The word “casserole” always made me cringe as a child. It brought to mind some gooey creamy concoction filled with canned tuna, soggy noodles and peas. Actually, it still makes me cringe a little, but I know now that casserole can mean many a different thing. Basically throwing a bunch of stuff into a dish and baking it – and voila – a casserole is born.
I’m not going to pretend that this dish is some sort of well thought out meal that I believed would make an awesome dinner. The reality is I had a really busy few days, the 3 part time jobs I’m working plus some other fun projects left me with little to no time to prepare for MoFo this week. I considered just not posting today, but knew that would just lead to more excuses and an endless cycle of laziness. So to keep the momentum going, I opened up my fridge and literally just grabbed what was available and made this Soyrizo Kelp Noodle Casserole.
My hopes were not high folks, not high at all. As I was putting this together I kept shaking my head knowing in my bones eminent failure was at hand. Even as I pulled it out of the oven and started to take pictures of it I wondered if it was all in vain.
Then I hesitantly grabbed a bowl, sat down, inhaled a deep breath and took a bite. As I chewed my muscles slowly started to relax and a smile spread across my face. This actually tasted good! Oh happy day!!
The kelp noodles add an unexpected texture, the soyrizo gives it a little kick of spice and the celery provides a healthy dose of crunch. Much to my surprise – we have a winner!! And it still falls within my cheap & gluten-free MoFo theme! Now I can go back to stressing on what to make tomorrow 
Price Breakdown:
1 pkg kelp noodles: $3.79
1/2 TBSP olive oil: $.06
1/2 onion: $.30
2 celery stalks: $.30
1/2 pkg soyrizo: $1.75
1/2 can tomato sauce: $.50
1/2 cup Daiya cheese: $1.24
1/4 cup parsley: $.15
Total: $8.09 or $4.05 per serving
What is your favorite unexpected meal success story?
Soyrizo Kelp Noodle Casserole
By Published: September 18, 2013
Gluten-free kelp noodles in a soyrizo tomato sauce baked with a Daiya cheese topping.
Ingredients
- 1 PKG Kelp Noodles
- 1/2 TBSP Olive Oil
- 1/2 Onion Diced
- 2 Stalks Celery Diced
- 1/2 PKG Soyrizo
- 1/2 14oz Can Tomato Sauce
- 1/2 CUP Daiya Cheese Shreds
- 1/4 CUP Fresh Parsley Chopped
Instructions
- Soak kelp noodles in water in a large bowl for about 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°.
- Sauté onions and celery in olive oil until onions start to get tender.
- Add in soyrizo and tomato sauce and stir until combined.
- Drain and rinse kelp noodles then cut them into smaller pieces. I basically just ran my knife threw the bowl in a few different directions to break up the noodles.
- Add noodles to the rest of the ingredients and mix until they are completed coated. Transfer to a casserole dish.
- Top with Daiya cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh parsley.
Kelp Noodles with Cilantro Pesto
Homemade Soyrizo Chili & Baked Potatoes
Vegetable Curry Fried Rice
Mini Polenta Pizzas
Exactly what are you sayin about my casseroles?????? You’re grounded little missy! BTW, good job of using what’s on hand, which is why and how the casserole was invented I would imagine!
Cool!!! Does that mean I get to stay in my room and do nothing?!
My mom never made casseroles and I always wished she would, so I love casseroles. Funny. Your dish looks so good, but I still can’t quite get my head around kelp noodles. One person’s texture is another person’s trial.
I get where you’re coming from, the texture, especially when raw…is different. But they get very soft when baked, almost like a normal pasta!
Hmmm, I love the idea of baked stuff with creamy cheese top so I guess I’m all for casseroles? Except if they have peas… not a fan of peas!!
This one sounds like a great idea!
Me either! I hate peas…unless they are snow peas/snap peas, I like those!
Casserole does the exact opposite for me. I never got to have them as a kid since my Dad didn’t like them. So when he went out of town, my Mom and I would make them. To this day, I love them. I used to make a lot of vegan casseroles. This sounds interesting with the noddles.
I find them comforting now…I make a lot of pasta type casseroles that don’t involve cream or tuna, so it doesn’t gross me out anymore, haha!
Anything with Soyrizo is good
Agreed!
Kelp noodles are a very recent discovery for me, and I love them! There is something about the snappy texture that makes them fun to eat. This casserole looks pretty darn good to me.
As for unexpected successes, I made “caramel” out of fruit beer and was so surprised it was actually edible, I nearly cried tears of joy. Haha.
Wow – caramel out of fruit beer??? That sounds interesting – do you have a recipe??