Creamy Broccoli Casserole with Cheesy Cracker Topping
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Broccoli casserole earns its spot on the table when you need a side that can be made ahead and still hold together after a drive to someone else’s kitchen. That’s the job it does at a potluck or a holiday spread, sitting happily next to whatever main everyone else brought.
After years of cooking vegetarian, I judge a creamy broccoli casserole by one thing: whether it stays creamy instead of turning watery. Fresh broccoli, steamed and chopped rather than boiled, is what keeps this one from going soggy, and it’s the reason I pick fresh heads over a bag of frozen florets.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Fresh broccoli, steamed for just five minutes, holds its bite and stops the casserole from going watery.
- Extra-sharp cheddar runs through the filling and melts over the top, so this is a cheesy broccoli casserole, not a pale one.
- It assembles up to a day ahead, and travels well to a potluck or a holiday table. It sits in the same family as my cheesy cauliflower casserole, another vegetable side that bakes up creamy under a crisp top.
- The crushed cracker topping bakes into a crisp lid over the soft, creamy filling underneath.
- One dish covers the mixing and the baking, and it feeds six as a side.
Ingredients You’ll Need
You’ll need all the ingredients shown in the photograph below.
- Fresh broccoli. Six cups of florets, steamed and chopped small. Fresh holds its texture and sheds far less water than frozen, which is exactly what keeps a broccoli casserole with fresh broccoli from turning soupy.
- Extra-sharp cheddar. A cup and a half, grated from a block. Pre-shredded cheese is coated to stop it clumping in the bag, and that coating keeps it from melting smoothly, so grate your own.
- Condensed mushroom soup and mayonnaise. Together they make the base creamy and carry a savory, almost meaty depth without any meat, which is the whole point of a side like this on a vegetarian table.
- Eggs. Two, large, beaten. They set the filling just enough to spoon out in clean scoops instead of sliding apart.
- Cheese cracker. Crushed, for the topping. They bring salt and crunch; there are swaps in the variations below if that’s not what’s in the pantry.
- Onion and paprika. Thinly sliced onion and a teaspoon of paprika keep the filling from tasting flat under all that cheese.
How to Make Creamy Broccoli Casserole
A complete printable recipe and the measurements in both US customary and metric are available in the recipe card below.
Steam the broccoli
Bring a pan of water to a simmer, set a steamer basket with the six cups of florets over it, cover, and steam for five minutes. Lift the basket out, let the broccoli drain, then chop it into bite-sized pieces.
Steaming instead of boiling is the difference between a creamy casserole and a watery one, because the broccoli never sits in water it can soak up.
Heat the oven and butter the dish
Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter the casserole dish generously across the base and up the sides, so the baked filling lifts out cleanly and doesn’t stick in the corners.
Mix the filling
In a large bowl, combine the drained broccoli with the mayonnaise, mushroom soup, paprika, beaten eggs, melted butter, sliced onion, salt, and pepper, and mix well.
Like my classic green bean casserole, this one uses cream of mushroom soup for its base, so mix gently and keep things calm rather than beating it hard. Fold in one cup of the cheddar until everything is coated.
Top and bake
Transfer the mixture to the buttered dish and level it off. Scatter the remaining cheddar and the crushed crackers evenly over the top so they brown in one even layer. Bake for 40 minutes, until the top is golden and the filling bubbles at the edges.
It’s a potluck workhorse in the same way my cheesy hashbrown casserole is, and it reheats just as well the next day.
Recipe Notes and Expert Tips
- Cool and drain well. Let the steamed broccoli cool for a minute and drain before it goes in, so it isn’t dumping extra steam into the filling.
- Go easy on added salt. The cheese crackers and the cheddar are both salty, and they season the dish as it bakes.
- Mix the filling gently. Cream of mushroom soup and cheese can turn grainy if they’re worked too hard or baked too hot, so keep to the 350°F (180°C) called for.
- Bake it uncovered so steam escapes rather than settling back into the dish. If the top browns before the edges bubble, lay a piece of foil loosely over it for the last few minutes.
- Let the finished casserole rest for a few minutes out of the oven. It firms up just enough to spoon into tidy servings instead of spreading across the plate.
Recipe Variations
- Frozen broccoli is a well-supported swap when fresh is hard to get: just thaw it fully and pat it very dry, or the water it carries will loosen the filling as it bakes. Fresh, steamed broccoli still gives the best texture.
