My Mother's Broccoli Casserole
Casserole:
1/2 cup (dry) rice, brown or white
1 cup water
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 1/2 cups unsweetened nondairy milk
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons cold water
6 to 8 ounces mushrooms, chopped (I use baby portobellos)
salt and pepper, to taste
splash Bragg's, optional
1/2 cup celery, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon oregano
16 ounces broccoli (frozen or fresh)
4 to 5 ounces vegan cheddar, cubed (I use almost 1/2 block Follow Your Heart)
1/4 cup nondairy milk
2 to 3 tablespoons vegan butter Breadcrumbs (can also use Pepperidge Farm stuffing):
2-3 pieces bread
olive oil, as needed
oregano, to taste
basil, to taste
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare rice with the water according to package directions, and set aside. Dissolve veggie cube in nondairy milk. Dissolve cornstarch into cold water and add to milk mixture. Whisk until it thickens. Add more cornstarch, if necessary.
2. Stir in mushrooms, and add salt and pepper. Add Bragg's, if desired. (Sometimes I add it to cut the salt amount.) Set this mixture to the side. Saute celery and onion until the onion is translucent.
3. Add the garlic and oregano. While the celery and onion saute, steam the broccoli until it is slightly undercooked (it will cook more in the oven). Drain well. In a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish, combine the mushroom mixture, celery/onion mixture, rice, and broccoli.
4. Melt cheese in a saucepan with nondairy milk and butter. When it reaches a "cheez whiz" like consistency, pour and stir it into the casserole. If making bread topping, drizzle bread with olive oil and herbs, then toast. Crumble into chunks or crumbs.
5. Sprinkle the breading on top of casserole and bake, covered, for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 20-25 minutes, or until topping has browned and the casserole feels firm. Enjoy!
Source of recipe: My mother got this recipe from a church cookbook and modified it. Then I veganized it.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
My family and I love this recipe, all the time we make it there are definitely no leftovers!
I really love this recipe. I just add whatever veggies I have that I think would be tasty...last time half a sweet potato, spinach, mushrooms, and brocolli. I also simplified the cheese sauce-making by boiling some water and milk, dissolving the veg broth cube in that, throwing in the mushrooms and spices, thickening with corn starch, and throwing in the cheese to melt. It saves me two dirty dishes doing it this way! I recommend making this on a day that you have leftover rice so you don't have to waste time cooking that :)
I was disappointed in this recipe only because it had five stars, so my expectations were high....I'd give it a B-
I made this with quinoa last night (I burnt my rice) and added chickpeas - it was FANTASTIC!!! I think this is how I'll make it from now on!
I didn't have QUITE enough cheese for my taste, but this was yummilicious, according to my family. I started with fresh broccoli and loved the texture. I topped it with a whole lot of whole wheat panko crumbs. I'll have to remake this again! :D
Super yum. I added some cubed baked tofu to make it a one-dish deal, and everyone gobbled it up. It was pretty easy to make, and something I'm sure I'll make again!
Good recipe! I made some modifications. I try to avoid using fake cheese when I can, so instead of fake cheese I just added three tablespoons of nutritional yeast to the milk/bouillon/corn starch mixture which I heated as I mixed. It was creamy enough to add moisture to the entire dish (I did use the whole cup of rice instead of the half cup). Instead of bread crumbs I used cubed pieces of bread with the olive oil and herbs per the recipe. I doused that with some melted Earth Balance.
Delicious!
Just made this, or better yet- just finished devouring this! amazing! we only made a few changes, we didn't steam the veggies, we pan fried them with the onions and celery & with a bit of water. Also used shredded Teese & Daiya Cheddar throughout and as a topper with the crumbles. Oh, and we just went crazy & did a 4 QT pan!
YUM! We'll make this again, maybe a few more changes, but otherwise- AWESOME! :)
Me and my husband really, really liked this. He filled up his plate twice and ate it all! I followed the recipe exactly - except I added carrots, peas and one small zucchini. It was a lot of work, but worth it! I would definitely make it again. Thanks to your mom and thanks to you.
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