This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
BBQ Lentil Farro Cauliflower Casserole. BBQ Casserole with Red Lentils, Farro, Veggies, Spinach, Cauliflower all layered and baked. Amazing Flavors! Vegan Nutfree Recipe. Can be Soyfree, Glutenfree with rice, quinoa or steel cut oats
Oh hey its Sunday! Although it should be getting warm and springy, we still have some cloudy and showery days. And this Casserole fits in just right. It is warm, hearty and filling and uses bbq sauce and herbs to remind us of the warm summers to come.
This casserole comes together very quickly and makes an amazing filling meal. Just layer the veggies, spinach, lentils, farro. Then sprinkle in the spices. Layer the cauliflower on top, add water/broth and bake. Just a few minutes active time to assemble, then wait for the bake. This is easily made gluten-free with steel cut oats, rice, quinoa or millet or use other grains such as freekeh or couscous for variation.
This BBQ Casserole is Easy, Delicious with amazing flavors and textures! This Casserole was supposed to be in my Book, but got missed in all the Chapter reorganization coz there weer so many meals!
More Bakes from the blog!
- Lentil Rice Casserole with Chickpea Dumplings – so fun
- Quinoa Black Bean Casserole with Cheddar Cream Sauce Hearty
- Nacho Mac and Cheese Bake with Tempeh “meat” – Wow!
- Spinach Florentine Bake
- Ziti Cheddar Bake with Crisp Brussels Sprouts Easy!
BBQ Lentil Farro Cauliflower Bake. BBQ Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon organic safflower or other neutral oil
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped or sliced carrots
- 1 1/2 cups packed baby or chopped spinach
- 1/2 cup red lentils, (uncooked)
- 1/3 cup farro, (uncooked) , or use white rice or quinoa or millet to make it gluten-free
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder or garam masala, , or use bbq seasoning or chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika, or smoked paprika
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 10 oz or 1 cup diced tomatoes
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup bbq sauce, , store bought or soy-free bbq sauce from Everyday Kitchen book
- Sliced cauliflower, half a head, sliced to 1/4 inch, not thicker than 1/2 inch
- 1.75 cups water, or veggie broth
- 1 to 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- chopped onion, , cilantro, bbq sauce and lime juice for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spread or spray oil on the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle onion all over. Add carrots and spinach evenly. Spread the lentils and farro evenly. sprinkle all the spices and salt.
- Spread the chopped tomatoes. Drizzle the bbq sauce. Add 1 teaspoon brown sugar for sweeter if needed. Place sliced cauliflower florets on top. Add water to the dish from the edges. Spray oil on the cauliflower and sprinkle nutritional yeast on top.
- Bake uncovered for 50 to 55 minutes. Check if the cauliflower is cooked through then Cool for 5-10 mins and serve with a garnish of onion, cilantro, lime juice. Drizzle some bbq sauce if needed. Serve with tortillas or garlic bread.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Its Earth Day! Here are some ways we can make a difference
ToothBrushes: 5 Billion plastic toothbrushes end up in landfills each year, clogging up this planet, not biodegrading and getting into animals and us. Choose Biodegradable or Recyclable options. I love these Bamboo toothbrushes where even the packaging is biodegradable!
Grocery: Almost everytime we get grocery delivery, everything get packed in plastic. Oranges, bananas, melons, onions etc dont really need any packaging. Reusable totes, reusable produce bags, farmers markets are some options to reduce plastic use.
Clothes: Fast fashion clothing is very resource intensive (half trillion gallons of fresh water!, materials, shipping etc), and is also responsible for toxic pollution with the materials, dyes used and then disposal of discarded clothes. Gone are the days when the piece of clothing would survive generations. I still have a few from my grandma. They are not fraying yet and fashion cycles, and I will still use them. Choose quality, fair trade, sustainable options. I usually look up our local ethical boutique (drizzle and shine) for brand options.
Food: It would be hard to counter the vast resource usage (land, water, food), carbon footprint, and pollution by animal farming compared to plant farming. A large percentage of green house gasses(CO2, Methane), trillions of gallons of water, half the worlds crops are grown to feed livestock, billions of tonnes of animals waste, Rainforest destruction. Eating more plants cuts all of these numbers down immensely. Go Vegan!
Bottled Water: Born out of convenience, these bottles have contributed millions of tonnes in environmental pollution. 50 billions bottles of water are used each year in US alone, most of which end up discarded in landfills and many end up in the ocean. They dont biodegrade, and break down and enter the food chain. The production of the bottles and all sorts of plastics for any of the above, uses billions of barrels of oil. Potable water is so easily available everywhere, we just need 1 cup, 1 bottle or any 1 holder to get some.
There is just one planet we have right now for all of us, for life, for the future us. This one beautiful place.
Things that I dont have obvious options for right now.
Online shopping. We do quite a bit of online shopping for anything from usual house supplies, grocery, clothes etc (most of it is because I cannot walk in big stores). And the amount of waste generated from the packaging is incredible.
Toxic fumes: Every other day, we encounter fumes around the community, from things like paint, stains, thinners, cleaning liquids, and what not. I am now extremely sensitive to toxic fumes so I notice them instantly. It makes me wonder the amount toxic things we are releasing into the environment, into our homes.
Have some suggestions? Do leave them in the comments below.
This was an amazing recipe. So many seemingly different flavor profiles worked together perfectly. Great textures, too. Thanks Richa.
yay!
Yum yum yum! I actually didn’t have any BBQ sauce in the house but liked the idea of this recipe. So I went ahead and doubled the spices, added all the recipe ingredients as suggested including the sugar, but just left out the BBQ sauce… Omg it was sooo good! The whole family enjoyed, including my 2 year old. This one is going to the ‘keeper’ section for me! Thanks Richa!
it’s a keeper!
Unbelievable! So easy, nutritious and absolutely delicious. Definitely saving this one and sharing with those who don’t understand how wonderful plant-based meals can be! Thanks Richa! Your recipes never disappoint.
I hope they’ll love it too =)
Excellent recipe, and very flexible. The flavours are absolutely amazing. So easy to make. This is a definite keeper, I’ve already shared it! Thanks!
This was really good and so, so satisfying. I used quinoa and ate it with tortillas, like a taco, topped with chopped fresh cilantro and green onions. Can’t wait to experiment with different ingredients based off of this technique. So easy to make. thanks!
That’s Great! Thank you so much for your review
Would it work to use frozen cauliflower? Maybe thaw it and slice it? Or do you think it would get mushy?
it should be fine
EASY, one dish, delicious meal! Double the recipe and so glad I did.
What size baking dish would you recommend? What dimensions?
Thanks!
this is a 1.5 qt dish, 9 by 6 inch. You can use 8 by 8, 9 by 9 inch or similar size
Thank you!
Sooooooo good!! I used smokey chipotle sauce instead of the bbq gave it an extra kick. Love that the recipe servings can be adjusted too.
yay!
This was a great recipe for using cauliflower and spinach. I used green lentils and millet, all the spices mentioned and a small sweet potato in place of the carrot. Great with a bit of lemon juice squeezed in.
awesome!