Vegetarian food just elevated its game! This Scalloped Vegetable Bake coats bright carrots, crispy celery, and beefy mushrooms in a creamy sauce with just a kick of tangy mustard. Then, everything gets topped with crunchy breadcrumbs and sharp parmesan! Whoever said vegetables are boring hasn’t tried the Scalloped Vegetable Bake… but once they do, they’ll be convinced otherwise!

Ingredients
- 7 tablespoons butter, divided, plus more, to taste, for greasing the casserole dish
- 1 1/2 cups carrots, sliced
- 1 1/2 cups celery, sliced
- water, to taste
- 1 1/2-2 cups frozen peas
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 2 cups milk
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- parmesan, to taste, grated, for topping

Directions
Step 1 –Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 2 –Using the extra butter, grease a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish.
Step 3 –Add the sliced carrots and the sliced celery to a large saucepan.
Step 4 –Add about 1 inch of water to the saucepan and bring the vegetables to a boil.
Step 5 –Cover and cook until the carrots are barely tender, about 8-10 minutes.
Step 6 –Add the peas to the vegetable mixture and cook, about 3-4 minutes.
Step 7 –Drain the vegetables in a colander. Set them aside.
Step 8 –In the same saucepan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter.
Step 9 –Add the mushrooms and sauté until they are tender, about 5-7 minutes.
Step 10 –Transfer the mushrooms to the reserved bowl of cooked vegetables.
Step 11 –Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in the same saucepan over medium heat.
Step 12 –Add the flour and the dry mustard and cook, stirring, until the raw flour smell disappears, about 2 minutes.
Step 13 –Gradually add the milk to the flour mixture and continue cooking and stirring until thickened.
Step 14 –Taste and season the sauce with the salt and the pepper as needed.
Step 15 –Add the reserved cooked vegetable mixture to the sauce and mix gently to combine.
Step 16 –Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of the butter in a separate, small saucepan.
Step 17 –Add the breadcrumbs to the melted butter, tossing to coat thoroughly.
Step 18 –Pour the vegetable mixture into the prepared baking dish.
Step 19 –Sprinkle the vegetable mixture with the parmesan cheese and the toasted breadcrumbs.
Step 20 –Bake until the vegetable mixture is bubbling and the topping has browned, about 25 minutes.
Step 21 –Serve.