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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78 Comments on “Chicken Broccoli Rice Vegan Casserole”
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.
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? Thanks
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.
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
Instead
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.
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!