Disclaimer: I was compensated to develop this recipe for Veggemo! I love supporting vegan companies, and this one has a savoury taste to it (the unsweetened one that is) and is great for cooking :) Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!
It’s Thanksgiving season and that means I yet again struggle to assimilate into Canadian culture to celebrate because I think I’ve attended a grand total of 4 Canadian Thanksgiving dinners in my lifetime, the other times it’s just my family spending a long weekend together and I awkwardly sit in the corner eating mashed potatoes while my family eats a very dry-looking turkey.
Some people on YouTube asked me to do Thanksgiving sides and while I feel like a ton of people make mashed potatoes vegan really easily, I wanted to share my tips for ULTRA CREAMY and not gluey mashed potatoes and a new favourite of mine: creamed spinach!
Honestly the trick to amazing mashed potatoes is using the right kind of potatoes. I’ve seen people use white potatoes, russet potatoes, red potatoes—the ULTIMATE mashed potatoes are made with yellow potatoes. They’re less starchy and just have a creamier, more buttery texture to them naturally. So once you have the right potato, cook it right. That means you boil until they fall off the fork and are buttery when you try a piece. Then when you’re mashing them, use just a heaping spoonful (about 2 tbsp) of vegan butter, and a good glug of non-dairy milk like Veggemo (I use the unsweetened stuff). I’ve seen people use other plant milks just fine, but I’m allergic to nuts, and I don’t want a soy flavour for this mash. Since Veggemo is made with potatoes, peas, and tapioca starch, it already blends in super well with mashed potatoes. Like any other non-dairy milk, you just use Veggemo like dairy milk :)
I also experimented a bunch with creamed spinach and found kind of labour intensive recipes online, so I wanted to make a super easy version for you guys. No blanching, ice baths, or anything. Just one pan, 10 minutes and some fast hands! I have really started to love creamy, silky cooked spinach a lot lately. I tried it a couple vlogs ago when I went to the farmer’s market, and I’ve been obsessed with saucy, savoury spinach ever since.
In this week’s video, I also taste tested the Gardein Holiday Roast. I would have loved more stuffing (because let’s be real, the stuffing is the best part), but having potatoes, creamed spinach, and the gravy from the roast package was honestly an amazing Thanksgiving dinner that was filling enough to satisfy but not so filling that you get itis. I’ve also been really burnt out from a hectic week, but I should have more delicious recipes coming your way soon. :)
Creamed Spinach and Classic Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
Mashed Potatoes (4 servings):
- 3 lb (1.36 kg) yellow potatoes
- 2 tbsp (30 mL) vegan butter
- 1/4 cup unsweetened Veggemo non-dairy milk (add more depending on how creamy you like it. My potatoes were really creamy already, so I didn't need as much as I thought)
- salt to taste
Creamed Spinach (4 servings)
- 2 tbsp (15 mL) vegan butter
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 tbsp (30 mL) flour (use cornstarch if you're GF)
- 1 cup (250 mL) unsweetened Veggemo
- 2 tbsp of mushroom broth powder OR salt to taste
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 8 heaping cups spinach, roughly chopped (about 1 of those big boxes of baby spinach)
- Black pepper to taste
- Optional: a sprinkle of nutmeg
Instructions
Mashed Potatoes:
- Scrub potatoes clean and cut into 1-inch cubes. Add to pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until fork-tender (about 20 minutes). Turn off the heat, drain most water, then cover with lid while you prepare other dishes (like creamed spinach =P). Once ready to eat your dinner, drain the remaining water, mash with butter, Veggemo non-dairy milk, and salt to taste. Serve with gravy, chives, or whatever you like.
Creamed Spinach
- In a pan over medium heat, melt butter. Sauté onion until translucent, then add minced garlic and continue cooking until fragrant.
- Stir in flour until it absorbs the liquid from the butter and onions.
- Add a splash or two of the cup of Veggemo until flour absorbs the liquid. Add the remaining Veggemo non-dairy milk and stir until ingredients are incorporated. Add mushroom broth powder and nutritional yeast and continue cooking until its thickened, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add spinach and cook until just wilted. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Take off the heat and serve immediately (don't want them to get mushy!).
- For a traditional creamed spinach taste, add a sprinkle of nutmeg before serving.
Notes
Alternatively for the creamed spinach, you can blanch the spinach first, drain, and shock into an ice bath, then roughly chop and squeeze out extra moisture. Stir it into the roux sauce and adjust seasoning as desired. It just won't be as warm but it will be a thicker consistency than if you cooked it without blanching and draining.
shan says
Are you using the mushroom broth granules yet?
Mel says
Did anyone else have flashbacks of The Princess Bride movie’s “ROUS’s”, aka Rodents of Unusual Size while watching this as they discussed roux? No? Just me..?