This creamy, vegan casserole is the kind of rich, comfort food you look forward to at Thanksgiving–without all the fat and calories.
Thanksgiving is just three days away, and I don’t know where all my time went. Well, actually, I do know how I used some of it: making this casserole, twice, to get it just right so that if you decide to include it in your holiday meal, you can be sure it will work.
And it will! It’s my new favorite dish, though my family won’t allow me to make it for Thanksgiving because they just had it twice in the same week. But that shouldn’t stop you from putting this delicious yet nutritious casserole on your holiday table.
The standard broccoli-rice casserole usually contains white rice, chicken, cheese, and sometimes cream cheese, so the nutritional benefits of the broccoli get lost in a sea of cholesterol, simple carbs, and fat. Even vegan versions often contain Daiya or some other high-fat, processed vegan cheese, but not mine. There’s no cheese at all, and the only fat comes from seeds and nuts, which you can even leave out if you want.
The first time I made this broccoli casserole, I used chickpeas and some Lotus Foods Madagascar Pink rice (a swag-bag gift at Vida Vegan Con). It’s a quick-cooking, lightly milled rice that looks almost red when it’s cooked, as you can see in my photos.
The second time I made it, I used ordinary brown rice and soy curls instead of chickpeas, and if I were going to serve this to non-vegans, that’s the combination I would choose. It’s not an elegant dish, but then again, neither is stuffing or sweet potato casserole. It’s the kind of rich, comfort food I look forward to at Thanksgiving–without all the fat and calories.
So what are you serving? I’ll be traveling to my parents’ house with a green bean casserole, a double-layer pumpkin cheesecake, and a still-undecided protein dish (timbales? baked tofu? seitan cutlets?) with mushroom gravy. My mother will be handling the rest of the meal, which will include her cornbread dressing, my lemon pie (made with home-grown lemons), and, I hope, cranberry relish. It will be a feast of family and food! I hope your holiday is just as happy.
Creamy Vegan Broccoli and Rice Casserole
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 1/4 cup plain unsweetened soymilk or other non-dairy milk
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch or potato starch
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 tablespoon sherry optional
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon tahini or cashew butter optional
- very generous grating black pepper
Casserole
- 1 head broccoli about 5 cups, cut into small florets
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1/2 red or yellow bell pepper chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped celery chopped
- 1 3/4 cups cooked chickpeas or other options, see below
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 cups cooked brown rice warm, if possible
- 2 tablespoons sliced or slivered almonds optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375. Lightly oil or spray a medium casserole dish (about 2-1/2-quart size).
- Place the sauce ingredients into a blender and process until smooth. Set aside.
- Place the broccoli in a steamer basket set over water and steam, covered, until just barely tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
- While the broccoli is steaming, heat a large, deep non-stick skillet or saute pan. Add the onion, bell pepper, and celery and cook, stirring constantly, for 4-5 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas, thyme, rice, and steamed broccoli. Make sure the sauce is well-blended, and add it to the skillet. Stir gently and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Check seasonings, adding more salt and pepper if necessary, and smooth into the prepared casserole dish and sprinkle with almonds, if desired. Bake until the top begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Serve hot.
Notes
- 1 cup dry soy curls, rehydrated in hot vegetable broth and drained
- 2 cups baked tofu, cubed
- 1 1/2 cups tempeh bacon
- 1 1/2 cups sliced or diced seitan
Nutritional info is approximate.
Becca
December 6, 2011 at 3:09 pmDelicious and so adaptable! The thyme is what does it 🙂 My husband topped his with a bit of tomato sauce, which was nice too!
Christina
December 7, 2011 at 11:03 amThat looks like a great holiday dish!! I don’t make much casseroles but this looks delish.
Rachel
December 13, 2011 at 10:49 amMade this recipe last night for me and my boyfriend and it was great. My (non-vegan) boyfriend even had two heaping servings of it, so this will definitely be a keeper! We did add extra cayenne pepper, but we like things spicy. Bravo!
Michelle
December 13, 2011 at 3:32 pmI made this for myself and family for supper. We all found it a bit bland like it was missing something so we all added a couple of handfuls of Daiya Chedder shreds and everyone gobbled it up. Next time I think I might add some to it while it is baking.
