Mushroom Casserole

I have been enjoying and serving a mushroom casserole for a few years now and failed to post the recipe. It is always a crowd pleaser, and almost all the ingredients can be kept on hand for that moment of inspiration to cook. Since I just pull yummy things together, it’s a bit different each time. Last night I finally took note of ingredients and proportions.

What you will need:

• 1 box pasta. I reach for Ancient Grains gluten-free pasta as it holds its shape
• 2 cups mushroom soup. I always have a box of Imagine Portobello Mushroom Creamy Soup in my pantry
• Can of French Fried Crispy Onions or other crunchy topping. I always pick something gluten-free and once used crispy artichoke heart pieces
• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight if using a traditional blender
• 1 can sliced mushrooms or 8 medium mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup green vegetable. I typically have broccoli or green beans in my freezer and use this
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 1/2 cup other colorful veggie. I typically have sweet potato or winter squash in my freezer and use this
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 Tablespoon liquid aminos or 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

What to do:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Dice any vegetables that need it, such as onions
• Place drained cashews in blender and pluse blend until into small pieces, almost a powder, add soup, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and liquid aminos or salt. Let sit.
• Boil water for pasta and cook pasta to directions on package
• Sauté vegetables in a Tablespoon of water and add any frozen vegetables to thaw
• Blend the cashew and soup mix until hot, several minutes
• As each element finishes, add it to a large casserole dish and mix together. Vegetables are likely to be ready first. Place in casserole dish and add the sauce from the blender. Stir. Add the pasta once cooked and stir.

Place the casserole in the oven, uncovered, and bake for 10 minutes. The idea is to bring everything to the same temperature. Remove casserole and cover with French Fried Crispy Onions. I typically only use 1/2 the can, but make it as thick as you like.

Place the casserole with the crispy onions back in the oven, uncovered. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and enjoy. The casserole will be hot.

Always a winner for guests, Thanksgiving, or a night at home craving comfort food. Please let me know what you think of it.

A couple of the ingredients I mentioned: