Ingredients
- Main Ingredients:
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Prepare rice according to package directions. Replace water with vegetable broth.
While the rice is cooking, steam the broccoli for about 5 minutes until tender but still bright green.
In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and sauté for about 4 minutes until the onion is translucent.
In a large bowl, combine rice, broccoli, onion, garlic, 1 cup cheese, salt, and pepper.
Spray a 9x9-inch casserole dish with cooking spray. Pour the mixture into the dish and spread it out evenly. If desired, sprinkle remaining cheese and breadcrumbs on top.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the casserole is heated through and the top is golden brown.
Allow the casserole to cool for a few minutes before serving.
What is it about casserole recipes that makes them so popular? More than likely, it’s down to the fact that they’re incredibly comforting, as well as hearty and flavorful.
What’s more, is that making them can also be a highly satisfying and creative process. You can simply add the ingredients of your desired recipe to the casserole tray and let the oven do the rest of the work.
Casserole recipes such as this one, allow you to bring nutritious vegetables and other ingredients to your mealtime without compromising enjoyment. Casseroles have been around for centuries and popular in large parts of the globe. But what makes a casserole a casserole?
What is a casserole?
The word casserole originally referred to the large dish used to cook these meals. This is usually rectangular although the shape can vary. Over time, however, the meals that people cooked using the casserole dish became known as casseroles themselves.
What's in a casserole?
Typically, a casserole recipe is made up of three-man components. The first is a protein ingredient, which can be meat, fish, chicken, beans, or another. The next part is a mixture of vegetables which are usually chopped and can even be added from tins. Finally, you need a starchy binder to meld the ingredients together. This can be flour, rice, potato, or pasta to name a few.
What’s the difference between a casserole and a stew?
Truth be told, casseroles and stews are very similar dishes, but there is a difference. Casserole meals are cooked in the oven in their respective bowls, while stews are cooked on the stove, usually in large cooking pots. This means casseroles are cooked via heat from all angles while stews are heated from below. The result is that casseroles have a heartier and crispier quality to them.
If you need more cooking tips and ways to boost your creative spirit in the kitchen, feel free to dive into our recipes.
