broccoli cheddar casserole

This creamy broccoli quinoa casserole is a healthier version of the beloved classic made with real, simple ingredients like Greek yogurt and cheddar cheese.

Broccoli Quinoa Casserole

quinoa

extra virgin olive oil

broccoli

salt

black pepper (divided)

onion

carrots

garlic (about 2 cloves)

oregano

cayenne pepper (optional)

all purpose flour

non-fat milk

Greek yogurt

mozzarella

cheddar cheese (divided)

beans

herbs

Preheat

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of your oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Generously coat 2 large rimmed baking sheets with nonstick spray. Coat a 9x13-inch or similar casserole dish with nonstick spray and set aside. (The dish you see in these photos is 8 x 10 and is very full.)

Cook

Place 2 cups broth and the quinoa in a large saucepan, then bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.

Roast

While the quinoa cooks, roast the broccoli: place the broccoli in a very large bowl. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Toss to coat the florets. If any seem dry, drizzle in a bit more oil as needed. Divide the broccoli between the two baking sheets, spreading it into an even layer and ensuring that the broccoli does not overlap.

Roast the broccoli on the upper and lower thirds of the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a spatula to lightly toss the broccoli and spread it back into an even layer to promote even browning. Return the pans to the oven, switching their positions on the upper and lower racks. Continue baking until the broccoli is browned and the tips are becoming crisp, about 5 to 10 additional minutes.  Turn the oven down to 350 degrees F.

Sauté

In a Dutch oven or similar large, deep sauté pot, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots. Sauté until slightly softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, remaining 1 teaspoon salt,and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Stir and let cook just until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Sprinkle the flour over the top. Let cook until the flour is golden and smells lightly nutty, about 30 seconds to 1 minute, stirring until no white bits remain.

Slowly pour in the remaining 1 cup broth, then the milk, adding a few splashes of liquid at a time. Whisk constantly and pause as needed to break up any lumps. Increase the heat to bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat and let gently bubble until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes, stirring often.

Stir in the oregano and cayenne. Remove from the heat.

Slowly stir in the quinoa, then fold in the white beans and roasted broccoli. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.

Stir

Slowly stir in the Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 cup cheddar cheese.

Bake

Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and spread evenly in the pan. Top with remaining cheddar and mozzarella.

Bake, uncovered, until the cheese is melted and the casserole is hot, about 15 minutes. Turn the oven to broil, then continue cooking until the cheese is lightly browned, about 3 to 4 additional minutes, watching carefully so that the cheese does not burn. Let rest 5 minutes, sprinkle with chopped herbs and serve.

<em>This Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole is Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and made with only 8 healthy ingredients! Simply add everything to a pan, bake, and enjoy.</em>

Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole with Chickpeas

½ cups Low-Sodium Vegetable Broth (bring to a boil)

Nutritional Yeast

½ tsp Turmeric

½ tsp Garlic Powder

Paprika

Chickpeas, cooked*

Fresh Broccoli Florets

uncooked Brown Rice Rice

Preheat the oven to 400F. Add the Nutritional Yeast to a medium pot and toast over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. The yellow flakes will become darker and more fragrant.

Once toasted, add the Vegetable Broth, Turmeric, Garlic Powder, and Paprika to the pot; raise the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil.

While the liquid is coming to a boil, pour the Chickpeas a 9&#215;13&#8243; pan or casserole dish. Sprinkle the Broccoli evenly over the Chickpeas, then sprinkle the uncooked Brown Rice over the top of the dish.

Whisk the Vegetable Broth well to evenly distribute the spices, then pour the boiling mixture over the casserole dish. If any spices &#8220;clump&#8221; in a particular area, stir them around a bit with a spatula. Cover the casserole with Aluminum Foil, then bake for 60 minutes.

Remove from the oven and serve as desired. Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container for up to one week, or in the freezer for up to one month.

Caitlin, You really have a talent! It's inspiring to see someone take great pride in your culinary achievements and share them freely. I will buy your first Cook Book when you publish it! I did the same with Cathy at True North.

Not yet tried this recipe but when I saw the videoo I was astonished by the easiness and deliciousness of this dish &lt;3
Eager to try it out !

I just made this recipe and it was absolutely delicious! So hearty, satisfying and easy to make. In addition to brown rice, I added in some forbidden rice and quinoa. I would say this recipe makes 3 servings if it's the only/main dish. Yum yum yum!

