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I love creamy casserole dishes. This does not disappoint. It is easy because the chicken and spinach are already cooked! It goes well on rice OR noodles.

 I adapted this recipe from godairyfree.org and nourishthis.com



Shredded Chicken Bake
1 rotisserie chicken, shredded with forks
1 package of frozen spinach, thawed
Panko breadcrumbs, seasoned with Italian seasoning and olive oil
1-2 cups of artichoke hearts (optional)

"creamy" sauce:
4 Tb Earth Balance "butter"
3 Tb white flour
2 cups rice milk
1/2 tsp salt
few shakes of garlic powder
few shakes of pepper
1/2 tsp ground sage
3/4 tsp thyme
few shakes of nutritional yeast (optional, but it does give it some nice extra flavor)

Method:
1. Shred chicken with fork while thawing the spinach in microwave (or pot on the stove). Add the spinach to the chicken.
2. In a pan, place as many breadcrumbs as needed to top your dish (anywhere from 1-2 cups). Add some olive oil and some italian seasoning. Turn on the burner, and just slightly brown the topping. 
3. In a pot, melt the "butter", then add the flour, rice milk, salt, garlic powder, pepper, sage, thyme, and nutritional yeast. Boil gently until thickened and bubbly (approx. 2-5 minutes). Remove from heat.
4. Add creamy sauce  to the chicken and spinach in the bowl. Stir until well mixed. Add artichokes. Scoop into casserole dish. Top with breadcrumb mixture.
5. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Serve on top of rice or noodles!


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Seasoning the breadcrumbs
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the "creamy" sauce in a pot
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shredded chicken and spinach
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chicken, spinach, and creamy sauce
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breadcrumbs going on top. almost ready for the oven!
 
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One of my favorite breakfast comfort foods is biscuits and gravy. Over the years I have developed TWO ways to make this morning staple without dairy!

My favorite is the coconut version, but that's just me. Try them both! 

One thing I tried and never could get quite the right texture or flavor is, making it with rice milk. It is simply too thin and pretty bland. Another thing to remember, as my mom always said "you can't make a edible, low salt, low fat gravy". If you are on a diet, skip this meal (or don't make it often) ;) 

I usually cook my sausage in my pan, then scoop it out and drain it on a paper towel while I make up the gravy in the same pan. I never measure the amount of salt or pepper I use. I just add it until it tastes right, so the amounts below are an estimate. Please adjust according to your personal preference. I usually cook about 1 lb of sausage at a time but only use about 1/2 for the gravy. Feel free to add more for a extra meaty gravy, or less for more of a plain white gravy.


gravy #1 (soy milk version)
3 Tbs Earth Balance butter
3 Tbs white flour
soy milk
1/4-1/2 tsp salt (unless using salty sausage, then omit)
1/4-1/2 tsp pepper

method:
1. Melt butter in pan, add flour quickly. 
2. Pour in some soy milk. Add more soy milk slowly, stirring with a whisk until it is a good gravy texture*. 
3. Add salt and pepper
4. Add ground sausage (cooked and drained) and remove from heat.

Serve on toast or biscuits.

gravy #2 (coconut milk version)
1 can of full fat coconut milk
2 Tbs white flour
1/4-1/2 tsp salt (unless using salty sausage, then omit)
1/4-1/2 tsp pepper


method:
1. Open and pour full fat coconut milk can into pan.
2. Add flour and salt and pepper.
3. Stir with a whisk until thickened into a good gravy texture. 
4. Add sausage (cooked and drained) and remove from heat.

Serve on toast or biscuits.

*Not too thick, not too thin. Amount of soy milk will vary. Maybe 1 to 1.5 cups? Remember it thickens after cooling slightly. 
 
I love potatoes and one of my favorite dishes is scolloped potatoes. For far too long I was scared to make it dairy-free. I was scared by omitting or substituting it would some how ruin my favorite side dish. I only wish I had not waited so long to try this! A sweet woman I know shared her recipe with me, and since then, I have made scolloped potatoes without milk or butter many many times!

Angie's Scolloped Potatoes-revised for dairy-free
6 potatoes
3 Tbs Earth Balance "butter"
3 Tbs white flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper (I usually do 1/2 tsp)
2.5 cups rice or soy milk
1 onion (or 2 Tbs dried onion flakes)
thinly sliced ham, chopped (optional: It was not in her original recipe, but we love it)

Method:
1. Peal and thinly slice the potatoes
2. In a pot, melt "butter" and add flour. Add milk.
3. Stir in spices and onion and bring to a low boil until mixture is slightly thickened.
4. In a casserole dish, layer potatoes, creamy mixture, sprinkle ham, then potatoes, creamy mixture, sprinkle some ham.... repete until dish is filled. End with creamy mixture on top. (If extra remains, fill a smaller dish and have a mini one---I always mess up the ratios and have two dishes)
5. Bake at 350 for 1.5 hours (30 minutes covered with aluminum foil and then 60 minutes uncovered). Allow it to cool and thicken a little, then serve.



 


 
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This is a dish my mom came up with one night when we were visiting. To make fun of my husband (who thought being vegan only meant only not eating dairy/eggs-- aka that vegan people ate meat) she named this beef casserole for him.


