Gluten Free Scalloped Potatoes | An Allergy Friendly Recipe

I love potatoes -- all types. And, I sorta miss having scalloped potatoes since we've become mostly a GFCF household. Being soy-free also doesn't make subbing dairy any easier. I've tried to develop a recipe for gluten free scalloped potatoes a few times but failed. Getting them to be gluten free was one piece of the puzzle - the other was also making this a dairy free scalloped potatoes recipe.

Getting the right flavor and texture was vital to this recipe. At the urging of my potato-loving kids, I came up with a recipe that's simple and pretty darn good. Most important, my kids really liked this as they were growing up. I made this in the crock pot, but I'm sure you can adapt for the oven.

Ingredients

• Potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced 
• Dairy free margarine or ghee -- I used Spectrum shortening
• Sea salt 
• Black pepper 
• Gluten free tapioca flour (I think potato starch, corn starch would work too) 
• Gluten free chickpea flour (I think potato flour, rice flour, etc. would work too -- anything that's a fine flour and not grainy) 
• Garlic powder 
• Dairy free milk - I used rice milk
• Water 
• Corn starch (I think tapioca or potato starch would work too) 

I use a big crock pot, so adapt if yours is smaller. Start by peeling and slicing the potatoes. I peeled two average sized potatoes at a time. Then, layer the slices of those two potatoes on the bottom of the crock pot. Sprinkle a dash of salt and a pinch of pepper over top of the layer. Then, sprinkle 1 tbsp of the tapioca flour over the layer and then 1 tbsp of the chickpea flour over the layer. Then, drop about 4 small dabs of the shortening (or margarine) in various places over the layer --  1/2 tsp each. 

Then, repeat this process by adding another layer of potatoes over top -- about two potatoes. Then, the seasoning, flours and shortening. Do this with about 4-5 layers of potatoes. Using this mix of flours is what makes this a gluten free scalloped potatoes recipe.

When done, pour 1 cup of dairy free milk over top and then 1 cup of water. Turn the crock pot setting to high and let it go for four hours. After 2 hours, spoon over the top layer of potatoes to ensure they don't dry out. Do this again after the 3rd hour. 

After the 3rd hour, test taste. When I first made these, I found that the milk alternative taste was coming thru too much and not enough of the seasoning. So, I added another dose of salt and pepper and a couple dashes of garlic powder. You can skip this if you don't like garlic. It was enough to flavor but not overwhelm. You also can experiment with different milk substitutes. Your choice of margarine/ghee and dairy-free milk is the key to keeping this a dairy free scalloped potatoes recipe.

Of course, you can play with the seasoning - add any other spice that you like.

That's it. Enjoy your gluten free scalloped potatoes.