Even if you have picky vegetable eaters, most will still love this broccoli cheese casserole with crumb topping, it's creamy and so delicious! It's my favorite vegetable dish, and it’s even better as leftovers. It's so easy, too. It kills me to think that for YEARS I made this with Velveeta “Cheese-like product”, EWWW!
Broccoli Cheese Casserole with Crumb Topping
Servings: 10 people
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, pastured butter is best
- 1/2 cup flour, unbleached organic all-purpose flour or I use einkorn flour mostly now
- 3 cups milk, read about the best milk options here
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
- 12 ounces organic can cream of mushroom soup or homemade cream of mushroom soup --This can actually be left out, the last few times I've made this I just used the cheese sauce and it was still great!
- sea salt
- pepper
- garlic, either chopped fresh or garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon palm sugar or other natural sugar, read more about best sugar options here
- 3/4 cup butter
- 3/4 cup bread crumbs or cracker crumbs , along with some herbs to your taste if desired – I’ve done it with and without herbs and like both.
- 4 cups vegetables of your choice, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots
Instructions
- Start by making a white sauce or “roux” by melting 1/2 cup butter in a saucepan and then add in 1/2 cup flour. Cook and stir for about a minute.
- Then add in milk, pouring it slowly to avoid lumps, and keep stirring as it thickens. Once blended well, add in cheddar cheese, mushroom soup, salt, pepper, garlic and sugar – taste test as you go to see what it needs. If you get this cheese sauce right, the whole recipe will be delicious.
- Remove from heat so it doesn't burn.
- Meanwhile, get your broccoli cleaned and ready – I usually cut parts of the stems off.
- Often I will also add in cauliflower and/or carrots, which I will lightly steam before assembling to bake, just until they are crisp-tender. Frozen broccoli doesn’t need to be steamed first because it gets done enough just in the oven – if it's fresh broccoli or if you like it really soft, you could steam it for a couple minutes; I like my carrots to still be just a smidge crunchy when they’re done, so I only steam them for a short time, as well.
- Butter a 8 1/2 x 11 glass baking dish. Place vegetables in the bottom and pour cheese sauce over the top. Bake 20-30 minutes at 350*. Meanwhile, melt 8 Tablespoons butter (or more if so desired!) and stir in about 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs or cracker crumbs. When the casserole has about 10-15 minutes left, sprinkle this on top and finish baking until crumbs are golden. Enjoy!
What’s your favorite hot vegetable dish? We all need new ideas for those, right?
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Jo Schoeneck says
In reply to butter #15: Well, Kelly, at least you have a huge claim to fame–“the ONLY person on the internet…” !! And she must spend hours perusing the internet to have a basis to say that! Love your blog and your recipes. Keep it up!
Commenter via Facebook says
BHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Commenter via Facebook says
Think it would be yummy if I doubled the butter? 😉
Commenter via Facebook says
Thanks! I was planning cinnamon French toast for dinner, but have the veggies (and time!) today, i might have to sneak a few tastes before it gets in the freezer.
Commenter via Facebook says
@Jen, I have frozen this before and it comes out great!! If it’s been in there a while, the only thing is that it may be a bit watery if any ice has built up. Mine is not frozen long enough for that to happen, though, because I always want to eat it again soon after making it, it’s so good!
Commenter via Facebook says
You all make me smile, you’re so all over it! As many people who DON’T get it, it’s awesome to find all of you who DO!!!!
Commenter via Facebook says
Oh I need to make this! Do you know how it freezes?
Commenter via Facebook says
@Alice, parmesan would be great! I like Laurie’s idea too. 🙂
Commenter via Facebook says
@Cheryl, about Rachel Ray, I KNOW, this drives me crazy, too. SO sad that she doesn’t get it.
Commenter via Facebook says
I always want someone to say something like that to me about eating so much saturated fat and being over-weight. We eat plenty of butter, lard, eggs, etc. and I am 125 pounds at 5’4″ and my husband is 190 at over 6 feet!
Commenter via Facebook says
How about an almond flour topping? Or are you nut-free, too? BTW, butter is yummy. Bring it!
Commenter via Facebook says
I love butter!! Can you recommend an alternate topping that is grain-free, though? The only thing I can think of is a layer of grated parmesan on top.
Commenter via Facebook says
I used to be friends with a lady who freaked over all the butter in Pioneer Woman’s recipes. I would absolutely love love love to see her reaction to real foods LOL!!
Cecilia says
We make a variation of this for holiday dinners – pimentos and french fried onions, swiss cheese and sour cream – BUT not quite so much butter ;o)
Commenter via Facebook says
Happened to watch a little rachel ray show yesterday and she had one of the Dr’s on from thier show. She was saying how you should eat lots of olive oil (ok) and not eat animal fats….OMG all of the people that follow those shows like lemmings.
Commenter via Facebook says
“…the only one on the Internet…” LOL!!!
Commenter via Facebook says
I loved that response! It probably confused her, bless her heart. God help the clueless people.
