Who doesn’t love Broccoli Cheese Casserole?? This cozy homemade version doesn’t contain any canned “cream of” soup and still comes together super fast and easy. Broccoli cheese casserole is a comfort food classic that is great as a Thanksgiving side, or just a tasty addition to dinner any night of the week. Plus, it’s a great way to use up leftover rice from the night before!
If you didn’t grow up on broccoli cheese casserole, you’re missing out! this super rich and cream casserole combines tender broccoli with cooked rice, a super cheesy sauce, and plenty of seasoning so that every bite is packed with flavor. But this isn’t just any broccoli cheese casserole, we’ve skipped the condensed canned soup and made our sauce 100% from scratch. But don’t worry, I promise it’s still easy!
Want to make it a full meal instead of a side dish? Try our cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole!
Ingredients for Broccoli Cheese Casserole
Here’s what you’ll need to make your own homemade broccoli cheese casserole:
- Broccoli: We used frozen broccoli florets because it’s super convenient. Not only is it already chopped (yay!), but it’s also partially cooked, which makes the whole casserole come together so much faster.
- Cooked Rice: Like fried rice, pre-cooked and chilled rice works best for this recipe because it absorbs more of the flavor from the sauce and prevents it doesn’t get mushy. If you don’t have rice on hand that is already cooked, allow time to cook some rice and allow it to cool before making this recipe. To cool your cooked rice faster, spread it out onto a baking sheet and place it in the refrigerator. The large surface area will help it cool quickly.
- Cheddar Cheese: This is the “cheese” in the “cheese casserole”! Avoid using mild cheddar as it won’t give as much flavor to your casserole. Aim for medium or sharp cheddar instead.
- Garlic & Onion: Sautéed fresh garlic and onion give the casserole a deep savory base flavor.
- Butter & Flour: Butter and flour combine to create a roux that thickens the cheese sauce.
- Milk: Whole milk is the base for the creamy cheese sauce in the casserole. While you can use a lower fat milk, it will definitely affect the flavor and richness of the casserole.
- Seasoning: The casserole is seasoned simply with smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper so the flavor of the broccoli and cheese can take the main stage.
Can I Use Brown Rice?
Yes! I’ve made this broccoli cheese casserole recipe using both brown and white rice and it’s delightful either way. Since you’re measuring the rice after it has been cooked, no adjustments need to be made to the recipe below if you plan to use brown rice. Brown rice gives this broccoli casserole a slightly nutty flavor and a little bit more texture.
Can Broccoli Cheese Casserole Be Made Ahead of Time?
Yes, you can assemble this broccoli cheese casserole up to one day ahead of time, keeping it refrigerated until you’re ready to cook. Because the casserole will be chilled when going into the oven, you may need to add an extra 20-30 minutes to the cooking time to make sure the casserole is heated through.
Broccoli Cheese Casserole
Servings 6Ingredients
- 1 lb. frozen broccoli florets ($1.99)
- 4 cups cooked rice (white or brown) ($0.67)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese ($1.69)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 3 Tbsp butter ($0.42)
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.03)
- 2 cups whole milk ($0.75)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.01)
- 1/8 tsp Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.01)
Instructions
- Thaw the frozen broccoli, then chop it into smaller pieces. Add the chopped broccoli to a large bowl along with the cooked rice and about 1.5 cups of the shredded cheese (save the last ½ cup for topping the casserole).
- Begin to preheat the oven to 350ºF. Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic.
- Add the butter, onion, and garlic to a small saucepot and cook over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent (2-3 minutes). Add the flour and stir until a paste forms. Continue to stir and cook the paste for about two minutes, or just until it turns a light golden brown.
- Whisk the milk into the butter and flour mixture. Continue to whisk the mixture as it heats, allowing it to reach a simmer, at which point it will thicken to the consistency of heavy cream. Remove the sauce from the heat.
- Season the sauce with the salt, smoked paprika, cayenne, and pepper. Taste the sauce and add more seasoning if desired. The sauce should be heavily seasoned because it will be spread out over the broccoli and rice, which contain no seasoning of their own.
- Pour the sauce over the rice, broccoli, and cheese, and stir until everything is evenly coated in sauce. Spread the casserole mixture evenly into a 9×9 inch casserole dish. Top with the remaining shredded cheddar.
- Bake the casserole for about 35 minutes, or until the cheese on top is melted and is slightly browned around the edges. Divide into six portions and serve.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Looking for a low-carb alternative? Check out my Cheesy Loaded Cauliflower Casserole.
How to Make Broccoli Cheese Casserole – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Thaw one pound of frozen broccoli florets, then chop them into smaller pieces.
Add the chopped broccoli to a large bowl along with four cups cooked and cooled rice, and 6 oz. (1.5 cups) shredded cheddar cheese. Save the remaining ½ cup cheddar to top the casserole.
Stir the broccoli, rice, and cheese together until evenly combined, then set them aside.
