Broccoli Cheese Casserole Recipe
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This Broccoli Cheese Casserole is a cheesy, delicious side dish! Made from scratch with a homemade creamy sauce and buttery, crunchy top, this fresh, family favorite recipe is the BEST! Perfect for holidays and family suppers!
So simple to prepare, my Broccoli Cheese Casserole is made from scratch and is an updated version of that old favorite from my childhood that included cans of cream of chicken soup. While there’s nothing wrong with that, I wanted to remake the recipe to make it fresher and an even more delicious comfort food favorite!
Once I made my creamy, cheesy sauce for my Broccoli Cheese Casserole from scratch, I never looked back! The result is a fresh, easy side dish with a buttery, crunchy cracker crumb topping that is the BEST Broccoli Cheese Casserole I’ve ever tasted!
Once you try this made-from-scratch recipe for this iconic casserole, I think it will become your favorite version, too. Here’s how you’ll make it.
Ingredients
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.
- Broccoli – I prefer to use fresh broccoli florets that I cut from whole heads of broccoli. You can also use pre-cut broccoli florets if you prefer.
- Butter – You can use salted or unsalted butter.
- All-purpose Flour – Used to make the homemade sauce for the casserole. This sauce replaces the cream of chicken or mushroom soup used in many recipes.
- Milk – Used in the homemade sauce. I prefer whole milk or even heavy cream for a rich and creamy sauce.
- Kosher Salt – I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. If you substitute with Morton’s Kosher salt, fine sea salt, or table salt, you will only need half the amount of the salt called for in the recipe.
- Ground Black Pepper – You can also use white pepper if you prefer.
- Cayenne Pepper – You only use a little cayenne pepper in this casserole dish for added flavor. If you are sensitive to cayenne, you can omit it.
- Monterey Jack Cheese – Makes the homemade sauce creamy and delicious.
- Sour Cream – Adds even more creamy, silky richness to the sauce while adding a slightly tangy flavor.
- Cheddar Cheese – Tops the casserole as it bakes.
- Buttery Crackers – Adds a crispy, crunch, buttery topping on the casserole.
How to Make Broccoli Cheese Casserole
- Prep. Preheat the oven and prepare your baking dish. Cut the broccoli into florets.
- Cook the broccoli. Add the fresh broccoli florets to a large, heavy-bottomed pot of boiling water and cook. Drain the cooked broccoli and set aside.
- Make the sauce. Melt butter over medium heat in a skillet or saucepan. Whisk in flour until well combined. Then, whisk in milk, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and Monterrey Jack cheese. Reduce heat to simmer. Continue to whisk until the sauce simmers slightly around the edges and has thickened slightly. Stir in the sour cream.
- Bake the casserole. Arrange the broccoli in a casserole dish. Then, pour the cream sauce over the broccoli. Top with cheddar cheese and crushed buttery crackers. Bake uncovered until bubbling. Then serve warm and enjoy!
This is great for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter with Turkey Breast or Roasted Turkey. It is also delicious anytime with Roast Chicken or Baked Chicken Breasts.
Recipe Tip!
Make a One-Dish Meal! Add 1 to 2 cups of shredded chicken to the recipe for a delicious, easy meal!
Storage Tips
Make Ahead Unbaked Broccoli and Cheese Casserole. Make without the final topping of cheese and butter crackers. Store the unbaked casserole for up to one week in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When ready to bake, top with the cheese and crackers and bake as directed.
Freeze Unbaked Broccoli Cheese Casserole. Store the uncooked casserole in an airtight, freezer-safe container without the final cheese and butter cracker topping for up to 3 months in the freezer. When ready to bake, thaw in the refrigerator overnight, top with cheese and crackers, and bake as directed.
Store Leftover Casserole. Refrigerate leftover casserole in an airtight container or wrap well with wrap for up to 4 days. Reheat and serve.
Freeze Leftover Casserole. Transfer to a freezer-safe container(s) and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw, reheat, and serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can easily divide this recipe to make fewer servings. Another idea is to prepare the full recipe and divide it into two smaller dishes. Bake one for now, then hold off on adding the topping to the second dish and freeze it for later. See how to freeze this recipe under Storage Tips above.
