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side close up shot of creamy baked vegetable in a ceramic baking dish
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5 from 16 votes

Creamy Vegetable Bake Recipe

Vegetable Bake is a medley of oven-baked vegetables in a creamy white sauce. It is a classic continental style vegetarian main course. Learn how to make baked vegetables in white sauce.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4
Calories: 970kcal
Author: Hina Gujral

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup diced onion
  • 1 Cup broccoli florets
  • 1 Cup diced red bell pepper
  • 1 Cup diced yellow bell pepper
  • 1 Cup diced zucchini
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • 4 tablespoon olive oil

Ingredients for the White Sauce

  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
  • 2 tablespoon whole wheat flour
  • 2 Cup milk
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder
  • 1 teaspoon thyme
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

Ingredients For Crusty Topping:

  • ½ Cup grated cheddar cheese
  • ¼ Cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

Prepare White Sauce:

  • To make whole wheat white sauce, heat olive oil in a pan. Add chopped garlic and saute for 10 seconds to release the aroma of garlic.
  • Next, add whole wheat flour. Saute over low heat for 1 – 2 minutes to release the aroma and roast the flour. Pour the milk steadily with one hand and stir the flour mixture clockwise continuously to avoid any lump formation. Keep stirring until the sauce thickens.
  • Once the sauce thickens, season with salt, pepper, nutmeg powder, and thyme. Stir to combine. taste and adjust the seasoning. The sauce is ready.

Saute Vegetables:

  • In a stir fry pan heat oil over medium flame. Add onion and saute till soft but not brown.
  • Next, add zucchini and saute for a few seconds, followed by broccoli and bell peppers. Saute the vegetables till they are al dente but not fully cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat.

Assemble The Casserole:

  • Grease a large baking dish with olive oil. Preheat oven at 180 degree celsius.
  • Now pour half of the white sauce over the sauteed vegetables. Stir to evenly combine.
  • Arrange the vegetables in the greased baking dish. Pour remaining white sauce over the vegetables.
  • Sprinkle grated cheese evenly over the layer of white sauce.

Bake:

  • Bake in the preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes or till a nice golden own crusty layer of melted cheese is visible on top.
  • Serve vegetable bake warm with toasted bread.

Notes

  • While making the white sauce, do not add salt in the milk until sauce thickens otherwise, it will curdle. 
  • Sauteeing makes them crunchy and when baked they do not leech water. Hence, it is highly recommended to saute vegetables before combining them in the white sauce.
  • You can use frozen vegetables for making this casserole. Read my detailed notes above in the post. 
  • I use a mix of cheddar and parmesan for the topping. You can combine bread crumbs and cheese to make the top layer more crusty.

Nutrition

Calories: 970kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 72g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Sodium: 606mg | Potassium: 1435mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 4142IU | Vitamin C: 293mg | Calcium: 970mg | Iron: 3mg