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This dump-and-bake Buffalo Cauliflower & Chickpea Casserole is cozy and hearty, plus you only need 10 ingredients to make it! Naturally Vegan & Gluten-Free.
Cauliflower wings, step aside! Our favorite cruciferous veggie combines with protein and fiber-packed chickpeas, hearty brown rice, hot sauce and a few simple spices to make this tastes-so-good-but-its-actually-good-for-you showstopper of a dish.
The best part? It tastes so. dang. good. Oh yeah, and you only need 10 simple ingredients to make it…
Making a Dump-and-Bake Casserole couldn’t be any easier…
- Preheat the oven to 400F
- Whisk the vegetable broth, hot sauce, and spices in a pot and bring to a boil
- Arrange the remaining ingredients in a casserole dish, pour the liquid on top, cover, & bake!
The secret to this one-pan wonder of a dish is to add just the right amount of liquid to the casserole so the rice will absorb it and get nice and fluffy. Pre-boiling the liquid also helps speed things along in the oven, too.
After the casserole comes out of the oven, I’d highly recommend topping it with some sliced green onions and a hearty drizzle of Nut Free Vegan Ranch. But you do you, boo 😉
This Buffalo Cauliflower & Chickpea Casserole is great for meal-prep, a hands-off weeknight dinner, or to share with friends! It’s bursting with spicy “buffalo” flavor and serves as a heartier, wholesome alternative to a few deep fried wings. It’d be perfect for a game day potluck, too – would serving it alongside my Healthy Buffalo “Chicken” Dip be too much? Asking for a friend…
A Few Final Thoughts:
- Substitutions: you can swap out the chickpeas for another bean, or add in up to 1 cup of additional veggies – broccoli or green beans would be great here.
- Unfortunately I have not tested this recipe with any other rice or grain, so you need to stick with brown rice here. Subbing it out would require altering the liquid amount and cooking time.
- If you’re looking for more casserole recipes, you’ll also love this “Cheesy” Broccoli Rice Casserole and this Fall Roasted Vegetable Casserole!
Finally, if you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I love seeing your delicious recreations 🙂
Buffalo Cauliflower & Chickpea Casserole
This dump-and-bake Buffalo Cauliflower & Chickpea Casserole is cozy and hearty, plus you only need 10 ingredients to make it!
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 60 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 to 6 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 cups (470 ml) low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup (118 ml) buffalo hot sauce
- 1/4 cup (22 g) nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 rib of celery, finely sliced
- 2 cups (374 g) chickpeas, cooked*
- 1/2 medium head of cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized florets (about 2 cups; 200 g)
- 1 cup (182 g) uncooked brown rice
- 2–3 cloves garlic, minced
- Nut Free Vegan Ranch and chopped green onions, for garnish (Optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Mix the vegetable broth, hot sauce, nutritional yeast, and onion powder together medium pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
- While the liquid is heating up, pour the chickpeas a 9×13″ pan or casserole dish. Sprinkle the cauliflower and celery evenly over the chickpeas, then add the uncooked brown rice over the top of the dish.
- Remove the vegetable broth from the heat once it comes to a boil and stir in the minced garlic. Pour the liquid evenly over the casserole dish; if any spices stick together you can gently separate them with a spatula. Cover the casserole with aluminum foil (or parchment paper, followed by aluminum foil) and bake in the middle rack of the oven for 60 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and top with green onions and/or vegan ranch, or serve as desired. Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container for up to one week, or in the freezer for up to one month.
Notes
- If you are using canned chickpeas, be sure to drain and rinse them well. You can also replace them with any other bean of your choosing!
Never heard of a dump and bake, but I really liked this recipe! Even my son, who eats a ton of meat, enjoyed it. The recipe for the ranch sauce was great too. It really adds to it. I used my son’s buffalo sauce that he had, not realizing that it wasn’t vegan. Who knew! Next time I will try to find some, or make it. Thanks!
Some of the buffalo sauces add butter, but not all! Glad you guys enjoyed it!
So good and easy to make! I love being able to just dump the ingredients in the pan and bake.
Thank you!
This is one of the best vegan recipes I’ve tried. It’s so easy too. I used can chickpeas and frozen cauliflower rice, which made it even easier. I could literally eat the whole pan if it would fit in my stomach!
