Zucchini Rice Casserole
Submitted by happyzhangbo
Loaded Tex-Mex casserole with brown rice, zucchini, turkey sausage, corn, and a creamy pepper Jack cheese sauce, topped with cream cheese and pickled jalapenos. Feeds a crowd and freezes like a champ.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
100 minREADY
2 hrsY’all, this casserole has it all: hearty brown rice, zucchini, turkey sausage, sweet corn, and a homemade pepper Jack cheese sauce that ties the whole thing together.
The rice bakes right in the dish with chicken broth, zucchini, bell peppers, and onion until tender and soaked with flavor. Meanwhile, you whip up a quick stovetop cheese sauce and brown the sausage.
Everything gets stirred together, then topped with more pepper Jack, dollops of cream cheese, and a scattering of pickled jalapenos for that vinegary kick.
It feeds 12, so bring it to the potluck and watch it disappear.
Variations
- Swap the protein: Chorizo or Italian sausage work if turkey’s not your thing.
- Go vegetarian: Skip the sausage and add black beans and an extra cup of corn.
- Dial up the heat: Use habanero Jack cheese and fresh jalapenos instead of pickled.
Pro Tips
- Use long-grain brown rice. Short-grain gets mushy in a casserole with this much liquid.
- Let it cool 10 minutes before serving so the cheese sauce sets up and the portions hold together.
- Cover tightly with foil for the first 45 minutes so the rice steams properly before uncovering to finish.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Spread rice evenly into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish .
Bring broth to a simmer in a small saucepan. Add hot broth into the rice along with zucchini (and/or squash), bell peppers, onion and salt. Cover with foil.
Bake for 45 minuttes. Remove foil and continue baking until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, 35 to 45 minutes more.
Meanwhile, whisk milk and flour in a small saucepan.
Cook over medium heat until bubbling and thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add 1½ cups Jack cheese and corn and cook, stirring, until the cheese is melted. Set aside.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add sausage. Cook, stirring and breaking the sausage into small pieces with a spoon, until lightly browned and no longer pink, about 4 minutes.
When the rice is done, stir in the sausage and cheese sauce.
Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup Jack cheese on top and dollop cream cheese by the teaspoonful over the casserole. Top with jalapeños. Return the casserole to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.
Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
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