Vegan Potato Dumpling Casserole with Brussels Sprouts & "Minced Meat"

Do you know and like our vegan tater tot casserole? Then you'll love this potato dumpling casserole. It's the wintery big sister of the tater tot version. Instead of mushroom sauce, gravy is used here, and in addition to vegan minced meat and shredded cheese, there are lots of Brussels sprouts hidden in the casserole dish if that doesn't sound like the perfect comfort food for cold days.

But before we dive into the recipe, let's talk briefly about Brussels sprouts. Unfortunately, it is still a rather unpopular vegetable with many people. Yet it contains so many important vitamins and minerals, grows regionally in the winter months (September to March) here in Germany and simply looks beautiful. By the way, if you've never looked at how Brussels sprouts grow, please do so now. But if that still hasn't convinced you of the benefits of Brussels sprouts, pay attention: We have found two variations that could convince many Brussels sprout critics: 1. we cut them into very thin strips and hide them under a thick layer of cheese. 2. we coat them in a marinade of olive oil and agave syrup and bake them until they caramelize slightly. Does that sound good? We hope so because both variations can be found in our casserole.

As we have a lot to do with the individual components of the casserole, we'll take a shortcut and replace the best gravy in the world with our quick gravy. But if you want to go the extra mile, just make the slightly longer version.

We prepared the casserole in a cast iron pan. Using an ovenproof dish is very practical, as you can fry the vegan minced meat directly in this pan and have one less thing to wash up at the end. However, if you don't have one, you can make the casserole in a normal dish.

Now let's get to the ingredient that gives the recipe its name and is, therefore, its most important ingredient: vegan potato dumplings. In addition to our other beloved Pasta Nuova products (tortelloni and gnocchi), we have now also moved into their potato dumplings. We were really happy about this because we think Pasta Nuova is really great. They produce all their products in Germany in organic quality. What's more, the recipes are based on authentic Italian family recipes. We always have their products in the office in case we don't have enough time to cook lunch. You can find the products here in the online store.

One last thing: If you want to prepare the casserole and bake it later, that's no problem. You can store the individual components separately and layer them just before baking. The casserole may then take 5 to 10 minutes longer to bake, as everything will, of course, be cold.