Next, begin the white sauce. Finely dice one yellow onion and mince two cloves of garlic. Add the onion and garlic to a saucepot with 2 Tbsp butter. Sauté the onion and garlic in the butter over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent.
Add 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour to the cooked onions and garlic. Continue to stir and cook for about a minute more. The flour will form a paste with the butter.
Pour two cups of whole milk into the saucepot and whisk until all the flour is dissolved into the milk. Continue to stir and cook until the milk begins to gently simmer, at which point it will thicken to the consistency of heavy cream.
Season the white sauce with ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp smoked paprika, ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper, and ⅛ tsp black pepper. Give the sauce a taste and adjust the seasoning if you prefer (it should be heavily seasoned).
Pour the white sauce into the bowl with the broccoli, rice, and cheddar, then stir to combine.
Transfer the broccoli rice mixture to a casserole dish (about 9×9 inches) and then add the remaining shredded cheddar on top.
Bake the broccoli cheese casserole for 35 minutes, or until the cheese is melted on top and it’s browned around the edges.
Serve hot and enjoy that cozy comfort!
I’ve made the Broccoli and Cheese Casserole for dinner last night, and honestly, it is DELICIOUS!! To add some protein, as well as stretching the meal out, I added the cooked chicken. I wouldn’t mind eating this dish without meat, but my sister isn’t very fond of vegetarian dishes, so I had to compromise. I will definitely make the casserole again, but next time, I’m adding some bacon to it. :-)
Delicious and vegetarian! I’ve never put rice in a casserole before, who knew it could be so good?!
Two “cups” of rice in the rice cooker came out to way more than four cups, but I used it all anyway. I added half a rotisserie chicken, dried mustard, and chipotle pepper. An extra Tbsp of butter, 2.5 Tbsp glutinous rice flour, and about 3/4 cup of milk made enough sauce to coat the extra rice and chicken in a 9″x13″ pan.
The result was lovely, gluten free, and definitely easy on the wallet. Thank you for the recipe.
This is the best broccoli cheddar rice casserole I’ve ever tired! I made it exactly as the recipe said, and added 2 cups shredded cheddar. It was not too dry, came out amazing. I’ve been eating it for lunch the past several days and it reheats very well. Love this recipe- thank you!!!
As usual the cup measurement has me scratching my head. How much uncooked rice is that exactly?
After 20 minutes of googleing i come to the conclusion: ~1/4 kilo/250 gram?
I’m not sure in grams or kilos because I never measure in those units. I usually just cook a big pot at the beginning of the week and use it for various things, so I haven’t cooked a batch that is exactly two cups once cooked. If you cook one cup of dry rice, you’ll have at least two cups cooked plus a little extra, though.
Love broccoli and love this recipe so much I ate it for breakfast this morning! I have frozen the rest and I am sure it will be fine as I freeze risotto all the time but make sure I always defrost it fully before reheating which makes all the difference. It costs twice as much to make this though as food is very expensive in Australia but still a budget meal regardless.
I’m going to try this tonight with quinoa instead of rice. Yum!
I made this tonight with one pound of 1/2 inch cubed, sautéed chicken and a lb of fresh broccoli.(I did blanch the broccoli first. I had to double the sauce though, it would have been quite dry if I hadn’t. Perhaps the fresh broccoli and chicken just added that much more bulk? I also cooked the rice with 2 tsp of chicken better than bouillon paste for more chicken flavor. (1.5 c raw rice made almost exactly the amount needed)
It came out soo good, muchly appreciated by the DH. :) Thanks again, Beth!
I loved your post.Much thanks again. eadefdadeaeddkcd
I’ll be making the Broccoli Cheddar Casserole for dinner next week. I would like to add some cooked chicken to this dish to stretch it out. How long will the casserole bake in the oven? Thanks, Beth!! :-)
If the chicken is already cooked before adding it to the casserole, the baking time will be the same. I definitely suggest adding chicken that’s already cooked, instead of raw. You can do rotisserie chicken, or chicken breast that you’ve cooked in a skillet or George Foreman grill, then chopped into pieces. :)
This is just delicious!! Thank you so much for the recipe. I just made it for my five kids, who all have colds. I used regular brown rice and fresh broccoli. Since I have celiac disease, I used white rice flour. It turned out perfect. I made a double batch. We are just eating it the way it is, it doesn’t need meat or anything. Love it!
This is in the oven as we speak, I did add some leftover chicken as well as some sauted mushrooms just to bulk it up a bit … smells fantastic, dinner might be early tonight.
Oh my! Broccoli cheddar casserole has me in love. I want to nom all of these pictures. :)
I made this tonight, almost exactly as the recipe said except I added a little bit of mustard powder, and used red pepper flakes in place of cayenne. It was delicious and I will definitely be making it again. Thanks!
Thanks so much for sharing this timely recipe! I just bought a chicken at the store today and I was just looking at a bag of broccoli in the freezer thinking that I should make this dish.
Thanks for the recipe. I know what I’ll be making very soon.
Freezing cooked rice also works great for fried rice!