This creamy Vegan Chicken and Rice Casserole is hearty, comforting, and super filling. This vegan rice casserole is chock full of perfectly seasoned mushrooms, vegan ‘chicken’, and broccoli. It’s beyond creamy thanks to the black pepper dairy-free cream sauce that coats and flavors all the rice and it’s all topped off with ‘buttery’, crunchy crackers.
I feel like casseroles are extremely nostalgic for many people. And it’s easy to see why! They’re warm, comforting, easy to make, and can feed a lot of people! This Creamy Vegan Chicken and Rice Casserole is reminiscent of a casserole I grew up eating. Today, I’ll show you how to make this hearty, delicious, and filling vegan casserole.
the vegan chicken and rice casserole ingredients:
To make this easy vegan chicken and mushroom rice casserole, you only need about 11 ingredients! You’ll want to gather the following before you begin cooking:
- Cooked Rice
- Plant Milk, like unsweetened almond milk
- Vegan Butter
- Flour
- Onion
- Garlic
- Vegan Chicken Strips, like Gardein or Morningstar
- Mushrooms
- Veggie Boullion
- Broccoli, optional
the best vegan ‘chicken’
In this recipe, I’m also using Gardein Vegan Chicken Nuggets that are unbreaded which I dice into smaller pieces. But you can use any vegan chicken that you’d like.
how to make a super creamy dairy free casserole
This easy casserole uses rice, mushrooms, vegan chickens, broccoli (if you’d like), and a creamy black pepper béchamel sauce. A béchamel sauce is typically made by whisking together a roux and milk.
Luckily, it’s very easy to make vegan and adds an amazing amount of creaminess to the casserole without adding any unwanted flavors like coconut.
vegan black pepper béchamel cream sauce
To make the vegan béchamel, you’ll first want to make a roux. To do this you’ll heat some vegan butter on medium-low heat until it is melted. Then, you’ll whisk in flour until the mixture forms a paste consistency. Next, you’ll slowly whisk in your non-dairy milk.
In this recipe, I chose to use unsweetened almond milk since it has the most neutral flavor. After a few minutes, the sauce should begin to thicken. Feel free to add in any salt or pepper to taste!
how to make the veggie rice casserole
- Melt the vegan butter in a large pot. Then, sprinkle in the flour, whisking at the same time to prevent any clumps from forming.
- Next, add 2 cups of the plant-based milk and heat on low (do not let it boil) for 5 minutes, stirring every minute or so. Add in the salt, pepper, and non-chick’n bouillon cube. Then, once slightly thickened, pour in the remaining 1 1/2 cup of plant milk and whisk on low for another 5 minutes until the cream sauce is thicker.
- In a large saute pan, saute the diced onion and garlic until translucent.
- Add the sliced mushrooms, vegan chicken, and broccoli and cook for 10 minutes.
- Then, add the mushrooms, onion and chicken mixture into the pot with the cream sauce. Add in the cooked rice. Stir until the mixture is well combined and the sauce is covering all the rice.
- Transfer the mixture to a 9×13” casserole dish.
- Crumble crackers and vegan parmesan cheese on the top.
- Bake for 23-25 minutes at 400F. The crackers should be golden brown on top.
The mixture may look a bit wet prior to baking it, but that’s totally okay! The extra creaminess is so when you bake the casserole to brown the top, it doesn’t dry out inside.
the vegan chicken & rice casserole
Feel free to top the casserole prior to baking with crumbled crackers or breadcrumbs. This adds some nice texture to contrast the creaminess of the casserole!
This Creamy Vegan Chicken and Rice Casserole makes about 6 large servings, perfect for a crowd or a large family. It’s also great to make at the beginning of the week as part of meal prep! You can store this casserole covered in the fridge for up to 5 or 6 days.
vegan rice casserole faq:
For this recipe, I like to use Gardein’s unbreaded “chicken strips”, like the ones that come in their Teriyaki Chik’n. If using this product, you can place the sauce packet that comes with it back in the freezer for other future recipes.
If you can’t find unbreaded vegan chicken, you could also use diced-up Gardein vegan chicken nuggets or Morningstar vegan chicken nuggets.
A non-dairy milk that is unsweetened and neutral in flavor works best in this veggie rice casserole. I prefer plain unsweetened almond milk. You could also use plain unsweetened soy milk. I don’t recommend using coconut milk or other kinds of dairy-free milk with strong flavors.
Casseroles are great for adding in pretty much any ingredients you love. This is a mushroom rice casserole with diced vegan chickens and a little bit of broccoli as well. You could add vegan cheddar cheese if you’d like. Or you could omit the mushrooms. The possibilities are endless so feel free to exchange the same or similar quantities of one ingredient for another.
Looking for more hearty vegan recipes?
Did you make this recipe? I’d love to know! Leave a rating or comment below!
Creamy Vegan Chicken & Rice Casserole
Creamy, hearty, and a little earthy, this filling vegan chicken & rice casserole is a perfect filling winter dinner.
Ingredients
Vegan Black Pepper Bechamel Sauce
- 6 tbsp vegan butter
- 6 tbsp flour
- 3 1/2 cups plant-based milk, I’m using unsweetened almond
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 non-chickn bouillon cube
Casserole
- 10 oz baby cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1-2 cups broccoli, chopped (optional)
- 10 oz vegan chick’n, I’m using Morning Star Nuggets, thawed chopped into 1-inch slices
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 cups cooked white rice
- Crumbled crackers for topping, optional
- 1/4 cup grated vegan parmesan, like Violife
- Chopped parsley for topping, optional
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot, melt the vegan butter. Sprinkle in the flour, whisking at the same time to prevent any clumps from forming.
- Add 2 cups of the plant-based milk and heat on low (do not let it boil) for 5 minutes, stirring every minute or so. Add in the salt, pepper, and non-chick’n bouillon cube. The mixture should begin to thicken.
- Next, add the remaining 1 1/2 cup of plant milk and whisk on low for another 5 minutes until slightly thicker.
- In a large saute pan, add a teaspoon of vegan butter or oil, and saute the diced onion and garlic until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the sliced mushrooms, vegan chicken, and broccoli, if using, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender.
- Add the sauteed vegetable mixture into the pot with the cream sauce. Stir in the cooked rice.
- Stir until the mixture is well combined and the sauce is covering all the rice.
- Transfer the mixture to a 9x13” casserole dish. Crumble crackers on the top. Sprinkle on the grated vegan parmesan (optional).
- Bake for 23-25 minutes at 400F. The crackers should be golden brown on top.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 300Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 186mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 2g
Nutritional info is an estimate.
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