This Broccoli Rice Casserole recipe is made from scratch with no condensed soup! Fresh broccoli cooked until tender crisp and fluffy rice come together in a creamy cheesy homemade sauce to create a family favorite side dish!
This cheesy broccoli rice casserole is great served alongside our Crispy Baked Chicken with a tossed salad for the perfect easy meal!
If you’re looking for a side dish your whole family is going to love, this broccoli rice casserole is the answer! I’ve combined my favorite velvety cheese sauce with a combination of broccoli & rice and baked it until bubbly. The result is a side (or a quick meatless meal that my whole family loves)!
How Do You Make Broccoli Rice Casserole?
Don’t let the homemade sauce scare you away from giving this recipe a try, this from scratch cheese sauce tastes amazing (much better than just adding in a can of soup)!
- The sauce for this recipe starts with a roux (which is just butter and flour cooked and milk added). Let the butter and flour cook for a few minutes before adding milk for the best flavor.
- Slowly stir in milk a bit at a time while whisking and cook until thick and bubbly. Add cheeses and stir until melted and creamy.
- Toss cheese sauce with broccoli and rice and bake in a casserole dish.
Variations on Broccoli Rice Casserole
- Lighten it up: To lighten this up a little bit you can use light cheese and lowfat milk with great results. We’ve also subbed in brown rice or quinoa (or even Cauliflower Rice) with amazing results.
- Add protein: We very often add in chicken to make a chicken and rice casserole (the perfect way to enjoy your leftover baked chicken breasts). Turkey or ham work great too.
- Swap the Cheeses: Out of cheddar? Use swiss, monterey jack or whatever you have on hand.
- Add veggies: Add in cauliflower or whatever other veggies you have on hand to turn it from a side into a whole meal!
Serving Suggestions
Broccoli Rice Casserole is great as an entrée for vegetarians, but if you are a meat-eater, it goes perfectly with any kind of protein! It’s a perfect complement to roasted chicken, pork chops, or even a beef roast!
Add a crunchy, cold salad, some dinner rolls with butter!
Cheesy Dishes You’ll Love
- Broccoli Cheese Soup – ready in 20 mins!
- Cheesy Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole – made without condensed soup
- Cheese Grits – deliciously creamy side dish!
- Broccoli Cheese Casserole with Ham – quick & easy cheese sauce!
- Homemade Mac and Cheese Casserole – rich, creamy casserole
Broccoli Rice Casserole from Scratch
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 cups fresh broccoli cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 cups cooked white rice
SAUCE
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ¾ cup onion diced (about 1 small)
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups milk
- ¼ teaspoon each garlic & black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- salt to taste
- 3 tablespoons cream cheese
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cook onion and butter on medium-low heat until softened and translucent. Stir in flour, garlic powder and pepper. Cook an additional 2 minutes.
- Gradually pour in milk while whisking. Continue whisking over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and add dry mustard, paprika, cream cheese and 1 ½ cups cheddar cheese. Stir until melted. Taste and season the sauce with salt and pepper.
- Place broccoli in boiling water for about 2 minutes. You still want it slightly crisp as it cooks more in the oven.
- Stir together rice, broccoli and cheese sauce. Place in a greased 2 qt casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese and bake 35 minutes or until bubbly and cheese lightly browned.
Video
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Can you make this a day ahead?
Yes! This can be made ahead of time. If you can, I would remove it from the fridge at least 30 minutes before baking. If it is very cold, you may need to allow a few extra minutes of cook time.
Could I double the recipe and put it on a 9 x 13?
Hi Ashely, a 9×13 only has a 3 quart volume so this recipe might be best split into two casserole dishes if doubling.
I have a question do you cook your rice or leave it uncooked ?
This recipe calls for cooked white rice.
does this freeze well?
This recipe does freeze well. I often stir in some warmed milk as I reheat it to achieve a creamy consistency.
Sorry, a variation on other questions. If I wanted to make this the day before and then cook it the next day, would simply refrigerating it overnight be OK in terms of texture once baked?
The texture will be just fine if baking the next day. Rice may soak up a little of the sauce, you can stir in a little bit of milk before baking.
Can I use frozen broccoli florets?
Hi Debra, you can use frozen broccoli in this recipe. It will change the texture slightly but the dish will still be delicious. If defrosted it should be fine to add directly to the casserole, if still frozen you may want to boil it (or run it under hot water) for a minute or so to defrost it before adding it in, but don’t cook too long as frozen broccoli tends to get soft!
Not sure how to rate this. I cook almost all of our meals from home – so I’m used to taking a recipe and adding to it after following the recipe to suit it to our tastes. I will rate the recipe high when i don’t have to tweak it much. I, personally, did not care for this dish. But, dh, who has high expectations, and the kids, seemed to like it. He suggested maybe half the nutmeg next time. I really had high hopes for this recipe, but when it comes to cheesy “roux” (or whatever the next step is after adding something to a roux is called) i will probably go to a different recipe. But I usually love your recipes – like the chicken wild rice soup! – so I definitely want to end this on a positive note. :)
Nutmeg?
There’s no nutmeg in this recipe.
Can this be frozen and baked later?
Other readers have frozen this recipe before or after baking with success. If freezing before baking I would thaw in the fridge 24hrs or overnight before baking.
I think you meant bechamel, not roux, above where it says “roux (which is just butter and flour cooked and milk added)”. A roux is just the fat and flour. Adding milk to a roux turns it into a bechamel. Adding cheese to a bechamel turns it into a Mornay sauce, which is what this is. I learned this decades ago, maybe from one of Julia Child’s cooking programs where she was talking about the different classic French sauces? I always thought it was very interesting that these are basically just one additional ingredient added to make the next one! .
Great tip on the evolution of the sauce, thanks for sharing!
The roux is the fat and flour part which is the base of many dishes including a béchamel, it was one of the mother sauces I learned at our local culinary school. You’re correct that a béchamel has milk added! Mornay is so delicious, one of my favorites for sure!
Can you use heavy whipping cream in place of the milk?
If I want to add cauliflower how long would it need to cook?
Thanks,
Donna
Hi Donna, this recipe should be fine with heavy whipping cream in place of milk. If using cauliflower you will want to boil it in step 4 just like the broccoli until slightly crisp.
Can this be frozen?
Other readers have frozen this recipe before or after baking with success. If freezing before baking I would thaw in the fridge 24hrs or overnight before baking.
The OG. I see so many “wannabe copycats” of this very recipe. This is the OG. Love it, and I’ve come back to it again and again. I will go leave 1 star reviews for the people copying this recipe, and literally changing 1/4 teaspoon of something just to try to make it theirs. this recipe is awesome and it’s the original. THANK YOU!
I think it’s really important to add salt to each layer/step of this dish or it will be too bland. It definitely needs a big bit of salt. Just keep that in mind. I also think it needs a sharp cheddar for flavor. I used a caramelized onion cheddar from Trader Joe’s and that was really good!
Enjoy!