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
We are doing low carb so we needed to use heavy cream and not milk. For the butter cracker topping we used pork rind crumbles. This went over great with family and new neighbors we had over and they wanted the recipe.
This sounds great with the pork rind crumbles. I’m so glad your family and neighbors loved it.
Can u add rice to it
Andrea, if you’d like to add cooked rice to the casserole, I would recommend adding 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.
SO absolutely delicious! After the first time I made it, family added this dish to our Holiday menu! First time making it , it is a little intimidating creating sauce, but it never turns out wrong. Worth the time and effort. I use half the cracker topping so they don’t overpower the dish.
I’m so happy you and your family love this casserole. Thanks, Julie.
Made this for Thanksgiving. Was a huge hit. No leftovers and there were only 13 people! Delicious! I’ve made a lot of broccoli casseroles over the years and I think this one is the best! Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you, Sandra. So glad everyone loved it.
Made this for turkey day instead of green bean casserole and the family LOVED it, even the little ones. This is part of the mix from now on!
I’m so glad everyone loved this, Emily. Thank you.
Just a quick question! 🙂 I’m making this a few days ahead. Do I need to let it cool throughly before I refrigerate it without the cheese/cracker topping? Thank you!!
Yes, Leticia, you do need to let it cool thoroughly before refrigerating. Then cover it tightly and refrigerate. Add the topping right before you are ready to bake and then follow the baking instructions in the recipe. It may take an extra few minutes of baking time since it is starting colder in the oven. Hope you enjoy!
Delicious!!!! Crushed gluten free crackers on top make this a wonderful GF side dish. Homemade cheese sauce does not take much time to make and is SOOO much better than soup based option. Used 32 oz frozen broccoli for 8 c fresh.
Thank you for the information on how you make this gluten free, Beverly. So glad this recipe worked so well for you.
Hi Beverly! Can you tell me how you made the cheese sauce gluten free? I’m looking for holiday sides I can make for my young niece that was recently diagnosed with Celiac’s and I’m always on the lookout for people who have successfully converted a recipe. Thanks for your help!
I’ve made this twice now. Family loves it! Tonight I cut up some chicken breasts and partially cooked the chicken. Then added it to the casserole before baking. Makes it a little more like a meal instead of a side dish. Thank you!
Thanks so much Jill! xo
This was one of the best quickest, easiest recipe that I’ve made in a while. I did add a little cream of chicken and it turned out Amazing. This my newest favorite recipe!
Can you give me this recipe but I need it to be 1/3