Best Cheese Broccoli Casserole Recipe With Crackers

This cheesy broccoli casserole is a great recipe and is SO good; it has the most mouthwatering creamy sauce, is full of delicious fresh broccoli flavor, and is topped with buttery crackers. It is the perfect side for any holiday table and a real crowd-pleaser – who doesn’t love cheesy goodness – so what are you waiting for? Get cooking!

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We love making this broccoli cheese casserole, it’s so simple and easy, and it makes a great change from green bean casserole.

When friends came to visit with their incredibly picky eater daughter, we were determined to get her to eat vegetables.

It was a huge success; the cheesy, creamy sauce and the crunchy texture of the Ritz crackers meant she didn’t pay any attention to the broccoli – job done!

Why you’ll love this easy casserole recipe

• The perfect Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Sunday dinner side dish (you can even serve this as a main dish), it can be made up to 2 days in advance
• The buttery cracker crumb topping is SO good!
• Adding a cheesy, creamy sauce is perfect for disguising the broccoli if you have picky eaters!
• All the ingredients are 100% vegetarian.

Ingredients you’ll need

You’ll need all the ingredients shown in the photograph below.

How to make broccoli casserole recipe with step-by-step instructions

Making our simple broccoli casserole is easy if you follow our simple instructions.

A full printable recipe, along with the measurements in both US customary and metric is available in the recipe card below.

Bring a large pan of water to a boil and reduce to a simmer on medium heat, then place a steamer basket with fresh broccoli on it, cover it with a lid, and steam for 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and chop into bite-sized pieces.

Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°.

Place the tender broccoli, mayonnaise, cream of mushroom soup (many classic broccoli casserole recipes call for cream of chicken soup, which obviously isn’t vegetarian), paprika, eggs, melted butter, onion, salt, and pepper into a large mixing bowl and mix well to combine.

Then, add 1 cup of extra sharp cheddar cheese and mix well to combine.

Recipe notes and expert tips

• Sour cream
  If you’re out of mayonnaise, you could substitute it with sour cream; it’ll change the flavor slightly but will work.
• Add to it
  Use vegetarian-cooked chicken and make it a meal in itself!
• Spices
  Use your favorite spices for more flavor; garlic powder, onion powder, or thyme work great..
• Crackers
  We prefer to use Ritz crackers, as they have a buttery taste and they add a wonderful crunch to your casserole.
• Frozen broccoli
  If you’re using frozen broccoli, ensure that you thaw thoroughly, it’s best to thaw overnight to avoid a soggy casserole.
• Storage
  Add white rice to make this it a filling main course.

What do I serve broccoli casserole with?

We love to serve it with our delicious nut roast, honey roasted carrots, roasted potatoes, roast parsnips, and air fried green beans.

If, and it’s a big if, there are any leftovers, then we love to get a nice chunk of crusty bread or a bowl of cooked rice and eat it with our broccoli cheese casserole reheated – pure comfort food!

Double up on casseroles with this sweet potato casserole with walnuts from Lynns Way of Life!

How do I store leftover casserole?

Our broccoli and cheese casserole will keep for up to 3 days when stored in the fridge covered in plastic wrap or an airtight container. You can also freeze broccoli casserole for up to 3 months so that the next time you want it, it’s all ready to go; defrost in the fridge overnight.

Do you cook broccoli before putting it in a casserole?

Yes and no, you steam it for 5 minutes, so it takes some of the bite out of it but isn’t fully cooked.

Fresh or frozen broccoli?

We always say that fresh broccoli florets are best; you get that wonderfully fresh flavor from them.

However, if you don’t have fresh broccoli, then frozen broccoli will work very well too.

The important thing to remember for a frozen broccoli casserole, you need to thoroughly defrost the broccoli before using it.

If you don’t, you risk a watery casserole and a soggy topping.

Cream of mushroom soup

If you look at different broccoli cheese casserole recipes, you’ll find that many use chicken soup; naturally, we don’t use this as we are a vegetarian website.

Our recipe calls for cream of mushroom soup but don’t worry; you can go ahead and use it out of a can; we did; we wanted this recipe to be super easy!

Which cheese is best?

Sharp cheddar cheese is the cheese we recommend.

For the casserole, we’ll need shredded cheese, but resist the temptation to buy store-shredded cheese, as it just doesn’t taste as good as freshly shredded.

And if you’re wondering, is cheese vegetarian? Then look for the vegetarian symbol on the packaging, as not all cheese is suitable for vegetarians.

Make it a meal

If you’re looking to eat our broccoli cheese casserole as a main meal, then throw in some extra veggies, add a bit of vegetarian bacon, cook up some rice, and you have a delicious meal!

And if you have any leftover broccoli, why not try this broccoli pasta recipe?

Can you make broccoli cheese casserole ahead of time?

Mostly, yes.

You can make it up to 2 days ahead of time.

You can assemble the healthy broccoli bake right up to the stage of adding the broccoli mixture into the prepared baking dish, do NOT put the cracker topping on.

Place the cracker topping in a ziplock bag, cover the uncooked casserole with plastic wrap, and keep it in the fridge.

When you’re ready to cook your broccoli cheese casserole, remove it from the fridge, set it aside until it reaches room temperature, add the crackers, and cook as directed.

More easy casserole recipes for you to try

If you like our fresh broccoli casserole, you may like these easy recipes.

• Corn Casserole
• Cheesy Potato Casserole
• Yellow Squash Casserole
• Hash Brown Casserole
• Pineapple Casserole
• Cheesy Green Bean Casserole

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