These cheesy baked grains with caramelized shallots are a super cozy vegetarian main dish! Cooked grains like rice or quinoa or mixed with an easy homemade cheese sauce and caramelized shallots then topped with a creamy yogurt sauce. Baked until bubbly and golden, this recipe is ready in just under an hour.
I’ve been meaning to post this recipe for the past few days, but I’ve been busy with other things, you know, life and such. It’s funny how a few small things can happen and throw things completely out of whack. Not that things are completely out of whack around here, but It’s as though I’ve had a lot to take care of lately.
Instead of boring you with the details, I’ll share a recipe filled with cheesy goodness. This recipe is sort of an amalgam of baked macaroni and cheese and a lovely recipe I found on the yellow house blog. I guess I went through a bit of an obsession with cheesy baked things for a bit because I made this a couple of times, as well as homemade macaroni and cheese in the span of about 2 weeks. Oh well. I like cheese! So, if you are fond of cheese, make this and tell me how you like it!
Cheesy Baked Grains with Caramelized Shallots
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These cheesy baked grains with caramelized shallots are a super cozy vegetarian main dish! Cooked grains like rice or quinoa or mixed with an easy homemade cheese sauce and caramelized shallots then topped with a creamy yogurt sauce. Baked until bubbly and golden, this recipe is ready in just under an hour.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked grains of your choosing, such as rice, quinoa, or farro
- 2 large shallots, sliced
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, or brown rice flour if making gluten free
- 1 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups grated medium cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 large eggs
- Sea salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
Instructions
Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees and lightly oil a medium sized baking dish.
Caramelize the shallots first. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and a sprinkle of salt and cook for about 8-10 minutes until they are golden and caramelized, stirring every minute or so. Stir in the thyme and then remove from the heat and set aside.
Make the cheese sauce next. Heat the butter in a sauce pan over medium-low heat until melted, then whisk in the flour. Keep whisking and cooking the flour and butter for about 1 to 2 minutes until it smells toasty and is darker in color, then whisk in the milk. Continue to whisk until everything is smooth and the sauce begins to thicken. Season it with salt and pepper then add 1 1/4 cups of the grated cheese and whisk the sauce until the cheese is melted and the sauce it smooth. Remove the sauce from the heat.
Make the yogurt topping next. In a small bowl, mix together the yogurt, 1 of the eggs, and the rest of the grated cheese until combined. Season with a bit of salt and set aside.
Put everything together: Add the cooked grains to a large bowl and mix in the remaining egg, the cheese sauce, and the caramelized shallot/thyme mixture. If you want to add some leafy greens, add them now. Spread this mixture out evenly into your prepared baking dish. Next, spread the yogurt mixture over the top of the grains, making sure to cover the entire surface evenly.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until the sauce is bubbly and the topping is set. If you want the topping to brown a bit, you can place the dish under your broiler for a few additional minutes.
Notes
- To save time, you can cook your grains a few days ahead of time and store them in the fridge.
- This dish is great paired with your favorite salad but you can add more greens by mixing in a couple of handfuls of spinach of kale.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Main
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