Who doesn’t love creamy rice?? This Vegan Creamy Poblano Rice Casserole is an easy weeknight meal that will become a family favorite! A saute of chile poblano rajas, corn kernels, and tomato is layered with fluffy rice and vegan Mexican crema. With its creamy texture and subtle heat, it’s a dish that’s as comforting as it is satisfying.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This creamy rice casserole is an excellent way to use leftover rice. Plus it’s easy to make, and it hits all the right notes, spicy, creamy, satisfying, and delicious. Making a vegan version of this classic Mexican homecooked meal was not difficult. Instead of crema, I use my vegan crema, which is made with almonds.
The traditional version is topped with cheese, but I have a love-hate relationship with processed vegan cheese, so I decided to omit it. Ironically I think this makes the dish so much better because it takes it from being heavy and oily to light and creamy. It is also naturally gluten-free and dairy-free.
Ingredients
Poblano peppers: A large mild green pepper native to Mexico, which is typically used to make chiles rellenos. They are easily found at your local grocery store, but if you can’t find them they are also available canned. Their outer skin is thick and hard to eat, so they should be roasted and peeled.
Rice: You can use any cooked white or brown rice, but it goes particularly well with long grain white rice, basmati or jasmine rice.
Vegan Crema: I make my own Mexican crema with almonds, but you can also use vegan sour cream, just add water or broth to it to get it to the consistency of a crema.
Tomatoes: It is best to use fresh tomatoes to make the tomato puree for this recipe, but if the tomatoes in your area are unripe you can use 1 3/4 cups of canned tomato puree.
Tricks and Tips
If you are using leftover rice, be sure to heat it all the way through (I use the microwave) before adding it to the casserole.
Work Ahead
The roasted poblanos (rajas) and the almond crema can be made the day before and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Serving
Serve immediately when it comes out of the oven. A crisp green salad would be a nice side dish to this.
Storing
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
FAQ
Poblano peppers are considered mild, but sometimes you can get some spicy ones.
If you happen to get a particularly spicy batch of poblanos, after roasting them rinse them under running water while you remove the skin, and make sure you take off all of the seeds.
More Vegan Mexican Dinner Ideas
Creamy Poblano Rice Casserole
This Vegan Creamy Poblano Rice Casserole is an easy weeknight meal that will become a family favorite! With its creamy texture and subtle heat, it’s a dish that’s as comforting as it is satisfying.
Pin Recipe
Print Recipe
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 349kcal
Prevent your screen from going dark
Instructions
To Cook the Rice
-
Heat a medium sauce pot over medium heat and add the rice. Toast lightly for 1 to 2 minutes, then pour in the water, and salt. Cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit covered for 10 minutes. Uncover and fluff with a fork.
To Make the Rajas
-
To make the rajas, place the tomatoes in the blender and puree until completely smooth. Leave in the blender for later use. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until tender and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute.
-
Stir in the corn and the cut poblano peppers and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the peppers are warmed through. Reduce heat to low and pour in the tomato puree, while stirring, be careful it might splash. Add the thyme, marjoram, and salt and stir to combine. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or until the tomato puree thickens and becomes a deep red color.
To Assemble
-
Preheat oven to 350°F
-
To assemble, place 3 cups of rice in a 9 x 13 baking dish, this will be the bottom layer. Place half of the rajas on top of the recipe and use a spoon to evenly distribute them so they cover the rice. Pour 1 cup of the almond crema on top, and spread it with a spoon. Repeat this process once more to fill the casserole dish.
-
Bake for 10 minutes on the middle rack of your oven. Set your oven broiler on HI and let the top of the casserole brown for 5 minutes.
Notes
Vegan cheese- add about 1 cup of shredded vegan cheese on top of the final crema layer
Leftover rice- If you are using leftover rice, you will need about 6 cups of cooked rice. Reheat it before adding it to the casserole.
Canned tomato– It is best to use fresh tomatoes to make the tomato puree for this recipe, but if the tomatoes in your area are unripe you can use 1 3/4 cups of canned tomato puree.
Oil-free: Omit the oil when cooking the onion and use a little bit of vegetable broth or water instead
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 349kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 768mg | Potassium: 386mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 646IU | Vitamin C: 86mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1mg
Although dorastable.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates.
Reader Interactions
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.