This hearty and flavorful casserole makes a great main dish when you want something a little special. This recipe requires a bit of extra prep, but it’s worth it because it makes a lot of food and it’s very delicious! (See Notes for variations and substitutions.)
Curry Rice Casserole
- Prep Time: 60 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 mins
- Yield: 8 to 10 1x
Ingredients
- Rice:
- 3¼ cups water
- 1½ cups dry/uncooked short-grain brown rice
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- Sauce:
- 1 cup water
- 2 oz. raw, unsalted cashews (about ½ cup)
- Vegetables:
- 3 cups sliced white or cremini mushrooms (6-8 medium)
- 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped (about 1½ cups)
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic (3 to 4 medium cloves)
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 4 cups chopped broccoli
- 1 medium zucchini, chopped (about 2 cups)
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup cilantro leaves (loosely packed), chopped (about ½ cup)
- 6 green onions, chopped (about ½ cup)
Instructions
- To make the rice, place the water, rice, and 1 tablespoon curry powder into a medium saucepan over high heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 50 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes covered.
- To start the sauce, place the water and cashews into a small bowl or small blender jar, and set aside (so the cashews can soften).
- While the rice is cooking, chop and measure your vegetables and spices. preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of water in a soup pot over medium-high heat. When the water starts to sputter, add the mushrooms and bell pepper, and cook while stirring for about 3 minutes, adding a little water as needed to prevent sticking. Stir in the garlic and 1 tablespoon curry powder, and cook for 1 minute more.
- Stir into the soup pot, the broccoli, zucchini, and 1 cup water. Reduce heat to medium and cover. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring once or twice during, until the broccoli is tender but not falling apart. Remove from the heat.
- To finish the sauce, blend the water and cashews until smooth. Add this to the pot of cooked vegetables, along with the cilantro, green onions, and cooked rice. Stir well (if it’s too thick or dry to stir, add a little water).
- Spoon into a 9x13-inch casserole dish (no pan preparation is necessary), and spread evenly. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Cut into squares or scoop out to serve. If desired, garnish with chopped cilantro and/or ground cashews.
Notes
Curry powders come in a range of heat levels, from mild to hot. Use any level that you like in this recipe.
For more spiciness, add ¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes.
Cauliflower can be used in place of broccoli (or a mix of both).
If you cannot use cashews, substitute with another nut or seed of your choice. Casseroles need something to hold the ingredients together; this is usually butter, milk, cream, oil, or cheese, so I use a nut sauce instead. But you could also use other types of binding ingredients, such as: tofu, arrowroot, or a little rice flour (or other flour). Or if you don’t care about the binding or richness too much, you can use 1 cup of nondairy milk, light coconut milk, water, or vegetable stock in step 5.
Timesaver: Make the rice earlier in the day (or night before) and/or pre-chop your vegetables and store them in the fridge until your ready to start with step 4.
Curry powder: If you want to go the extra mile, you can make your own curry powder blend; just search online for “curry powder recipes.”
I love mushrooms, but if you don’t, you can just leave them out (and add more of the other vegetables to make up the volume), or add another vegetable that you like (maybe thinly sliced carrots, eggplant, fennel, celery, greens...).
Above: The sliced mushrooms and chopped bell pepper.
Above: The chopped zucchini and broccoli.
Above: The coarsely chopped cilantro, chopped green onions and garlic, and curry powder
Above: The casserole right before it goes into the oven.
Recipe looks great. Any substitute for cilantro?
You can leave it out or use parsley or basil. 🙂
This looks delicious! Perfect timing for an event this week!
Oh good! Thanks Susan! 😉
Made it today! Changed it up a bit. Added more Indian spices to dish. Turned out great! My husband loved😊
Oh good! Thanks Judi! 😉
This recipe was a complete success! The recipe worked perfectly and my husband kept complimenting the dish. It was a nice change from my usual curry since it has a completely different texture and selection of vegetables.
I'm so happy to hear this, Leah! Thank you so much! 🙂
You nailed it again! It was delicious! The plan was to leave some for my husbands lunch tomorrow, he said: "not gonna happen" 🙂
Ha! That's great, thank you Petra! 😉
I made this recipe for the first time tonight and loved it! I used Indian spice mix for the curry flavour. Can’t wait to make it for my family. I know it will be a hit. Thank you!
Yay! 🙂 Thanks Janet! I hope they like it!
Thank you for this lovely recipe. Can I use almond nut butter instead of the cashew sauce?
Probably; I haven't tried it, but I'm sure it would taste great. 🙂
Made this for dinner, substituted mashed great northern beans for the cashews and then added raisins and unsweetened coconut as a garnish. Will definitely make this again!
Wow, that sounds exotic! 🙂 I'll have to try that; thanks Jill!
This dish looks so good, I can’t wait to try it. Thank you for sharing!!! Just starting on this plant way of life and looking for variety.
Thanks Janna! 😉
Can this be made ahead and frozen? Thanks.
Yes, I would bake it and then freeze it (as opposed to freezing it before baking). 🙂
Loved this! Satisfying and delicious. This is solid, healthy comfort food. It was enough to have for several days meals.
Yay, glad to hear it! Thanks KM! 😉
Can I substitute any other grain for the rice?
Sure. Maybe quinoa or even some pasta. 🙂
I made this tonight and it was delicious!!!! Fabulous recipe! Thank you!!
Aw, thanks Julia! So glad you enjoyed it! 😉
I couldn't be happier with this dish. It's all you said it would be and more!
Thanks so much, Denise! Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
In looking over your recipes it looks like you cook like I do. I am getting tired of other healthy recipes. It takes me half the day to prepare and they have so many ingredients. I am getting worn out. I have a lot of ideas, but I needed some some new ideas. Thank you. I think I will get your cook book.
Thanks so much, Ruth! 🙂
I made this casserole a few months ago and my husband and I loved it. Today I decided to make it again, however in the time between making the casseroles my husband decided to stop eating nuts. I made the casserole with tofu in place of the cashews. The casserole is not quite as firm but it is still as delicious. I use your recipes regularly especially main dishes. Thank you for all of these recipes!!
Hi Jennifer, thank you, great to know of this sub! 😉
This is absolutely delicious!!! Very reminiscent of old school chicken divan casserole, minus the chicken, plus extra veggies! It’s so delicious you could eat it right out of the pot without even baking it! Highly recommend!
This is SO delicious! I think it may even be better the next day as leftovers. I did add a little bit of white miso to my own bowl because I love miso. Thank you for a great recipe - this will definitely be one I make again and again.
So glad you enjoyed this dish, Nicole! 🙂 Thank you for the comment!