Vegan Broccoli and Cheese Casserole
Published 1/2/2019
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This healthy Vegan Broccoli and Cheese Casserole is packed with creamy vegan cheese, broccoli florets and quinoa, and topped with crispy chickpeas. Does it get any better? And it can be baked in under an hour. Dinner is served!
Broccoli and cheese is a combo that just belongs together. Anyone else agree?! I grew up in Wisconsin where it’s appropriate (and expected?) to add cheese to pretty much any recipe, and broccoli and cheese was no exception. We’re talking steamed broccoli with that delicious brick of not-so-vegan Velveeta cheese 😉 Think of this broccoli and cheese casserole as a grown-up version of this Midwestern favorite. And packed with more than just vegan cheese and broccoli. In this casserole you’ll find a terrific combination of the broccoli and cheese flavors you’ve loved since childhood (maybe this is just me?) with quinoa, vegetable broth, garlic powder and topped with crispy crunchy roasted chickpeas.
Vegan Meal Prep
We know the vegan meal prep world can be tough, but we’re here to tell you that this vegan broccoli and cheese casserole is just as good reheated as it is right when it comes out of the oven. The vegan cheese sauce will thicken a bit when refrigerated, so if you’re making this casserole as a vegan meal prep option for the week, feel free to add a few tablespoons of vegetable broth when reheating. Now, let’s chat all things vegan cheese sauce before we send you on your way.Vegan Cheese Sauce
The vegan cheese sauce in this broccoli and cheese casserole is rich and creamy and truly does taste cheesy. Hard to believe it’s dairy-free! But you bet your bippies we recipe tested this vegan cheese sauce to perfection until we were completely satisfied with its creamy, cheesy nature. And it’s pretty easy to whip up! We promise. Vegan cheese recipe ingredients include:- Cashews
- Sweet potato puree
- Nutritional yeast
- Vegetable broth
- Apple cider vinegar
Fit Foodie Finds Recipes with Vegan Sauce
We’ve been loving up on vegan sauces here at FFF for a while now. Sauces like these with a base of pureed cashews are just oh-so-creamy, and we can’t get enough. Don’t miss these other Fit Foodie Finds recipes with vegan sauce:- Super Simple Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Creamy Tomato Basil Vegan Pasta
- Vegan Queso
- Creamy Greek Pasta Salad with Cashew Vegan Pesto
- Creamy Vegan Pasta with Sautéed Kale and Tomatoes
Vegetarian Casseroles on Fit Foodie Finds
- Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
- Mexican Sweet Potato Quinoa Casserole
- Sweet Potato Green Curry Quinoa Casserole
- Naked Spinach Quinoa Lasagna Casserole
- Healthy Green Bean Casserole
- Lasagna Zucchini Casserole
- Sweet Potato Spinach Lasagna
Vegan Broccoli and Cheese Casserole
Ingredients
Casserole
- 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
- 1 cup vegan cheese sauce, + more for topping
- 1.5 cups vegetable broth
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 cups chopped broccoli
Crunchy Garbanzo Beans
- 1 15-oz. can, rinsed and de-cased
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- First, preheat oven to 375ºF and spray an 8×8-inch casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together vegan cheese sauce, vegetable broth, and garlic powder.
- Then, place quinoa on the bottom of your casserole dish and pour on the cheese mixture. Mix well.
- Place broccoli florets on top of quinoa and press them down. Then, cover casserole dish completely with tin foil.
- Bake casserole at 375ºF, covered, for 25 minutes.
- While the casserole is baking, prepare crunchy garbanzo beans. Place garbanzo beans on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Then, season with chili powder and salt and toss with your hands.
- After the 25 minutes is up, take the casserole out of the oven and remove tin foil. Then, place back in the oven on the bottom rack and place garbanzo beans in the oven on the top rack. Bake at 375ºF for 25 minutes.
- Remove both from the oven. Let sit for about 15 minutes before serving.
- Serve the broccoli and cheese casserole with a few crunchy garbanzo beans on top along with your favorite hot sauce.
Tips & Notes
- For this recipe, you’re going to need a full batch of our amazing vegan cheese sauce. You can find that recipe HERE.
- We recommend topping your vegan broccoli and cheese casserole (or mixing in) the rest of your vegan cheese sauce that you’ll have leftover.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Vegan Meal Prep Ideas
This was great, I used a quinoa & brown rice blend for the base and added onion powder and crushed black pepper. I also add diced red onions to the broccoli. For the chickpeas I used 50/50 chilli powder and ancho chilli powder then topped everything with vegan cheddar cheese.
Glad you loved it!!
Super Yummy and followed the directions to a T! Loved it! To reheat I add a little extra cheese sauce and almond milk stir and warm, then serve. Delicious
I love this recipe! I made it exactly as written, but also added sauteed mushrooms. The leftovers kept for several days for meal prep, and I added a tiny bit of broth before warming up again. Thanks for a stellar vegan recipe!
This was good! I’m new to vegan cooking. Whilst I didn’t find the cheese sauce tasted at all cheese like, it was still a tasty addition. I did half half broccoli & cauliflower. I’d make it again!!
Hey! So, what I did to avoid uncooked quinoa: poured the cheese sauce on top of the quinoa, then stirred it all together – this made sure that all of the quinoa was coated and so it cooked nicely. I tried this recipe once without stirring it because the recipe doesn’t say to stir. My gut told me I should stir it, but I didn’t… the quinoa was uncooked. So I then stirred it and it worked. Perhaps others have not had the same experience because they have a convection oven?
I also sauteed some onion and added it to the cheese sauce (after blending the cheese sauce, of course), and also added a touch of turmeric, curry, and some paprika (a good helping). Also added more garlic powder, cider vinegar, and broth. But I think I had to add more broth because I steamed and mashed sweet potatoes (which is not as smooth as pureed sweet potato).
Anyways, stir in the quinoa. I think that would work better. Another option is to cook the quinoa and blanch the broccoli beforehand, then add to baking dish, but reduce coking time 🙂
Great recipe. I modified for my own personal taste, but very yummy and nutritious recipe.
Thanks!
Wasn’t convinced that this recipe would taste good, made it for our family so we could all enjoy some vegan meals as two family members are vegan-vegetarian. Very pleasantly surprised! Some work involved and new skills learned re making the cheese cause but worth it. Great casserole, thank you.
Hey! The cheese tastes great, but you may want to change the instructions regarding the uncooked quoina in the ingredients list. There is no indication to cook it in the instructions and the meal is inedible!
Hello! The quinoa cooks in the oven. Did you make any other modifications?
Super recipe — but part of the reason I’m vegan is to leave the world in better condition than when I came into it. And using tin foil to top this casserole while it’s cooking is not leaving the world in better shape. I used a cookie pan to cover my casserole this time, but I also have many casserole dishes with tops. Very easy and much better for the environment. Thanks!
Made this with my husband tonight and I wanted to weep from joy upon tasting this cheese sauce. Thank you for sharing your genius recipes!
LOL. The freaking cheese sauce is SO GOOD.