- Crushed Ritz or panko stands in for the cheese crackers; it’s a supported swap that changes the crunch on top, not the way the casserole bakes.
- Stirring a couple of cups of cooked rice into the filling turns this side into a main. I haven’t tested that version here, and it will need a larger dish and a few extra minutes in the oven to heat through.
How to Store Leftovers
Cool leftovers completely, then refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven or microwave until it’s hot all the way through, to 165°F (74°C). Freezing isn’t recommended for this one. The mayo-and-soup base splits as it thaws and the texture turns grainy, so make it a day ahead rather than weeks ahead.
To make it ahead, assemble the casserole up to 24 hours in advance, cover it, and keep it in the fridge unbaked. Hold the cracker topping back and scatter it on just before the dish goes in the oven, so it stays crisp, and add a few extra minutes to the bake since it’s starting chilled.
What to Serve With Creamy Broccoli Casserole
This is a side, so build the plate around it. It goes with almost any main, but I lean holiday with it: a scoop next to creamy homemade mashed potatoes and a basket of soft honey-butter dinner rolls makes it a proper spread.
For a little color and sweetness against all that cheese, add honey roasted carrots alongside. Keep the rest of the plate simple, since the casserole, with all that cheddar, is the rich part.
FAQs
Yes. Thaw it first and squeeze it out in a clean towel rather than just patting it, since frozen florets hold more water than they look, then use it as you would fresh.
It’s usually broccoli that was boiled or not drained, or a dish baked covered so the steam had nowhere to go. Steam the broccoli, chop it after it drains, and bake uncovered.
You can, up to a day ahead, refrigerated and unbaked. Add the crackers and a few extra minutes of baking time when you’re ready to cook it.
It’s not the dish for it. Freeze the baked casserole and the base turns oily and grainy as it reheats, so the make-ahead route above stops at a day in the fridge.
More Casseroles Worth Baking
Of all the broccoli recipes on the site, this is the one I carry to a potluck, and if it earns a spot in your rotation, these are the casseroles I’d make next.
- Sweet potato casserole with pecan crumble. For the sweet, holiday end of the casserole table, marshmallows and all.
- Easy Brussels sprouts casserole. When you want a greener side with the same creamy, fried-onion appeal.
- Cheesy zucchini casserole. My summer swap, for when zucchini is everywhere and cheap.
- Cheesy corn casserole. The soft, sweet one so many of us grew up with.
Ingredients
- 6 cups fresh broccoli florets
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 10 ¾ ounces condensed mushroom soup
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 large eggs beaten
- ½ stick butter melted
- ½ onion thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ½ cups extra sharp cheddar cheese grated
- 1 cup cheese crackers crushed
Video
Instructions
- Bring a large pan of water to a boil and reduce to a simmer, then place a steamer basket with broccoli on it, cover it with a lid, and steam for 5 minutes, remove from the heat and chop into bite sized pieces.6 cups fresh broccoli florets
- Preheat your oven to 350°F/180°C.
- Place the broccoli, mayonnaise, mushroom soup, paprika, eggs, butter, onion, salt, and pepper into a large mixing bowl and mix well to combine.1 cup mayonnaise, 10 ¾ ounces condensed mushroom soup, 2 large eggs, ½ stick butter, ½ onion, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon paprika
- Then add 1 cup of cheese and mix well to combine. Butter a casserole dish, then transfer the mixture into the dish and add the remaining cheese and crackers evenly to the top of the broccoli mixture.1 ½ cups extra sharp cheddar cheese, 1 cup cheese crackers
- Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, serve while hot, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
I recently made this cheese broccoli casserole, and it was so so good! The creamy, cheesy goodness combined with the perfectly tender broccoli was incredibly comforting. I used a mix of sour cream and mayo as you suggested and loved the flavor profile. This recipe is definitely a keeper, and I can’t wait to make it again and again.
Hi Mandy How do I get your recipes by e-mail. I gave my e-mail add. A few weeks ago. Happened to check my junk mail it showed you send them, but they were all a mess.
Could you please check into that so I can get your e-mails.
Suzanne, sorry about that, that’s not how it’s supposed to work. I’ve got your email on file, I’ll check what’s actually going out to it and get it sorted.