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Broccoli Cheese Casserole

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5 from 2 reviews

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!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 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

  1. Melt butter in a large sauté pan and heat over medium heat.
  2. 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.
  3. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently for 1 minute.
  4. 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. 
  5. 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.
  6. Add half the shredded cheese, reduce heat to low stirring until melted and the sauce begins to thicken.
  7. 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.
  8. 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. 
  9. Top casserole with potato chips and bake for another 5 minutes.
  10. Let cool just a few minutes and then dig in and enjoy!

Equipment

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.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://midwestfoodieblog.com/easy-baked-broccoli-cheese-casserole/