Asparagus, mushrooms, and chickpeas are baked in a creamy sauce and topped with crunchy shredded potatoes in this low-fat vegan casserole.
Everything I read lately, from blogs to magazine articles, proclaims that summer is almost over and fall is in the air. Really? Where? Here in Mississippi, daytime temps are still in the mid-90’s and the only thing in the air is dust.
Nevertheless, maybe because I’m wishing for fall or maybe because I’m just getting sick of salads, I’ve been craving casseroles–hot, starchy, comfort-food concoctions that fill the whole house with the warmth and aroma of savory herbs and vegetables. So this week I just decided to go with the craving, pretend that the leaves are turning to gold and the wind is nippy instead of balmy, and bake my family a casserole. This casserole.
If I’m going to turn on the oven in this kind of weather, I want to make sure that what goes into the casserole dish is filling and complete enough to be a whole meal (with, maybe, a slice of whole-grain bread or a salad on the side). In other words, it must include vegetables as well as beans and starch.
In this Asparagus and Chickpea Casserole, my starchy element doubles as an easy, crispy topping: Frozen, oil-free hash browns, the shredded kind sold as “Country-Style.” If you can’t find them in your supermarket, simply run a medium-sized gold or red-skinned potato through the shredding disk of your food processor. Sprinkle on top of the casserole for crunchy topping that, unlike traditional breadcrumb crusts, is fat-free and refined-flour-free.
And parents, if your children are like mine, they’ll devour anything with shredded potatoes on top. My daughter E gave this dish four and a half crumbs on her 5-point Num-CrumbTM scale (5 crumbs being limited to lasagna and desserts). I guess she was ready for casserole season, too.
Asparagus and Chickpea Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion , diced
- 1 rib celery , diced
- 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 12 ounces asparagus , ends trimmed and stalks cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons vegetable broth or “no-chicken” broth
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup vegetable broth or “no-chicken” broth
- 3/4 cup unsweetened soymilk or other non-dairy milk
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas , rinsed and drained
- 2-3 cups frozen hash brown potatoes (or 5-8 ounces raw potato, shredded)
- smoked paprika , for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly oil or spray a 2-3 quart casserole dish.
- Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat and add the onions. Cook until onions soften, 2-3 minutes. Add the celery, mushrooms, and garlic and cook for 2-3 more minutes, until mushrooms exude their juices. Add the asparagus and two tablespoons of vegetable broth, cover pan, and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until asparagus is bright green and beginning to become tender.
- Whisk the flour into the cup of vegetable broth. Add it, the milk, nutritional yeast, thyme, and basil and heat until bubbly. Add the chickpeas and salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour into prepared casserole dish and top with an even layer of potatoes. Sprinkle potatoes with salt, if desired, and smoked paprika.
- Bake until casserole is bubbly and top is lightly browned, 25-45 minutes (frozen potatoes will take longer than fresh). If top does not completely brown, place it under the broiler for a few seconds.
Nutritional info is approximate.
Please pin and share!
Lea @ Healthy Coconut
I live in Southern California and today definitely feels like fall. The morning fog is thing and it’s gloomy.
This casserole will definitely make colder nights so much better. I made semi-homemade lentils & squash soup last night and it was rich and hearty, perfect for fall weather.
Lea @ Healthy Coconut
I meant morning fog is **thick.
sylvia
I love the idea of using hash brown potatoes as the crispy topping! Recipe looks fabulous and so simple. It’s almost like a healthier, lighter version of a veggie pot pie.
Mary (What's Cookin' with Mary)
This sounds great! I have never seen a casserole made with chickpeas and asparagus, but must say that this looks REALLY good and is making me hungry 😉
I’m with Lea… I live in So Cal too and the weather today is making me want ‘fall food’ … was thinking about making chili, but may have to put that on hold and make this casserole instead!
moonwatcher
Hi Susan,
This looks great! I second Sylvia’s comment above. I won’t be able to find fresh asparagus around here, but I still might have enough green beans in my garden and could use those. I look forward to trying this out.
xo
moonwatcher
Laina
Susan, this looks really delicious. I’m going to get some asparagus tomorrow so I can try this. What a nice change. Did you use frozen potatoes or did you use fresh? Is there a difference in the results?
