Vegetarian Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

Vegetarian “Chicken” Broccoli Rice Vegan Casserole is cheesy, creamy comfort food your entire family will enjoy. Bonus it is ready in about 30 minutes and there is only one pan to clean up.

Happy New Year! Instead of making resolutions, I select a word of the year. It helps me set my intentions for the year. Last year my word of the year was “simplify.” To simplify, I learned to say “no” and to plan my life better to minimize my stress. Part of that has been a commitment to meal planning regularly. It is amazing how helpful it is to have one less thing to think about especially at the end of a long day. We meal plan for two weeks at a time and have them all written out on a large whiteboard in my kitchen.

Part of the process of meal planning is finding simple recipes that my entire family can enjoy. Last year my goal was to keep cooking simple and have protein and a vegetable for every meal. And if you can cook it in one pot, one pan, or a sheet tray, that is a bonus!

Ingredients for Vegetarian Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

Cauliflower has become one of my go-to healthy swaps. When I first started cooking it I would buy a head of cauliflower and rice it at home. Then I found frozen versions like Birds Eye® Steamfresh® Veggie Made™ Original Riced Cauliflower. Birds Eye Veggie Made takes your favorite foods and remakes them using delicious vegetables. The best part is you don’t have to sacrifice taste.

Vegetarian Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

To keep it fun and easy to plan our meals, we do things like Meatless Monday and Taco Tuesday. I was a vegetarian for 8 years more than a decade ago. Back then, the options for meat substitutes were very limited. I love discovering new meatless options. For this Meatless Monday, I made Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole with delicious plant-based replacements including Gardein™ Seven Grain Crispy Tenders.

Gardein offers a wide range of tasty plant-based foods with a meat-like texture. Their products are made from soy, wheat, and pea proteins, vegetables, and ancient grains. They are a great source of fiber and can be found in the frozen or natural section. Gardein is also 100% vegan!

How to Make Vegetarian Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

To start the recipe, I melted Earth Balance® Organic Whipped Buttery Spread. It is certified organic, vegan, dairy-free, lactose-free, gluten-free, and non-GMO and has an excellent source of ALA Omega-3. It also contains no MSG and no trans fat.

Then I cooked the onions in a buttery spread until they are golden brown. Once they turned brown I added garlic and continued to cook it down.

At the same time, I placed the tenders into the oven so they would be crispy. For this recipe, I recommend cooking them just a couple minutes short of the total recommended time on the package since they will continue to cook in the pan.

While the Gardein Seven Grain Crispy Tenders were cooking, I added the entire bag of the Birds Eye Steamfresh Veggie Made Original Riced Cauliflower to the pan to cook. Once the riced cauliflower is cooked, add in your vegetable broth and the broccoli. Add the cover to the pan and allow the broccoli to cook for about 10 minutes.

Once the Gardein Seven Grain Crispy Tenders are cooked, cut them into bite-sized pieces and add to the pan. Add half of your vegan cheese and stir until all your cheese is melted.
Then top with the remaining cheese and place into the broiler on high for a couple of minutes.

Then you are ready to serve it!