It’s a bit hard to capture this retro inspired dish in a photo but hopefully my words will do it justice. Years ago my youngest daughter Skye asked me to make her a broccoli, rice and cheese casserole. I had never made one, so I went looking for a recipe, and tried many, until the right one was found. As I cooked away, Skye was my taste tester but nothing tickled her fancy until this recipe. Yahoo I had found it, but to my dismay it was made with Velveeta cheese, you know that big block of yellow processed, I don’t know what, that you see in the aisle of your grocery store, that even though it’s cheese does not have to be refrigerated. Yea, that stuff. My husband, having been raised in the mid west, was much more familiar with this stuff and was incredibly happy with this down home casserole that he said reminded him of when he was a kid. So the family was happy and with a little tweaking this gluten free version was formed. Okay, I’ll admit it, it is tasty and does kind of take you back to a time when we weren’t so concerned about every morsel that went in our mouth and we ate on TV trays once in awhile. It’s “feel good” food and it is vegetarian and does have veggies. So it’s not too bad.
To make this recipe gluten free I found gluten free bread crumbs but of course you can use regular bread crumbs too. I used the traditional this time but if you want to switch it up a bit, the Italian style adds a nice flavor.
I love the smell of sauteed onions in butter.
All ready to go into the oven.
It should look nice and browned on top when it is done.
All served, time to eat.
I served this with a nice butter leaf lettuce salad. I mixed the lettuce with my favorite go to dressing: Kraft Zesty Italian (for more on this family fave go here). I cut up tomatoes into nice big wedges and a cucumber into large slices and laid them across the top of the lettuce and drizzled just a bit more dressing on top of them. It looks pretty and paired nicely with the casserole.
For dessert I served our favorite gluten free cake: Flourless Fudge Cake with Whipped Cream. I’m going to do a separate blog post about this cake because it is absolutely wonderful and easy to make. But for now to learn more about it, check out my blog post here.
This is a great family recipe and one that kids will really enjoy. It also saves well and is delicious for leftovers.
Gluten Free Retro Cheesy Broccoli Rice Bake
Ingredients:
- 1 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
- 1 loaf (16 oz) Velveeta cheese, cut into cubes
- 1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups fresh broccoli florets (1/2 inch)
- 1/2 cup fine soft gluten free bread crumbs (traditional or Italian flavored)
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
Directions:
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 13 x 9 inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cook rice in water as directed on package.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet (try to use one bigger than 10-inch if possible, it makes it easier to mix) melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in cheese, soup, milk and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the cheese is melted.
- Stir in broccoli and rice. Spoon into baking dish. In a small bowl, mix bread crumbs and 1 tablespoon melted butter; sprinkle over rice mixture.
- Baked uncovered for 30-35 minutes or until light brown on top and bubble around edges.
Makes 8 servings.
That’s it. Really easy recipe and yummy for the tummy. Let me know what you think.
All the best,
Joy
Avenue of Joy 