Vegan Broccoli Quinoa Casserole
It’s funny how “comfort foods” and “childhood memories” mean entirely different things for different people. You ask me to name comfort food and I think of meatballs, sheperds pie or a winning chicken diner. I don’t think of apple pie or cheesy casseroles. I think of the foods that warm you up from the inside and you really want to share with someone special.
Other times, someone special is the reason you try something new. While I ran out to Trader Joes one evening, my wife came across this recipe…
Not only was I in a grocery store when she texted, but this cheesy comfort food goodness came from ingredients that we already had stashed away in the pantry. And before you roll your eyes and think I’m throwing more cashew cheese your way, you are mistaken.
This is a nut-free cheese sauce.
And it’s good! Cheesy good! The cheese sauce even has a great authentic color!
I more than doubled the original recipe so that our family-of-five had enough for dinner and lunch the following day and between you and me, I think this is ten times better than the quinoa pizza casserole, plus it’s nut and nightshade free! There are just four simple steps between you and this casserole.
Vegan Broccoli Quinoa Casserole
Ingredients (serves 8)
Cheese sauce
- 1 cooked mashed sweet potato
- 1.5 cups water
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
Additional ingredients
- 1 cup dried quinoa
- 1 1lb bag of frozen organic broccoli florets
- 1 bay leaf (optional)
Method
Start by pre-heating the oven to 350F. Rinse the quinoa. In a small saucepan or cast iron skillet, lightly toast the quinoa for no more than two minutes, then add 2 cups of water or stock. Add a bay leaf to the water. Bring the water to a boil, cover and allow to simmer on a low temperature for 10 – 15 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed.While the quinoa is cooking, lightly roast or steam your broccoli.
Now prepare the vegan cheese sauce by putting all the cheese ingredients into a blender, vitamix or food processor and blend until it is silky-smooth.
Combine the quinoa, broccoli and cheese sauce in an oven proof casserole dish (a braiser or dutch oven will work nicely too) and stir well so sauce is evenly covering all of the ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes and serve immediately.