No-Boil Chickpea Noodle Casserole
This Vegan No-Boil Chickpea Noodle Casserole is cozy, hearty, and as easy as it gets! Noodles, chickpeas, and veggies get cooked in a creamy dairy-free sauce.
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 50 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: Serves 4
- Category: Main
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
Scale
For the Creamy Sauce:
- 3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked in water overnight*
- 3 1/2 cups filtered water
- 1 tablespoon vegan chicken-flavored bouillon (or sub 3 1/2 cups veg broth)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning*
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
For the Casserole:
- 8 ounces uncooked pasta* (gluten-free or regular)
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 2 ribs celery, sliced
- 2/3 cup (100 g) carrot, peeled and diced
- 2/3 cup (100 g) frozen peas; no need to thaw
Instructions
- Prep: preheat the oven to 425F and set a 9×13″ casserole pan aside.
- Blend: add the soaked and drained cashews, water, bouillon, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, and black pepper to a high-speed blender. Blend on high for 45-60 seconds, until the cashews completely dissolve and you are left with a smooth and creamy sauce.
- Mix: add the pasta, chickpeas, onion, celery, carrot, and peas to the casserole dish and mix until evenly distributed. Pour the sauce over the casserole, then use a spatula or spoon to press everything down evenly into the sauce, especially the pasta noodles.
- Bake: Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil (or parchment paper, followed by aluminum foil) and bake in the middle rack of the oven for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before uncovering. You may notice that the pasta is cooked, but a few noodles on top are not covered in sauce; because of this, I like to stir the casserole before serving, to evenly distribute the sauce.
- Serve warm; leftovers can be stored in the fridge and are best eaten within 5 days
Notes
- If you forget to soak your cashews ahead of time, you can (1) cover them in boiling water and let sit for 20 minutes, or (2) cover them with water and microwave for 3 minutes, then let sit for 3-5 minutes before draining.
- Substitutions: vegan chicken broth can be replaced with vegetable broth. Poultry seasoning is mostly a blend of dried sage and thyme, so you can replace it with either one or both of those spices. To save prep time, use 1 1/3 cups of a frozen carrot and pea blend instead of cutting fresh carrots into small pieces.
- Pasta: I recommend using a short noodle for this recipe, such as rotini, shells, or macaroni.
Keywords: vegan casserole, vegan noodle casserole, no boil casserole vegan, vegan chicken noodle casserole, dairy free casserole, vegan pasta bake, healthy vegan casserole
Find it online: https://frommybowl.com/chickpea-noodle-casserole/