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!
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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
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 cups broccoli florets cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 cups cooked white rice
For the Sauce
- 1 small onion diced
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups milk
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt more to taste
- 3 tablespoons cream cheese
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- In a medium saucepan, cook onion and butter on medium-low heat until softened and translucent. Stir in flour, garlic powder, and pepper, and cook for 2 minutes more.
- Gradually pour in milk while whisking. Continue whisking over medium heat until thick and bubbly.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and add dry mustard, paprika, cream cheese, and 1 ½ cups of cheddar cheese. Stir until melted. Taste, and season the sauce with additional salt and pepper if needed.
- Place broccoli in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, until bright green, but still crisp. Drain well.
- Stir together cooked rice, broccoli, and cheese sauce. Place in a greased 2-quart casserole dish. Top with the remaining cheese and bake for 35 minutes. or until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.
Video
Notes
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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Yummy, I’m going to try this. Is the cheddar cheese supposed to be sharp cheddar or mild
Whichever you prefer Cathie! I hope you love it!
we love this broccoli and rice dish. I was wondering if it’s ok to freeze before baking?
Thank you
Hi Gewn, you can freeze this before baking. So glad you have enjoyed the recipe!
This may be a silly question, but how would be the thawing instructions?
I thaw casseroles 24 hours in the fridge before baking.
How do I get your rice and broccoli casserole from scratch recipe?
Hi Val, at the top of this post, you can hit the little button that says “Jump to the recipe” I hope this helps!
This was delicious, even though I made a few ‘healthier’ substitutions. I used Brown Rice & Evaporated Milk (which makes casseroles super creamy, not watery). I also used Hungarian Paprika, since regular Paprika doesn’t have any flavor (I only use it for decoration). Neufrachel Cheese has less fat, so that’s what I used. 1 1/2 cups of Cheddar cheese was really enough (at least for us) since we try to eat as healthy as we can, without sacrificing some really awesome recipes. Thanks for your terrific recipes, which are easy to adjust to one’s needs.
Those substitutions sound delicious Angelina! Thanks for sharing.
Holly,
I hate to ask but could you make a video of you doing this? Also, why not start posting on Youtube some videos. It would bring lot of people to your site, and it helps novice cooks learn things quicker.
Thanks for consideration. Also, you don’t have to look perfect or have perfect photography, just you doing it matters more than anything.
Hi David, there is a video of this recipe just above the recipe card. Hope that helps! You can also view all of our videos on our youtube page here.
I love all the recipes you have. I’ve one or two of them and they are great. This is one I really want to try. It looks delicious..
Thanks Cheri! So happy to hear that. If you give this one a try let us know what you think :)
This was AMAZING!! I didn’t have white rice, but had the Uncle Bens Garlic Butter Infusion Rice and used that instead. This was the BEST BRCC I’ve ever had. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Oooo, well now that sounds delicious Susie! So happy you loved it.
5++++++ stars! This is a weekly DEMAND from my family. I usually make an extra pan so they can take for lunches for the week, which they love. Once I had no white rice and subbed with Basmati, and they rejected it. Family on strike! So, that’s how much they love it. As is. I don’t feel like driving to market tonight, so I’m crossing fingers sour cream will help with the cream chz. Thank you for the most clicked recipe in my Pinterest boards!
So so so honoured to be your family’s favorite! Thanks for sharing Lisa!
I added chicken and used frozen broccoli florets. I measured out 8 cups of frozen broccoli and ran it under hot water in a colander. It gave me 6 cups of broccoli. I did leave out the mustard and paprika (I’m just not that crazy about those spices).
I will definitely be using this recipe again, delicious!!
Thank you!
I am so glad you enjoyed this casserole Daphne!
I made this and must have done something wrong. The rice was too mushy. I used jasmine rice. What kind of white rice did you use?
I’m sorry this didn’t work out for you. I used regular long grain rice.
Thank you for the info on the type of rice you used. I’m sure the recipe is fabulous…I figure I made some mistakes, but I plan to give it another shot! Thanks for a great recipe :).
Maybe, I would suggest that you make a version to indicate how to do it without pre-cooking your rice. We used cooked rice, and it seems that the dish was mushy. But, we saw that you changed the recipe today, so maybe (again) it was something we did.
However, we are trying again today, because we love B&RC. We used to do it from a box mix, but now, we want to make everything at home.
I have everything to make this except the cream cheese. Will it work without it? Any substitutes?
Hi Katie, I haven’t tried it without cream cheese. It does add a creamy texture but it’s only a little bit so you can certainly try it without. I think it will change the texture slightly but still taste great. Let us know how it goes!
How long do you cook the rice for so it doesn’t get mushy.
Hi Circe, you can follow this easy rice recipe for the perfect cooked rice for this recipe!
I’m a veteran of the Vietnam Era, 100% service-connected disabled for kidney failure, and currently on dialysis.This recipe allows me to eliminate added salt, so that I can cook a savory, kidney-healthy side dish. it’s so encouraging to find recipes that do not depend on canned soups which, for me, contain astronomical amounts of Sodium, so that if I consumed them, I wouldn’t survive treatment!! Thank you!!
Thank you for your service David! We are so happy to be able to provide you with recipes that work with your diet.
I used well-cooked leftover steamed broccoli that had lemon juice squeezed on top. Still very good! I used slightly less flour.
That sounds delicious Sheila!
Beautiful thank you
You’re welcome Blanche!
An easy recipe to make and very delicious, the only thing I did differently was to chop the onion and broccoli finely with the intention that my three-year-old would eat it, but unfortunately, it did not happen. The rest of us enjoyed everything.
That’s too bad Lizbeth! Glad the rest of you enjoyed it though!
Can Minute Rice be used?
I haven’t tried this with Minute Rice but I do think it would work. Please let us know how it goes if you try it.
Just made it! This is an excellent base recipe, with plenty of room for tweaking to your personal tastes. On its own, it is excellent. I made the following tweaks.
I added a little extra salt (maybe 1/4-1/2 tsp). I also doubled the entire spice bill. I also added about 1 tsp of sriracha, 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast, and a splash of worcestershire sauce (things we normally add to macaroni and cheese). For the topping, I also crumbled up a handful of ritz crackers and saltines, and some cheap parmesan cheese (don’t use the good stuff, it will be wasted here).
I added the rice first, and then stirred in 6 cups of frozen chopped broccoli since I wasn’t making it right away. Then I baked a little longer when it was ready. It turned out fantastic. Like I said, the base recipe is good, and it works really well with tweaks you like to add to mac and cheese type recipes. This will definitely be added into our rotation, since it’s an easy way to force a picky toddler to eat some extra veggies.
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Matty. Those sound like wonderful additions to this casserole!
Good recipe. Had to adjust milk to flour ratio.. the 3 tbsp made it a but thick for me. I added about another 1/3-1/2 cup milk to sauce and increased cheese a bit. I also micro-steamed the broccoli to make it cook faster in oven. I like faster meals on a work night. I set aside about 1/2 cup of cheese sauce and will use for another recipe.
Hubby liked this. Will make again.
Thank you for sharing your tips! I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe!
:) cant wait to make this!!!
I hope you love it when you do Jenna!
I used a little less broccoli and added chopped up chicken thighs that I parcooked in chicken broth for 15 minutes. I also used ghost pepper cheddar because we like spice in our food. It was very tasty but next time I would top with panko breadcrumbs and melted butter because it needed some texture. I think without the spicy cheese, it would have been too bland for my family so add more spices if your crew is like mine.
Those sound like delicious additions to this recipe Kathy! Thanks for sharing!