Sweet Potato Casserole with Black Beans, Kale and Quinoa

Enjoy this savory, comforting, vegan sweet potato casserole with black beans, kale, quinoa and roasted garlic sauce. It's easy to assemble and perfect to make ahead.

 

Eating vegan might sound bland and even a bit challenging, but I assure you it's not. Vegan recipes, like this savory sweet potato kale casserole, are full of textures, flavors, and health.

This particular vegan casserole consists of quinoa and sweet potatoes as a sweet base, kale as a bitter base, black beans as an astringent base, and the rest of the tastes are resolved by the roasted garlic sauce. Please make sure to read detailed instructions on how to roast garlic and how to store and use roasted garlic.

Creamy sauce, chewy kale, sweet potatoes and beans and crunchy breadcrumb topping create a perfect balance of textures as well.

As if all that weren't reason enough to make this savory vegan casserole recipe, you can prepare all the ingredients ahead and whip it up quickly on a busy weeknight or for a company treat.

Ingredients

You'll need the following ingredients to make this delicious savory casserole (check for the substitutions below):

• sweet potatoes
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• rosemary
• quinoa
• kale
• black beans
• roasted garlic dressing
• sourdough bread

How to Make a Vegan Casserole

In my free e-book "How to Cook without a Recipe," you learn the fundamental principles of creating a meal from scratch. I also share some examples. This delicious vegan casserole recipe is a great example of how to put those principles to work in your own kitchen.

The foundation of the casserole is a grain (in this case it's quinoa, but you could substitute others such as buckwheat, rice, barley, or millet). Then you'll add any other kind of beans you enjoy, root vegetables or pumpkin, chewy greens, and creamy sauces. 

As you can see, there's plenty of room to improvise, which makes it a great recipe for using up what's in the fridge, being able to shop the sales, and eat seasonally.

To make a perfect flavor profile, you'll want to be sure to include a variety of taste profiles (sweet, salty, bitter, sour, umami, pungent, astringent) and textures (crispy, chewy, creamy).

The same food can have multiple tastes, so there is no need to use a lot of ingredients. You can always balance the missing tastes by adding spices.

I provide examples for each type of taste in my free e-book book, so be sure to get a copy for your reference (you can download it right away!).

 

How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole with Black Beans, Kale and Quinoa

This is one of those classic recipes you'll come back to over and over again because this vegan sweet potato casserole is both delicious and simple.

To make it, start by roasting your sweet potatoes (you can use leftovers for this vegan sweet potato lentil soup) or other veggies. Then boil your beans and quinoa (or any other grains you might opt to use).

Next, make a roasted garlic dressing or vegan buddha bowl dressing for it. 

Pro tip: make a large batch of your dressing and use it throughout your week. You could make the Ultimate Vegan Buddha Bowl or dip some fritters in your sauce.

 

How To Prep And Store Your Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole

If you want to get a head start on your meals at the beginning of the week, you can easily roast your veggies and cook your grain ahead of time, simply combining them and baking them to serve.

You could also make the casserole up ahead of time and freeze it, uncooked. Simply move it to the oven and bake it to serve. If you do this, however, you will notice that it's a much creamier texture as freezing will change the consistency of your grains and vegetables.

If you have leftovers, simply store them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week. To reheat this casserole, microwave or (if you have time!) bake it.

See the recipe for this vegan sweet potato casserole with black beans, kale and quinoa below!

Serving Options

This savory casserole can be served completely on its own, or paired with a simple salad or soup like this creamy cauliflower soup, sweet potato lentil soup or vegan zuppa Toscana.

If you are making this casserole for the holidays, pair it with festive appetizers like these vegan mushroom crostini or Georgian eggplant rolls with walnuts.

A great festive drink to serve with this casserole is German mulled wine (Gluhwein).

Top Tips

• This vegan casserole is savory, comforting, delicious and is easy to assemble and perfect to make ahead.
• It's a perfect use for your holiday leftovers or a part of your weekly meal prep.
• Make the casserole up ahead of time and freeze it for up to 3 months, uncooked. Move it to the oven and bake it to serve.
• Serve it on its own or pair it with a simple salad or soup like this creamy cauliflower soup, sweet potato lentil soup or vegan zuppa Toscana. For your holiday menu, pair it with festive appetizers like these vegan stuffed mushrooms, vegan mushroom crostini or Georgian eggplant rolls with walnuts.
• Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week. To reheat, microwave or bake it in the oven until heated through, for about 20 minutes.
• Make a large batch of your roasted garlic dressing and use it throughout your week. Use it for a Buddha Bowl or dip some fritters in the sauce.
• If you pre-roast the sweet potatoes and cook quinoa and beans, it will take you around 15-20 minutes to make the casserole.

Recipe Variations

• Use any kind of grain (quinoa, buckwheat, rice, barley, or millet), any other kind of beans you enjoy instead of black beans, root vegetables like carrots, beets, parsnips or pumpkin instead of sweet potatoes and chewy greens like spinach or Swiss chard instead of kale.
  
• Roasted garlic dressing can be replaced with vegan buddha bowl dressing, vegan bechamel sauce or any other creamy sauce.
• You can skip the breadcrumb topping (although I urge you not to).