Y'all, my family is obsessed with this cheesy, cozy vegan rice casserole! Packed with hearty lentils and spinach, it's a total crowd-pleaser!
Servings 4
Author Becky Striepe
Ingredients
1tablespoonolive oilor use water to water-fry
½sweet onionchopped
3clovesgarlicminced
1 ¼cupswater
1cupwhite ricerinsed
15-ouncecan of lentilsdrained and rinsed
1tablespoonmisoany kind is fine
1tablespoonItalian seasoning
2tablespoonslemon juiceplus more to taste
1teaspoongarlic powder
1teaspoononion powder
¼teaspoonsalt
1 ½cupsfrozen spinach
1largetomatodiced
1cupnon-dairy cheddar shreds
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Make the rice mixture
For the stovetop: Heat the oil in a saucepan on medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt and cook until the onion turns golden. Add all of the remaining ingredients except for the tomato and cheddar shreds, and stir until the miso dissolves. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer, covered for 12-15 minutes (see note), until the water is all absorbed. Stir and fluff, then add more lemon juice, salt, and pepper if needed.
For the Instant Pot: Use the Instant Pot's saute function to heat the oil. Add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt and cook until the onion turns golden. Press cancel. Add all of the remaining ingredients except for the tomato and cheddar shreds, and stir until the miso dissolves. Cook at pressure for 5 minutes with a 10-minute natural release. Stir and fluff, then add more lemon juice, salt, and pepper if needed.
Make the casserole
Transfer the rice mixture to a greased 8x8" glass baking pan. Sprinkle the tomato on top, gently pressing it down so it's a little bit nestled into the rice. Sprinkle the cheese on top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
Video
Notes
This recipe works with regular or long grain white rice.I do not recommend doubling this recipe in the Instant Pot. If you want to double it, cook the rice on the stovetop, and use a large soup pot.If you're cooking the rice on the stovetop: After 12 minutes of cooking, taste the rice on top. If it's crunchy, stir the rice, add another splash of water, and cover the pot to steam for another 3 minutes. This can happen because we're adding so many mix-ins to the rice as it cooks.If you don't want to use store-bought vegan cheese, you can top this with my vegan queso instead.You can use different veggies instead of spinach, so use what you have!