. total) peeled and sliced into rounds 1/8 inch thick
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 3 cups spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 pinch saffron threads (make sure it’s good quality saffron - it’s much more expensive, but the cheap stuff has no flavor)
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- 2 tablespoons non-hydrogenated margarine
- 1 tablespoon potato starch
- 14 ounces full fat coconut milk (1 can)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon finely minced garlic (or ¼ tsp garlic powder)
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (adds heat – use less if spice sensitive)
NOTES
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread the sweet potato slices across two lightly greased baking sheets. Toss each sheet of slices with 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil to lightly coat the slices.
- Roast the sweet potatoes for 20 minutes in the oven, stirring the potatoes and turning each baking sheet around once during cooking, until slices are tender and starting to caramelize.
- While sweet potatoes are roasting, rinse the quinoa out well in a mesh colander until water runs clear. Combine rinsed quinoa and low sodium vegetable broth in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover the pot, and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until broth is absorbed and quinoa is tender/fluffy. When the quinoa is finished cooking, quickly open the pot and add the roughly chopped spinach on top of the cooked quinoa. Recover the pot and let it rest for 5 minutes while the spinach wilts on top of the quinoa. Stir the spinach into the quinoa. Reserve.
- After sweet potatoes are removed from the oven, reduce heat to 350 degrees F. Reserve the sweet potato slices. Grind the saffron threads in a mortar and pestle to a powder. Add 2 tbsp of hot water to the ground saffron and let it soak for a few minutes.
- Lightly grease an 8x8 inch baking dish. Place half of the sweet potato slices in a thin layer on the bottom of the dish, with each slice overlapping the next.
- Spread the cooked quinoa/spinach mixture over the first sweet potato layer.
- Make a top layer with the remaining sweet potato slices.
- In a small saucepan, melt 2 tbsp non-hydrogenated margarine over medium heat. Whisk in 1 tbsp potato starch to form a thick paste.
- Slowly whisk in the coconut milk. Whisk in the salt, garlic, cayenne pepper, and the reserved saffron water. Heat the sauce over medium, whisking frequently, until it boils and thickens into a golden yellow sauce. Reduce heat to low and keep warm.
- Pour the sauce over the layer of sweet potatoes, using a ladle or large spoon to make sure the potatoes are evenly covered with sauce.Place dish in the oven and bake covered for 20 minutes until heated through. Remove the foil and turn on your broiler. Place your baking dish 6 inches below the broiler. Broil the casserole for a few minutes until the top is nicely, evenly browned. Note - if you use a glass baking dish, skip the broil and simply bake until it's lightly browned on top. Serve warm.
Nutrition
This recipe looks and sounds delicious. I will definitely make it. One question, why is it so high in sodium?
Hello Hanora, thank you for pointing that out. The calories were calculated with traditional broth, not low sodium broth. I updated the ingredient to low sodium and it decreased the daily value of sodium by 12%, which is more accurate. Hope that helps!
This is fantastic, and has such a unique, warm, aromatic flavour. The cayenne adds heat but is not spicy – it is essential I think! Next time I would make just a bit extra sauce, and mix the sauce with the quinoa before assembling as I found that it didn’t permeate very well.
Hi,
Just discovered your site! Great blog! Lovely sounding recipes.
I’m in the UK. I was wondering what the weight of the spinach should be?
I don’t have my cups with me at the moment and would love to make this for tomorrow night.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Sophia! I’m just guessing here, but I think about 5 ounces of spinach should do it. A little more or less won’t hurt, it’s a forgiving filling. 🙂
this sounds delicious but I can’t use the coconut milk , what can I substitute for it?
Hi Beth, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. Unfortunately, I’m not aware of another dairy free substitute for coconut milk that would give the same results.
This looks like an amazing recipe but I have a vegetarian that doesn’t like quinoa, can I use brown rice instead?
Hi Naomi, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. We haven’t tried this recipe with brown rice, but I think it would work as a substitute.
This is my all time favorite dish and I cook a lot. Wow I could eat this every day.
I was so surprised by the complexity of the dish. The garlic, and red pepper add layers of punchy flavor over the sultry coconut milk and saffron base. I increased the spinach, and sprinkled just a little crumbled goat cheese (not for the vegans) and a couple shreds of shredded coconut to make the top a little more interesting.
