Chicken Broccoli Rice Vegan Casserole
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“Chicken” Broccoli Rice Vegan Casserole is ultra cheesy, creamy and comforting. Ready in about 30 minutes and made in 1 pan!
Casseroles are the perfect weeknight meal and this cheesy broccoli rice casserole with vegan “chicken” is my absolute favorite. It’s kid-approved, flavorful, creamy and full of broccoli! No one would guess it’s vegan.
I love the combination of broccoli and cheese, as you can see from this Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup or Vegan Cheesy Broccoli Twice Baked Potatoes.
This meal is so easy and quick to make. It only takes about 30 minutes to prepare, and is made with simple ingredients. I have used my Vegan Chicken, but you can substitute chickpeas or use store-bought vegan chikn (Tofurky brand is good).
Want more Vegan Casseroles?
- Vegan Enchilada Casserole
- Vegan Baked Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Baked Ziti
- Vegan Lasagna
- Biscuit Topped Chickpea Pot Pie
Chicken Broccoli Rice Vegan Casserole
Ingredients
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced small
- 8 ounces vegan chicken, chopped small, homemade OR tofurky, see Notes for more options
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups white rice, long grain preferred
- 3-4 cups vegetable broth
- 13.5 ounce can full fat coconut milk
- 4 cups broccoli florets
- 1 1/2 cups non-dairy cheddar style vegan cheese, optional
- salt, to taste
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs, optional
Instructions
- In a large skillet or pot (I used my 12-inch cast iron skillet), sauté the onion and chopped vegan chicken pieces in the olive oil for 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Now add the rice, 3 cups of vegetable broth and coconut milk. Stir, and bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so.
- Add the broccoli florets once the rice is tender, and an additional 1/2-1 cup more of vegetable broth if the mixture is getting dry. Stir in the vegan cheese as well at this time, if using. Stir, cover and simmer for 5 more minutes until the broccoli softens a bit.
- Season with salt, to taste. Enjoy immediately, or sprinkle with panko breadcrumbs and place under the broiler for a few minutes.
Notes
- You can use my homemade seitan Vegan Chicken (you will only need about 1/2 the recipe), or a package of Tofurky brand chikn, OR sub with a can of chickpeas that have been drained and rinsed.
- To sub brown rice for white: It will take a lot longer to cook the rice, about 40 minutes. Add more vegetable broth or water as needed, you will probably need 4-5 cups of broth.
- I used daiya cheddar for this, but you can leave it out or use my shreddable vegan mozzzarella instead.
Nutrition
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99 Comments on “Chicken Broccoli Rice Vegan Casserole”
Great recipe!
I added impossible sausage and Le Sueur peas and it was outstanding!
Sounds delicious! I’m thrilled you loved the casserole! It sounds so good with the sausage addition! Thanks for sharing your wonderful feedback!
Would it be possible to make this in a glass casserole dish in the oven? If so, can you make any recommendations for doing so? This looks soooooo delicious, but I want to take it to a picnic as a true casserole, baked in a casserole dish.
Yes, you can bake it in a lightly greased glass casserole dish using steamed broccoli and cooked rice. Saute the onion and chicken on the stove as normal, then stir in 2-3 cups of broth, coconut milk, rice, broccoli, and vegan cheese. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish and top with breadcrumbs. Bake at 350ºF for 30-35 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown. I hope this helps!
This was so good! I used your Easy Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce, arborio rice, and LiteLife chicken patties (it’s what I had on hand). It was wonderfully creamy and delicious. My husband absolutely loved it as well. Thank you, Nora!
Hi Shelly. Your casserole sounds really delicious! Thanks for sharing your great feedback and ideas! I’ so happy you guys loved the recipe!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was yummy. It came together quickly with pantry staples. I’ll be adding this to my regular rotation. Thanks for another great recipe, Nora!Â
Hi Coretta. I’m so happy you loved this and that it will become part of your meal rotation! Thanks for sharing your wonderful feedback! Happy cooking!
Made this tonight and it’s a hit with everyone. I used Nutritional Yeast instead of vegan cheese, since I try to minimize processed stuff with additives. However, my son is still a partial carnivore, so I did add some sliced vegan tofurkey Italian sausages for him and they did add a very nice flavor. I made this by the recipe, and did end up using the extra cup of broth at the end to make it creamier (I think the tofurkey probably absorbed some of the moisture at the end). Now that I’ve made it to spec, I do plan to experiment with some other veggies in future, knowing they will be just as YUM as with the broccoli. Thanks, Nora for such a great weeknight recipe! This was soooo easy to throw together after work 🙂
Hi Elisa. Thank you for your wonderful feedback, and for sharing your additions and ideas! This is recipe that can be versatile to suit individual tastes! I’m glad it was a hit with your family! Happy cooking to you!
This was soooo good! used what I had on hand: can of chickpeas (out of soy curls), lite cocount milk, violife mozzarella shreds plus a few TB of nooch. Friend had given me some Jyoti rice and it was really, really good in this. Leftovers are fantastic, too. Thank you for the easy and delicious new dinner (or side!). It will be a regular at our table.
You are welcome, Jenny! I’m so glad that you loved the casserole! I agree the leftovers are so good! Thanks for your wonderful feedback! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
Nora you are amazing! I do NOT like coconut flavor in my foods, but since I totally trust you, I gave it a try. OMG so glad I did. We absolutely loved it!