Btw, were in the mid 90’s today in NM. 🙂
SusanV
Laina, I did use frozen potatoes, and between that and the casserole dish I used (one of those Italian ones that need to be soaked in water first), it took the longer time, about 45 minutes. I think that with fresh potatoes (and a different dish), the time should be shorter, so that’s why I give such a long range of temperatures. Just play it by ear and don’t let it burn, and it should come out okay. 🙂
Rachel
Yum! I’m definitely craving casseroles too. I like that this one includes all or most of the meal in one dish as well.
Katie Redington
This looks so delicious! Fall is upon us in Washington state and I have been craving casseroles and stews. Keep ’em comig!
JL Goes Vegan
I love everything about this recipe. Delicious foods and all mixed up in a casserole!
Brigid
Yeah, the high is 90 here (Oklahoma) again today. I suppose it’s better than 100+, but autumn doesn’t feel all that near. 🙂
The caserole sounds yummy, and I will definitely have to try putting hashbrowns on top of one. That’s such a clever idea!
Soma
I am so loving this dish. everything about it, esp the hash on the top.
Shawna
So… do you think this would be OK in a 4qt casserole pan? We just moved, and its all we have!
slk
SusanV
It will probably depend on the shape of the pan. If it’s deep, it will probably be fine, but if it’s long and wide, it will be spread too thin and the potatoes won’t cover the top.
Shawna
It was a deep pan, and it turned out DELICIOUSLY 🙂 Thanks, Susan!
VEGirl
Haha– I’m laughing right now! Num-Crumb ratings? Love it. Gotta try that with my parents! My five crumb would probably be limited to nut butter and there recipes.
Oh yeah, and the casserole looks scrumptious. It getting really nippy, chilly, and rainy where I am. Time for the oven!!! YAY!
VEGirl
Emily
Yum, this looks sooo much better than the University Dining Hall’s salad bar… Your photos are fabulous. Did you mean “country-style” potatoes?
SusanV
Yes, I did! Thanks for catching that!
Heather Loves Healthy Vegan Recipes
great idea, I love the grated potato on top! I will definitely be trying this when I get home from traveling – my husband LOVES potatoes
Frugal Vegan Mom
Wow that looks amazing, everything my (non-veg) hubby likes. Just printed the recipe to try soon.
You are so lucky it’s still 90’s there, it’s been ten degrees below average here in MN, in the 50’s/60’s. Brrrrr HATE the cold, even as a lifelong Minnesotan!
Alexis J
Hi!
I just made your banana and cashew balls–loved them! Question though….I know this sounds odd, but I don’t have any flour. Could I use ground flax seed instead?
Thanks!
SusanV
Do you have any cornstarch or other starch? You can use 1 tablespoon of either of those instead of the flour. You won’t get the same kind of thickening with flax seed.
Rachel
Susan, there’s far too much liquid (or not enough flour) in this recipe. I ended up adding about 1/4 cup of uncooked rice right before popping it in the oven and the liquid content was just about right. I’m surprised you didn’t end up with a soup if you made the recipe as written!
SusanV
Rachel, I actually added about 2 tablespoons more liquid, during the skillet stage, but reduced it a little in the written version because my results were as you see in the photo–not soupy, but not as thick as I wanted. I’m surprised there was enough liquid in your version to cook a 1/4 cup of rice, but it does sound like a nice addition.
Suzi
This recipee sounds good! I do not have asparagas ,so I will try useing green beens or zuchini
Meirav
Oh, I loooove anything with chickpeas, they’re my number 1 favorite legume (then kidney beans….then black beans….then sprouted mung beans….I can go on forever XD)
Hey, a while ago I opened my own vegan food blog, if you could please add me to your list of vegan blogs it’d be great.
Thank you!!
Michelle
Susan, this looks so yummy and I’m planning on making it tonight, but I don’t have any of the nutritional yeast and was wondering if something could be substituted and what the purpose of the yeast is? Thanks, Michelle
SusanV
Michelle, the nutritional yeast is there mostly for flavor and a little thickening. I suggest adding another 1/2 tablespoon of flour and either increase the herbs a little or add a teaspoon of light miso, if you have it, before you add salt.
