vegan broccoli cheese casserole

The famous Thanksgiving Broccoli Cheese Casserole gets a vegan makeover with a delicious plant-based cheese sauce, fresh veggies, and a crispy layer of Panko breadcrumbs!

Happy FRI-YAY! Is anyone excited that it's almost the weekend?! And Thanksgiving is less than a week away... eep! Though to be completely honest, I am not that excited it's the weekend because it just means my board exams are THAT MUCH CLOSER. I take them first thing Monday morning, so really I wouldn't be upset with a little extra study time 😉 But let's talk about more exciting things, like this fabulous Vegan Broccoli Cheese Casserole! It is my all-time favorite Thanksgiving side dish, and definitely my most successful makeover for #HolidaySideDishes week! It's totally vegan and dairy free {and gluten-free if you skip out on those panko breadcrumbs} but it tastes just as creamy and comforting as the original. I am totally obsessed.

This vegan broccoli cheese casserole starts out much like the original! You have rice and broccoli and then a cheesy sauce to mix everything into. The vegan twist, of course, is that the sauce isn't made of cheese at all! I actually recycled my infamous cheesy potato sauce from my enchiladas, tweaked the seasonings a bit, and turned it into the perfect creamy base for this dish! And yes, you read that correctly... it's made of POTATOES and carrots!! They get cooked until super soft and then are blended with cashew milk and some other secret ingredients to create the smoothest, silkiest fake cheese sauce you've ever seen. I often like to say that vegans are just food magicians. 😉

As always, don't forget this recipe is part of #HolidaySideDishes week, so there's lots of other blogger creations to check out!

• Bejeweled Legume Salad from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Best Easy Homemade Stuffing from Daily Dish Recipes
• Broccoli Casserole from Palatable Pastime
• Farro Salad with Cranberries, Spinach, and Feta from Sweet Beginnings
• Healthy Candied Sweet Potato Casserole from Simple and Savory
• Lighter Green Bean Casserole from Cookaholic Wife
• Roasted Parmesan Carrots from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Shrimp Stir Fry Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Southern Cornbread Dressing from Everyday Eileen
• Stuffing with Sausage and Chestnuts from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Vegan Broccoli Cheese Casserole from The Baking Fairy
• Cheesy Baked Mashed Potatoes from Family Around the Table

I hope you guys love this vegan broccoli cheese casserole as much as I do! If you make just one of my side dishes this season, then I definitely vote for this one 🙂 And it's all vegetables so it's so good for you, too!

Did you miss my earlier posts this week?

•  Vegan Maple Thyme Mashed Sweet Potatoes
•  Vegan Creamed Greens

Looking for more plant-based sides?

• Rosemary Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Stovetop Rainbow Carrots with Caramelized Onions
• Roasted Delicata Squash with Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Simple Roasted Broccoli
• Lemon-Garlic Zucchini Ribbons

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

vegan broccoli cheese casserole

The famous Thanksgiving Broccoli Cheese Casserole gets a vegan makeover with a delicious plant-based cheese sauce, fresh veggies, and a crispy layer of Panko breadcrumbs!

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course: Side Dishes

Cuisine: American

Servings: 6

Author: Valentina | The Baking Fairy

Ingredients

• *for the cheese sauce*
• 1 carrot peeled and cubed (about 1 cup)
• 2 potatoes peeled and cubed (about 2 cups)
• ½ bouillon cube
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ½ cup unsweetened cashew milk
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice
• *for the casserole*
• 3 cups broccoli florets
• 1 ½ cups arborio rice
• 1 bouillon cube
• ½ teaspoon EACH salt garlic powder, and onion powder
• drizzle of olive oil
• 2-3 tablespoon panko breadcrumbs for topping

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F, and grease an 8x8 baking dish.
• First, prepare the cheesy sauce. In a small pot, combine the cubed carrot and potatoes, and cover with water. Add in the ½ bouillon cube.
• Heat over high until boiling, then lower to a simmer and cook until vegetables are soft and easily pierced with a fork (about 20 min).
• When vegetables are cooked through, transfer to a blender and add in all the rest of the sauce ingredients, including the cashew milk, olive oil, Dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, and all the spices.
• Blend until smooth and creamy, and set aside.
• Now, cook the rice. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add in the rice and bouillon cube. Cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is mostly cooked but still has a little bite. Mine took about 15 minutes. Remember it will finish cooking in the oven! Drain rice when cooked through, and toss with a drizzle of olive oil and the rest of the salt, garlic powder, and onion powder.
• Finally, cook the broccoli. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a bit of salt, and toss in the broccoli. Cook for about 5 minutes, until tender but not mushy.
• Now, combine the cooked rice, broccoli, and cheese sauce. Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish, and top with the panko breadcrumbs.
• Cook broccoli cheese casserole for 30 minutes, then finish by broiling for a couple of minutes so the top is golden brown and crispy. Enjoy!