People will be shocked that this cheesy vegan broccoli and rice casserole contains no dairy. It’s delicious, super flavorful, and perfect for dinner or get togethers.
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Sometimes creating the side dishes is the hardest part of a menu or meal plan. This delicious cheesy broccoli and rice casserole makes life easier on you.
Listen, sometimes casseroles get a bad wrap. There are people that will throw just about anything into one and call it a meal. It’s mediocre at best and because of that a lot of people don’t trust them.
Hold onto your britches because this one is not only delicious but it will blow your mind that it is vegan!
If you have never had a cheesy broccoli and cheese casserole and you love broccoli, this will likely become one of your favorite dishes.
While this cheesy vegan broccoli and rice casserole is designed to be a side dish, you could totally make it into a main course too.
What ingredients do you need to make cheesy vegan broccoli and rice casserole?
This is definitely not one of our shorter list of ingredients; however, all of the ingredients come together really easily and you will be so excited.
- fresh broccoli
- cooked brown rice
- sweet onion
- garlic
- butter beans
- vegetable stock
- nutritional yeast
- vegan butter
- lemon juice
- salt
- pepper
- paprika
- vegan parmesan cheese
- unsweetened dairy free milk
- chickpea (garbanzo) flour
- vegan shredded cheddar cheese
- seasoned panko breadcrumbs
How do you make cheesy vegan broccoli and cheese casserole?
This recipe needs cooked broccoli and rice to start, so start by cooking both of those things.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Chop up the onions, and garlic.
Add 1 tablespoon of butter to a skillet and saute the onions and garlic together until the onions are soft, about 3 minutes.
Then, to a high powdered blender, add the onions and garlic, along with the butter beans, vegetable stock, nutritional yeast, remaining vegan butter, lemon juice, salt, pepper, paprika, vegan parmesan cheese, unsweetened dairy free milk, and chickpea flour.
Blend for 5 minutes until smooth, creamy, and thick.
In a large bowl, combine the cooked broccoli and rice, along with the cheese sauce you made in the blended and 1 ½ cups vegan cheddar cheese. Combine well.
Pour into a 9×13 casserole dish that has be greased with 1 tablespoon of butter.
Top with ½ cup of cheese. Then, evenly sprinkle the breadcrumbs across the top and the rest of the parmesan cheese.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the dish is bubbly around the sides.
Pull out of the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Do not cut into the dish before the 5 minutes is up.
Store any leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge.
Can you make these Top 8 Allergen Free Broccoli Casserole?
There are a few ingredients that you need to be aware of that may contain allergens; however, this dish can be Top 8 Allergen Free.
You want to make sure that you use a soy free butter, like Earth Balance soy free, it comes in a red tub.
For panko breadcrumbs, make sure that you use a gluten free one.
We like oat milk for this recipe so that is already top 8 allergen free.
Then we are left with parmesan cheese and shredded cheddar. For the parmesan you can use our homemade vegan parmesan cheese with sunflowers to make allergen free. Follow Your Heart Vegan Parm Shreds also appear to be top 8 free.
For the shredded vegan cheddar, check out our vegan shredded taste test post to see one that will work with your allergens.
Can I prep this cheesy vegan broccoli casserole ahead of time?
Yes! This dish once cooked can be stored in the fridge with a cover and reheated either in the oven or microwave. It will be good for 5-7 days in the fridge.
What other vegan side dishes should I make?
There are endless possibilities, but here are some of our favorite vegan side dishes that we think everyone will like:
- The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Cornbread
- Easy Vegan Mashed Potatoes (4 Ways)
- Vegan Green Bean Casserole
- Italian Vegan Pasta Salad
- Vegan Potato Salad
- Vegan Green Bean Salad
- The Best Vegan Baked Beans
- Vegan Glazed Carrots
- Vegan Scalloped Potatoes
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Cheesy Vegan Broccoli and Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 cups fresh broccoli florets, cooked
- 1 ½ cups uncooked brown rice, cooked
- ¼ cup sweet onion, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter
For the Cheese Sauce
- 1 15oz can butter beans, drained
- ½ cup vegetable stock
- 1.5 cups dairy free milk (we like oat for this)
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- ½ cup vegan butter
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ cup vegan parmesan cheese (we use Violife for this recipe)
- ¼ cup chickpea (garbanzo) flour
- ½ cup vegan parmesan Cheese (click for homemade or we likeI violife if store bought)
For the Topping
- 2 cups vegan shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup vegan parmesan cheese
- ⅓ cup seasoned panko breadcrumbs (ensure dairy free)
Instructions
- If you don't have cooked broccoli and rice, prepare both of those.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Chop up the onions and garlic.
- Add 1 tablespoon of butter to a skillet and saute the onions and garlic together until the onions are soft, about 3 minutes.
- To a high powdered blender, add the onions and garlic, along with the butter beans, vegetable stock, nutritional yeast, remaining vegan butter, lemon juice, salt, pepper, paprika, vegan parmesan cheese, unsweetened dairy free milk, and chickpea flour.
- Blend for 5 minutes until smooth, creamy, and thick.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked broccoli and rice, along with the cheese sauce you made in the blended and 1 ½ cups vegan cheddar cheese. Combine well.
- Pour into a 9×13 casserole dish that has be greased with 1 tablespoon of butter.
- Top with ½ cup of vegan cheddar cheese.
- Evenly sprinkle the breadcrumbs across the top and the rest of the parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the dish is bubbly around the sides.
- Pull out of the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Do not cut into the dish before the 5 minutes is up.
- Store any leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
I’ve already rated this recipe but coming back to comment. This is becoming a staple in my house, but tonight’s version was out of this world! So for the first time I actually found butter beans to use (they are with canned vegetables, not the beans. Who knew? Not me!), and I used all brown rice. I thought all brown rice would be too chewy for my tastes, but after baking in the sauce it was heavenly. I also make 1.5 times the sauce (ish), because that’s what I top the casserole with, and then there’s still extra for leftovers.
I haven’t been able to find any unbreaded vegan chicken for over a month, so I decided to try mushrooms, even though I generally don’t care for them. (God bless your mushroom-less vegan content!) I chopped baby bellas tiny, sauteed in olive oil, and once they were crispy, I generously seasoned them with Trader Joe’s vegan chickenless seasoning. They were so good in the casserole I can’t believe it.
I also added more broccoli, used Costco’s version of 21 season salute to really season up my plain panko crumbs, and wow. All I can say is wow. What I thought would be my least favorite version was actually the best one yet? I licked the spoon lol! Thank you for this versitile recipe that is a huge hit with my non-vegan family!
So happy to hear this!
Made this for Christmas Day and it was a hit! Even the dairy lovers in the family said it was delicious!
I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for sharing. We hope you find other recipes that you love! If you are ever looking for anything let us know!