Vegetable Herb Casserole

This hearty, creamy, and comforting vegan casserole is the perfect cure to the cold weather.

Taylor and I have been talking about how sentimental casseroles are for us since our mom made casseroles a lot for us as children. With a family of six, our home was extremely busy!

Casseroles were really helpful for our mom to be able to assemble them ahead of time while we were at school. Plus making a dinner that just needs a couple pots and 15 minutes of prep time was a huge plus, especially if it was hearty and nutritious.

While Taylor was making the Vegetable Herb Casserole in preparation for us to take photos for this post, I was doing prep for my job -- I am a teacher so now that school is back is session I am regularly working at Taylor's house to multitask my two jobs as a teacher and a food blogger! While sitting at her kitchen table doing "homework" and listening to her making the casserole, I felt like a kid again.

There is just something about the sound of a wooden spoon stirring a full pot while I am working at a kitchen table that just takes me back to that time in our lives. Sorry! I warned you last week that this time of year makes me incredibly sentimental!

~Tessa

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Vegetable Herb Casserole

Vegan

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Serves: 4-5 people

Cook time: 15 minutes

Bake time: 20-25 minutes

Author: Kitchen Potatoes

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Ingredients

· 4 cups cauliflower florets (approximately 1 large cauliflower head)

· 2 cups sliced celery (approximately 4 celery stalks)

· 2 cups sliced carrots (approximately 4 carrots)

· 1 cup chopped onion (approximately 1 large onion)

· ½ cup vegan butter

· 1 tbsp garlic powder

· 1 tsp celery seed

· 2 tsp dried rosemary

· 1 tsp dried thyme

· ¼ tsp black pepper

· 1 tsp salt

· ⅓ cup all purpose flour

· 3 cups vegetable broth

· 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened soy milk)

· ½ cup frozen peas

· 1 can of chickpeas (540 ml can)

Breadcrumb Mixture

· 3 tbsp melted vegan butter

· 1 cup breadcrumbs (I used panko style breadcrumbs)

· 1 tsp onion powder

· 1 tbsp garlic powder

· ½ tsp salt

· chopped fresh parsley for garnish

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Method

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a tablespoon of salt, add cauliflower, celery, and carrots to water, cover, and allow to boil until the vegetables are slightly tender when pierced with a fork (approximately 8-10 minutes). Strain vegetables.

2. While vegetables boil, in a separate pot heat vegan butter over medium heat. Add onion and saute until the onion is soft and translucent.

3. Once onions are soft, add garlic powder, celery seed, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Saute for 1 minute to activate the flavors. Add all purpose flour and stir rapidly for another minute to cook the raw flour.

4. Slowly add vegetable broth while stirring constantly. Add non-dairy milk and stir to combine. Allow sauce to come to a simmer.

5. Add drained chickpeas, frozen peas, and drained, cooked vegetables to sauce. Remove from heat and gently stir to combine. Pour into large casserole dish.

6. Combine all breadcrumb mixture ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle on top of casserole. Place casserole dish on top of a sheet in case it bubbles over a bit and place in oven for approximately 20-25 minutes or until breadcrumbs are brown.

7. Remove from oven and serve with fresh parsley. Enjoy!

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