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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!
Keywords: dump and bake casserole, buffalo cauliflower casserole, buffalo caulof
We make this once a week. A HUGE winner for omni and herbivores. Absolutely delicious!
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Kate!
So good and simple! I doubled the recipe and had to bake for an additional 20 min. I also added vegan cheddar shreds a few min before taking out. Loved it
★★★★★
Happy you loved it, Ingrid!
This turns out nicely. If you want to make a smaller batch, I’m guessing that the ratio of water to rice is 2:1. I decided to go smaller bc I didn’t want too much leftover. I had 1.5 cups of water to .75 cups of rice, and it was perfect. The added ranch is yummy.
★★★★★
Thank you, Beth!
I made this with white rice because that is what i had and cooked it for 45 minutes instead of 60 and it turned out perfectly. Also DO NOT SLEEP ON THE RANCH DRESSING…it took this dish from really good to amazing!
Happy it turned out perfect for you, Courtney!
I enjoyed this dump bake, especially top with homemade ranch and thinly sliced green onions and celery for CROMCH, but I think it’s a little less hearty than some of the other dump bakes. Next time I make it (there will be a next time, all of these are great!), I’ll probably do 1 can of beans and one block of tofu, increase the amount of cauliflower, and maybe throw in one other wild card veggie. Adding ranch really helps temper the saltiness of the buffalo sauce! Yet again another that is great fresh, from the fridge, or from the freezer!
★★★★
Could you use frozen cauliflower for this recipe?
Yes, just make sure to thaw the cauliflower first.
I actually used 2 bags of frozen cauliflower rice (approx 550g) without thawing and it worked out great! I baked it for 50 min and it came out perfectly. No other changes to the recipe.
Thank you, Cara!
I make this very often and just about every time I have cauliflower since I often have all the ingredients on hand. It’s one of the fastest, most filling meals and you can’t go wrong with hot sauce! I usually add extra veggies and it’s perfect for meal prep. If you’re on the fence about making it… Just take the plunge! You won’t regret it
★★★★★
Thank you for the kind words, Alex! I’m so glad you love the recipe 🙂
I am making right now and its 60 min in and rice still not cooked and very liquidy :S i wonder what i did wrong. Raw veggie and canned drained chickpeas… I put it in the oven for another 15 min so lets see….
Wow- economical, easy and super delicious and hearty. Huge winner for my family. I served it with a slaw salad of purple cabbage, iceberg and carrots with a creamy avocado parsley vegan dressing.
★★★★★
This sounds delicious! I’m so glad you and your family love it, Megan!
Just made this and it turned out delicious!! I was so impressed by how the rice cooked perfectly! Will definitely be making this again. Thanks for the great recipe! 🙂
You’re so welcome, Jenny! I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I have been interested in the dump and bake recipes for a while but didn’t have what I thought was a suitable dish for the oven so I decided to use my rice cooker and it worked beautifully. So now I am going to do all your dump and bake recipes this way. It cooked a little quicker – 45 minutes including the steaming time and it came out perfectly. Thanks for doing what you do – I have been following your YouTube channel for a while and then decided to come to your website and I have been very, very appreciative of your talents and all that you do.
★★★★★
Thank you so much for the review, Colleen!
It took me a minute to gather all the ingredients but last weekend, the stars aligned. I made my own buffalo hot sauce using sriracha, vegan butter and garlic, and grated onion instead of onion powder, otherwise it was very straightforward and so so tasty. Happily the same batch has provided me with several weekday lunches so the joy continues! Will definitely make again.
★★★★★
Looks like a fun recipe to try. What would you recommend serving with it to round out the meal? Thanks!
If you’re looking for something more indulgent, vegan garlic bread would be a delicious addition. Slice a baguette, spread vegan butter or olive oil infused with garlic and herbs on top, and bake until golden and crispy.
This is delicious. I make it every couple of weeks.
★★★★★
Wow! Thank you, Lisa!
Very delicious! Loved the Buffalo flavor and texture of the brown rice. Served with gardein chicken tenders – next time I’ll make the vegan ranch, too!
★★★★★
My toddler and I love this! I’ve added diced carrots to the pan as well and have enjoyed that addition. Makes for great leftovers as well.
★★★★★
Yay! Glad it’s toddler approved, AJ!
I’ve made this recipe multiple times and its easily my favorite dump and bake recipe.
★★★★★
Happy you love it!
I made this with quinoa instead of brown rice. I’ve made several of your recipes with brown rice and the rice doesn’t get cooked through unless I soak it first (I am at high altitude) and sometimes I just don’t have time. I used the cook time, temp, and liquid amounts from the lemon dill quinoa bake as a guide, so reduced the total liquid to 2 cups (so I reduced the veg broth amount) and baked at 375 for 35 minutes. It turned out perfectly. It’s so delicious and I will definitely make it again. Thank you for all of your amazing recipes!!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it, Em!
I don’t do high carb rice. Instead I use cauliflower rice. Since you’re using the broth to cook the rice in the casserole, should I just delete the broth all together or should I use some of it so the casserole doesn’t taste dry? Thanks.
You can use 2/3 cup of broth instead. Also be sure to defrost and drain the cauliflower rice beforehand if you are using frozen as the extra liquid will make it too soupy.
Hi,
How could I adjust the recipe to make with quinoa or white rice?
Thanks in advance
You can replace with 2 cups cooked quinoa or white rice. We have not personally tried it but you may need to adjust baking time as well.
Do you think I could sub water or plant milk for the veggie broth? I don’t have any on-hand but would love to try this recipe out!
Yes, you can substitute water or plant milk for the vegetable broth in this recipe. The vegetable broth adds flavor to the casserole, but using water or plant milk will still provide moisture for cooking the ingredients. Keep in mind that using water may result in a slightly milder taste compared to using vegetable broth. If you have any other seasonings or spices you enjoy, you can consider adding them to enhance the flavor if you choose to use water. Enjoy!
Fantastic. So flavorful and yummy and easy too!
★★★★★
Can you use frozen cauliflower for this recipe?
You can, just thaw the frozen cauliflower first to avoid adding too much water into the casserole.
So if you use cauliflower rice you can still use the 2 cups of broth without it being too watery or soupy?
You can use 2/3 cup of broth, as 2 cups of broth will not be absorbed. This smaller amount of liquid will keep things moist without it being too soupy 🙂