Vegan Broccoli Rice Casserole: Baked Broccoli and Cheese
This Vegan Broccoli Rice Casserole is easy to make with simple ingredients and packed with broccoli. The cheese sauce is made of carrots, potato, onion and spices making it extremely healthy but surprisingly ultra creamy.
We wanted to do our take on the original broccoli rice casserole recipe that was completely plant based, relatively healthy and offered veggies that our kids would not only eat, but ask for more!
So, what we came up with is an easy, cheesy broccoli rice casserole that’s 100% vegan and 100% delicious!
What’s In This Broccoli Rice Casserole?
The cheese sauce is made up almost entirely of veggies and nutritional yeast making it an extremely healthy alternative to the broccoli and rice casserole recipe that’s packed with 3 different types of dairy. You can read about the health concerns with dairy HERE.
The broccoli is blanched before baking making it the perfect tender crisped texture.
We used brown rice in favor of white but really you can use whatever you want- rice, quinoa, noodles, etc.
Brown rice is slightly healthier simply because it’s a whole grain, meaning they haven’t removed any part of it. White rice has had the bran and germ removed which are the most nutritious parts!
How Do You Make Broccoli with Rice Casserole?
Start by preparing the rice. Set aside.
Add the broccoli to a big pot of boiling water and blanching it for 2 minutes.
Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, add the carrots, potato and onion to a pot of boiling water. Boil for 10-15 minutes, or until tender.
Drain the veggies but reserve 1 cup of water from the boiled veggies for the cheese sauce.
Add the veggies, cup of water to a blender, nutritional yeast, lemon, vinegar, salt, garlic, dijon mustard, and black pepper to your blender. Start slow and be careful. Increase the speed and blend on high for 1-2 minutes, until you have a smooth sauce.
Add the rice, broccoli and cheese sauce to a casserole dish. Mix to combine.
Flatten the top with a spatula and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs, vegan cheese and potato chips (if using).
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.
Serve!
Vegan Broccoli Rice Casserole
This Vegan Broccoli Rice Casserole is easy to make with simple ingredients and packed with broccoli. The cheese sauce is made of carrots, potato, onion and spices making it extremely healthy but surprisingly ultra creamy.
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked rice (white or brown)
- 5 cups broccoli cut into bite size pieces
Cheese Sauce
- 1 large potato, peeled and chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1/4 onion, roughly chopped
- 1 cup of liquid from boiled veggies
- 1/2 lemon, squeezed
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1/2 tsp minced or powdered garlic
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp dijon mustard
Bread Crumb Topping
- 1/3 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup vegan cheese shreds (optional)
- 1/4 cup crushed potato chips (optional)
Instructions
- Cook your white or brown rice according to package instructions.
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil then add the potato, carrots and onion.
- Boil the veggies for 10-15 minutes, until tender.
- Reserve 1 cup of water from the boiled veggies for the sauce.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the broccoli. Blanch the broccoli for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and place in a colander.
- For the sauce- add all sauce ingredients to a blender including the boiled veggies and reserved water from the boiled veggies.
- Blend carefully but thoroughly (at least 2 full minutes.)
- In a large casserole dish add the broccoli, rice and cheese sauce. Mix thoroughly.
- Flatten the top with a spatula and sprinkle with Panko breadcrumbs, vegan cheese shreds and crushed chips (if using).
- Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, making sure the top doesn't burn.
- Serve!
Looking For More Healthy Comfort Food?