Wouldn’t change a thing (which I never do with any of your recipes). My family grew up always eating cheesy potatoes on Easter… not this year… we are replacing it with this one! Thank you!
I’m so glad you love the casserole! Thanks for using my recipe, and for sharing your review and feedback! Happy cooking!
Thank you for this recipe! I really enjoyed it, and so did my family. I made a few adjustments based on what I had on hand… I only had a small can of coconut cream, so I mixed it with almond milk until I had the correct amount. I also had Better Than Boullion roasted garlic, so I used 2 cups of that and 2 cups of Better Than Boullion veggie for the broth. I also used half Violife mozzarella and half cheddar style shreds.Â
This will definitely go into our rotation! Perhaps next time, I will try topping with crispy fried onions… yum!
Hi Krystal. I’m so glad you loved the recipe and it’s going onto our meal rotation! Thank you for sharing your fantastic feedback and ideas!
Haven’t made this yet, but plan on it next week. Can you use frozen broccoli?
Yes, you can use frozen broccoli! The cooking time should remain about the same.
So good! Table full of omnivores all loving it. I was so glad I doubled the recipe! I used soy curls soaked in chicken broth, and subbed nooch for cheese.
I have so consistently pleased my heavily omnivore (meat eating) family with your recipes. It’s really exciting for me to change their minds, one meal at a time.
This is great to hear, Kristin! So glad you and your family loved this dish. Thanks for sharing such wonderful feedback!
Love this recipe and make it regularly. I find it super versatile to add mushrooms or whatever other veggies we want as well as the broccoli. I always use brown rice and as Nora suggested it takes the 4 cups of broth and closer to 40 minutes.
Sometimes we forgo the cheese and add soy sauce and other flavors and it is just as good!
It’s better with Nora’s chicken, but I usually end up using sausage because it’s what we have on hand. I fry the sausage/ chicken first and add it when I add the broccoli.
Thank you for sharing your great review and comments! I am so glad you are loving the casserole!
Used lite coconut cream, and cheated with a tiny bit of agar agar to thicken. Just a TINY bit. Everything else as listed. Super yummy and filling. Another fantastic recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the casserole! I appreciate you taking your time to share your review and comments! Thank you for using my recipes!
If you do use light coconut milk, what might the outcome be if that is the only substitution I make in the recipe? Thank you in advance.
It will be fine, just a little less rich. Enjoy!
Can you use cubed seitan?
Yes you can.
Thank you. You rule!
So. Much. YUM!!
I used lite coconut milk, lots of nutritional yeast, umami seasoning, a bit of thyme and paprika. For cheese, I relied on the nooch to bring it home (to save calories) but still added 2 slices of miyokos pepper jack.
I also tossed in mushrooms, a little diced carrot & some peas.Â
All this food just for little ‘ol me – I’ll be eating this all week and I ain’t mad! Thank you for another winner!
Your casserole sounds delicious! I’m really glad you are enjoying the recipe! Thank you for taking your time to share your great review and comments!
May I ask what Nooch is? Â ThanksÂ
Nutritional Yeast! 🙂
Just made this and oh my god why is it the best casserole I’ve ever tasted.
I used 365 coconut milk, 365 vegan cheddar, added leftover regular mozzarella (sowwy I know, ew), and Sweet Earth veggie chicken.Â
Thank you for sharing your review! I’m glad you loved the casserole!
This was delicious!!!
My husband loved it! I did use lite coconut milk and 4 cups of broth with brown rice. It did take a little longer to cook, but just as tasty!! Thank you so much for a great recipe! Will definitely be making this again!
I’m so glad you loved the casserole, Genevieve! Thank you for sharing your comments!
Made this for dinner tonight & we both loved it. I’ll definitely be making this again. Thank you for posting!
Thank you, Donna, for taking time to share your review. I’m glad you loved the casserole! Thank you!
My family loved it! Added vegan chicken bouillon cube, pepper jack cheese and chicken seasoning. Thank you for this recipe.
I’m so glad your family loved the casserole, Valarie! Thank you for sharing!
Can I is cauliflower rice
InsteadÂ
I’ve never tried it, but possibly.
It was excellent. I used Jasmine rice and garlic, parsley salt with no breadcrumbs. I used half pepper jack and half cheddar. My wife loved it and so did my son.
I’m glad that you and your family enjoyed the recipe! Thank you, Terrence.
the recipe blew me away!!! I was hesitant with the coconut milk and didn’t want the taste to stick out, but the result was just light cheesy perfection. super cheap and easy. I used coconut cream to make it creamier, added a little dijon mustard, a BUNCH of nutritional yeast, and threw in some mushrooms. I’ve been eating it for every meal. good reheated with frank’s red hot 🙂
Ooooo… I think if I make this, I’ll be using all of those extra substitutions! I need a LOT of flavour in my food, but I’ve been trying to balance quick and easy with flavourful and filling.Â
This was so good! Exactly the comfort food I was craving. Next time I’ll add seasoning to the rice as it cooks but otherwise follow the instructions exactly. I used soy curls as the “meat” and it was perfect. Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Very tasty! The only thing I would do differently is add the browned seitan with the broccoli . I like my seitan on the chewy side. Easy and delicious!