Recipe for Vegetable Medley Casserole
This cheesy vegan vegetable casserole is rich, cheesy, velvety, and so comforting that even picky eaters will be going back for seconds! Frozen veggies are topped with dairy-free cheese sauce and topped with crispy Ritz cracker crumbs.
Ingredients
- 3 lb frozen mixed vegetables see notes
- 1 (15-oz) can chickpeas drained
For the vegan cheese sauce:
- 2 ½ cups water
- 1/3 cup red lentils dry
- 1/3 cup cashews raw
- 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 Tbsp white miso paste
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 ½ cup vegan shredded cheddar packed
- 1 ½ Tbsp yellow mustard
For the topping:
- 1 roll Ritz crackers
- 1/4 cup vegan butter melted
Instructions
Preparation:
- Add the frozen veggies in a 9x12-inch casserole dish and set aside to start thawing while you continue with the recipe.
- Preheat the oven to 350F
Start the sauce
- Add the water, red lentils, cashews, nutritional yeast, miso paste, and sea salt to a medium saucepan and stir.
- Turn the heat to high, cover the pot, and bring the mixture to a boil* (see notes).
- When the mixture begins boiling, turn the heat to low and let simmer (covered) for about 10 minutes.
- Carefully transfer the mixture to your Vitamix or another high-powered and heat-safe blender. Let it sit uncovered to cool off a bit while you continue with the recipe.
Assemble the casserole base:
- Drain the chickpeas.
- Add them to the frozen veggies in your casserole dish and stir everything to combine.
Make the topping:
- In a medium bowl, add the crushed Ritz crackers and melted vegan butter.
- Toss to combine and set aside.
Finish the cheese sauce:
- Add the vegan cheddar and mustard to your blender.
- Blend, pulsing at first to break up the larger chunks then slowly increasing to high speed, until completely smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape the sides as needed. This takes about 1 full minute of blending.
Assemble and bake:
- Pour the cheese sauce from your blender evenly over the frozen vegetables in the casserole dish.
- Then, sprinkle the Ritz cracker topping over the casserole evenly.
- Bake at 350F for 45-60 minutes uncovered until the casserole is bubbly (you can see this better with a clear baking dish) and the Ritz topping is lightly browned
- Let sit 15 minutes before digging in!
Video
Notes
*Be careful when boiling the mixture because it will boil up fast and can boil over if you’re not careful. Keep a very close eye on it as soon as you see it begin to bubble! Then, when it starts to bubble to the top, it’s ready.
Vegetables: We used a 2 lb bag of a frozen peas/corn/carrots blend + a 1lb bag of a broccoli/cauliflower blend. You want 3 pounds or 9 cups of frozen veggies total. To use fresh veggies, blanch them until tender. Then, pat dry and use in the recipe as directed.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cupCalories: 291kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 11gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.1gSodium: 607mgPotassium: 462mgFiber: 10gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 5953IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 80mgIron: 4mg
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