- Prep-time: / Ready In:
- Makes 8 mini casseroles
- Serving size: 1 mini casserole
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Hearty chickpeas, chewy wild rice, and tender broccoli team up in these mini casseroles for a cozy weeknight entrée. Mushrooms add a mellow umami flavor to the comforting combination of nutrient-dense ingredients while nutritional yeast lends a cheesy taste to the creamy sauce that ties everything together. This recipe is incredibly versatile and works well with any leftover veggies hiding out in your fridge, so feel free to get creative with what you throw into the mix. Apart from being easy to put together, these cute individual meals also freeze well for busy nights when you don’t have time to cook. Your future self will thank you for freezing an extra portion or two!
For more vegan casserole recipes, check out these tasty ideas:
- Potato-Spinach Casserole with Trumpet Mushrooms
- Tu-No Casserole (Vegan Tuna Casserole)
- Indian-Spiced Cauliflower and Potato Casserole
- Or take a look at our full collection of vegan casseroles
Ingredients
- 6 cups thinly sliced fresh mushrooms
- 2 cups chopped leek
- 12 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano, crushed
- 3 cups ½-inch broccoli florets
- 1 cup diced red bell pepper (½-inch dice)
- 3 cups unsweetened, unflavored plant-based milk
- ⅓ cup oat flour
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon dry mustard
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4½ cups cooked wild rice
- 2 15-oz. cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained (3 cups)
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce or crushed red pepper
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. In an extra- large skillet combine mushrooms, leek, garlic, and oregano; cook over medium- high 10 minutes, adding water, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, as needed to prevent sticking. Add broccoli and bell pepper; cook 3 to 5 minutes more or until broccoli turns bright green.
- In a large bowl combine the next eight ingredients (through black pepper) and 1 cup water; mix well. Add cooked vegetables, rice, chickpeas, and hot sauce. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the parsley for garnish; stir the remaining parsley into mixture. Spoon mixture evenly into eight 16-oz. ramekins. Place ramekins on a baking sheet.
- Bake 30 minutes. Garnish with the reserved 1 tablespoon parsley.
- To store, let casseroles cool to room temperature; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month. Thaw at least 2 hours in the refrigerator. Bake, uncovered, in a 350°F oven about 20 minutes or until heated through.
Per serving (1 mini casserole): 368 calories, 65 g carbohydrates, 20 g protein, 5.4 g total fat, 0.6 g saturated fat, 0 g cholesterol, 434 mg sodium, 14 g fiber, 9.3 g sugar
Note: Nutritional information is provided as an estimate only.
Comments (47)
(5 from 14 votes)This sounded good and I was excited to make it. I ended up with a murky mess and too many leftovers, even though I cut the recipe in half. There's just too much going on and the flavors aren't complimentary to one another. There's an awful lot of prep work for a recipe that I wouldn't make again.
Love this dish!
Baking this in the ramekins makes it easy to freeze and eat over a few weeks and worth the time to make it for just me.
This took SO long to make & the quantity was over the top. Flavours a little strange & it didn't sparkle. The liquid didn't thicken & although I made it in ramekins I ended up decanting it onto a plate. It was okay with mashed sweet potato to help soak up the liquid. Not bad, but not worth the effort. Won't be repeating.
Whiner…. Make 1/2
Why can’t you make smaller recipes. I am by myself and things don’t taste the same after being frozen and you don’t want to eat the same thing all week long
I used this recipe as a base, but made it with a combination of bulgur and quinoa that I had leftover, so I skipped the plant-based milk, etc. I used all of the spices and nutritional yeast, plus a little extra vinegar, green pepper instead of red and a mix of broccoli and cauliflower and it was phenomenal. It really is a perfect base recipe to toy around with to get something you'll really enjoy.
Why salt? No need for it.
Hi Terry, Feel free to leave the salt out. Salt is one of those ingredients that is a matter of preference. People on a low-salt diet find their taste buds adapt. Then there are people who need to add salt to their diet for health reasons. The amount of salt in FOK recipes is a moderate amount for most people. Hope that helps!
This is so good! I dumped it all in a deep baking dish and cooked it for 45 min. Otherwise I followed the recipe as written.
I made this over the weekend as a casserole. It was very good.
I added some manzanilla olives at the end for a little punch of flavor. Love this recipe!
Absolutely delicious!
This recipe was a winner with my 21-year old son, who makes his own dinners to have at work. I would recommend changing the chick peas to any white beans, and the casseroles can be topped with bread crumbs (I use my Vitamin dry carafe to turn whole wheat heels into bread crumbs, and generously add Italian herbs and garlic powder). We'll be making this one again. Also, freezes and reheats well. We used wild rice from Trader Joes: 1 ½ cups + 1 ½ cups water in the Instant Pot for 20 minutes on High Pressure, and let it depressurize naturally (yield: 4 ½ cups). Also, he preps everything into bowls first, so he can just focus on the cooking steps.
