Hi everyone! I’m Kelly from over at Hidden Fruits and Veggies. I started blogging just earlier this year mostly as a way to keep track of my kitchen experiments and actually force myself to write recipes down so I could make them again later (and not just have “eh, this is kind of close”). My main focus is on recipes that are vegetarian, but they often end up vegan and gluten-free — Basically, Hannah and I have a lot of in common when it comes to foods we like so I’m pretty happy to be doing a guest post here so she can enjoy her blogcation!
I am kind of weird when it comes to food. If you need me to remember a person, place, or event, then make sure I’m eating something because good or bad, I’ll never forget a meal. Let’s flashback to basically every family gathering ever when my aunt would make cheesy broccoli rice casserole. It was made with white rice, cream of mushroom soup, cheddar cheese, and the smallest amount of actual broccoli possible. Not exactly a health food, but oh man was it delicious to my eight year-old self. Whenever I’m feeling nostalgic for my childhood, this is one of the first foods I think of. I revamped and (to steal a Hannah-ism) healthified this recipe to be vegan and made with more whole foods.
Vegan Broccoli Cheese and Rice Casserole
Serves approximately 4 as a meal, 8 as a side dish
Ingredients
2 c brown rice, cooked
12 oz broccoli, steamed with 1 1/2 c steaming water reserved
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 c unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)
2/3 c nutritional yeast
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. liquid aminos or low sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp. liquid smoke
2 tbsp. water
1/4 tsp turmeric (for color)
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Heat reserved steaming water in a medium sauce pan. Sauté garlic and mushrooms until soft and the mushrooms have released liquid (the water will turn a light brown color, similar to a mushroom broth).
3. Add milk and yeast and stir until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine cornstarch, liquid aminos, and 2 tbsp. water. Add cornstarch mixture to the pan and bring to medium-high heat.
4. Cook sauce until slightly thickened and add turmeric, paprika, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir together the rice, broccoli and sauce and spread into a casserole dish (spritz with nonstick spray). Bake until all liquid has been absorbed, about 10 – 20 minutes.
5. Serve and enjoy!
Pro Tip: This is amazing drizzled with buffalo sauce or hot sauce!
If you aren’t feeling rice, this would work well with quinoa, riced cauliflower, and probably even couscous. You could also cut the amount of broccoli in half and add cauliflower, carrots, Brussels sprouts — sky’s the limit with this casserole! Big thanks to Hannah for having me guest post 🙂
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And, yet again, Kelly has come up with a fantastic recipe! I LOVE visiting Kelly’s blog because she comes up with some of the most creative vegan and vegetarian meals. I wish that she would just come cook for me on a daily basis…oh, and take pictures for me, too! I cannot wait to try this out, likely with cauliflower “rice!” Oh, and I also love that you coined “healthified” as a “Hannah-ism!” That is too funny ;).
