Healthy, hearty, and super easy to make, this Easy Sundried Tomato & Chickpea Casserole is packed with plant-based protein from canned chickpeas, tons of veggies, and rice. This is the perfect weeknight meal to help you get a nourishing dinner on the table with only 10 minutes of active cooking and one pan!
Move over, sad casserole, because there’s a new weeknight hero in town!
This Easy & Healthy Sundried Tomato Chickpea Casserole is loaded with flavor, texture, and plant-based goodness!
It’s all made in one casserole dish (because seriously, who wants to clean more than one dish on a weeknight?!) and only requires 10 minutes of active cooking time, so it’s perfect for those evenings you just want to chill on the couch!
Now, I have tons of absolutely delicious and easy main dishes, but can we just talk about the flavor of this vegetarian casserole for a sec?
Juicy sundried tomatoes, flavorful garlic, herby oregano and zesty lemon make this chickpea casserole seriously mouthwatering, plus we add nutritional yeast for tons of ‘cheesey’ goodness!
As a Registered Dietitian, you know I love using canned beans or chickpeas in recipes since they’re so easy to use it packs the plant-based protein, plus we use wholesome brown rice and nourishing veggies for a super well-rounded meal!
Since you’ll have about half a jar of sundried tomatoes leftover after making this veggie casserole, you NEED to try the most popular recipe on my website next, my 20-Minute Marry Me Chickpeas (Using Canned Chickpeas)!
Other Delish Additions
Honestly, I’ve tested this chickpea casserole to perfection to make sure that it’s flawless as-is, so you really don’t need to add anything else. With that being said, here are some options in case you want to get creative!
- Stir in some spinach or kale when you add the broccoli for extra nutrition!
- Add in some chopped mushrooms for extra umami-packed flavor!
- Add vegan (or regular!) cheese to the top for some cheesy goodness.
- Stir in some chopped almonds or walnuts before cooking for some extra crunch!
Want to Use White Rice Instead of Brown?
I’ve tested this recipe using both brown and white rice, and both work well!
I usually use brown rice since it has a little more fiber than white, but if you prefer white, I recommend cutting down the cooking time to 50 minutes since white rice cooks faster than brown!
Looking For a Side to Pair With This Casserole?!
I can’t recommend my 5-Minute Fresh Green Salad with Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette enough, since it’s SO quick to make and adds some extra crunch and freshness to the casserole!
Let’s Bake a Casserole!
Easy & Healthy Sundried Tomato Chickpea Casserole
Equipment
- 1 9 x 13 casserole dish
- 1 medium pot
Ingredients
- 3/4 cups soy milk
- 1½ cups vegetable stock
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup uncooked brown rice
- 540 ml canned chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes sliced
- 2 stalks of celery diced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 cup frozen broccoli florets see note
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425℉. Grease your casserole dish with olive oil or butter and set aside. You can also line the bottom with parchment paper to prevent sticking, but I don't think that it's necessary.
- In a medium sized pot, heat the vegetable stock, soy milk, and nutrititional yeast until it comes to a low boil.
- Meanwhile, add the yellow onion, garlic, brown rice, chickpeas, sundried tomatoes, celery, dried oregano, salt and pepper to the casserole dish. Stir well to combine.
- Once the vegetable stock, soy milk, and nutritional yeast mixture has come to a low boil, remove from the heat and pour over the top of the dry ingredients in the casserole dish. Stir well to combine all ingredients, making sure that the rice is completely submerged. If you don't do this, some of the rice might not cook fully.
- Cover with tinfoil, then bake in the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes has passed, remove from the oven, uncover and add the frozen broccoli florets. It's okay if they're not fully submerged in the liquid.
- Replace the tinfoil and bake the casserole for another 25 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown and the rice is fully cooked. Remove from the oven, garnish with the lemon juice and parsley and enjoy!
A good recipe but the brown rice definitely has to be pre-boiled partially on its own before adding to the casserole dish. After being in the oven for the initial 30 minutes then another additional 25-30 minutes for the broccoli the rice was still crunchy, way undercooked.
Hi Matt, thanks for this feedback. I’ve tested this recipe several times and have never had this issue. Did you boil the liquids before adding to the casserole dish? Did you make sure that the rice was completely submerged in the liquid before adding the tinfoil, and then again when adding the broccoli? If so, I’d say this likely has to do with variation in oven temperatures. 400F on my oven might look slightly different than 400F on your oven, which can affect cooking times. If that’s the case, I’d recommend just cooking the casserole for longer until the rice is fully cooked as stated in the recipe.