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.
- 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
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Excellent recipe! I did add some extra cheese because I had a huge bag of sharp cheddar at home that I needed to use. I took it to our neighbor’s bbq and everyone gave great compliments. So easy and no canned soup! Thanks for a delicious recipe. I will make this again for sure!!!
Made this dish for my kids because they said they wanted a dish without meat.
They did not like it and only had one bite each
Disappointed in this recipe and will try something else the next time
Sorry to hear that, Gary! This recipe is usually a reader favorite.
Five star all the way. Assembled this before a camping trip. Doubled spices according to reviews. Under cooked the rice just a bit due to wanting broccoli to be cooked. I am 61 years old and have to say this fell into top 5.
Delicious
Like others, I was looking for no canned soup recipe. Really good and easy to make. Next time – and there will be a next time – I would increase the spices a bit. I added extra salt to the cooked rice and steamed broccoli mixture. Didn’t have cream cheese so I substituted goat cheese. Yum!
Your substitutions sound great! Glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Absolutely delicious!!! Perfect blend of flavors (seasoning, cheese, etc.) with the broccoli and rice!!! Yum!!!!
After looking at around 25 recipes yours was the first I found that did not call for a can of soup to make the sauce for Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole. I was beginning to wonder if there were any real cooks left. Thank you! The recipes I have found on your list look amazing. Can’t wait to explore!
My favorite kind of recipe: easy and super yummy. Thanks!
Not a fan. Definitely not for me. Low budget taste with very simple ingredients. Hillbilly crap!
so good! so much better than cans of soup.
Good base recipe. Wish I had added maybe double the seasonings and maybe some velveeta to my cheese roux. Will definitely try again with a few adjustments.
Great recipes! Thank you.
Another SWP recipe that doesn’t disappoint!
I added cooked chicken breast seasoned with S&P, garlic and curry powder. I always have to add more salt than I think, and sometimes add more cheese – just because ;)
Yummy!!!
Delicious!! Definitely making this again. I added some leftover chicken chunks to the mix.
Would not make again. Glad to have dinner on the table, but the people saying this lacked flavor were right. I even added in fresh garlic with the garlic powder and added onion powder as well due to the comments I saw previously. Not a lot of flavor.
Sorry to hear that, Shelby! We love this recipe as written but you can definitely increase the spices and even try a sharper cheese for more flavor!
The creamiest broccoli rice casserole I’ve ever tasted. It was the highlight of our Christmas dinner. The addition of cream cheese, onions and garlic made the dish extra special. This recipe will be reserved for our families most revered holiday dinners.
I have only eaten the Rice a Roni cheesy broccoli rice…I’ve always wanted to try the real deal…and I really like it!! The recipe is great on its own but I think next time I’ll put a lil flare on it and make it my own