by Holly
This Broccoli Cheese Casserole is a family favorite! Pasta, broccoli and tender ham is tossed in a quick and easy from scratch cheese sauce. This casserole is then topped with breadcrumbs and baked until bubbly and golden. The kids love this dish just as much as I do.
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As we all know, life can be very busy! With the kids activities, managing a house and working, there is never a wrong time for a great casserole! This one comes together in just a few steps and can be prepped in the morning before you head out the door. When you get home after a long day, all that’s left to do is pop dinner into the oven! Plus it’s full of cheesy goodness with some veggies snuck in there! Yum right?!
Broccoli and cheese is as natural a pairing as PB & J… they just should ALWAYS go together. I’ve paired them in a broccoli cheese soup or with rice and about a million other ways too. And of course I am a huge fan of macaroni and cheese in any way, shape or form.
In this easy broccoli cheese casserole recipe I’ve added ham and fresh broccoli to turn a traditional mac & cheese into a complete meal! This recipe calls for a quick from scratch sauce which is so worth the effort, it takes only about 5 minutes!
I top this recipe with breadcrumbs but you can use anything from Ritz crackers to just plain cheese as a topping. Of course leftover ham works perfectly in this dish but if you don’t have ham on hand, cooked chicken works well in this recipe too. It’s fairly versatile, as long as you’re using 2 cups of cooked meat (ham/chicken etc) and 3 cups of veggies, it’s going to be great! 
It is comforting, filling and completely delicious! The easy clean up of this one dish meal makes it a recipe that is near and dear to my heart! Being able to create a meal this yummy and clean it up in a matter of moments makes it nothing short of an ideal recipe!
BROCCOLI CHEESE CASSEROLE WITH HAM
Ingredients
- 12 oz dry macaroni
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup flour
- 1½ cups milk
- 1 cup light cream
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 cups sharp cheddar
- 1 cup gruyere cheese
- ½ cup fresh parmesan cheese
- 3 cups broccoli florets
- 2 cups cubed cooked ham
TOPPING
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoons melted butter
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cook macaroni according to package directions. Add broccoli in the last 2 minutes to cook it tender crisp. Drain and run under cold water.
- Melt butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Whisk in flour and let cook 2 minutes while stirring. Slowly whisk in cream, milk, mustard powder and onion powder. Cook over medium heat while stirring until thickened. Remove from heat and stir cheeses until melted.
- Toss cheese sauce, pasta, broccoli, and ham together. Pour into a greased 9×13 pan. Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over macaroni.
- Bake 20-25 minutes or just until hot. Do not over cook.
Recipe Notes
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
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Hi Holly
Can I freeze mac and cheese
Hi Mariae,
You can freeze mac and cheese. I hope you love the casserole!
So this says 12oz of pasta what if I make it with 16oz the standard size do the other ingredients stay the same or do I have to add a little more
You’d want to add more so you have enough sauce.
Honestly, I am at a loss of what to try first, this and the other cheese casseroles look outstanding, I will come back to this one for a review shortly. Thank you for the great recipes.
Thank you so much Lee! :) I can’t wait to hear how you like it!
I made this tonight and it was delicious. Thank you for the great recipe.
I’m so glad you loved it Sarita!
Has anyone made this rice instead of noodles?
I wondered the same thing.
Ohhh delish!!! I swapped elbow for bowtie and used about 1/4 of sour cream instead of ‘cream’ and used Lactose free sourcream, cheeses, butter! It is to die for!!! I have an almost 2 year old who likes to say ‘no’ haha I think this will be a HIT with her… It is so yummy. Thank you.
I’m so glad you loved it!
So good! My husband especially loved it.
I am so glad that this recipe was a hit with your family Debbie!
What exactly is light cream?
Light cream is a little heavier than half in half, but it is often served in coffee. I hope this helps.
Light cream is halfway between full-fat milk and heavy whipping cream.
I loved this! I used Asiago and Dutch Gouda. I also used heavy whipping cream instead of light cream. Soooo good! Definitely keeping this recipe!
So glad you loved it Andrea!
This was delicious! I used 2 cups of Dutch Gouda and 1 cup of Asiago instead of the cheddar and Gruyere. My son loves it! He wanted Mac and cheese with broccoli and he got this. He said it was mmmmm tasty!
I’d like to begin by saying that I don’t understand why folks make a comment on a receipe that they haven’t tried yet. When I go to comments, I’m looking for real feedback like how it tasted, difficulty making it, different substitutes or add ins. Just saying. Anyway I made this last night to bake today for our after church supper. I was so happy that someone asked you if you could refrigerate over night. This casserole was excellent and my husband & dad loved it. Probably used a little more ham & broccoli but that’s just me. I only had sharp cheese and Parmesan on hand but this dish was still awesome. The only thing I’d disagree with is prep time, I started at 8pm and finished at 9:30pm so not a quick work night meal. Thanks for the Recipie, this is a keeper!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Chris, thank you for sharing your review!
Hi Holly I have just made this recipe of yours as my husband loves broccoli cheese and always gets shop bought dishes but this turned out just as you described and was lovely – even I ate it which is a real surprise for me as it’s never been my dish!
My question is would I be able to store the leftovers in the fridge for him to take yo work next day and reheat in microwave??
I am so glad I found you as your recipes are great and so tasty!
Hi Jeanette,
You can absolutely store and reheat!
I’ve already made this once and it was so good that I’m making it again tomorrow to bring to a friend’s house. Thank you so, so much for posting this recipe!!
Yummy
Looks delicious! I was wondering if anyone has tried freezing it for later?
Holly, I Love your recipes …. Delicious Wow !!!! <3 <3 <3 :) Thanks
Thank you Mylene! :)
Looks and sounds delicious, but seems like it would take too long to make…probably 20 to 30 minute prep plus the baking time…Who has that kind of time anymore? Why can’t things be made and ready to eat in under 30 minutes and still be satisfying?
Do you think I could make this earlier in the day, or the night before, and put it in the fridge and bake it later?
Yes definitely. I’d suggest pulling it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before baking.
You could even put this in a Pyrex dish, but as Holly stated, you certainly want to remove from the fridge (place on a wire rack), let come up to room temp before baking.
Oh yummy!!!
I always appreciate a recipe that uses an entire box of the usual size of an item. Pasta as an example – the usual size is 16 ozs. I know you can get 12 ozs, but that is usually not “everyday” pasta. Your recipes sound just like what my family eats, so I will adjust the other ingredients to use the whole box of pasta.
So glad I found you!
I hope your family enjoys this dish Lynn!
Has anyone tried downsizing this wonderful recipe to half? If so was it just as tasty?
Yes, this recipe can easily be halved. You may need to adjust the cooking time slightly.
Yum! I’m eating it right now. I did double the seasonings and used kielbasa instead of ham (it’s what I had) and used whatever cheeses I had on hand. It’s very yummy! Thanks!
So glad you you liked it! :) Kielbasa would be great in this too!
This is one of the only ways I can get my husband to eat veggies haha. Broccoli and cheese just go so well together.
I think it is one of the most delicious combos! Maybe your husband is on to something… I could seriously imagine eating this all the time in the name of veggies.
Cheese Sauce looks like an indulgence.. I would love to try them sometime with Broccoli Florets.
Oh a real classic! Looks so good!
I looked at sauce and said wow.. it is so creamy then I just scrolled to ingredients. I am so ready to try it!
This is such a creamy recipe! It is almost irresistible! I hope you love it!
Holly, this is the ultimate comfort food. Your cheese sauce looks so rich and creamy!
Thank you Peter! :)
This looks delicious!! Will for sure try this!
Thank you!!