Creamy Poblano Rice Casserole (Arroz Cremoso Con Rajas)
Who doesn’t love creamy rice?? This Vegan Creamy Poblano Rice Casserole is an easy weeknight meal that will become a family favorite! A saute of chile poblano rajas, corn kernels, and tomato is layered with fluffy rice and vegan Mexican crema. With its creamy texture and subtle heat, it’s a dish that’s as comforting as it is satisfying.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This creamy rice casserole is an excellent way to use leftover rice. Plus it’s easy to make, and it hits all the right notes, spicy, creamy, satisfying, and delicious. Making a vegan version of this classic Mexican homecooked meal was not difficult. Instead of crema, I use my vegan crema, which is made with almonds.
The traditional version is topped with cheese, but I have a love-hate relationship with processed vegan cheese, so I decided to omit it. Ironically I think this makes the dish so much better because it takes it from being heavy and oily to light and creamy. It is also naturally gluten-free and dairy-free.
Ingredients
Poblano peppers: A large mild green pepper native to Mexico, which is typically used to make chiles rellenos. They are easily found at your local grocery store, but if you can’t find them they are also available canned. Their outer skin is thick and hard to eat, so they should be roasted and peeled.
Rice: You can use any cooked white or brown rice, but it goes particularly well with long grain white rice, basmati or jasmine rice.
Vegan Crema: I make my own Mexican crema with almonds, but you can also use vegan sour cream, just add water or broth to it to get it to the consistency of a crema.
Tomatoes: It is best to use fresh tomatoes to make the tomato puree for this recipe, but if the tomatoes in your area are unripe you can use 1 3/4 cups of canned tomato puree.
How to Make Creamy Poblano Rice Casserole
Cook the rice and let it sit for 10 minutes covered. Fluff with a fork.
Puree the tomatoes until smooth.
Cook onion until tender for about 5 to 6 minutes.
Add garlic and cook for one more minute.
Add corn and roasted poblano peppers and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
Pour in the tomato puree, thyme, marjoram, and salt.
Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
Add a layer of rice to the casserole.
Place a layer of the rajas on top of the rice.
Pour the almond crema on top and repeat steps 8,9, and 10.
Bake in the oven at 350° for 10 minutes. Set oven broiler to HI and let the casserole brown for 5 minutes.
Tricks and Tips
If you are using leftover rice, be sure to heat it all the way through (I use the microwave) before adding it to the casserole.
Work Ahead
The roasted poblanos (rajas) and the almond crema can be made the day before and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Serving
Serve immediately when it comes out of the oven. A crisp green salad would be a nice side dish to this.
Storing
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
FAQ
Poblano peppers are considered mild, but sometimes you can get some spicy ones.
If you happen to get a particularly spicy batch of poblanos, after roasting them rinse them under running water while you remove the skin, and make sure you take off all of the seeds.
More Vegan Mexican Dinner Ideas
Creamy Poblano Rice Casserole
Ingredients
Rice:
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 3 ½ cups water
- ½ teaspoon salt
Rajas:
- 3 large Roma tomatoes 1 lb Roma tomatoes, cored, cut into quarters
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- ½ large white onion thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ⅓ cups corn kernels canned or frozen (225g)
- 5 poblanos roasted, peeled, seeds removed, cut into strips
- ¼ teaspoon fresh thyme
- ½ teaspoom dried marjoram
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
To Assemble:
- 2 cups almond crema
Instructions
To Cook the Rice
- Heat a medium sauce pot over medium heat and add the rice. Toast lightly for 1 to 2 minutes, then pour in the water, and salt. Cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit covered for 10 minutes. Uncover and fluff with a fork.
To Make the Rajas
- To make the rajas, place the tomatoes in the blender and puree until completely smooth. Leave in the blender for later use. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until tender and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute.
- Stir in the corn and the cut poblano peppers and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the peppers are warmed through. Reduce heat to low and pour in the tomato puree, while stirring, be careful it might splash. Add the thyme, marjoram, and salt and stir to combine. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or until the tomato puree thickens and becomes a deep red color.
To Assemble
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- To assemble, place 3 cups of rice in a 9 x 13 baking dish, this will be the bottom layer. Place half of the rajas on top of the recipe and use a spoon to evenly distribute them so they cover the rice. Pour 1 cup of the almond crema on top, and spread it with a spoon. Repeat this process once more to fill the casserole dish.
- Bake for 10 minutes on the middle rack of your oven. Set your oven broiler on HI and let the top of the casserole brown for 5 minutes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Although dorastable.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates.
This is SO GOOD! I didn’t have almonds, so I made the crema out of cashews and I blended one of the roasted poblanos in with it. I also added some cooked lentils for a little protein. This will be in rotation in our house for sure!
So glad you liked it Amy!!