Thanks for including the instructions for making 4 1/2 cups of wild rice. Very helpful.
Thought this was kind of boring & the red bell pepper was an odd flavor. Probably not a keeper for me.
I made this with the full amount of liquid in 10 ramekins. I had just made something with chickpeas, so I used pinto and kidney beans for this one. The liquid was fine. It was all absorbed or evaporated and this dish was so delicious!! I will say the 30 minute estimated prep time is way low. Maybe it assumes you have cooked your rice and chopped your veggies in advance.
I don't like a very strong garlic taste. Should I cut back on the garlic or because of all the other ingredients is it a milder taste?
Would use again
Why doesn't this have an "add to plan" button?
I really enjoyed this dish. I wasn't sure how this would turn out, but it was very creamy and tasty. I used black rice and omitted the 1 cup of water as well. I did not have oat flour, so I used organic barley flour. It completely filled a 13x9 casserole. I'm going to try with other grains too.
Can you tell me how long you baked the 9 x 13 dish for? Thank you.
I made a half batch, baked in an 8 x 8 casserole. It was very tasty, but I will modify it for next time--way more mushrooms, less wild rice, and probably more chickpeas. (I also used frozen broccoli, because I had it on hand.). This is really good!
Can you tell me how long you baked the 9 x 13 dish for?
Hi Penny, While we haven't tried this ourselves, a bake time of 45 to 50 minutes would be expected for a casserole of this size. Start checking it at 45 minutes to see if it is golden brown on top and cooked all the way through. It may take up to 60 minutes, so keep checking until it's done!
This was really satisfying and comforting on a cold rainy night. I did reduce the amount of liquid, omitting the extra cup of water. Even my two year old toddler ate it all up. Winner!
Ha ha! I didn't even see the instruction about the cup of water. It definitely doesn't need it.
Why don't you make all recipes shareable. Yhis allows printing rather than trying to follow my phone while cooking!
I should wait until I actually eat it…but it smells so amazing cooking in the oven! I just really enjoyed the process of prepping this meal. So full of nourishing ingredients and very forgiving. I forgot the chick peas and assed them at the last minute before tossing in the oven. I’ll be sure to leave my post meal review. I did opt for a large casserole dish rather than individual servings and it made so much, I need two casserole dishes! Looks like one lucky friend is getting a free meal.
Did you use 12 cloves of garlic?
Yes, I used 12 cloves! But this recipe could easily be halved. It made a LOT of casserole! Smells amazing as it’s cooking…
If baking for 30 min does the rice have to be cooked ? I m thinking add more water ...leave rice uncooked...stir frequently.. Or I am complicating things here ? Just don't like soft overkoked rice Actually dislike anything overcooked
Per the recipe, cook the wild rice. It did not get mushy. To get 4-1/2 cups cooked, used about 1-1/4 cup uncooked.
This is looks delicious! I want to make this for my daughter and her husband who just had a baby. My daughter hates mushrooms. Any suggestion on a flavorful sub for the mushrooms?
Try eggplant.
Is there a suggested substitute for nutritional yeast? Or simply leave it out ? Thank you
I m sure you can But it s packed w B12 and so much goodness Also adds cheesy flavour You don't like it ? I don't think it helps thicken the casserole just adds flavour and oomph
You could use vegetable broth in place of the water and it will add the flavor needed. Chickpea flour is rich in vitamins and minerals and can be a pretty good substitute for nutritional yeast. For better flavor, you can toast it in the oven. The texture and nutty flavor are similar to nutritional yeast. In this dish you could substitute the nutritional yeast with dried onion flakes that have been mixed with a little chickpea flour.
Can I use chickpea flour instead of oat flour?
I used rice flour, because I had an open container on hand. I think any whole-grain flour will do.
Love the "less water" tip and I too will try it in a smaller square casserole dish (don't have ramekins). I think I'll have to cut the recipe in half to get the right amount. I'm looking forward to trying this. It looks great!
Question- Can you provide optional baking instruction for those of us who do t have 8 16 oz ramekins? Possibly a half recipe, or full recipe in a more standard casserole size? Thank you
I would just cut the recipe in half and put in 8x8 baking dish.
I made half the recipe, baked in an 8 x 8 dish, for 30 to 45 minutes (it was probably fine at 30 minutes, but I was busy & set it for another 15 m. It think that helped it thicken.
Question.. I just read that you shouldn’t freeze anything that has milk/ nondairy milk because it separates. But you said freeze… just wondering
The flavor and texture were amazing! I left out the additional cup of water so it was not liquidy, but a nice casserole thickness. Makes a huge batch. We loved every bite!
Thanks for the tip, Kriss! I will leave the water out too. Also, did you do it in a casserole dish or in the separate ramekins as the instructions say? Thank you. :)