Ha! Thanks so much – I’m happy to hear you liked it so much!
Do you have to add the nutritional yeast? I’m allergic – any substitutes for that or can I leave it out?
Nutritional yeast can be a tricky thing to substitute. I’d likely just leave it out for this recipe, especially if you’re allergic to it!
Where can i find bufalo sauce?
If you’re in the US, any typical grocery store should have a few options available. Just check the ingredients! Some brands include butter in their buffalo sauce.
Pure Genius.
You’re too kind!
I don’t eat spicy, is te he anything else I could use instead of that spicy sauce?
You could leave the sauce out, use more vegetable broth, and add in extra garlic powder and some smoked paprika for more flavor!
I made this tonight as meal prep for the week. Added vegan mozzarella on top instead of the vegan ranch. I am blown away. Added more cauliflower and a bit more rice so I also added about 1/4 cup more sauce than it says to. Kept it in the oven for 1.5 hrs and it came out perfect!!! I turned to plant based Whole food diet about two months ago and your recipes have been a game changer for me. Thank you!
So glad you liked it and are finding the recipes helpful!
I cannot get enough of this!!! It’s hard to believe so few ingredients could create a dish this delicious. Thank you as always, Caitlin! You’re doing great things!
Thanks so much! Glad you liked it!
Wow this was amazing! I was excited to try it, but was truly blown away by how tasty it turned out! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I posted it on my Instagram story and many people have asked for the recipe, which I excitedly passed on to them! ????
Thanks so much! Happy to hear you enjoyed it!
Thank you, Caitlin, for another delicious gluten free, vegan recipe! I already had everything I needed to make this, so that’s always a plus! My husband (not vegan) and I (gluten free vegan) both enjoyed this very much.
So happy to hear you both liked it! Thanks so much!
I made this for dinner tonight and it is SO GOOD! Especially with your ranch! I’m definitely making this again. I love that I can dump it all in and forget it. I’d love to see more of this kind of recipe! Maybe an asian-ish style? General tsos? Or even a “vegan parm style?” Mmmmmmm ????
Thanks so much! I like your line of thinking – stay tuned!
So delicious and easy!!
Thanks!
Made this tonight for meal prep for the week as I was crunched on time with med school. Sooo good and so quick to put together! Topped with some vegan pepper jack (too lazy to make the ranch) and it was amazing! thanks for all of your wonderful recipes!
Happy to hear you liked it! Hope things are going well with your schooling!
Made this today and thoroughly enjoyed it. I took your suggestion about veggies and added more cauliflower along with sliced carrots. I’ll definitely make it again. Thank you!
Thank you! Glad you liked it – can’t go wrong with more veggies!
This was incredible!! Definitely going to be making this again. Really good for meal prep too. I had it with green beans on the side. So yummy
Ooh, adding green beans sounds great! Thank you!
Fabulous! Love that it’s so easy to make and even better that it comes out full of flavor. Easily a staple for meal prepping.
So happy you liked it! Thank you!
I can’t wait to try this! I love nothing more than dump and bake casseroles!! Also, I can’t wait until your cookbook comes out!
Let us know how you like it! And we’re excited too!
Love this casserole! I saw the recipe in the newsletter and went right out to get what I needed – it’s getting chilly in Kentucky and I crave some HEAT! I used 2 cans of chickpeas which is a bit more than 2 cups, so I also added more cauliflower and celery to really fill up my baking dish. Also, my brown rice was a mix of brown and wild rices (maybe Bob’s Mill?) so it took about 90 minutes for all the liquid to be absorbed. SO WORTH THE WAIT! I had to pack up two serving for freezing immediately lest the whole pan be consumed in one night. Great work on this one! Gotta love a casserole in cold weather – thanks for sharing..
Happy to hear you liked it! Agreed on the heat to fight the chill.
This is delicious! I made it tonight and my husband and I devoured it! The ranch with the fresh dill is really great will it. Excited to try your other casseroles!
Thanks so much! Glad you guys enjoyed it!
Do you think you can use frozen cauliflower in this dish?
Yeah – I think so! I find that sometimes the frozen veggies can be a little less firm than expected but it should be good!
I have tried 3 of TV he dump and bake recipes. They are all good but this has been the crowd favorite by far. Easy and delicious for Buffalo sauce lovers!
Yay! Glad it’s been a hit!