
Meatless dishes offer significant health advantages and help stretch the food budget. Plus, they are tasty!
Bean casserole is a delicious, thrifty and healthy entree option that reheats well for later-in-the-week lunches, or dinners.
Most supermarkets sell dried bean mixes–add additional ingredients, such as garbanzo beans–to add interest and texture.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 pkg dried bean mix
- 1 cup dried garbanzo beans
- 1 jar (12 oz) salsa
- 1 1/2 cups brown rice
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tbs vegetable base
- 1 1/2 cups diced carrots
- 3/4 cup diced celery
- 1/2 cup diced water chestnuts
- 1 tsp each, salt/pepper
- 1 cup riced broccoli
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tbs garlic paste
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1/4 tsp annatto
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese mix (you can substitute soy cheese if you don’t want to use dairy)
- 1/2 cup finely diced sun dried tomatoes
- 1/2 cup pepitas, toasted
- 3/4 cup finely diced cilantro
cooking instructions
- Rinse beans and soak overnight (make sure that the water covers the beans by at least an inch); drain and rinse again prior to starting to assemble the casserole
- Dice the carrots, celery and water chestnuts; set aside
- Grease 9×12 casserole dish
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Toast the pepitas on a small piece of foil for about 5 minutes
- Mix beans, olive oil, garlic paste, sun dried tomatoes, salt, pepper, thyme and paprika together in a large bowl
- Add in riced broccoli, bread crumbs and annatto, incorporating carefully–don’t mash the beans
- Once the mixture is uniform, incorporate the jar of salsa and the vegetable broth
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the casserole is moist, but not soupy; use additional time, if needed
- Top with the cheese and put oven on broil (425 degrees) for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is slightly browned and bubbly
- Serve with chopped cilantro garnish