I made this for dinner tonight: it was delicious and SO EASY. I love this idea-- I hope there are more recipes like this in the future.

Hi Caitlin - I made this recipe tonight with a side of corn bread muffins and it was so good! Next week I plan on doubling the recipe so there's enough for my husband's lunch and another dinner (he wants the leftovers for lunch tomorrow!????)
Thank you!!

This was so delicious and easy!! I will be making this a lot. I love your one pot recipes! I brought leftovers to work and all of my coworkers were saying how good it looked and asked for the recipe. Usually they show no interest in my vegan meals. Thanks for making another great recipe, Caitlin!

So I've tried substituting chickpeas with tofu and it did get soggy, but that was totally expected since I didn't bother with frying it properly. But the result was still amazing, and mushier tofu tasted great infused with that flavoured broth (I'll probably make it sometimes in the future adding scrambled tofu).

I'll be definitely making this again in different vegetable combinations, the rice is indeed amazing made this way and it tastes even better reheated next day.

I do belive that this recipe needs tad more crunch so I sprinkle it on the plate with some roasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

I made this today for lunch. It's amazing :)

I tried this using frozen edamame to replace the chick peas, just don’t do it ???? it was an overwhelming flavour. I love the concept of this and will try making Mexican rice like this! Xx

I tried making this today, and it turned out absolutely wonderful!
I am definitely going to repeat this :)
Thank you Caitlin, for the fantastic recipe !!

I also would like to add that I love watching your videos!!
Please keep making them :D

I made this yesterday for the work week and LOVED it! It was super easy to make and it was my first time using nutritional yeast, so that was exciting! I also didn't have enough chickpeas so did half chickpeas, half cannellini beans. It worked well! Thanks so much for this recipe Caitlin :)

Loved it! So easy to make and super yummy to eat!

Made this last week for a meal prep-4 days worth of food which was great! I used wheat berries instead of rice and was perfect! Can't wait to make it again

My favorite recipe to meal prep for work lunches! If you have a big enough casserole dish you can double it :) awesome recipe - so tasty!

Oh my goodness, this recipe was SO tasty and SO simple! Perfect weekday meal! When I was a child, my parents made this tuna rice casserole that was so nostalgic for me. Since going vegan I've been wondering how I could possibly recreate it but now I don't need to - this recipe is so tasty and reminds me of my favourite childhood meal, it is the perfect replacement meal! Thanks for posting it!

By the way, I just used powdered stock with boiling water from a kettle and stirred the spices and nooch in there and it worked well, so I didn't need to use the stovetop!

Ok... WOW!!!! When it was done and I took off the foil the smell hit me! It smells exactly how I remember and tastes almost exactly how I remember! JUST WOW!!! IT'S AMAZING!

Love it!! I would love more super easy dump and bake recipes like this! :)

It's seriously so delicious and easy to make!!! It's kid-friendly too. Definitely a great casserole to make in advance and eat for a few days, or to throw together on a busy family night.

I made this today with a few modifications. I didn't use paprika or turmeric but mixed herbs &amp; I added some cashew cream to the broth. REALLY good!

I'm always skeptical of putting uncooked rice in the oven but it came out great! I used water instead of broth. I added 3 cups of chickpeas instead of 2. I used frozen broccoli which came out mushy. I will use fresh broccoli next time.

SO GOOD!! And absolute winner for batch school meals Caitlin!❤ Also dang easy (when you don't spill the stock all over the oven????????) I'll definitely be baking this again!!! Xxx

Super good and easy! My oven is tiny unfortunately so I couldn't make it in the oven, but instead baked it in a large pot on the stove and that worked just fine. Wasn't as crispy on the top as a result, but I didn't mind. I topped it with a good dollop of tahini, which fits the taste perfectly and makes it nice and creamy. Perfect recipe for a busy and broke university student :D

Great recipe, I love that it's so easy AND healthy at the same time. The second time I made it, I didn't have enough brown rice (about a 1/4 cup) so used 3/4 cup of quinoa and the same amount of broth as called for in the recipe and it turned out fine!

This works with Farro instead of brown rice!

Love this recipe! Toasting the nutritional yeast really gives it a unique flavor and I never would have thought to try that. This was super satisfying and easy to make.

Thank you so much for inspiring my husband and I on our journey into vegan cooking. We LOVE your YouTube videos, you are so creative!

