a roll-up with bacon, cream cheese, and brown sugar.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 2 hrs 5 mins |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 20 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups water
- 3 cubes vegetable bouillon
- 1 ½ cups brown rice
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium zucchini, chopped
- 1 white onion, chopped
- 1 ½ tablespoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 cups dry brown lentils
- 6 cups water
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 (8 ounce) package sharp Cheddar cheese, grated and divided
- ¾ cup bread crumbs
Instructions
- In a saucepan, bring water and bouillon cubes to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 50 minutes, or until rice is tender and all liquid has been absorbed.
- Heat oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat. Cook zucchini and onion until tender, but still slightly firm, about 5 minutes. Stir in cumin, oregano, lentils, and about 6 cups water gradually. Bring to a soft boil, and continue cooking until lentils are tender, 45 to 60 minutes, adding water as needed.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Mix the cooked rice together with the lentils, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in 3/4 of the Cheddar cheese, and transfer mixture into a 9×13 inch pan. Mix remaining cheese together with the breadcrumbs, and spread evenly over the top of the dish.
- Bake in the preheated oven just until cheese has melted, about 10 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 496 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 67 g |
| Cholesterol | 29 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 17 g |
| Protein | 24 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Sodium | 552 mg |
| Sugars | 3 g |
| Fat | 15 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
This makes a lot! I added a carrot, celery and a can of diced tomatoes as others suggested. Otherwise, there’s not enough veggies to help cut all the rice and lentils. I used veggie broth to cook the rice which did not take as long as the recipe says. Also, the lentils did not take nearly as long or need that much water. I used dairy feee cheese and panko bread crumbs. Keep and eye on the lentils or you will have a mushy mess!
Seemed to me that the bread crumb topping made the dish too dry. I would leave that part out next time.
Overall this turned out very good. Very inexpensive meal that makes A LOT (meaning several nights of leftovers). The only thing I didn’t like is that it turned out a little drier than I liked, still edible but is there anything that can be done to moisten it up a little? I followed the directions exactly and it turned out pretty tasty. Just a tad on the dry side but nothing that would prevent me from making it again. 🙂 I’m actually eating some of the leftovers for lunch as I type this!!
i added 2 carrots, 4 celery, and 2 handfuls of frozen corn and still too light on the veggies in my opinion. next time i will double the veggies and add garlic and tomatoes as others suggested. i will probably add more cheese too with the extras.
This is my favorite recipe ever!! Lentils and rice are boring to many people, but to me this recipes meets all of my criteria: cheap, healthy and it tastes great! I do not add the zucchini and I use chicken bouillon instead of vegetable. Additionally, I add about 4 minced garlic cloves to the sauted onion and I some cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes while the lentils are cooking. I also use italian seasoning instead of the oregano and add a little extra cumin. I also only add about half the amount of bread crumbs to the top. The cheese can be reduced to make it a healthier meal and it still tastes great! With these changes this recipes is my favorite!
I thought this was pretty good but the rest of the family didn’t really like it. Instead of the zucchini I used carrots and I cooked everything in a pressure cooker (about 10 minutes.)
It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. It was pretty bland. The second time I made it I tried doubling the spices, but it didn’t seem to make any difference.
Warm hearty comfort food, nothing beats that. My only alterations were to add some carrots and celery and upped the zucchini. The only thing I will do next time is make a smaller batch, it really makes a lot!
I liked this recipe. I don’t think it needed the cheese at all, but it added a little bit of saltiness. I also don’t think it needed to really be baked at all- but maybe that’s just me. Everything was wonderful and smushy before I put it in the oven, but it was a little bit dry after baking. Next time I’ll just throw it all together in a casserole dish and call it a meal.
I have made this a number of times now. It is, an many ways, a comfort food. Depending upon how healthy I want it to be, I adjust the amount of cheese and/or sometimes omit the breadcrumbs. Also, I play with the amount of spices and sometimes substitute other spices, such as basil instead of oregano, or I add a bit of curry powder to it. Yum! Also, I always use chicken stock rather than water and then omit the buillions, because I feel that it is easier to watch the amount of sodium that way.
