Vegan Cheesy Broccoli & Rice Casserole
This casserole is pure comfort food. Packed with nutrition and mind blowing flavor this will have them coming back for seconds! Our recipes are being recommended by the wonderful folks over at Mastering Diabetes: Robby Barbaro, MPH and Cyrus Khambatta, PhD for their diabetic clients. This scrumptious Oil Free Vegan Broccoli and Cheese Casserole is diabetic approved and can be used as part of their program to take back control of all types of diabetes including Type 1, Type 1.5, Type 2, Pre-Diabetes, and Gestational Diabetes.
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Ingredients
- 2 cups brown rice, uncooked
- 2 cups vegetable broth, low sodium
- 1 cup water
- 5 cups broccoli, florets
- 4 cups kale, diced
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
Cheese Sauce
- ½ cup cashews
- 2 cups vegetable broth, low sodium
- ¾ cups nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Braggs liquid amino
- ½ tsp cracked pepper
- ¾ tsp turmeric
- 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cook the rice with the 2 cups of broth and 1 cup of water (cook until slightly underdone)
- Sauté onions until translucent
- Add the garlic, kale and broccoli and add a bit of water and cover to steam for about 10 minutes
- Add the Cheese Sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth
- Once rice is finished, pour into a large casserole dish
- Pour broccoli mixture over the top and lightly mix together with the rice
- Pour the cheese sauce over the top of the broccoli and rice mixture
- Bake for 35 minutes
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Nutrition info
Calories: 281kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 11gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 63mgPotassium: 596mgFiber: 7gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 3703IUVitamin C: 84mgCalcium: 140mgIron: 3mg
45 comments
Cheese sauce? Where is the cheese sauce?
The cheese sauce is listed in the 2nd set of ingredients. I plan to use this cheese sauce for everything needing it. It is the best vegan cheese sauce I have found.
Cheese Sauce
1/2 cup cashews
2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
3/4 cups nutritional yeast
1 tsp onion powder
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Braggs liquid amino acids
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp turmeric
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
Can you use frozen broccoli or does it need to be fresh?
I had frozen broccoli and cauliflower which I steamed. I am not sure if frozen broccoli that is just added will cook properly or completely in just 35 minutes.
Thanks for the comment. I used frozen broccoli and frozen kale and steamed them and it worked great. This recipe is delicious. The only change I might make is to bake it a few minutes less to keep it more creamy. And I might try it with hash brown type potatoes to make cheesy potatoes.
This looks like really delicious comfort food!
Sounds delicious! Thanks, Jill!
Tasty :o) I was surprised by its sheer magnitude… satisfying. This will take up regular real estate in my fridge!
Thank you very much! It was delicious and it was a special taste experience!
Loved it! Not surprised your recipes never disappoint.
Delish! Will be one of my go to casseroles. 🙂
I recently made this with some changes. I did not use the onion as they make me sick. I used quinoa rice in place of brown rice, I used cauliflower instead of kale. I had frozen broccoli and cauliflower which I steamed in my steamer first then added to the dish. It was a hit with the wife and oldest daughter who are NOT vegan. I got a nice plate full then filled 4 Tupperware containers with the rest for my lunches. I got NONE of the extra. The wife ate 1 and the daughter ate the other 3!!!!!! Time to make it again.
So glad you all liked this recipe =).I hope you get to have some of the next batch Daniel!
I actually made this and liked it. I’ve been flirting with a plant based diet. This recipe made me fall in love.
I actually made this and liked it. I’ve been flirting with a plant based diet. This recipe made me fall in love. Thank you!
Hello, I am diabetic and also allergic to nuts, do you have a recommendation for cashew substitute.
Thanks 😊
You can try half oats and half white beans.
I would try sunflower seeds – I often substitute them for cashews (and much cheaper!)
