TL/DR – Bratwurst Mushroom Rice Casserole. Easy and comforting weeknight meal alert! Delicious bratwurst nestled in a bed of sautéed mushrooms with thyme, dijon, lemon juice, broth, pre-cooked rice and lentils, baked and topped with cheddar.
This is a great meal if you are craving bratwurst but it’s too cold to grill. (I mean it’s really never too cold to grill, but sometimes the oven is great.) Start by simmering the brats for 10 minutes. As this happens, sauté lots of thinly sliced mushrooms with fresh thyme and hit them with a bit of white wine vinegar towards the end, allowing it to cook off.
To the cooked mushrooms, add a packet of pre-cooked rice, (Royal Ready to Heat White Basmati Rice was perfect for this recipe, I highly recommend it,) a rinsed and drained can of lentils, vegetable or beef broth, dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper and stir well. Place this mixture into an 8×8 baking dish and nestle the simmered brats on top. (The simmered brats will look awful, like pale horrible ghost sausages, but they will look amazing after being baked.)
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, covered, then uncover, crank the heat up to 425 and smother with shredded cheddar and bake for another 10 minutes. Serve immediately with a lighter side, such as Lemony Garlicky Broccoli.
Bratwurst Mushroom Rice Casserole
A comforting weeknight dinner, bratwurst are simmered, then baked atop a mixture of sautéed thyme mushrooms, rice, lentils, dijon, broth and lemon juice, then smothered in cheddar and baked some more.
Ingredients
- 5 - 6 bratwurst
- 16 oz baby bella mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 2 T extra virgin olive oil
- 2 T fresh thyme, finely minced
- 1 t kosher salt, divided
- 1/4 t freshly ground pepper, divided
- 1 T white wine vinegar
- 1 packet 90 second rice, such as Royal Ready to Heat White Basmati
- 1 14.5 oz can of lentils, rinsed and well drained
- 1/2 c low or no sodium beef or vegetable broth
- 2 T fresh lemon juice
- 2 T dijon mustard
- 1 c shredded sharp or medium cheddar cheese
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Step 2 Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water and bring to a boil. As the water comes to a boil, slice the mushrooms and mince the thyme. Place the bratwurst in the water and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, remove and set aside.
- Step 3 As the bratwurst simmer, heat a large skillet on high heat with the olive oil and sauté the thinly sliced mushrooms until the majority of the liquid has cooked off. Season them with 1/2 t kosher salt, 1/8 t ground pepper, and the thyme. Just before removing them from the heat, add the white wine vinegar and allow it to cook all the way off.
- Step 4 To the cooked mushrooms, add the packet of rice, lentils, broth, lemon juice, dijon mustard and 1/4 to 1/2 t remaining kosher salt. Taste it to determine how much is needed. Stir well, then place the mixture into an 8 x 8 baking dish coated in cooking spray.
- Step 5 Place the simmered bratwurst on top of the rice mixture, pushing them down slightly. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
- Step 6 Remove the dish from the oven, increase the heat to 425, uncover and sprinkle the cheese over the top. Return the dish to the oven and bake for about 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately. There may be leftover mushroom rice, which is wonderful with scrambled eggs for breakfast.
