If there’s one thing I love doing, its converting any recipe to healthy, vegan, and gluten-free eats I can enjoy.   This recipe is inspired by Rachel Ray, featured on her show Week in a Day (fantabulous concept, just not anything I can ever eat!).    I’ve testing the recipe, deciding how much cornbread I like as a topper, and honestly I like more cornbread!   “I’ve got a fever, and the only prescription, is more cornbread!”

To me, this casserole is a great comfort food.  It feels like it should be a heavy, rich dish, but with vegan & gluten-free ingredients, it’s very light and warms you from the inside out on a cool evening.  I made this during the week, and in order to save time a little time I used pre-made BBQ sauce.  To make this a balanced meal, I made an organic baby spinach salad.

You can make this casserole ahead of time and store it in your refrigerator until you’re ready eat!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons organic grapeseed oil
• 4 ribs of organic celery, diced
• 3 organic carrots, diced
• 1 organic , chopped
• 20 ounces organic Super Firm tofu (I suggest WildWood), grated with the largest width
• 2 ears of organic corn, grilled or steamed and cut off the cob (I had leftover BBQ corn from the night before & it added a great smokey flavor)
• 18 ounces of your favorite BBQ sauce
• 2 Cups cornmeal
• 1 ¼ Cups non-dairy milk (I used coconut milk)
• 1 Tablespoon organic cornstarch mixed with 2 Tablespoons water
• ¼ Cup Earth Balance (vegan butter)
• 1 package of vegan bleu cheese

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees
• Sauté your onions, celery, and carrots in grape seed oil until tender.  Mix in your grated tofu, cook for 3 minutes then add your BBQ sauce.  You can turn your heat down to low & let the flavors come together.

Bleu Cheese Cornbread Topper

In a large bowl, combine your cornmeal, non-dairy milk, cornstarch mix, and Earth Balance; stir until combined.  Crumble your vegan bleu cheese into your batter, stir in your corn and mix until it is evenly incorporated.

Casserole

Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.  Evenly pour your pulled tofu mix in.  Smooth over with your cornbread batter.   Pop your casserole in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until your cornbread is golden and cooked thoroughly.

Enjoy eating whole!