L.S. says
Could someone pass the butter, please? 😉
Commenter via Facebook says
I am a nurse, a butter lover as well as a grass fed beef & whole milk lover. lol
Alison says
can you make that into a t-shirt please? make it RAW milk….i’m a nurse, butter lover, beef and RAW MILK advocate-lover! 🙂 great post!
Commenter via Facebook says
if you don’t have anything nice to say…. 🙂 Must have been her first trip to a real food site
Commenter via Facebook says
rotfl! It sorta makes you wonder how she even ended up on your site. She is obviously oblivious what you’re all about! Hahahah
Commenter via Facebook says
I’m a butter lover….mmmmmm. Looks like a yummy recipe!
Tina~ says
Not to mention the comment about you being overweight…lol…
she must not know you very well!
Commenter via Facebook says
Eh, you are going to get a whole lot of nurse and health care type people who get all up in arms because they believe the complete opposite of what you teach and they are not going to be nice. Its par for the course I guess. I loved your response tho! It was perfect! Haha.
Commenter via Facebook says
wake up and smell the butter. LOL.
sheree says
Wow! Leah, it looks like you need to stop listening to the USDA & FDA and start seriously researching what is good for you and what is not. You can start with Nourishing Traditions and go to the Weston A. Price Foundation website and you will learn that it is not butter, lard, olive oil, coconut oil or any of the other healthy oils that are clogging your arteries and making you fat. Your margarine and canola oil are clogging your arteries and those plus things like skim milk and low fat dairy are what is making you fat. Time to wake up and smell the butter!
Commenter via Facebook says
Butter is awesome. I eat hunks of homemade grass fed cow butter, nothin better than butter, new slogan!!!
Commenter via Facebook says
She must not use much butter if she doesn’t know 8T is a whole stick either! I think it sounds amazing, this will be next on my list after i attempt scalloped potatoes!
Commenter via Facebook says
Looks yummy! I think that some people forget what the real stuff tastes like. I know I did and am glad to be going back to the real stuff and not processed things (trying real hard at it).
Nichole says
Sounds like your reader needs to get her a copy of Nourishing Traditions, and quite using disgusting processed food to start enjoying the benefits of butter from grass-fed cattle. lol! Butter, bad for you?? That’s SO old-school (false) news on the health front! haha!
Commenter via Facebook says
I like how you told her, it was actually more butter than she thought!!! Butter Rocks!
Commenter via Facebook says
LOL! I loved your response, too 😀
Commenter via Facebook says
to each his own! LOL Looks yummy!
Leah says
8 T of butter…WTH?
That is a full stick of butter in a veggie dish, i made it, and it was so buttery it is gross. No offense, but you are the only person on the internet making this with a entire half of stick of butter..Good Lord, if you are over-weight or have clogged arteries, I can see why. I love butter, but this is overkill and ruined the entire dish. Should have went w my gut when I read 8 T in this lil dish.
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
There’s actually more butter than that in the dish, don’t forget the butter that goes into the crumb topping! 🙂
dani says
Hahaha, no such thing as too much butter! You’re definitely not the only person using this much butter. And I guess Leah hasn’t done too much reading about the health benefits of butter, huh?
kellie hunt says
Lord is there such a thing as too much butter? This person must ave never had home churned cow butter.That crap ya get outa the store IS NOT butter.
Nissa says
Leah, it’s possible that your cheese split. That can happen sometimes when making a cheese-based sauce. If that happens, you get a lot of oily fat floating on top. The way to fix that is to stir it back down like mad – not unlike stirring up natural peanut butter.
The recipe calls for a 1-to-1 ratio for the roux which is exactly right. The flour absorbed all of the butter. That makes me suspect that cheese was the culprit. It has happened to me before and it is disappointing, but easy to fix if you catch it.
OTOH, if it splits after you’ve baked it, you can’t do much but switch brands of cheese and try again. :/
PattyLA says
Mmmmmm….. butter…..so good.
Lucky for me it’s a great source of healthy fats! I love healing my family with yummy foods!
Cheryl says
Mmmmm Butter….Never felt healthier and more energy since I started eating a lot of real butter. Funny thing is dental check ups have gone a lot better too as well as blood work at the doctor is better (not that it was bad before) as well as losing weight without trying by eating real food with lots of meat and butter. Bring it on 🙂
Nicole says
Please! A stick of butter is nothing! Dinner this afternoon was a roast- with a mushroom beef broth reduction that contained 1 stick of butter, plus garlic broccoli what was cooked in ANOTHER stick of butter. You know what? My husband and kids and full of energy, and less sick—–now that I put the butter back in their food!
Bethany says
way too funny…. no such thing as too much butter. I fed my daughter a TBS of butter off the spoon yesterday and then she ate dinner of broccoli marinated in garlic butter, and chicken sauteed in butter and a veggie mix swimming in butter. 🙂
Sue E. says
Well, I was at that Bible study Christmas party to which Kelly said she would bring this dish, and I tell you, it is fabulous!!! The crumb topping was so crispy, buttery, and such a great compliment to the veggie dish itself. I loved it, and so did everyone else! You can’t go wrong with this one!!!
Blessings,
Sue E.