Laina
I made this today, Susan…………delicious! Thanks so much!!! My liquidity was perfect……..a nice gravy. I used potato starch in mine, not the flour.
Btw, you called for basil in the list of ingredients, but asked for oregano in the directions. I used the basil, but oregano sounds good too. 🙂
SusanV
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! And thanks so much for the correction. I DID use basil, so you guessed right. I’ll get the recipe corrected ASAP.
Sarah English
Yum, yum, yummy! Can’t wait to try other recipes of yours!
Mel
Asparagus season has just begun downunder (hooray!) and the weather is still way cool enough to enjoy meals like this one. This is a definite winner – I was a bit tentative about making this for my family as my husband isn’t that keen on chickpeas but he thoroughly enjoyed it and even took the leftovers for lunch today! Thanks Susan for this and the other couple of great recipes I have tried from your blog. I’ll be back for more…
June
This was really good. I made it almost exactly according the recipe except I had to use full size portobellos. We used grated raw potato rather than frozen. The amount of liquid was fine but since we had it for leftover the next day, I did notice it was thicker so maybe it just depends on how long you cook it?
We definitely will make it again. We are thinking of maybe shiitake mushrooms instead and maybe cooking the grated potato on a separate cookie sheet to get it even more crisp and then putting it on top just before serving.
Many thanks for another great recipe.
Jan
I tried this recipe last night and it was so good. I couldn’t find the nutritional yeast so I added 1/4 cup fat free mozarella cheese @45 calories per 1/4 cup.
I just loved it! Thanks for a great recipe.
Amy
The casserole was delicious! The only problem I had was the shredded potatoes did not brown. I used frozen shredded potatoes, cooked the casserole at 400 degrees for 25 minutes (it was hot and bubbly) and the turned the broiler on high for several minutes (believe it or not). The bubbly portions poking through the potatoes browned but not the potatoes themselves. Maybe I used too thick a layer? Or maybe I should have defrosted the potatoes first? Any ideas? Nevertheless, it was still very tasty and we ate every last bite. Thanks for all your great recipes.
SusanV
Amy, that’s so strange! Maybe it was that you used a thicker layer than I did. I also had to put it under the broiler to get it to brown, and I didn’t defrost first. Sorry yours didn’t come out as expected.
Laura
I made this and loved it! The first time I used a veggie stock and made as is..soo good! The 2nd time I used Broccoli instead of Asparagus and used No-Chicken Broth. It was really, really good. The broccoli flowers grabs hold of the sauce..yum!I had never used Nutritional Yeast before..really great..adds so much flavor and depth. Thank you ..can’t wait to expore your site!
Karen
Susan,
I made this last night and loved it. However, my husband has an aversion to chickpeas — are there some beans I can use to substitute? Also, I try to use asparagus only when I can get it fresh locally — when winter hits, is there another green I can try to substitute?
Thanks so much for your recipes!
SusanV
I think it would be good with broccoli and white beans. If that’s a combination your husband likes, give it a try!
Kat
Just got a bunch of asparagus delivered in our veggie box. Will have to try this today or tomorrow. Do you think breadcrumbs would make a suitable substitution for the potato topping? I’m not a big hashbrown fan.
SusanV
Breadcrumbs will be fine. Hope you enjoy it!
moonwatcher
Hi Susan,
Well, get ready for a long comment, I have a story to tell you! lol In my previous comment to this entry I think I mentioned no asparagus around here at this time of year, but that maybe I’d try this with green beans, of which I still have some in my garden. Then I realized that I had just previously made a version of gardener’s pie with chickpeas and mushrooms, and I wanted something different. So I started wondering if I could use the green beans in an Ethiopian type stew, and grate sweet potatoes on top. I looked at this recipe, your Berbere Stew recipe on the web site, and the Ethiopian inspired lentil soup on the blog. I also had a few hard won tomatoes from my garden (it’s been a relatively cool summer here), a local onion, a piece of a local jalapeno, and a few chickpeas left over. . .so I made a stew cooking first sauteing the onions with about a teaspoon of your Ethiopian spice mix, then added shallot, a bit of jalapeno, and about a teaspoon of grated ginger. Then I added the 1 1/4 cup of red lentils and 3 cups of broth. Meanwhile, I blanched my green beans and chopped my 3 tomatoes. I also whisked about two teaspoons of peanut butter in with a tablespoon or so of Very Veggie Juice I had left over, and a teaspoon of arrowroot. When the lentils were soft, I added the tomatoes and green beans and chickpeas. As the mixture cooked, I’d tasted and add a quarter of a teaspoon of spice mixture. In all, I probably used a little over 2 teaspoons, so not as much as the original recipe, since I am a spice wimp.