I made this with silken tofu instead of cashews and it was delicious (for anyone who has an issue with nuts). Thanks for the recipe
This was extremely delicious! Awesome flavor and texture! I used frozen broccoli and spinach and precooked the rice in my IP— turned out perfectly! Thanks for another great one, Jill!
So delicious!!!! I’ve made it twice- the first time exactly as the recipe is and the second I replaced the white wine vinegar with lemon and liked the second version better. Currently making a “Mexican” version by adding cumin and chili powder to the cheese sauce and changing up the veg- adding in bell peppers, corn, and black beans. So excited. Thank you!!
I cannot stand the taste of nutritional yeast and I all the cheezy sauces I see have a lot of it in them. I don’t think it gives the sauce any kind of a cheesy flavor just a horrible taste in my opinion. Any suggestions except don’t eat cheesy sauce? Thanks
This looks like a wonderful recipe. Where do I find the nutritional information for the recipe? Fat? Fiber? Carbs? Protein?
Hello Susan, we don’t include that with our recipes, sorry.
Susan, if you use an app like cronometer, you can type in the ingredients for the recipe, and then enter how many g/oz. you eat, and the app tells you how much of each nutrient your portion gives you.
I’m a type one diabetic who read the book Mastering Diabetes and saw you interviewed by them. I love your site! I’ve made your coffee smoothie and pancakes with success! I’m curious what else you would eat with this dish? Normally, I would have this with baked chicken, lol. is this a complete meal? Thank you!
We would usually have a small side salad, pickled beets or cooked greens.
Hi, could you please give a little more detail on the brand of nutritional yeast used. 3/4 cup seems a lot. I’m from Australia and looked at nutritional yeast options that I can buy here but they seem to come in relatively small packets so I’m not sure if I’m looking at the right stuff. Thanks
We use Sari Foods nutritional yeast. It is a pretty large casserole so it does take quite a bit. https://amzn.to/2VJW5ez
This is a staple in our house. We love it!
My family loved this. 💕 Thank you! I posted your video on the Mastering Diabetes FB page too. Robbie and Cyrus’s podcasts are what got me started on this journey.
My husband and I enjoyed this meal. Next time I plan to try it with potatoes. Thank you!
Like a warm hug. Comfort foos for sure. Next time I will cook the broccoli much less. I added other veggies too. so easy to make
I made this for us yesterday and my husband was raving about it. Is it possible to use cauliflower rice instead of brown rice? The reason for the question is that my husband is a diabetic and we have been on the WFPB diet for almost a year. The rice will cause his blood sugar to become elevated so that was why he asked about the cauliflower rice. Also what is the name of the blender/food processor that you use?
Hello Catherine, Yes, cauliflower rice works too. A couple of my friends have made it that way and reported that it works. =) My blender is a Blendtec Professional 800 https://amzn.to/3qXwlZc.
I discovered your channel on YouTube and have learned quite a bit. I used to weigh 280 lbs and now weigh 225, mostly by eating a plant based diet. The cashews, they should be low sodium or no salt added preferably right? Also would using red wine vinegar instead of white make a huge difference?
Yeah, the cashews need to be the non- roasted, unsalted kind. And for the vinegar, I would probably use apple cider vinegar rather than the red wine vinegar but it will still work.
Jill, this was really good. Loved every bite of it. I cut the recipe in half, just in case I did not like it. But there will be a next time making this. Love all your video’s and recipe’s. Thank you!
I love your lasagna recipe as much as I love this! Been a vegetarian almost all my life (70 years old). Decided to go vegan recently. I don’t miss the cheese at all. Thank you Jill!!!!
I prepped my kale for this and then totally forgot it was for this recipe and used it in a giant salad instead! So in place of kale I used plain green cabbage. Still super yummy. Thank you!!!
My family LOVES this recipe. It is in our “every two weeks” rotation. Thank you!!!!
Fantastic! We are so glad you like it so much =)
Hi Jill, can I substitute regular white vinegar for the white wine vinegar?
Yes