This sounds delicious. However I have not been able to find any kosher for Passover vegetable broth. I have looked everywhere. Any suggestions or substitutions? I love your vegetarian chicken soup and want to make it for my veg guests, but again, can’t find the broth.
Hi Stacey– the only suggestion I have would be to make your own vegetable broth in advance.
Where would I get saffron?
Hi Mya, Tori’s assistant Ashley here! Most major supermarkets and ethnic food markets carry saffron now. Be sure what you’re buying is high quality. It can be pricey, but is definitely worth the cost when it comes to flavor.
I made this for Rosh HaShanah. My vegan cousin — and everyone else — loved it! Thanks.
I too was a tiny bit skeptical that this would be good. This was soooo good! I halved the recipe and used a lot of Kale instead of spinach which I put on top of the quinoa after 10 min. I also used 1 T of hot veggie broth instead of hot water. Since we had no vegan or Passover restrictions I used cornstarch and butter. Great recipe Tori, thanks!
Thank you for your recipes.
Thank you for reading, Charlotte!
I made the recipe for Vegeterian son for 2nd night Seder. He felt dish was a little bland and added some siracchi sauce to spice the dish. If I make again I will add onion to the quinoa and more garlic to add flavor. Coconut sauce is excellent.
Made this for our Passover Seder yesterday and it is really flavorful; will make again… thank you!
Hi again! I did find the saffron and made this for the Seder. I doubled the ingredients (except for the saffron and water because I forgot to double). It was perfect for a 13×9 casserole! I ended up with some extra sweet potatoes and quinoa that didn’t go in the casserole, but I rather have extra than not enough! Everyone loved it, thank you! PS-canned coconut milk in the Asian food section was perfect. I don’t know if the refrigerated coconut milk would have worked the same.
So happy it turned out well.
This casserole was a HUGE hit with the vegans and non-vegans at our Passover Seder! I will be making this dish often. By the way, I made it a few days before Passover and froze it. It reheated beautifully, no issue with the coconut milk separating!
Fabulous Judi! And thank you for reporting back re: freezing, that will definitely help others.
I couldn’t find saffron. Can I use turmeric or something else instead of saffron? Also, can I double the recipe for a 13×9 casserole?
Hi Rosemarie, I haven’t tested this with turmeric. It will probably be good in terms of flavor, but it won’t be quite as “special” as the flavor that comes from saffron. Yes you can double it for a larger casserole but you might not need to double the sweet potatoes, I’m thinking 3 pounds would probably be plenty. I haven’t tested it though so can’t say for certain.
I’d love to make this today for seder ,,,, can I freeze it?
Susan, I have never frozen this recipe so I can’t say if it will work out or not. If I were going to try it, I wouldn’t freeze it with the sauce. Instead I would assemble it, cover and freeze, then defrost and add the sauce before baking. I doubt the coconut sauce will freeze well, but that’s just a guess.
My vegan son loved this. He said the sauce made the dish. Thanks for the recipe. It’s been a challenge to find things my daughter especially will also eat. It’s a keeper
There are some in the family with an allergy to coconut. Can you recommend any substitute?
Thanks!
Hi Susan– unfortunately the coconut flavor is really central to this dish. You could make it with a cashew cream, perhaps, but I haven’t tested it and I think that the lack of coconut flavor might render the sauce rather bland.
I do not have access to kosher for passover coconut milk and I just made this without; I added sauteed onions, peppers and extra garlic to the quinoa. I am sure it does not taste like the original, but it is DELICIOUS! I am going to make it the vegetarian option for our community ( fleisich) seder.
Fabulous Nori! Thank you for sharing your version, I’m sure it will be helpful to others.
I’m on a high carb, low fat, plant-based diet. Instead of high-fat coconut milk, I use almond or cashew milk + a teaspoon of coconut extract. The result tastes like it was made with coconut milk, but I eliminated most of the fat.
I used almond milk, plus coconut extract instead of coconut milk. I also left out the oil and margarine. The dish turned out fantastic! I’ll definitely make it again, but I’ll use less cayenne next time. I think the cayenne overpowered the saffron.