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A delicious Super Simple Cheesy Vegan Broccoli Rice Casserole. Think of this as a healthier, vegan-twist on your traditional southern cheesy broccoli casserole. The recipe is made with chickpea Banza rice, vegan cashew cheese sauce, fresh broccoli florets and sliced mushrooms. This recipe is super simple and will become a favorite in your home.
The Idea Behind the Cheesy Vegan Broccoli Rice Casserole Recipe
Do you ever have those nights where you only have a few things left in your fridge and don’t know what to do with them? We find that when we only have a few things to make a dish for dinner, we are the most creative in the kitchen.
One night, after realizing the only vegetables we had left in the fridge were broccoli and mushrooms, we created this recipe. We instantly thought of the cheesy broccoli mushroom casserole our grandma would make for family dinners growing up.
We wanted to recreate our grandma’s traditional, southern recipe–one that’s packed with butter and multiple cups of cheese. was a challenge, because we wanted to make something that warmed the soul just as much as hers did.
It’s taken us over a month to perfect this recipe to our liking, and we are so excited to share it with you. Whether you eat a vegan diet or are looking for a healthier version of a traditional southern broccoli rice casserole, you’ve come to the right place.
What’s in the Recipe?
Vegan Cheese Sauce: This vegan cheese sauce is one of our favorite things to add to this dish and others. We use this recipe to top sweet potato nachos or make vegan Mac and cheese. It’s so versatile and delicious. The nutritional yeast adds a decadent cheesy flavor and the hint of spice from the spice mixture in this recipe take this sauce up a notch.
Banza Chickpea Rice: Banza chickpea pasta is perfect for Mac and cheese or other pasta dishes. We tried their rice, we were hooked! It tastes just like rice. We think it’s even more filling and has more flavor than traditional white or brown rice.
Everything is Cooked in One Pot
This recipe is super simple, because everything is cooked in one pot. The recipe starts with warming and softening the vegetables on the stove top and then transferring to the oven to bake.
First, grab a large pot or dutch oven. We use this dutch oven from William Sonoma, but we also love this one from Target.
Second, start cooking the vegetables in the pot. Add the broccoli and steam with a little bit of water for about 8 mins. After the broccoli is tender, add some olive oil and fry the mushroom and broccoli together for about 5 mins.
Preparing the Vegan Cheese Sauce
While the mushrooms and broccoli are frying in the pan, make the vegan cheese sauce. This cheese sauce makes broccoli rice casserole so decadent!
Next, you’ll add the cheese mixture to the vegetables and pour the uncooked Banza rice straight into the pot. Stir the ingredients until they are covered in the sauce. This will help cook all the ingredients evenly. We like to add an extra bit of almond milk to the mixture to make it creamier.
Transfer the pot to the oven and bake until the top is a delicious, golden brown.
Looking for other easy healthy meals to make during the week? Here are some you’ll like:
Healthy Sheet Pan Dinner: Oven Roasted Vegetables
Caramelized Onion Butternut Squash Broccoli Flatbread
The Most Delicious Healthy Apple Cinnamon Muffins
If you make this Cheesy Vegan Broccoli Rice Casserole, be sure to leave a comment or give this recipe a rating!
We love hearing from you and seeing what recipes you try and commenting back. Try this recipe and tag us on Instagram as well! We love seeing your photos.
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Super Simple Cheesy Vegan Broccoli Rice Casserole
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 people 1x
Ingredients
Vegan Cheese Sauce
- 1 cup cashews (soaked in water for 15 mins)
- 1/4 onion (chopped)
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Broccoli Bake
- 1 head of broccoli (chopped)
- 8–10 baby bella mushrooms (sliced)
- 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
- 1 bag of Banza Rice ((or 8 oz of other rice))
- 1/4–1/2 cup almond milk
- fresh basil (for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Add cashews to a bowl, cover in warm water and soak for 15 mins.
- In a large pot or dutch oven, add chopped broccoli and 1/4 cup water. Cover the pot with a lid and steam broccoli for 8 mins. You don’t want the broccoli to be super tender, but enough to stick a fork through without much resistance.
- After broccoli is tender, add chopped mushrooms and minced garlic and fry in the pan for 5 mins.
- While the vegetables are frying, prepare the cheese sauce. Add all the cheese sauce ingredients to a high powered blender and blend together.
- Pour cheese sauce into the pot. Add the uncooked Banza rice to the pot. Stir all the ingredients together until everything is covered with the cheese sauce.
- Add an extra 1/4-1/2 cup of almond milk to make the mixture more creamy and not as dry.
- Transfer the pot to the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
- Top with fresh basil and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: American
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