Twice Baked Potato Cakes with Creamy Dill Sour Cream Sauce

Sometimes I even surprise myself at how well a recipe turns out. These oven-baked mashed potato cakes with sauteed onions and vegan chorizo from No Evil turned out to be everything you love about mashed potatoes and crispy hashbrowns all in one dish. Topped with a rich and creamy vegan dill sour cream sauce...believe me, you won't be able to eat just one.

Let’s face it! Not all plant-based recipes are always healthy but sometimes you just need some old-fashioned comfort food and these Twice Baked Potato Cakes with Creamy Dill Sour Cream Sauce are just that. A great dish for your weekend brunch or to use up the leftover baked potatoes from last nigh’s dinner. The magic of this recipe is, for sure, the Creamy Dill Sour Cream Sauce…so don’t skip on that part of this delicious dish!

What you are going to need to buy:

Medium Yukon Gold Potatoes - (Budget 1 medium potato per person you want to serve)

Chorizo - (We used the vegan chorizo from No Evil) Sweet Onion

Butter - (I love this plant-based butter from Earth Balance)

Milk or Cream - (We used this coconut and almond blend from Califa Farms)

Minced Garlic - (the best is from Spice World!)  

Fresh Chives

Fresh Dill

Sour Cream ( We used this vegan sour cream from our friends over at Tofutti)

Veggie Stock or Bullion Cubes - (we like the “Not Chicken Bouillon” by Edward and Sons)

Flour

Salt & Pepper, to taste

What you are going to need to do:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

This recipe starts by peeling and cubing your potatoes and bringing them to a rolling boil in salted water until they are fork-tender.

While the potatoes are boiling, in a small saucepan, saute’ your diced onions in olive oil or vegan butter with garlic until onions are translucent.

Once the potatoes are tender drain them well and then using a potato masher or the tines of a large fork begin to mash the potatoes. Continue to mash and incorporate the sauteed onions and garlic, along with pea-sized pieces of the plant-based chorizo. stir well to combine. This mixture will still be a bit lumpy and that’s okay…you don’t need it to be smooth like actual mashed potatoes, just break down the big potato chunks. Add your chopped chives, salt and pepper, and additional garlic, to taste. If the mixture is too dry add some vegan cream or your preferred plant-based milk and/or butter. You need the texture to be dry enough to hold together in cake form while baking.

Using a ring mold or cookie cutter form your potato cakes. If you are not too terribly concerned about the looks or shape of the cakes, you can forgo the molds and use a large spoon and mound mixture onto a non-stick baking sheet.

Bake cakes at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Watch to make sure that they are not browning too quickly.

While the cakes are baking you can make the Creamy Dill Sour Cream Sauce.

Making the Creamy Dill Sour Cream Sauce.

In the pot that you used to saute’ the onions add 2-3 tablespoons of butter and heat on medium/low until melted.

Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of white flour over the butter and whisk to make a roux. Let rue cook for 2-3 minutes. Slowly add 1 cup of veggie stock and whisk constantly until the rue is dissolved into the stock. Let the mixture come to back up to a boil and allow to boil for 1 minute to thicken. If the mixture gets too thick you can add a bit more stock.

Remove from heat and let cool for 2-3 minutes. Stir into mixture 4 ounces of sour cream along with 1 tablespoon of chopped, fresh dill, and salt and pepper to taste. The sour cream will help to thin the mixture out but if it’s still too thick you can always add a bit of milk and/or butter. Additionally, you can melt your favorite vegan parmesan cheese into the sauce or even sprinkle in a bit of nutritional yeast if desired.

Check on the potatoes. They should be getting a crisp outer shell that is turning golden brown. Feel free to switch your oven to broil for the last 5 minutes that the cakes are in the oven to assist in browning but keep a close eye on them so they do not burn.

Allow the cakes to cool on the stove-top for 1-2 minutes before plating. Serve potato cakes topped with the
Creamy Dill Sour Cream Sauce and garnished with additional chopped chives.
Enjoy!