Michelle
December 13, 2011 at 3:34 pmI forgot to mention I used Quinoa instead of rice.
jessica mccann
December 16, 2011 at 12:54 pmThis was one of the best recipes I have made it a while. Thank you for sharing. However, it is impossible for me to follow any recipe to a T, for whatever reason. I ended up doubling the amount of peppers, celery and broccoli for a more veggy-ful dish. I also doubled altered the sauce as well, because I love the way a cashews add to the “cheesey” flavor of nutritional yeast, although it does add fat. My boyfriend looked at it and said it looked like it was “not his style” (meaning it was too healthy) but we ended up fighting for the last bowl the next day 🙂 Thanks again for sharing it. This is by far my favorite vegan blog 🙂
BlueKarma
December 19, 2011 at 11:09 amThis was so delicious. I was out of celery so I tossed in some sliced fresh mushrooms. I also kept the sauce a little thin so that it would thicken up nicely when baking. Mr. Omni, who was been eating every vegan dish I give him without whining (bless his heart), immediately said “put it on the keeper list!”
Tricia
December 22, 2011 at 6:39 pmMade your creamy vegan broccoli and rice casserole today for a Christmas work carry-in where NO ONE is vegan. It went over pretty well I thought and *I* loved it! I did sub Trader Joe’s Beefless beef, one pkg, for the chickpeas. I couldn’t find soy curls locally and this seemed like it would make it go over better with meat eaters! LOVE IT! Thanks so much for this website. I am making your pumpkin cheesecake, lemon pie, green bean casserole, and carrots for Christmas! 🙂
Jenna Z
December 28, 2011 at 2:51 pmThis was SO GOOD! It tasted just like the cheesy broc and rice casserole we used to make which was full of cheese and canned soup, EWWW! This was SO delicious and way better for everyone!
Karen
January 2, 2012 at 6:27 pmMade this the other day. We both really enjoyed it. Had 1- 1/2 cups of cooked brown rice and cooked white beans (navy beans) so that is what I used. There was plenty of rice and just the right amount of sauce. I also didn’t blanch the broccoli which worked out fine, it was crisp tender which is the way we like it. This made a lot especially for two older adults so next it I will half the recipe. Thanks.
Bess Hochstein
January 5, 2012 at 1:36 pmCan you please explain a bit more what soy curls are? The link is just to the product, which does not give a good description – are they meant to be pasta-like?
Susan Voisin
January 5, 2012 at 1:41 pmThey’re a meat substitute. They’re a little chewy and do a good job of replacing chicken in recipes. If you’re familiar with TVP, these are like a less-processed version. They contain all the fat of the original soybeans and taste less artificial than TVP.
Jenn
January 6, 2012 at 1:46 pmHi Susan,
This looks so amazing and healthy, but I don’t have nutritional yeast on hand. Is there anything I can substitute for it? I really want to make it for dinner tonight!
Thanks!
Susan Voisin
January 6, 2012 at 1:52 pmIt’s going to lose the cheesy flavor without the nutritional yeast, but you could try making it and adding some extra seasonings instead. I wouldn’t exactly recommend that because NY is such a big part of the flavor.
Urszula Humienik
January 7, 2012 at 6:43 amI made this for Christmas dinner. It was delicious, and we’ve made several variations since. Thanks for the great recipe. Our family loves your site.
Randi
January 10, 2012 at 2:03 pmmade this last night and was a big hit – super easy and super delish. thank you for yet another keeper
Denise Cordero
January 10, 2012 at 8:14 pmDear Susan, I have enjoyed many of your wonderful recipes!! Thanks!! This is the latest I’ve tried. My husband and I both eat FF Vegan. He absolutely LOVED this one and so did I.
Michelle
January 14, 2012 at 6:02 amHi Susan, I’m a huge fan of your blog, have posted just once a few days ago but didn’t introduce myself.
