Vegetable Rice Casserole

This homemade Vegetable Rice Casserole makes the greatest side dish for any occasion! You can’t go wrong with this classic favorite side dish.

Any time I am asked to bring a side dish to a family gathering or holiday meal, this cheesy vegetable and rice casserole is what I bring.

Not only is it absolutely delicious, but it is filling enough to make a main course for any vegetarian guests that may be attending.

It’s hearty, packed with flavor, and everyone will be coming back for seconds!

It’s one of my favorite vegetarian comfort food recipes along with this creamy vegetable soup and broccoli cheese soup.

Everyone always raves about the flavor, and there are rarely any leftovers!

• creamy vegetable soup
• broccoli cheese soup

⭐️Review⭐️

“Very versatile recipe! Great guide and easy to tweak with what you have on hand. Thank you very much. Will be going back to this one as it is an easy way to include lots of veggies in a side for the kiddos.”

Ingredients and notes

The full recipe with instructions is at the bottom of this post, but here are a few things to note about the ingredients you will need.

• Instant brown rice: Make sure you measure this DRY. Otherwise you will end up with the wrong quantity of rice. Please also note that yields for instant rice are different than regular rice. You need instant rice for this recipe.
• Cream of mushroom soup: this is the creaminess that holds it all together.
• Frozen broccoli: make sure to buy florets or you may end up with a bunch of stems.
• Frozen peas
• Carrots: we are using fresh carrots for the best texture. You will peel and dice them into chunks.
• Fresh garlic and onion: don’t skip these! They are key for flavor in this dish.
• Fresh parsley: this really gives the casserole a depth and “wow” factor.
• Parmesan and sharp cheddar cheese: freshly grated is a must!
• Olive oil, salt, and pepper

How to make vegetable rice casserole

First, you will start with diced up garlic, onion, and carrots as a base. I love tons of fresh garlic and onion, and this casserole is so big that we use lots of it to add flavor.

Step 1: Cook the onion, garlic, carrots, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a large skillet or dutch oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the carrots and onion are softened.

Step 2: While the carrots are cooking, you will measure 3 cups of dry instant brown rice and cook it according to package instructions.

Step 3: Add the peas, broccoli, mushroom soup, 1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese to the skillet.

Kitchen tips

It is very important to not skip the step of grating the cheese fresh from a block. Not only does it taste better, but it melts better too! It’s worth the few extra minutes it takes to grate it yourself.

Step 4: Once your mixture heats up, add in the cooked rice and the chopped up fresh parsley and stir until everything is all mixed up.

Your skillet should look like this photo – all creamy, cheesy, and ready for the oven!

Taste a bit and see if you want to adjust the salt or pepper if necessary. After that it’s ready to bake!

Step 5: Transfer your casserole to a large greased 9X13 casserole dish. Top the casserole with the remaining 1 cup of parmesan cheese and 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese.

This makes a very large casserole, so be sure to use a big dish, as anything smaller will not fit it all. This casserole will easily feed 10 or more people as a side dish, it really makes a ton!

Step 6: Bake the vegetable rice casserole at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown.

Recipe Tip

If you want to you can broil the casserole for a minute or two at the end of cook time to really get that cheese nice and brown. Just be sure to watch it closely so that it doesn’t burn!

“I made this tonight for dinner. My teenage daughter, who turns her nose up at everything, LOVED IT. in fact she made sure I kept the pin and said to rate it 5 stars” – Tammi

This serves 6-8 people as a main dish, or more as a side dish.

It is perfect for large gatherings, and I’ve even made it as a Thanksgiving side dish before!

Whether you just want a great side dish, or something vegetarian friendly for everyone to enjoy, this rice and vegetable casserole is it.

I have made this countless times over the years and it comes out perfect every time.

It’s my signature casserole dish and I want your family to enjoy it as much as we do!

For more delicious vegetarian recipe ideas, be sure to check out 25 best vegetarian recipes.

• 25 best vegetarian recipes

More Side Dish Recipes

• Famous Crispy Potato Casserole
• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Broccoli Casserole
• Roasted Broccoli and Carrots
• Baked Macaroni and Cheese
• Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower
• Creamed Corn
• Roasted Garlic Baby Red Potatoes
• Oven Roasted Frozen Broccoli
• Honey Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots

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Nutrition

• Calories: 378kcal
• Carbohydrates: 36g
• Protein: 20g
• Fat: 18g
• Saturated Fat: 9g
• Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g
• Monounsaturated Fat: 6g
• Cholesterol: 40mg
• Sodium: 830mg
• Potassium: 417mg
• Fiber: 5g
• Sugar: 5g
• Vitamin A: 8679IU
• Vitamin C: 48mg
• Calcium: 513mg
• Iron: 3mg