I shredded a combo of garnet yam and yukon gold potatoes (mostly yam) for the top. Right before putting it all in the oven, I added the peanut butter arrowroot mixture, and top with the shredded yam and potato, and and maybe a teaspoon of chopped peanuts. I also sprinkled a little salt and pepper and a little of the Ethiopian spice mix on the top.
It turned out really well, even though I almost burned it too much by deciding to put it under the broiler for a few minutes and getting distracted. But it is very yummy, and I will look forward to experimenting more with the potato topping.
And some day I’ll make the orignal recipe! Asparagus is plentiful up here in the Spring, so maybe not until then! It would be nice with my fresh lemon thyme!
Thanks for another wonderful template to play with! I never would have thought of it myself, but it gave me tons of ideas once YOU thought of it. 🙂
xo
moonwatcher
SusanV
This sounds delicious, and I’ll bet it looked pretty with the two types of potatoes on top. Thanks for sharing another one of your creative adaptations!
Katie
This was really good =) my whole family enjoyed it
rebecca
I don’t know WHAT i did wrong with this but i just didn’t like it. i think i used too much fresh shredded potato on top and didn’t rinse it well enough. it tasted like the dirty potato to me. i really messed it up. everyone else liked it but me though so maybe me being the only vegetarian did something to my tastebuds. (started a week ago) because nobody else noticed the odd flavor of well, dirty potatoes.
Basil
This turned out so good. I really liked… everything… but I thought the potato topping was really clever. This really makes fall feel like it has arrived, but it’s still pretty hot where I live, too. And I got really lucky with this recipe, because asparagus was on sale! Yay! And the gravy, which I never seem to have very much luck with, turned out marvelously thick.
Sue
As others said, there is too much liquid. I did add some rice to soak it up. If I were to make this again, I would reduce the amount of chickpeas and liquid.
My husband thought it was very bland as did I and we added some Tabasco sauce to perk it up a little
The potato topping is a great idea!
Jaye Denman
Hi, Susan….Just saw your photo and read the feature about you and your vegan recipes in the Jackson Free Press. Very good! I felt as though I were reading an article about a friend….
This asparagus and chickpea recipe looks good, and I’m ready for a casserole, too. Think I will try it soon.
By the way, when I was griping about the lack of restaurants in Jackson that serve vegan fare, I’d forgotten about the Lone Star Cafe in the Rainbow Market, I went to the market recently and had lunch there. The day’s special was a vegan Mexican lasagna, with a side of veggie medley. It was all so scrumptious (and I didn’t have to cook it, which made it better), so I ate every single bite. Not a drop left on the plate when I was done.
Is it okay to give my own online writing a shameless plug here, even though I haven’t written anything (yet) about food? Two weeks ago I joined a writers’ community, HubPages.com. My profile and the three articles , or “hubs” as they’re called on the site, I’ve published so far can be found by going to the main page, typing in my user name, “JayeWisdom” in the search box, changing “hub” to “site” in the drop-down box to the right of it and clicking on SEARCH. I really need to increase my readership, so if anyone on here wants to read my articles, I will appreciate your doing so. The first is about what happens when a woman in her 60s (me) gets her first-ever pet (all true). Then I have two articles of a four-part series completed on the topic of book collecting. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Jaye
Sherbs
This was great! My boyfriend and I loved it. I did find the gravy a bit watery so I will just use cornstarch next time instead of flour. I only needed to bake it 25 minutes–I used fresh potatoes and they browned nicely. So healthy too!
Kathie
This was absolutely delicious-thanks for this wonderful recipe.My husband loved it. I used 1 tsp of Cumin instead of the yeast, and added 1/4c. of reduced fat shredded cheese.