This quick and easy broccoli cheese casserole comes together with just a handful of simple ingredients including frozen broccoli and takes only 40 minutes from start to finish. Every nook and cranny of the tender-crisp broccoli is coated in the perfect simple cheese sauce, then topped with crispy potato chips for a salty crunch!
You Will Love This
- This cheesy broccoli bake is one of our family's favorite side dishes around the holidays but it's also hearty enough to be a weeknight main course! If you have vegetarians joining you for the holidays, they'll be delighted to find this meatless side dish on your holiday table!
- If you enjoyed this broccoli cheese casserole recipe, be sure to check out my Roasted Herb and Garlic Potatoes, my Cheesy Corn Casserole, or my Bacon Green Bean Casserole.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Butter - Butter is going to give you a better flavor and texture compared to olive oil. Stick with unsalted so that you can season this broccoli cheese bake yourself.
- Frozen Broccoli - You could use frozen or fresh broccoli for this recipe but I prefer the ease of frozen broccoli florets. They end up perfectly tender and delicious.
- Onion - I like to use yellow onion for this casserole recipe but white onion will work just fine as well.
- Garlic - I prefer freshly sliced garlic for this recipe. If you don't have any on hand, you can add a ¼-1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder or more to taste in its place.
- Flour - Stick with all-purpose flour for this broccoli casserole recipe. It will give your cheese sauce the best texture.
- Whole Milk - Whole milk gives the cheese sauce in this recipe the perfect consistency. You could sub half and half if that's all you've got, but your sauce will likely be a bit thicker so you may need to add a bit more.
- Sharp Cheddar - You can use your favorite melty cheese for the cheese sauce in this recipe. I like to use sharp cheddar but I've also tried with white sharp cheddar, fontina, and havarti and all were delicious!
- Potato Chips - Classic Ruffles are my favorite chip for this dish, but switch it up to suit your family's taste! Try cheddar sour cream or even jalapeno cheddar chips for a different flavor combo. You can also use Ritz crackers in place of the potato chips.
Instructions
Saute onion and garlic in butter. Add flour.
Cook, stirring frequently for 1 minute.
Add milk and cook for a few minutes. Stir in shredded cheese.
Mix until cheese melts.
Add frozen broccoli along with a few large pinches of salt and pepper.
Mix until well combined and broccoli is coated in cheese sauce.
Cover with shredded cheese and bake. If you're using this type of large saute pan, you can put it straight into the oven.
Top casserole with potato chips and bake for another 5 minutes.
Let cool just a few minutes and then dig in and enjoy!
Making the Perfect Cheese Sauce
This broccoli cheese casserole has a deliciously creamy cheese sauce and while it's super simple to make, if you step away from the stove while you're cooking - even just for a minute - you may need to troubleshoot a bit. Here are my tips for making sure that cheese sauce is perfectly creamy and dreamy every single time!
- You're looking for a cheese sauce that's similar to a creamy queso dip. It should coat the back of a spoon and cling to it. It shouldn't be dripping off the spoon immediately - it should be thick and creamy.
- If the cheese sauce isn't getting creamy, warm it over low heat, stirring frequently, for a couple minutes until it thickens a bit more. But be sure that the sauce doesn't come to a simmer because if it gets too warm, the cheese will separate from the sauce and you'll end up with a grainy texture.
- If the cheese sauce is too thick, trying adding a splash or two of milk to loosen it up.
Tip
- Once the frozen broccoli comes in contact with the warm cheese sauce, it's going to cause the cheese sauce to thicken and seize up a bit. This is normal. Just combine the broccoli with the cheese sauce very well so that each piece of broccoli is well coated. When the casserole bakes in the oven, the cheese sauce will loosen up and get perfectly creamy again.
FAQ
No! The best part is that you can throw frozen or fresh broccoli right into the creamy cheese sauce and then bake it all together in the oven! Broccoli cooks quite quickly so if you cook it before hand it will end up being overcooked once the casserole is baked.
Yes, you can! Frozen is convenient because you don't have to chop it up and you can keep it in the freezer until you're ready to use it. But fresh broccoli will work just as well in this recipe!
This broccoli cheese casserole relies on a quick mixture of flour and butter to thicken the creamy sauce. The best part about this recipe is that the cheese sauce cooks before you bake everything together so you can control exactly how thick and creamy it gets!
Easy Side Dishes
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Broccoli Cheese Casserole
This quick and easy broccoli cheese casserole comes together with just a handful of simple ingredients including frozen broccoli and takes only 40 minutes from start to finish. Every nook and cranny of the tender-crisp broccoli is coated in the perfect simple cheese sauce, then topped with crispy potato chips for a salty crunch!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stove Top + Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 32 oz. frozen broccoli florets
- 1 small onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 16 oz. shredded sharp cheddar, divided
- 2 cups crushed Ruffles potato chips
- Kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large sauté pan and heat over medium heat.
- Add diced onion along with a couple large pinches of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low if the butter is sputtering too much or if the onions start to turn brown.
- Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently for 1 minute.
- Add flour and cook, stirring frequently for 1 minute. The roux won't be super thick at this point. The flour will continue to thicken the sauce as it cooks.
- Slowly stir in whole milk along with a couple large pinches of salt and pepper until mixture becomes smooth and creamy. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the milk is warmed through a bit and just starts to simmer.
- Add half the shredded cheese, reduce heat to low stirring until melted and the sauce begins to thicken.
- Stir in frozen broccoli along with a few large pinches of salt and pepper. Cover with remaining shredded cheese. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until heated through.
- If using this type of large sauté pan, you can put it straight into the oven. If you're not using an oven safe pan, you can transfer the casserole to a 9x13 oven safe baking dish, top with cheese, and bake.
- Top casserole with potato chips and bake for another 5 minutes.
- Let cool just a few minutes and then dig in and enjoy!
Notes
- You're looking for a cheese sauce that's similar to a creamy queso dip. It should coat the back of a spoon and cling to it. It shouldn't be dripping off the spoon immediately - it should be thick and creamy.
- If the cheese sauce isn't getting creamy, warm it over low heat, stirring frequently, for a couple minutes until it thickens a bit more. But be sure that the sauce doesn't come to a simmer because if it gets too warm, the cheese will separate from the sauce and you'll end up with a grainy texture.
- If the cheese sauce is too thick, trying adding a splash or two of milk to loosen it up.
- Once the frozen broccoli comes in contact with the warm cheese sauce, it's going to cause the cheese sauce to thicken and seize up a bit. This is normal. Just combine the broccoli with the cheese sauce very well so that each piece of broccoli is well coated. When the casserole bakes in the oven, the cheese sauce will loosen up and get perfectly creamy again.
Keywords: cheesy broccoli, broccoli and cheese casserole
MK
Kylie, This is SOOOO good! The only recommendation I have is to double the cheese sauce and save 1/2 of it for dipping chips or raw vegetables into. Yum!
★★★★★
Kylie
That is a brilliant idea! Extra cheese sauce is always a great idea!!
Luke
I can't wait to have this again around the holidays. Our daughter loves broccoli so she ate this right up!
★★★★★