Fall Harvest Butternut Squash Casserole

Hello, my wonderful chickpeas! We are continuing the theme of cozy recipes today with this Fall Harvest Butternut Squash Casserole! This is a dump & bake recipe that you'll definitely want to make this fall. Enjoy this as a cozy main any night of the week, or as a fun holiday dish to add to your Thanksgiving or Christmas tables! This casserole is packed full of delicious ingredients like roasted veggies, farro, dried cranberries, and more.

This easy casserole should definitely be in your fall-meal rotation! Without further ado, let's get into it.

Inspiration for Fall Harvest Butternut Squash Casserole

I realized recently that I really don't have very many casserole-style recipes on the blog, so I decided I needed to change that! I thought a fall-inspired casserole for the holidays would be perfect and started experimenting right away. This casserole is basically a combination of all of my favorite fall flavors. I wanted it to be super easy (yay dump & bake!), and of course completely vegan. It works great as a holiday dish, or just as a delicious dinner!

This one has such a fun mix of flavors and textures. The dried cranberries are a bit sweet, the almonds are nutty and crunchy, the cannellini beans are creamy, and the Brussels sprouts and butternut squash really bring out those fall vibes.

Ingredients

This recipe has more ingredients involved than most of my recipes do, but it makes up for it in delicious flavor and simple assembly! These flavors all come together so beautifully.

• Garlic, shallot, veggie broth, & seasonings: these all give us general savory flavors! The rest of our casserole ingredients will soak up these flavors nicely.
• Butternut squash & Brussels sprouts: I would say that these are the main stars of our show. They have strong flavors on their own and are complemented well by the other ingredients!
• Dried cranberries: for a pop of sweetness! These also feel especially festive if you are making this as a holiday dish!
• Farro & cannellini beans: these bulk up our casserole and make it more filling. They also add more fun textures to keep things interesting! I really love farro in this casserole because it feels hearty and cozy.
• Slivered almonds: for a bit of a nutty addition, and also a bit of crunch!
• Kale: for a touch of green!
• Lemon juice: this just adds a tad bit of acidity at the end to make all of our flavors pop.
• Optional vegan parmesan: you can absolutely leave this off, but if you want to feel a little bit more decadent I highly recommend this addition!

How to Make Fall Harvest Butternut Squash Casserole

This recipe is pretty much a dump & bake, so the process to make it is actually quite simple! Let's talk about the basics.

1. Preheat your oven to 375F.
2. Sauté your garlic and shallots.
3. Add veggie broth & seasonings to the pot, then bring to a boil.
4. Add your butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, dried cranberries, farro, and beans to a casserole dish.
5. Pour the broth mixture over the casserole.
6. Sprinkle on slivered almonds, cover with foil, and bake for 55 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven, mix in the kale and lemon juice, and top with vegan parmesan.
8. Bake another 5-10 minutes.
9. Finally, remove from oven, let cool, and enjoy!

Tips & Tricks:

I wouldn't recommend messing much with the bake time or the main ingredients of this recipe (mainly the farro, Brussels sprouts, or butternut squash), because changing any of these may cause the casserole to not bake correctly. However, you can definitely still experiment with a few things to make it your own!

• Not a fan of sage and thyme? Feel free to play with other fall-inspired herbs as you wish! I recommend sticking to heartier ones such as rosemary or oregano, as these will hold up best when being baked.
• Cannellini beans are my personal favorite for this casserole, but I also tested it with chickpeas and they worked great! Go ahead and throw these in if you're more of a chickpea fan, or if they are just easier to find in the store.
• This isn't always the case, but I've learned that some grocery stores sell cubed butternut squash in the produce area! This makes prep time quicker, so check your local store for this if you want to shave off some time! Do note though that I have NOT tested this recipe with frozen cubed butternut squash, so I wouldn't recommend trying that as it may not come out the right consistency.
• Got more butternut squash or Brussels sprouts to use up? Check out my Smoky Roasted Brussels Sprouts and my Roasted Butternut Squash Soup next!

Enjoy!

Happy cooking! If you made this recipe don’t forget to tag me (@joyfulbalanceofficial) on facebook or instagram so I can cheer you on for your casserole-making ways.

Stay joyfully balanced!