I went from omni to vegetarian about 9 months ago and now follow an 80% vegan / 20% vegetarian diet. I’m an Aussie living in the Philippines and dining out (on business) even as a vegetarian is tough! So I really appreciate your blog, it’s the only one I follow and I love all your recipes. I try not to eat processed food, don’t like any of the meat substitutes and follow the principals of ETL as much as I can.
This recipe took me about 10 mins just to assemble the ingredients – probably about 30 mins total prep time. I’m not a fan of nutritional yeast at all but was inspired by such positive reviews! When I poured the sauce over, I was sure this would end up in the bin – the smell of the NY was so strong! But it tasted great – I could still taste the NY but I really enjoyed the texture and “heartiness” of the dish. It was very satiating. I added some chopped spinach, mushies and some of my favourite spices.
Keep the recipes coming and well done on running such a successful and much appreciated blog.
Michelle
Michelle
January 14, 2012 at 6:05 am…..also I threw in a little bit of wild rice, and used hemp milk, which I like better than soy. It was delish!
Susan Voisin
January 14, 2012 at 8:12 amThat’s sounds delicious! I’m so glad you liked it.
Liane
January 14, 2012 at 9:55 pmI made this tonight with unsweetened almond milk (don’t use soy too often), 1/2 cup of raw soaked cashews in the sauce in lieu of cashew butter) and it was incredible!
Brandie
February 11, 2012 at 9:27 amHi Susan! This looks really good and I plan on making it. Do you think I would be able to make this and freeze it? Or do you think it would be dry?
Susan Voisin
February 11, 2012 at 9:32 amI haven’t tried freezing it, but I can’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work.
Brandie
February 13, 2012 at 7:41 amPerfect! Thank you for responding. I made this dish this weekend and it was delish!!!! Just makes too much for on person 🙂 My family cant stand the smell of NY, therefore are unwilling to try it.
Adam
February 13, 2012 at 4:00 pmJust made this and it was great! Thanks!
Marianne
February 18, 2012 at 11:24 amI tried this recipe and it did not taste great for us, I don’t know if it is the taste from the nutritional yeast.
Pnoob
February 27, 2012 at 7:02 amYUM! Made this for my house of 15 people tonight and it was loved by everybody, even the non-vegans. And it’s gluten free!
I doubled the recipe and used two things of tofu instead of chick peas and a tad less brown rice. It all fit nicely in a 9×13 glass pan. I was worried that there would not be enough sauce for both batches, but once I added it, everything came together so nicely. The sauce is really yummy too and could stand on its own. It could work well if used to douse a bowl of macaroni or a steaming baked potato. I ended up adding a good bit of extra salt at the end.
The nice thing about this recipe is that I can make it the night before and pop it in the oven when I get home from work. And it’s super easy to prepare. People love it because it’s hearty and warm and filling. What a wonderful meal for a cold Wisconsin night!
Olivia Rose
March 6, 2012 at 12:52 pmI made this last night and it was fabulous! I added cremini mushrooms which I thought went very well. Also I ran out of rice, so I used orzo pasta instead. It was perfect! Thanks!
Tigerseye
March 11, 2012 at 4:01 pmThis is just so yummy! I made this for the second time over the weekend and it was a big hit with everyone. I did add a little bit of sweet chilli sauce for the families taste buds, but along with your cauliflower and sweet potato soup, I see them hounding me for this again in the not too distance future.
Thanks 🙂
Jenny
March 11, 2012 at 7:23 pmThis is DELICIOUS! I am a first timer to your site and if any of the other recipes are like this (and I am assuming they are by the looks of ’em) I am hooked. Thank you for a marvelous dinner. Cheers!
Jessica
March 21, 2012 at 8:48 pmThis is so good!!!!
veronica
April 10, 2012 at 6:00 pmhow much water do you use for the brown rice and how long do you cook it for? Mine turned out mushy 🙁
Susan Voisin
April 10, 2012 at 6:12 pmI cook my brown rice in a rice cooker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions (about 1 1/2 cups rice and 3 cups water). It usually cooks for about 45 minutes. Was the whole casserole mushy or just the rice?
