One-Pan Autumn Vegetable and Mushroom Rice Casserole

This one-pan autumn vegetable and mushroom rice casserole is a must-try dish.

I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love a one-pan meal! It’s easy, efficient, and, most importantly, delicious.

Having one pot to clean simplifies things and allows you to enjoy the meal without dreading the cleanup.

As a bonus, using one vessel for cooking all of the elements of your dish ensures that you build flavors as you add the ingredients.

Using Seasonal Vegetables

I think it’s crucial to use seasonally available vegetables when cooking as much as possible.

However, depending on where you live, the availability of seasonal vegetables can vary, sometimes making it a complicated task.

Luckily mushrooms are seasonal most of the year, mainly because there are many different varieties. Because of this, there is often some variety available, even in the wintertime.

Kale, another ingredient in this one-pan dish, is planted in the spring, summertime, and even in fall.

Kale harvested after a frost in the winter will make it sweeter due to increased sugar from “antifreeze proteins” created by the plant to protect it from the cold.

Our last star of this recipe is butternut squash, generally available year-round. It’s best in early fall through winter, but you will find it on the shelves most of the year.

Look for a heavy bulb and narrow neck when picking out your squash. This ensures that there will be fewer seeds and a good amount of meat in the bulb of the squash.

To Meat or Not to Meat

A great thing about using hearty vegetables such as squash, mushrooms, and kale, is that you won’t miss the meat.

Of course, adding chicken, turkey, or even ground sausage would be a great addition to this dish.

I find that mushrooms especially add a nice meaty flavor to dishes. I never miss adding a protein when I decide to go vegetarian when mushrooms are involved.

It’s also nice to have the flexibility to customize a recipe, and this dish definitely accommodates the addition of meat.

What Kind of Rice to Use

I recommend using a long grain for this recipe because it is less sticky than short or medium-grain rice and won’t yield a mushy outcome.

Long grain rice is slender and, well, long. It is about four to five times longer than it is wide.

Basmati, jasmine, long-grain white, and long-grain brown rice fall under this category.

Wild rice is also long grain and provides a nuttier flavor and crunchier texture to your dish.

A note about wild rice- the cooking time is longer than other long grains, so if you decide to use it you will need to add about 10 to 15 minutes of cooking time.

Why Use Stock?

To cook your rice and create a creamy sauce for this one-pan meal, you will need to use stock as your liquid.

Chicken or vegetable stock works and will both give you added flavor and some seasoning that plain water just doesn’t do for a recipe.

White wine is added to create even more flavor, and the alcohol is simmered out of the dish, so there is no need to worry about serving this to kids.

If you prefer to skip the wine or don’t have any on hand, simply use more stock in place of the wine.

How to Make One-Pan Autumn Vegetable and Mushroom Rice Casserole

Before you begin to cook your one-pan dinner, be sure to gather all of your ingredients from the refrigerator and pantry. Prepping all of your ingredients before you begin cooking is a sure way to easily prepare a meal, especially when it’s all going into the same pan.

Dice your onion and garlic, and slice your mushrooms. Next, peel your butternut squash, cut it in half lengthwise, and remove all the seeds from the neck of the squash.

Chop your squash into one-inch pieces; this allows the squash to cook evenly in the oven but not become soft and overcooked before the rice.

Make sure to wash your kale and chop or rip it into bite-size pieces. You’ll be adding kale before the dish goes into the oven, so set this aside.

Measure out your rice, stock, and wine and have it ready to add to your pan.

Make sure to double-check your ratios of rice to liquid depending on what kind of long-grain rice you use. This can be found on the container the rice is in. This recipe uses basmati rice, but other long-grain rice may require more or less liquid.

Now you’re ready to start building those layers of flavor in your oven-safe skillet!

Summary

This one-pan autumn vegetable and mushroom rice casserole is a hearty, flavorful dish you can make with or without meat. It’s packed with the richness of mushrooms with the healthfulness of kale. It’s a wonderful dish to incorporate seasonal veggies and go meat-free

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