This healthy take on tuna casserole is every bit as delicious as the original. It's brown rice baked in a creamy cashew sauce, with canned tuna, peas, and crunchy croutons on top. It's easy comfort food at its best, and it's ready in under an hour!
Ingredients
2cupsraw cashews, soaked in cold water for 4-24 hours
1 ½cupsbrown rice
1teaspoonsea salt
1clovegarlic, grated on a Microplane or very finely minced
2cupsfrozen peas
2canstuna, use both the tuna and the liquid in the cans!
2tablespoonsolive oil
2cupscubed bread, gluten-free if needed
Instructions
Bring the brown rice and 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium-sized pot. Lower the heat, cover the pot, and cook until the rice is soft, about 40 minutes.
1 ½ cups brown rice
While the rice is cooking, prepare the rest of the casserole. Drain the cashews and place them in your food processor or blender with 2 ¼ cups of cold water, sea salt, and garlic. Blend on high until smooth and creamy. Stir in the frozen peas and tuna.
Place the bread crumbs in a medium-sized bowl and toss them with olive oil.
2 cups cubed bread, 2 tablespoons olive oil
Once the rice is cooked, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and assemble the casserole. Begin by covering the bottom of a 9x11 inch casserole dish with a thin layer of the cashew cream sauce. Top with half the rice then half the remaining sauce. Repeat once more. Top with the bread cubes.
Bake, uncovered, in your oven for 30-40 minutes, or until it is hot and bubbling and the croutons are toasted. Let the casserole sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
The cashew cream sauce is a lot runnier than a traditional cheese sauce before it is baked. Don't worry, it will thicken as the tuna casserole bakes.