Vegan Rice Bake With Chickpeas, Sweet Potato & Coconut Milk
Vegan Rice Bake With Chickpeas, Sweet Potato And Coconut Milk.
An Easy, Gluten Free Bake Of Rice, Chickpeas And Vegetables In One Dish.
Bakes In 45 Minutes. My Mother’s Baking Was Never This Good!
Introduction to vegan rice bake
This vegan rice bake is rice (ideally basmati), a tin of chickpeas, sweet potato, pumpkin, broccoli, mushrooms and other vegetables, baked in coconut milk at 200 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes, until the rice is soft and fluffy. It’s vegan and gluten free, and it all cooks in one dish.
It’s one of my easy favourites. My mother’s baking was never as good as this “pie”!
Because it’s oven baked rice, you don’t need to watch a pot. The rice cooks in coconut milk, so it’s a bit like baked coconut rice with the veggies and chickpeas through it. It’s become one of my go-to healthy meals at home in Darwin.
If you have any comments or questions, please contact us. Or chat with me at a Flametree yoga or meditation class via these timetables.
Vegan rice bake, ready to eat
My vegan rice bake, straight from the oven. See how the chickpeas and vegetables are denser at the top.
Ingredients for vegan rice bake
Here are the ingredients for this Flametree Yoga Studio dish.
The vegetables
- 1 garlic clove
- Chopped fresh turmeric
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 1 large capsicum
- A large piece of broccoli
- 4 big mushrooms, ideally flat white ones
- 1 medium carrot, cut finely for fast cooking
- Pumpkin, cut finely for fast cooking
- Sweet potato, cut finely for fast cooking
The rice, chickpeas and coconut milk
- 1 tin of cooked chickpeas, ideally organic
- Two thirds of a cup of rice, ideally basmati
- 1 tin of coconut milk
- About 1 cup of water
I like organic chickpeas, such as the Macro brand from Woolies, but any tin will do.
How to make vegan rice bake
Use these steps to make this easy chickpea bake.
Step 1: Heat the coconut milk
- Mix the tin of coconut milk and about a cup of water in a saucepan.
- Bring it to the boil.
Step 2: Fill the dish
- Put the rice, the chickpeas and all the chopped vegetables, garlic and turmeric into a tray or a deep dish.
- Pour over the hot coconut milk mix.
Step 3: Bake
- Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes.
- Ideally, the rice will dry out and fluff up, just like when you cook rice in a saucepan or rice cooker.
- If your rice is still wet, cook it longer. Even when it’s a bit wet, it’s still delicious. Experiment to see what you prefer.
Step 4: Serve
- Serve it by itself, or with other dishes, including a salad.
Is this vegan rice bake gluten free?
Yes. It’s rice, chickpeas, vegetables, garlic, turmeric and coconut milk, with no wheat.
If you cook for someone with coeliac disease, check the labels on your tins.
Can you cook rice in the oven?
Yes. In this oven baked rice, the rice soaks up the hot coconut milk and water as it bakes. Ideally it dries out and fluffs up, just like rice cooked in a saucepan or rice cooker.
If it’s still wet when the 45 minutes are up, give it longer.
Can a yoga retreat change the way you eat?
It did for me. At each of the two most recent Flametree yoga and breath meditation retreats, delicious, healthy food was made for me three times a day. It gave me the chance to try different approaches to healthy food.
When I got home, I changed some important parts of my diet. One change was to get more protein from black beans and chickpeas. This bake is one of the chickpea recipes I’ve been enjoying since.
I feel better for it, and I have a happier tummy.
Food at a Flametree retreat
At the retreat, there’s plenty of delicious, healthy food at every meal.
Vegan rice bake: quick questions answered
How long does this vegan rice bake take?
It bakes at 200 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes. If the rice is still wet at the end, give it longer.
What rice is best for this bake?
I use basmati rice when I can. You need two thirds of a cup.
What if my rice is still wet?
Cook it for longer. Even when the rice is a bit wet, it’s still delicious, so experiment to see what you like.
What can I serve with it?
Serve it by itself, or with other dishes, including a salad.
How is this different from your vegetable tray bake?
My vegetable tray bake roasts vegetables and chickpeas in olive oil and spices and finishes them with tahini sauce. This bake cooks rice, chickpeas and vegetables together in coconut milk in one dish.
More Flametree chickpea recipes
Love chickpeas and sweet potato? Try my vegetable tray bake with chickpeas and tahini sauce, my sweet potato patties, or my pumpkin and chickpea dahl.
Do you have a vegan recipe or dish you’d like to share?
Please contact me with any dishes you’d like to share with me.
Obviously, I’m especially interested in any dish that is already a great Darwin vegan option.
Alternatively, it may be a potential vegan Darwin recipe that I could adapt, or be inspired by, as I did here.
Experience eating alternatives at a Flametree Yoga Retreat
By the way, there are several upcoming Flametree yoga retreats in Bali in 2027.
Contact us for details of our Darwin yoga retreat packages, or our yoga class packages in the orange lines below.
Top yoga & meditation retreats, classes, & videos
Meanwhile, start or re-start yoga or meditation with one of the HALF price deals below, or check out the retreat deals.
Learning to eat mindfully, as a result of yoga and pranayama meditation, is a great way to start more of a vegetarian or vegan journey, or simply mindfully eat whatever you choose.
Flametree upcoming yoga & meditation retreats
2 FREE yoga classes with each HALF price 10 pack; for yoga newcomers or 3 months lapsed
HALF price video yoga classes, plus FREE LIVE classes
Recipe by Chris Lalor, Flametree Yoga Studio, Darwin NT. General information only.
