
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I LOVE CASSEROLES! I grew up on a steady diet of cheesy and/or creamy casseroles, so they will always hold a soft spot in my heart. Since I try to eat (somewhat) healthy now, I don’t eat casseroles as often as I used to, and when I do make them, I try to find lighter versions. One of my favorite sources for casserole recipes is Cooking Light.
This sweet onion casserole recipe is adapted from the May issue of Cooking Light. I made a few little changes–rather than using white rice, I substituted brown. Not only does this make the casserole more nutritious, but it’s a little bit heartier too. And instead of using gruyere cheese, I used smoked Swiss. The casserole smelled so good while it was cooking and it tasted even better when it was done.
A hearty casserole made with brown rice, sweet onions, and smoked Swiss cheese. Adapted from Cooking Light's Sweet Onion Casserole.
Ingredients
- cooking spray or oil mister
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 4 c. chopped Vidalia, Walla-Walla or other sweet onion (about 1 3/4 pounds)
- 1/2 c. brown rice, cooked according to package
- 1/3 c. 2% reduced fat milk
- 1/2 c. shredded smoked Swiss cheese
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp. allspice
- 1/3 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish with cooking spray.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add onion; saute 5 minutes or until tender. Transfer to large bowl.
- Stir rice and next 5 ingredients (through allspice) into onions. Spoon onion mixture into baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and broil for an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese begins to brown. Top with parsley.
Notes
If you can't find smoked Swiss cheese, any kind of smoked cheese will do.
© 2011-2013, Oh My Veggies. Feel free to pin my posts but do not repost my recipes on your blog, Tumblr, or any other website.




























I saw this one and thought it looked interesting. I might have to try it now! I love Cooking Light magazine!
I do too! It’s one of my favorite cooking magazines and even a lot of the meat recipes are easily adapted to veggie versions.
I’ll bet this smells phenomenal. I’d love to make this, except I’d have to replace the onions with hash browns. I’m crazy like that.
Oh, I love hash brown casserole. I bet that would taste good with the smoked Swiss too.
Yum! My daughter loves raw onions and cheese – I wonder if I could talk her into eating this?!
It’s so hilarious that Cakes loves raw onions of all things.
Maybe you could undercook this and she’ll eat it?
Thank you for this recipe. I can’t wait to try it.
I hope you like it! And really, I think any cheese would be good in this–cheddar would work well too.
MMM….yummy! I’m making this one soon. Maybe for the BBQ I just found out we’ve been invited to tonight.
Thanks so much for linking up with my {new} Whip it up Wednesday handmade party! Hope you’ll participate next week, too!
Oh, this is the perfect kind of thing to bring to potlucks.
I’m going to be out of town next week, so I probably won’t have the chance to link up, but I will try to remember the week after!
I finally got around to making this the other day. My husband was wary but actually went back for seconds. I stuck with the gruyere since I already had that on hand from the french onion soup I made. I’ll have to try more of your vegetarian options
My husband is not a casserole fan, but he liked this one too. Glad you enjoyed it! That’s always good to hear.
would you freeze this before or after cooking it completely? Thanks!
Although this recipe was linked Once A Month Mom, I’ve never frozen it myself, so I’m not sure (maybe someone there could answer?). I’m thinking that after cooking it would probably be best…
I made this tonight and my daughter and I gobbled it up. Delicious! I used shredded mozzarella and smoked gouda cheese and doubled the brown rice. I will definitely make this again. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks for letting me know–I’m so glad you enjoyed it!