Vegan "Cheesy" Sprouted Brown Rice with Baby Spinach and Mushrooms
My ORIGINAL "Cheesy" Sprouted Brown Rice with Baby Spinach and Mushrooms is an easy and healthy plant-based recipe made with clean, real food ingredients. It's the perfect plant-based side dish made with 3 easy steps and is ready to enjoy in under 30 minutes!{ Plant-Based | Vegan | Gluten-Free | Dairy-Free | Soy-Free }
1 1/2cuporganic cauliflower (cut into floret pieces)
1cuphomemade almond milk
3/4cupsnutritional yeast
1/2cuporganic raw cashews
1/2cuporganic zucchini(peeled and cubed)
1cloveorganic garlic(freshly crushed)
1teaspoonHimalayan pink salt
1teaspoonorganic red pepper flakes
1/8teaspoonorganic tumeric powder
Instructions
Prepare the rice:
Stovetop Method - Bring (3) cups of water to a rolling boil. Add (2) cups of sprouted brown rice. Stir, cover tightly, then reduce heat to low. Let simmer for 25 minutes and DO NOT remove the lid. Fluff prior to serving.
Instant Pot Method - add (3) cups of filtered/purified water and (2) cups of sprouted brown rice and set the Instant Pot on HIGH --> PRESSURE COOK --> 10 minutes. Fluff prior to serving.
Prepare the sauce:
Add all ingredients for the sauce to a Vitamix and blend until smooth and creamy, then set aside.
Prepare the veggie saute:
Prepare the vegetables: dice the baby spinach, mushrooms, onions and crush the garlic.
Add all the prepped veggies and the avocado oil to a non-toxic skillet and lightly saute on low-medium heat for approximately 2-3 minutes, or until the onions and spinach are soft.
Assembly:
When the rice is ready, add it to the skillet with the sauteed veggies. In the same skillet, add (2) cups of the cooked rice and the entire sauce mixture (approximately 1 1/2 cups) and stir until well combined.
Add the sauce to the skillet and stir everything together until well combined.
Optional: If you want to add sausage, add 1 - 2 cups of sliced vegan sausage to the skillet and stir until the sausage is warmed up.
Optional: Garnish with extra diced baby spinach.
Best served when hot.
Notes
Sprouted Brown Rice: I used "sprouted" brown rice because of the additional nutritional benefits, but you could also substitute with the following:
Regular Brown Rice
White Rice
Cauliflower Rice
In addition, you can use fresh rice or leftover rice - as long as you have (2) cups cooked rice for the recipe.Avocado Oil: This can be substituted with organic extra-virgin olive oil.Mushrooms: I used "baby bella" mushrooms, but feel free to use your favorite variety or whatever you have on hand.Onion: Both white and yellow onions will work well in this recipe. I do not recommend using a sweet onion since this is a savory recipe.Cauliflower: You will need raw, uncooked cauliflower cut into small bite-size or floret pieces which will make it easier to blend. You can buy pre-cut cauliflower or use a large head of cauliflower and cut it into pieces.Cashews: I used "raw" cashews instead of "roasted + salted" cashews. An optional step is to soak them in filtered/purified water for 30-60 minutes before adding them to your Vitamix. This will make the cashews soft and the sauce extra smooth and creamy.Zucchini: Make sure it's peeled before cutting into cubed pieces and adding it to your Vitamix. In addition, I added it to increase the nutritional profile of the recipe, but it can be omitted if you prefer.Almond Milk: I like to use homemade almond milk, but you can substitute with your favorite unsweetened non-dairy milk. Another great option is to use Joi Organic Almond Milk made with 100% organic almonds.Nutritional Yeast: This is what gives the recipe it's "cheesy" flavor. Feel free to adjust the amount to your preference.Garlic: Fresh garlic will give the best flavor, but you could also use organic garlic powder if you don't have fresh.Red Pepper Flakes + Turmeric Powder: I added the red pepper flakes to give the recipe a little spicy flavor and the turmeric powder to add color to the sauce. Both can be omitted if you prefer.Himalayan Pink Salt: This is my salt of preference, however, it can always be substituted with sea salt.Serving Size: This recipe will make approximately (4) cups. Nutritional information is for 1/2 cup which is (1) serving.