Yum! I just made this and can’t stop eating it. I don’t know if there will be any left for dinner! It is a tasty casserole and I like the fact that it wasn’t made with cream of something soup!
I added lots to this recipe: garlic, carrots, celery, a bay leaf, Parmesan cheese, and no-salt seasoning. I also used leftover rice, which it’s great for. I ended up needing less water for the lentils; about 4 instead of 6 cups water. Overall it turned out really well!
I was actually getting ready to make speghetti when I realized I had sprouted lentils I needed to use and found this recipe online. I had celery, green pepper, onion, mushrooms and even some roma tomatoes chopped up and frying in my ground beef already so I added it to the rest of the ingredients (rice, lentils that I boiled briefly already spices, cheese) I didn’t use the bread crumbs either… I used lots of old cheddar cheese and I accidentally grabbed curry instead of my cumin and ended up adding them both which was very yummy. I think without the celery, mushrooms etc. this dish would of been to bland and plain on the visual palette. I’ll make this again with all the stuff I added this time… very yummy.
Don’t hesitate to cook this, it’s not complicated, or demanding, just needs a little fussing over to check on liquid levels, but it’s well worth your time. Console yourself in the process with a nice glass of Shiraz and you won’t lament your losses. I’ve had a yearning for a lentil casserole for weeks, perhaps months now. I am a Mum of 3 fussy eaters, but I have a very demanding palate, with a penchant for herbaceous, flavourful, spicy dishes from all corners of the globe. So only about once a week do my husband and I get to savour something WE (read “I”) like. This dish was delicious. I took the advice of many of Allrecipes cook’s reviews before me and added: 1 garlic clove (next time blow the expense perhaps 2), chopped carrot (next time, another veggie as well), a tin of chopped tomatoes (an essential ingredient!) and I was heavy handed with the cumin and oregano. Hearty, filling (but not fattening), wholesome, delicious, and with lots leftover for heat-up lunches and one-parent dinners. This one is a definite addition to the family cookbook.
It takes a long time to make, and it good use some more cheese, but it does taste good and is a great recipe for people on a high fiber diet like myself.
Wonderful recipe! I followed others suggestions and added garlic and a few chopped carrots. Didn’t have zucchini and omitted the cheese (allergies). I did cut the recipe in half and thought it was just a little dry, so I added a can of diced tomatoes. Yum! Definitely a keeper!
Great recipe! Very filling and warm, a perfect winter meal. I added garlic as did others who reviewed, and I also added fresh tomatoes, two bay leaves and turmeric to the lentils. I generally like my veggies less cooked, so I threw the zucchini on top of the lentils during the last 5 minutes to let them lightly steam. I also used less cheese than was called for but stuck with the 3/4 c bread crumbs. I would definitely make this again!
My family *loved* this. I’m a picky eater, so I often cook them things that I don’t taste. As I was mixing the ingredients before putting it in the casserole dish, I started to doubt it coming out well – but they really loved it. I did make a few changes. I didn’t have zuchini on hand so I added carrots, mushrooms, garlic, red bell pepper and tomatoes. I also added red curry to the spices. I didn’t have bread crumbs, so I crushed up some butter crackers and I added garlic powder to the cracker and cheese mixture.
Even better if you put a little ketchup on the top. My 1 year old LOVES it!
My husband and I enjoyed this casserole, though next time I will add a few things (garlic especially) for more flavor. The best part of this recipe is that my finicky daughter LOVED it, even asked for it instead of her usual sandwich or cheese stick. So this will be a regular on our menu.
I thought it was yummy! I added carrots, fresh garlic, a little bit of frozen veggie mix and green onions to jazz it up a bit. Also used just a bit of breadcrumbs as I don’t think much was needed. I added some chopped fresh tomato to the finished dish. Pretty good, will make again!