Creamy Rice, Spinach & Tofu Casserole
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 tablespoons flour
2 cups plain soy milk (or rice milk)
1 cup vegetable broth
1 10 oz. package frozen spinach, thawed & drained
4 cups rice (cooked)
1 cup mushrooms
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon basil
1 cup nutritional yeast
1 12 oz. package tofu (silken or regular)
salt & pepper to taste
This is a variation on the Creamy Rice and Spinach Casserole from Kristin B.
In a large pot, saute garlic, onion and mushrooms in olive oil until softened. Sprinkle with flour and stir until mixture is pasty. Add soy or rice milk and broth. Cook, stirring, at a low boil until sauce thickens.
Add curry powder, basil and nutritional yeast. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and stir in spinach, rice and tofu. Add just enough rice so that mixture is still creamy, not dry.
Bake in a greased, 3 qt. 9x13 pan at 350 degrees. for about 30 minutes, until bubbly.
Reheats well. Pasta could be used instead of rice.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
I prepared this as directed, but with one tweak.
I don't know why, but even after reading the ingredients and making my shopping list I thought this had tomatoes in it. So I bought a can of what I thought were plain diced tomatoes. Turns out they were Italian style tomatoes.
Anyhoo. I drained the can into a measuring cup, added my vegan boullion and boiling water. When it came time to add the soy milk and broth I also added the can of tomatoes. Since the tomatoes were already seasoned, I omitted the basil and curry (I don't like curry much anyway.)
It is perfect. Perfect moisture, perfect taste, perfect texture. It's really easy, too!
I made this tonight. I realized after I started cooking that I didn't have any curry in the apartment so I added a bunch of other spices instead (garlic powder, onion powder, dried basil, Italian Seasoing from Whole Foods, Adobo, white pepper). It was full of flavor and I think without these spices it would have been a little bland. I also only used about 3 cups of the cooked rice. I think any more rice would have been too much and would have made it a little dry. I served this dish with a side of steamed carrots and broccoli which were really good mixed in. I also added some tabasco sauce to the finished dish which gave it a little kick. Delicious!
Loved this recipe! I also added some frozen green beans, peas and carrots to the mix and used a 1/4 cup of vegan sour cream instead of the nutritional yeast. I used a quinoa grain mix in place of rice and I topped it with some vegan breadcrumbs. I was surprised by the excellent taste and texture! Comfort food! Creamy and good. I will definitely make this again!
This is sooooo delicious!
I made this with a bunch of gross rice pilaf that no one wanted to eat that was sitting in the fridge, but once I put everything together you couldn't taste the icky-ness of the rice, haha!
I was completely satisfied with the moistness of the dish. I accidentally left it out all night on the back of the stove with the oven still on (whoops...) but it's still perfectly saucy. It sort of tastes like chicken since it's been sitting for a day or two which is weird but my meat eating mom doesn't mind. My mom and I have been eating for the past day and a half as well so it's keeping very nicely!
Thanks so much for this recipe! It is AMAZING! I added slightly less nutritional yeast as suggested and half a teaspoon of cayenne. Mine was not at all dry, and super flavorful. I added much more cury and a bit more basil as well. My husband loves it too!
I added more vegetables and a little bit of cream of broccoli soup to this, and it turned out scrumptiously.
First let me say that I really like nutritional yeast sauces. However that was all I could taste in this recipe. It overpowered the rest of the ingredients. I even marinated the tofu in the veggie broth first and I couldn't taste that or the spinach or mushrooms. Maybe next time I'll try sauteing the spinach and tofu first instead of adding it in plain, or just adding less yeast. I still enjoyed it though. Thank you.
I made this a few weeks ago and i felt like ti was missing something..the texture was fantastic and it cooked up fairly well but the taste was a bit bland. Maybe next time Ill add some spices and stuff to it..see how it comes out. I was also having a really bad cooking week..everything I seemed to make that week turned out awful :)
I made it exactly as says except I put in a whole can of vegetable broth (14 0z.). It still turned out a little dry. My non-vegan Dad put cheese on it and said it tasted good to him that way. My non-vegan mother isisted it should have a topping. I think if you were add a little more garlic the flavor would be a little better. I, however, loved it. :)