Sara says
Thanks for the awesome recipe, Kelly! I made this last weekend for a family Christmas party and it was a definite hit! It’ll be a regular dish at our house, for sure! I shared it on my blog with links back to yours.. .https://holleboomkitchen.blogspot.com/2010/12/cheesy-vegetable-casserole.html. Thanks again!
Melissa at Dyno-mom says
My kids love the NT carrots vichy and my own pan roasted broccoli. In a wide, low skillet heat over high enough grapeseed oil to cover the bottom in a thim coat. Drop in broccoli florets (enough to cover the bottom of the pan) and brown slightly. Mix a 1/2 C of water with a good pinch of salt and several grinds of pepper and pour over broccoli and cover immediately. After one minute, turn off heat and carefully remover cover, there will be a lot of steam. Remove broccoli to serving dish and eat happily!
Please visit me at my little blog.
Mary says
My favorite hot veggie recipe isn’t really a recipe. I cut up red potatoes, mushrooms, peppers, onions, garlic cloves, brussels sprouts and whatever other veggies, toss with olive oil and sea salt and pepper and roast. it is soooooo gooood.
KitchenKop says
The simplest things are the best sometimes aren’t they? 🙂
Stanley Fishman says
Awesome looking recipe, Kelly. I am going to try it.
Kate @ Modern Alternative Mama says
I like fried potatoes with broccoli and cheese sauce. 🙂 That recipe is on my blog. So good! I also like carrots cooked underneath chicken though (but NOT cooked otherwise; if it’s not with meat they’re no good to me). Hmm…. Cheesy potatoes (w/ or w/o broccoli) is good. I have perfected my cheese sauce and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it on or with anything. 🙂
Alyss says
This sounds delicious, but I also would omit the can of soup. Even “organic” canned soup is going to have preservatives and thickeners that I don’t really want… or need. Adding a little more milk and/or chicken stock would provided the added volume and sauteeing some mushrooms in the butter before adding the flour would give the mushroomy flavor if you want that. No matter how you make it, a creamy cheesy baked veggie dish is pretty amazing 🙂
My all time favorite hot vegetable dish is my dad’s creamed pearl onions. He just simmers peeled pearl onions in heavy cream until it is thick and the onions are cooked. Holy wow! My other favorite hot veggie dish is a simple roasted root vegetables. I like a mix of potatos and sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, turnips and whatever else you think looks good. Chunk them into uniform pieces, toss with some oil and salt and pepper and roast at 400 or 450 until they are soft. Sometimes I like to serve this with a harissa sauce – a middle eastern chile/cumin/coriander sauce – but ranch is pretty good too.
Thanks for the awesome recipe!
kr says
I love those kinds of vegetable comfort foods, they are so good. I recently made carrots the way that Matt @ 180 kitchen demonstrated in a video. They were soooo good. Most of the carrots were homegrown though, and I could totally taste the difference between those and the store bought carrots. But, either way, delicious!
Robin says
Kelly-I make a broccoli casserole similar to this but without the can cream soup. Just saute a little chopped onion (about 1/2 cup) in 2 T butter, then stir in 3 T flour. Stir in 1 1/2 cups hot milk, stirring until thickened and bubbly, then stir in about 1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar. I then add to approximately 2 heads of chopped broccoli (I quickly steam first) and top with buttered fresh bread crumbs. Yum! I first got this recipe from my SIL, with the standard topping of crushed Ritz crackers, but I’ve found that buttered fresh bread crumbs makes an awsome substitute for the Ritz (as I’ve used this trick in other casserole recipes as well).
As far as my favorite hot veggie dish? I love many, but I really do love them hot and cheesy, so I really love gratin dishes in general (as in scalloped/gratin potatoes). You can really make a gratin out of just about any veggie-Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) has an awesome zucchini gratin recipe (found on foodnetwork.com) which can play host to a number of veggies (I added carrots to the zucchini, but you can probably mix and match at will). And I recently made a brussel sprout gratin (kind of winged it based on a recipe I’ve used before by Tyler Florence for Scalloped Potato Gratin, again on foodnetwork.com) which was out of this world amazing. I mean, people claim to hate those poor brussel sprouts, but I’m convinced ANYONE would eat them covered in cream and parmesan like that!!
Martha says
Thanks Kelly! This one looks like a good one to take to pot lucks at church. I never know what to take as a vegetable.
Julie says
Looks and sounds delicious. I want some now!
Jackie @ Crest Cottage says
Totally trying this. We make a macaroni version of this, basically mac and cheese with broccoli, with a slightly thicker cheese sauce, but this sounds awesome! Great for those days when you just aren’t feeling like having grains.
Thanks!
kmb says
Kelly, that looks really yummy! You asked about favorite hot vegetable dishes. Ours family favorite would have to be Carrie VItt’s Carrot Souffle. She brought it to my house for Thanksgiving about 8 years ago…we try to eat according to a Weston Price diet, so I changed the sweetner for my family. When she got on board w/eating well, she perfected the recipe using maple syrup and sucanat. It’ll be in her cookbook, Deliciously Organic (named after her blog), coming out at the end of December. SHe has a great blog as well! Everyone who eats it at a potluck asks for it…pure YUM! Thanks for your great blog as well!