You can. I prefer to use my homemade cheesy cream sauce or my homemade cream of chicken soup, but you can use your favorite canned soup if you need to do so. If you use canned soup, omit the ingredients for cheesy cream sauce.
Other Favorite Casseroles and Side Dishes
If you tried this Broccoli Cheese Casserole Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Broccoli Cheese Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 heads broccoli, cut into florets (about 8 cups)
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk or heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup grated monterey jack cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
- 2 cups crushed buttery crackers
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray a 13 x 9 – inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Add broccoli florets to a large heavy-bottomed stockpot of boiling water. Cook for 3-5 minutes and then drain broccoli from the water. Set aside.
- Melt butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Whisk in flour until well-combined, then whisk in milk, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and 1 cup of Monterrey Jack cheese. Reduce heat to simmer and continue to whisk until sauce simmers slightly around the edges and has thickened slightly. Stir in sour cream.
- Arrange broccoli in casserole dish and then pour cream sauce over broccoli. Top with cheddar cheese and crushed crackers.
- Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes.
- Serve warm.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Robyn –
There is a big difference between milk and heavy cream. Which do you use?
Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Betty,
I use either milk or heavy cream in this recipe depending on what I have on hand. The heavy cream definitely makes it much richer and creamy and the milk makes it a bit more loose than the heavy cream.
How do you know when to completely cook before freezing and when to,wait and do all of the cooking?
Like I do with my tuna noodle casserole, if you don’t have buttery crackers, just melt some butter in a pan and add crushed saltines. I like the richer flavor, they brown up nice, and add something extra.
When you thaw it from the freezer, how long to you bake it for and at what temperature?
Thanks for this fabulous recipe! I’ve made it so many times. My grandmother use to make a similar one but with canned cream of mushroom soup which has Monosodium Glutamate in it. I tried to recreate her casserole by making cream of mushroom soup from scratch first. It was good, but took too long and thought that there must be an easier way. Your recipe does the trick, and it is so versatile too. Sometimes I add mushrooms, different kinds of cheeses, sometimes onion and garlic. It always turns out so well, and reminds me of Grandma at the same time. Thanks so much!
I’m so glad you are enjoying it, Debbie! I love those heirloom recipes that remind me of my family and all those warm, comforting meals, but I certainly love giving them a little update, too! 🙂
I was thinking of adding chicken to this and making a modified Chicken Divan. Would I need to change the amount of sauce if I were to add a pound of chicken?
Thank you so much for this recipe! My Grandmother used to make a broccoli and cheese casserole every Thanksgiving, and no matter what would NEVER give the recipe out. Only time she ever did, she omitted ingredients on purpose just so nobodies would come out as good as hers (you know how Italian grandmothers are lol) I’ve missed my spit fire grandmother and miss her traditions and this recipe was almost exact to hers. I made it for this past Thanksgiving and brought people to tears bc it just reminded all of us so much of her. I’ve been asked top make it again for Christmas and just wanted to drop you a line to say thank you for posting it on here, it’s not only amazing but has kept a family tradition alive for us!
Oh Kendyl,
I’m so glad that this broccoli cheese casserole was so loved by your family! What a wonderful memory of your Grandmother! I love how foods bring back those special memories of loved ones – especially throughout the holidays! Merry Christmas!
This is 1 of the most creativeand delicious recipes I’ve tasted for broccoli casserole.
Thanks again.
I’d like to add rice to this, but that will change the liquid portion somewhat, throwing off the ratios. How much rice do you think I could comfortably add without changing the liquid portion? Or how do you recommend changing the liquids to allow for about 2-3 cups of already cooked rice?
Hi! If you’d like to add cooked rice to the casserole, I would recommend backing down the portion to about 1 – 1 1/2 cups and adding about half that amount of liquid as chicken or vegetable stock. You may need to adjust the baking time a bit to make sure that the casserole doesn’t overcook.
I want to make this for Thanksgiving dinner and would like to have the measurement in pounds or cups for the brocolli? Thanks and love your recipes. Beth Ann
Hi Beth Ann,
In cups, you’ll have about 8 cups of fresh broccoli florets. Happy Thanksgiving!