Quick and easy, this baked mushroom chickpea casserole is bursting with umami flavors from the juicy mushroom caps filled with rich red marinara sauce and drizzled with cashew mozzarella sauce. Served on a bed of rice or garlic mashed potatoes, this is the ultimate vegan comfort food to satisfy the whole family.
Mushroom lovers rejoice! Your search for the perfect cozy vegan meal is over!
Why this super easy Mushroom recipe works
- incredible creamy-tomato sauce, umami mushrooms and tender chickpeas
- super easy, fuss free recipe
- dairy free, gluten free, vegan, vegetarian
- nourishing and super satisfying
- cozy, vegan comfort food
- popular with all eaters - vegan or not!
Chickpea Mushroom Bake Ingredients
Our family LOVES this easy, tasty, vegan meal! Wait till you try the mozza sauce - it's pretty incredible! Here's what you'll need:
Marinara Sauce - rich red marinara sauce is an easy and flavourful Italian classic sauce. With only a few basic ingredients and a large pan, you can recreate this delicious Sunday sauce. Tomatoes are obviously the star, I use a combination of San Marzano whole tomatoes and these 6n1 all purpose ground tomatoes - both are incredibly flavourful. Any rich red sauce will work for this recipe - choose your favorite.
If you are in a hurry, use a store-bought marinara/red sauce to cut down the prep time. Some of my go-to ready made sauces: Rao's Marinara, Classico Riserva Marinara. I make this express version all the time!!
Cashew Mozzarella Cream - cashew cream but elevated. It's simple to make and is super thick and creamy when baked.
Raw cashews have a slightly sweet but mostly bland flavour. Once soaked and blended, they create a wonderful, creamy (dairy-free) sauce. The refined coconut oil and tapioca work together to create a thicker, cheesier baked white sauce.
If you have a high-power blender like a Vitamix, skip the soaking. Just pour hot water over the cashews with the rest of the ingredients and blend until creamy. So simple!
Mushrooms - I buy fresh, plump, medium sized (~1 ½") button or cremini mushrooms. If they are too large, it takes too long to cook and if they are too small, they don't hold enough of the sauce. Be sure the mushrooms are all about the same size so they cook at the same rate.
Chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) - canned chickpeas work well with the recipe. Just drain and rinse.
Rice - Brown rice adds a lovely chewy texture and nutty flavour (plus it's nutrient dense). For a lighter, fluffier rice, use Basmati - both are delicious in this dish. This mushroom chickpea casserole would also be delicious on mashed potatoes or polenta!
Toppings - Chopped fresh herbs such as parsley and basil. Hot pepper flakes.
How to Make Baked Mushroom Chickpea Casserole
Here are the steps for managing your time:
- Start cooking the rice (use Instant Pot or rice cooker if you have one).
- Make the cashew mozzarella sauce.
- Start marinara sauce if making homemade (or open your favourite jar of sauce).
- Wash and pat dry the fresh mushrooms. Gently remove the stems being careful not to break the caps.
- Layer the chickpeas, mushrooms, marinara and mozza cream.
- Pop in the oven.
- While the casserole is cooking, prepare a leafy green salad or steam some broccoli.
Leftover and Storage Tips
Refrigerate leftovers for 2 or 3 days without any loss of flavour or texture. Reheat in the oven or pop in the microwave.
This casserole freezes okay. For a best results, chop the mushrooms and stir them into the marinara sauce before freezing which will create a better texture when reheated. Store rice and stew in separate containers.
More Easy Vegan Recipes:
Fast, Fresh Tomato and Spinach Fettuccine - incredible pasta with vegan feta cheese.
Creamy Rosé Veggie Pasta - super easy, nourishing and delicious.
Simple Savoury Chickpea Pancakes - family favorite - use up the leftovers in this dish.
If you are leaning into meatless, dairy-free cooking, this is a delicious, substantial but simple recipe the whole family will enjoy.
Enjoy X Tracy
Did you make this simple Baked Mushroom and Chickpea Casserole? If so, please leave a comment and rating below. Thank you!
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Baked Mushrooms and Chickpeas on Rice
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Equipment
- blender
INGREDIENTS
- 1-2 cups rice, cooked
Marinara Sauce
- 2 cups red sauce* (homemade or store-bought)
Chickpeas and Mushrooms
- 1 tin organic chickpeas, drained
- 12+ mushrooms, button or cremini, stems removed
Mozzarella Cashew Sauce
- 1 cup cashews, soaked
- 1 cup water, boiled and hot
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil (unrefined), melted
- 1 ½ tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 ½ tablespoons tapioca starch
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt, to taste
Garnish
- ¼ cup parsley - basil chopped
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350º F.
- Lightly grease a casserole dish or 9x9 oven-proof dish.
- Cook rice (brown or basmati) according to package instructions. I use the Instant Pot for fuss free rice.
Red Sauce (homemade or store bought)
- If you are making homemade marinara sauce, start that now. Authentic Italian Rich Red Marinara Sauce recipe.
- OR use your favourite store-bought red sauce (marinara, arrabbiata, tomato basil sauce, etc.)
Mozzarella Cashew Sauce
- Place all ingredients* into the cup of a high-speed blender and blitz until smooth and creamy.
- If no high-speed blender, soak the cashews in boiled, hot water, covered for an hour or until plump and juicy. Drain water and continue with recipe as written.
Mushrooms and Chickpeas
- Brush any debris from the mushrooms with a kitchen towel. Remove stems being careful not to break the caps. Rough chop the stems to add to casserole (or save for another recipe).
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas and set aside.
- Arrange chickpeas to cover the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with chopped mushroom stems if using.
- Place mushrooms caps on top of the chickpeas - cups pointing up.
- Add a drizzle of mozza sauce in each mushroom cap.
- Cover the mushrooms with the marinara sauce.
- Swirl a layer of cashew sauce over the marinara. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and cover with tinfoil.
Baking the Casserole
- Place in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until bubbling and the mushrooms are cooked. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes so the mozza gets golden and toasty.
- Tip: The cooking time will vary depending on how big the mushroom caps are and how hot your oven runs. Test by poking a mushroom with a fork to ensure it is cooked through before removing from the oven.
Putting it All Together
- Serve a scoop of the baked mushroom chickpea stew and sauce over rice garnished with a sprinkle of chopped parsley-basil.
NOTES
Original post January 2019.
Janet Lewis
I just made this and it was delicious! 😋
It was saucy and creamy and complete satisfying! I will definitely make it again!
Tracy Halasz
Thank you so much for the review! Such an easy, cozy casserole to make - I'm so happy you enjoyed it.
Eva
This dish was so yummy delicious!!! The cashew sauce in combination with the mushrooms and the marinara sauce was just too good. We added a bit of parmigiana cheese on top and couldn’t wait to dig in! We will definitely cook this again - without rice a great and healthy low carb dish.
Tracy Halasz
Thank you so much for the review! I'm so happy you enjoyed it.