Veronica
April 16, 2012 at 5:16 pmI think what happened is that i followed the manufacturer’s directions and it called for too much water. I’ve cooked brown rice before but it had been such a long time that i had to look up the directions. I remembered the cooking time just not the water amount. So i had to cook it longer than 45 minutes since there was still water at the bottom of the pan.Which resulted in the rice being a big mushy ball. It was hard to mix it with the other ingredients which just turned everything into a much. Despite all that it was still absolutely delicious! Instead of slivered almonds i grounded mine and sprinkled it on top. Learnt my lesson! Next time I’ll get the rice right!
Sian
April 16, 2012 at 6:14 amI’ve been vegetarian most of my life, but my husband and I became fat-free vegans after he suffered a cardiac arrest/MI/5-way CABG (statistically less than a 1% survival rate for this type of event, but he’s back at work and doing great!) in November of 2011. It’s been a hard transition for him–diet-wise, and in several other ways, besides–but your blog has helped enormously. While we’ve tried and enjoyed so very many of your recipes, I had to comment on this one, as it is truly outstanding! It can stand up to various substitutions and tweaks depending upon personal taste and ingredient availability, keeps and freezes extremely well, and isn’t obnoxious to put together. The sauce is *amazing*–just incredible over baked potatoes, pasta, quinoa, steamed vegatables, and even over scrambled tofu for a vegan version of eggs benedict! Thank you so much for this, and all of your recipes–they are lifesavers in the truest sense of the word!
Theresa
May 7, 2012 at 12:40 pmI just made this and it was delicious! (I didn’t change anything except for omitting the sherry which I didn’t have on hand and replacing the mustard powder with a 1/2 tablespoon whole grain Dijon mustard.) My husband is usually not the most enthusiastic about vegan recipes, but he loved this one! Keeper!
Lisa
June 13, 2012 at 4:08 pmI’d like to make this ahead of time by a few days and bake it as the last step – on the day of. Will it go bad? Thanks for the info on nutritional yeast. It really is kind of tasty. Who knew!
Susan Voisin
June 13, 2012 at 4:24 pmKeep it refrigerated and I think it should be fine. Enjoy!
Shari
June 19, 2012 at 6:09 pmI made this the other day and while my boyfriend and I thought it was fairly tasty, we both agreed it needed a bit of an extra “kick” as it was a bit too bland for us. We followed the recipe exactly and would definitely make it again, but with a few adjustments/additions.
Elizabeth Bentley
July 7, 2012 at 4:32 pmThis is the best recipe I’ve had on our plant based fat free vegan diet so far!
Mandy
August 11, 2012 at 7:23 pmMade this for dinner tonight and thought it was awesome! I will definitely be making this again. Thank you for sharing.
kansaslovebird
August 13, 2012 at 9:08 pmOh man. This was so good. I used some frozen seitan that I had on hand instead of chickpeas. The creamy sauce was such a surprise! Mmmmm. Will definitely keep this in the repertoire.
Jen
August 26, 2012 at 1:13 pmI just prepared this casserole and put it in the fridge to cook for tomorrow night’s dinner… DELICIOUS!! I couldn’t stop “testing” it before I put it in the refrigerator! The sauce is SO good! I want to put it on everything!! I’m already trying to think of other ways to use it… over veggies? noodles? potatoes? Thanks for another amazing recipe! I LOVE your blog!!
Joelle
September 5, 2012 at 2:33 pmHi. I’m so happy to find this recipe. I’m going to try it tonight, even though it’s still technically summer. It’s already fall here (BC) weather-wise anyway. We have an abundance of broccoli from the garden, so I was looking for something vegan, but like you said, everyone adds fake cheese to broccoli dishes. I really never use the stuff. I’m trying to stay away from processed food as much as possible, and fake cheese just seems odd to me. I’ll be checking out many of your other recipes too. I think I’m going sub cooked lentils for the chickpeas, so I’ll let you know how that goes.
Rebekah
October 24, 2012 at 7:35 pmThis is really yummy and satisfying. Mine didn’t come out as pretty. But still, yummy.
Kristin
November 21, 2012 at 8:15 pmNeeded a good pre-Thanksgiving recipe this evening and this looked good, but it was great!!! Definitely a keeper that will be made often. Thank you.