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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My husband and I both thought this was delicious. I did rice flour to make it Gluten free. But did everything else the same.. a keeper recipe! Thanks so much.
Hi Holly!
Is there something you can sup for the dried mustard? It’s the only thing I don’t have.
Thank you!
Amanda
You can either leave it out or add a dash of hot sauce.
In the original recipe, the ingredients call for garlic and in the directions, it calls for garlic powder. Is it minced garlic or garlic powder? Making it for my wife. Thank you!
We use garlic powder in this recipe Sam!
Can you make ahead in the morning and bake it at night?
That should work Kim, just keep it in the fridge until ready to bake. You may need to add 15 mins additional cook time since cooking it from chilled.
I dont have cream cheese. Is there any substitute for that?
You can try it without Jen, or other readers have subbed in ricotta cheese.
Super easy and delicious. Didn’t have cream cheese so used ricotta. Really the only thing to add is be sure to season the broccoli while steaming so it is well seasoned when combined. Baked with breadcrumb and Parmesan topping. Thanks!
Is the rice supposed to be cooked before mixing it together?
Yes, the rice is cooked.
Made with blue cheese and cooked farro. Simple method with tasty results.
I made this for me and my husband tonight for dinner. Here’s what I did. I doubled the recipe for the rue, Added a half cup extra of rice, I measured the shredded cheese with my heart instead of by the recipe but I did use a whole block total including the inside and the top, used smoked paprika instead of regular, added about an oz of velveeta, and I added 4 chicken tenderloins. There was maybe just a wee bit too much cheese sauce. I dumped my ingredients into the cheese instead of the other way around. Next time I will do the opposite and stop when it’s to my liking but my husband didn’t seem to notice and said it was “the bomb”. It was delicious and is now a new dinner favorite!! My 9 month old even got a taste and his eyes LIT UP.
I read the comments before I made this and was really excited for a delicious dish. I am glad I read them and followed their advice and doubled plus some on the seasonings including adding extra onion. Then added extra salt and added extra salt again, and used sharp cheddar cheese. This dish had zero flavor. My whole family was disappointed especially because I doubled the recipe and I will have to force feed them the rest.
Sorry to hear that Mary, this recipe is very popular among readers as written. You can definitely adjust the spices to your family’s preferences though.
Really a wonderful and easy recipe! The only things I changed were the amounts of dry mustard and sweet paprika. I used 1 T of the dry mustard, and 2 t of paprika. Plus I used 3 minced garlic Cloves. We like our food with more spice and herbs than many people.
I also toasted the brown rice before cooking it in Chicken Stock. This is now my go-to way of cooking rice. Much more flavorful than white rice cooked in water.
My mother taught me how to make a roux About 55 + years ago. I’ve used it ever since! Thanks mom for all your cooking lessons.
So glad you loved it Thom! I love your method for cooking brown rice, I’ll have to give it a try!
Super Duper! So easy to make and very delicious! I doubled the recipe for convenience.
It’s a tasty recipe for a side dish. I made a couple of minor adjustments to suit our palates. Most important, is the fact that many times that I want to ask a question, or to comment on a recipe, …..the page disappears! What’s with that? I never experience this with any other blogger which I’m registered with. Just wondering. BTW, I contacted my internet provider, and they assured me that my computer is not in any way at fault.
Hi Angelina, so glad you enjoyed the recipe! I am not sure exactly what is happening though, was it just on this specific recipe? Does it load after a few moments?
I’m planning on making this tonight for our quarantining meal! Hence no rating as yet.
I do have one question. Recipe makes 8 servings and has 307 calories. How big is a serving in cups?
The serving size is approximately 1 ¼ cup but can vary slightly base on how packed the rice is. I usually bake the pan and remove ⅛th of the recipe to divide into 8 portions. I hope that helps.
Thank you sooooo much for the prompt reply!! I will gladly tell you the outcome after dinner tonight!!
Enjoy Thom!
Wow so delicious!! Nice and creamy very tasty.
Five stars for sure!!
Thanks Thom! So glad you enjoyed it.
So good! My first roux, my first cheese sauce, my first casserole ever! Everything was delicious. And I got to inaugurate my Goodwill score casserole dish. Perfect quarantine food.
Yay Larissa! So glad you loved it!
Made this last night and it was just delicious! Thank you!!!
Question, could I use chicken broth instead of milk? We are out of milk and are not able to make it to the grocery. But we have tons of chicken stock! Please let me know!
Yes, that should work. It won’t be quite as creamy but I’m sure it’ll be delicious! Depending on the brand of broth, you might not need salt.
Excellent recipe. I had two leftover pieces of bacon that I crumbled on top with the cheese but it would have been great without.
Loved it !, My whole family wants to put this dish in our regulars. I loved it- nothing was wasted.
I’m going to try it a second time with cauliflower to make it keto. I’m hoping it is just as good.
I made this last night! My whole family liked it. We eat clean, and I love that this is made without condensed soup! Very yummy!
Absolutely delicious!! This is definitely a keeper! I added a little extra garlic powder and black pepper. I did forget to add the salt while mixing the ingredients, so I added a little sprinkle after the fact and it was perfect. Thank you!