Tried this for my birthday party and was very happy with the result except that the broccoli was overcooked, so it didn't look as appetizing as I would have liked. Is there a way to end up with bright green broccoli florets? Wonder about adding them halfway through or steaming separately and adding at the end . . . ? It turned out to be a good birthday present fo myself. A week's worth of leftovers in my freezer. : )

This was awesome! I used white long grain rice because it was all I had on hand.  I used 2 cups stock (instead of 2.5 cups) and only cooked for 35 mins. It was picture perfect!!! So yummy. Filling. Thanks.

This was AMAZING!  Toasting the nooch makes all the difference.  When I was a kid we used to have Uncle Ben's broccoli cheese rice.  It was my favorite.  This recipe comes amazingly close to that.  I basically followed the recipe except for the following...  I used my own powdered broth mix with water to make the broth.  I also added a little black pepper and a tsp of onion powder.  I used frozen broccoli.  For me this came out a touch undercooked (I'm not an al dente person).  But next time I'll just add a touch more water and cook it a bit longer.  I did add about half a cup of water the next day and popped it back in the oven for 20 minutes to reheat.  Perfect!  I may add another cup of vegetables to it next time too, because why not?!  All in all, this recipe is a find.  This will be a staple for me now.  Thank you so much!

Seriously SO good! Thanks for sharing your talents so freely! I’m such a fan and I am very grateful for all you do to enrich the plant based cooking community. You should be so proud!

I just made this after watching your Youtube video with 3 dump casseroles. It's delicious. I have never toasted nooch before, and it's a technique I'll definitely repeat. However, I'll make these changes next time I make it.
- Almond milk instead of broth. I already use bouillon instead of broth, so I think this change will give it more fat and creaminess.
- White rice instead of brown rice. By the time the brown rice was tender, the broccoli was overcooked.

I look forward to cooking more of your recipes.

Just made this today and it was so so good :) I think next time I'll just add a bit more nooch. Thanks so much for sharing this, I love easy recipes like these ❤️

This is legit easy and good. I made the recipe with frozen broccoli. The broccoli turned super soft, but that didn't bother any of my eaters. The chickpeas were so good. The size is great for picnic/potluck sharing. I'll definitely make this again and play with the add-ins. Thanks.

I also had quick cook brown rice (trader Joe's brand) but kept everything basically the same and it worked out fine! I did take the foil off at about 40 minutes in, and let it cook 10-15 minutes without it so the extra liquid could evaporate. This was very tasty, but I did add garlic salt, regular salt, and full salt better than bouillon broth, so I definitely think it needs salt haha! Super easy and made a bunch so I will keep this recipe handy! Thanks!

I'm not even vegan, but tried this for my daughter.  I love this recipe.  Super easy!  I added fresh green beans chopped into 1 inch pieces in addition to the broccoli and vegan chicken the 2nd time I made this. I put leftovers into a tortilla with chopped cucumber, cherry tomatoes and sriracha.  Thank you so much for a new staple in our house!  Cook once and meals for days.

Very delicious and easy to make! I about doubled the amount of seasonings and it was perfect. This is perfect for a quick dinner!

I LOVED this recipe! I made a few changes. I put in some leftover potato cheese sauce instead of the nooch, and I put in some faux chicken strips instead of the chickpeas. But DAMN. Tasty! Thank you for the recipe!

I made this last night for dinner and we really liked it. The recipe was delicious as written. It made enough for my husband and I to get two meals out of it. I didn’t read the recipe carefully and put it in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour and it was still good.

Flavorful and so comforting! One of the easiest meals ever! I added plain cubed tempeh for some protein, and extra nooch. The broccoli was really soft, but I used frozen, so I’m thinking that could’ve caused it. Will definitely make again; this is great for meal prep. 

Thank you for the super easy recipe, Caitlin! Would love to see more of these, and will be checking out the other dump and bake recipes you have on your website.

Made this tonight and it came out excellent!!!

You have mad skillz in the kitchen and appreciate you sharing your recipes! I’m new to the vegan lifestyle and I am loving all your ideas and helpful hints!  I prepared this and used smoked paprika as I didn’t have sweet...to my surprise it came out fantastic!  Because of this and other recipes I have tried of yours, I bought your cookbook and made several dishes from it so far...my personal favorite is the Blueberry Cardamon Cheesecake (even my husband love it!). Thank you for making my transition to becoming a vegan easier and flavor rich!  Cheers!