It is a "shepherds pie" like dish. As with many recipes, for maximum flavor, use fresh ingredients (though it is still good with frozen or store canned ingredients)


Ingredients
1/4 of a large onion
1 quart of home canned tomatoes (or 2 cans of store bought)
1 Tb olive oil
1 lb lean ground beef
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground oregano
1 1/2 tsp basil
2 dashes of cayenne pepper
2 cups of fresh corn off the cob (of frozen corn, boiled until soft)

8 small potatoes, pealed, chopped, and boiled until soft. Mashed with 2-4 Tbs of Earth Balance "butter" and some soy or rice milk until creamy. Salt to taste.

Method
Saute onion in olive oil until soft. Add tomatoes and uncooked beef and spices. Stir until beef is cooked. Add corn. Put into casserole dish. Top with mashed potatoes and cover. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.


 
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This recipe is adapted slightly from PPK's Savory Mushroom Gravy. Feel free to use the original if you are a fan of mushrooms. 

It is a wonderful gravy to top on mashed potatoes!







Herb Gravy
1 carton of chicken or vegetable broth (3 cups)
1/2 cup flour
3 cloves (or 1.5 tsp minced) garlic
2 tsp thyme
1 tsp ground sage
few dashes of pepper
1/2 cup marsala wine*

Boil on low for about 20 minutes. Whisk often.

Serve on chicken or mashed potatoes or both!

*or wine of choice



 
Warning: MANY taco seasoning mixes from the store contain dairy in some form (usually whey is added)! Here is one I found online and altered to our personal tastes.

Taco Seasoning Blend
1 Tbs chili powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin 
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp ground oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper


Season your ground beef for tacos, burritos, or enchiladas. 

Add sweet corn, Mexican rice, black olives, and salsa for a complete dish. For enchiladas: top with enchilada sauce and green chilies and bake in oven.
 
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This recipe is a new one for our family and we LOVE it. I got it from the Six Sisters' Stuff website.

It reminds me of sweet, flavorful, breaded coconut shrimp, but it's chicken! It has a sweet, nutty, curry tone to it. 



1 cup sweetened coconut flakes, chopped
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp salt
3.4 tsp mild yellow curry powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
dash of red pepper
chicken breasts, sliced in half and then cut into approx. 3 inch pieces
my egg-like mixture: 1 cup dairy-free milk, boiled for 1 minute with approx. 1/4 cup white flour to thicken.

Method:
1. Combine coconut flakes and seasonings.
2. Slice the chicken breasts
3. Make egg-like mixture on stove
4. Coat chicken with egg-like mixture, roll in coconut seasoning mixture
5. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and bake chicken at 450 for 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on it so it gets crispy, but not burned.


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egg-like mixture (sorry the photo is blurry!)
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coating the chicken
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ready for the oven
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baked and ready to eat!
 
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My friend with 6 beautiful children worked hard to create a pancake recipe. She shared it with me, and I adapted it to be dairy-free and egg-free as well as tweeked it to fit our families needs.

 



Full large batch (family size)

1 1/2 cup white flour
1 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
3 Tb baking powder
1 tsp salt
6 Tb Earth Balance "butter", melted (or 1/4 +1/8 cup of oil of your choice)
3 cups dairy-free milk

1/3 batch

1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1 Tb baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tb Earth Balence "butter", melted
1 cup dairy-free milk
Mix dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients together. combine wet and dry. Heat pan up to medium heat. Grease pan with oil (coconut oil takes the pancakes up a 'fancy' notch in flavor or you can use Earth Balance "butter" or any oil of your choice). With a large spoon, scoop out pancake batter onto the pan. Cook until middles are done fluffy and outsides are golden.


CHOCOLATE CHIP PANCAKES: add approx.1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips. Can top with strawberries.

APPLE CINNAMON PANCAKES: add 1-2 apples (peeled and sliced into small pieces), 1 tsp cinnamon powder (or any amount to your taste). Chopped pecans go nicely with it too!

PLAIN PANCAKES: add 3 Tbs brown sugar (or 1 Tb for 1/3 batch size) and/or top with maple syrup.


 
This is my grandmother's meatloaf recipe with some changes to spice amounts and ingredients. I think the original recipe may have been from Betty Crocker.

1 lb uncooked ground beef
1/3 cup (or a bit more) dairy-free/egg-free bread crumbs 
2 Tb dried onion flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tb worcester sauce (optional)
1/2 cup soy or rice milk
1/2 cup ketchup

Method: 
1. In a mixing bowl combine bread crumbs, onion flakes, salt, pepper, sage, garlic. 
2. Add ground beef and fork/stir until well mixed.
3. Add worcester sauce, soy milk, and ketchup
4. Place in bread pan (lined with parchment paper helps for easy clean up). Pat down meat mixture until it is low down in the pan and looks loaf-like. Top with extra ketchup (by swirling some on top in whatever design or lack of design you want).
5. bake at 350 for 1hr (or until internal temperature is over 180 degrees)

Serve with roasted potatoes or mashed potatoes and vegetable of choice.