I didn't follow the recipe exactly so take this review with a grain of salt.
2.5 cup billion broth (2 cubs)
½ tsp Turmeric
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ paprika
(Combine all of the above)
2 cans of chickpeas (drained)
1 cup brown rice (uncooked)
(Add the broth mixture)
2 cups frozen broccoli
Bake 50 min at 400°F
Top with ¼ cup Vegan mozzarella cheese and bake another 10 min
More broccoli is welcome 😃

This was fantastic. With such a simple list of ingredients, I wasn't expecting a lot, but my 16 yo son and I both loved it. Followed it exactly as written. Will be a new staple around here. Thank you.

Hi Caitlin, thanks for a great and easy recipe. I substituted based on what I had on hand. I used canned kidney beans rather than chickpeas and frozen green beans rather than broccoli. It was SO good. I've made a note to cook it a bit longer next time as the rice wasn't done quite enough for me (but soft rice is my personal rice preference and it was fine the way it turned out). Thanks so much and have a lovely weekend. This Canadian loves your vlogs :)

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/uLa8kdNW.mp4

This Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole is Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and made with only 8 healthy ingredients! Simply add everything to a pan, bake, and enjoy.

Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole

This cheesy and comforting broccoli casserole is the ultimate side dish to any meal. Don&#x27;t forget to check out our step by step photos and tips above!

Broccoli Casserole

butter

½ cups chopped yellow onion (1 medium)

garlic (finely chopped)

all-purpose flour

chicken stock

milk

mustard

crisp-tender broccoli (see note)

rice

Kosher salt (to taste)

pepper

breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat.

Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add another 4 tablespoons butter; let met.

Stir flour into butter and onions. Cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in stock and milk until combined.

Cook, stirring oven, until mixture comes to a simmer and has slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in mustard and 1 ½ cups cheese until smooth. Gently stir in broccoli and rice.

Taste for seasonings; add salt ¼ teaspoon at a time to reach desired flavor. Stir in pepper.

Transfer to a 13x9-inch casserole dish.

In a medium bowl, stir together breadcrumbs and remaining 2 tablespoons butter.

Sprinkle breadcrumbs over casserole; top with remaining 1 cup cheese.

Bake until golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Cheesy Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole recipe with crunchy panko topping is a favorite casserole for the holidays from Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch.

Cheesy Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole

Butter, Plus Additional For Greasing Pan

Onion, Finely Diced

Garlic, Minced

All-Purpose Flour

Chicken Stock

Milk

Cheddar Cheese

Panko Bread Crumbs

Butter, Melted

This is the best recipe with rotisserie chicken leftovers! It is easy to make with minimal hands-on time and very few ingredients. 

Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Casserole

rotisserie chicken broth

olive oil

long-grain white, basmati, jasmine rice, or long-grain brown rice

broccoli florets

rotisserie chicken meat, cubed

Italian Seasoning

sour cream

gluten-free chicken bouillon cube, crumbled

garlic powder

coarse kosher salt, black pepper

cheddar cheese, divided

buttery crackers, gluten-free if needed

Piment d'Ville chile powder or smoked paprika.

Lightly grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish with olive oil and set aside.

Combine the chicken broth, olive oil, and rice in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover tightly and cook for 7 minutes.

Add the broccoli and replace the lid, cook for 8 minutes more without stirring.

Turn off the heat and leave the lid on the pot. Let the rice stand for 10 minutes, without stirring. The steam will cause any rice stuck to the bottom of the pot to release, there is no need for you to stir. 

Mix the sour cream and the crumbled bouillon cube together. Add the sour cream mixture, chicken, Italian Seasoning, milk, garlic powder, and 1 cup of cheddar cheese to the cooked rice and broccoli. Stir to combine. Taste then season with coarse kosher salt and black pepper to your liking.

Pour this mixture into the prepared baking dish, top with the remaining 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese then cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the butter and crush the crackers then combine them together to create the topping. 

After the initial bake time, remove the foil, sprinkle the cracker topping over the top of the casserole, and sprinkle the Piment d'Ville chile powder or smoked paprika across the top. 

Bake for an additional 10 minutes. Then let the casserole rest for 5 minutes before serving. 

very good! I sprinkled extra cheese on top along with crackers. Plus I added extra garlic powder and Italian seasoning into the sour cream mixture. Turned out very good!

It was a hit with the family. I made it as written and we all went back fir seconds

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