Broccoli Cheese Casserole

Broccoli Cheese Casserole is a classic comfort side dish that’s creamy, cheesy, and topped with buttery, golden crackers! This easy recipe uses simple ingredients like frozen broccoli, sharp cheddar, and cream of mushroom soup to create a dish that’s perfect for holidays, potlucks, or any weeknight dinner.

Love More Recipes with Broccoli? Try My Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Orzo or this Broccoli Potato Soup next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Creamy, cheesy, and comforting, this Broccoli Cheese Casserole is a timeless favorite. Tender broccoli florets are baked in a rich, cheesy sauce and topped with a crispy, golden layer for the perfect balance of texture and flavor. It’s an easy, crowd-pleasing side dish for holidays, potlucks, or weeknight dinners.

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Ingredient List

For the Casserole:

• 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 can (10.75 ounce) condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For the Topping:

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 sleeve buttery round crackers, crushed (such as Ritz; about 25–30 crackers)

Substitution Notes:

• Fresh broccoli if you want but frozen’s easier and I’m lazy
• Any cream soup works, I’ve used chicken and celery before
• Greek yogurt for half the mayo if you’re pretending to be healthy
• Whatever cheese is in your fridge, I’ve used random leftover chunks

Why These Ingredients Work

Frozen broccoli’s already chopped and doesn’t turn into mush like fresh sometimes does when you bake it. Mayo makes everything creamy instead of dry and sad like my mom’s version used to be. She’d use milk and it was always watery and nobody wanted seconds. Sharp cheddar actually has flavor, mild cheddar is pointless and tastes like nothing. Soup glues it all together and adds that savory depth. Ritz crackers on top are literally the only reason my family eats this instead of complaining about vegetables. The butter seeps into every crumb and gets golden and crispy and my kids would eat just the topping if I let them.

Essential Tools and Equipment

• 9×13-inch baking dish
• Large mixing bowl
• Whisk or fork for beating eggs
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Small bowl for mixing cracker topping
• Cooking spray or butter for greasing the pan

How To Make Broccoli Cheese Casserole

Step 1: Preheat and Prep

Oven to 350°F. Grease your pan with whatever.

Step 2: Drain the Broccoli

Grab a clean kitchen towel and squeeze those broccoli packages till your hands hurt and water stops coming out. I’m talking really squeeze. First time I made this I barely squeezed because I was in a hurry and ended up with broccoli soup instead of casserole. Watery mess everywhere. Took me forever to figure out why it sucked. My sister made the same mistake last year and called me asking what she did wrong. Always the same answer – squeeze it harder. Get all that water out or you’ll be sorry.

Step 3: Mix the Base

Dried broccoli goes in a big bowl. Mayo, cheese, soup, eggs, onion, salt, pepper all go in on top. Mix it up with a big spoon or spatula. Looks runny and kind of weird but ignore that, it’s supposed to look like that. The eggs will cook and firm everything up in the oven so don’t panic about the consistency right now.

Step 4: Spread in Dish

Pour the whole mess in your greased pan. Spread it around with a spatula so it’s even all over and reaches the corners. Don’t leave it piled up in the middle or it won’t cook right.

Step 5: Make the Cracker Topping

Melted butter goes on crushed crackers in a small bowl. Mix so everything’s covered in butter and looks like wet sand. Dump it all on top of the casserole and spread it around with your fingers or a spoon so there’s no bare spots showing through. Every inch needs cracker topping or someone’s gonna complain they didn’t get enough of the crispy part.

Step 6: Bake to Perfection

Stick it in the oven with no cover for 35 to 40 minutes. Top should get golden brown and crispy, edges will start bubbling up. You’ll smell it getting all buttery and delicious. When you take it out let it sit on the counter for 5 or 10 minutes so it firms up and isn’t soupy when you try to scoop it out. This is important or your first serving’s gonna fall apart and look messy on the plate.

You Must Know

The Moisture Issue: Squeeze that broccoli till you can’t squeeze anymore. Seriously this is the number one way people mess this up. My friend Amanda made this for her book club last year and didn’t squeeze enough. Casserole was swimming in liquid. She texted me photos looking all sad. She was so mad at herself. I told her squeeze harder next time and she made it again the next week and it was perfect. Don’t skip this step or try to rush it.

Personal Secret: Garlic powder in the cracker topping. Half a teaspoon mixed right in with the butter and crackers. Been doing it since forever and nobody can figure out what makes mine taste different from everyone else’s.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

• Let eggs sit out half an hour before you crack them so they’re room temperature
• Shred cheese yourself off a block, bagged pre-shredded cheese has that weird coating stuff that keeps it from melting right
• Put crackers in a ziplock bag and hit it with a rolling pin or a can of soup or beans, whatever’s heavy
• Stick a butter knife in the middle to check if it’s done, if it comes out clean you’re good
• Don’t overbake this or the edges get crusty and gross and dried out, nobody wants that

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

Protein-Packed Version: Leftover rotisserie chicken goes in when I don’t feel like cooking meat separately. Chop up like two cups and mix it right in with the broccoli. Makes it a complete dinner instead of just a side dish. I do this probably once a month when I’m being lazy.

Veggie-Loaded: Whatever vegetables are dying in my crisper drawer go in here. Bell peppers, mushrooms, doesn’t really matter. Just make sure you cook them first and drain any water or you’ll have that moisture problem again.

Rice Casserole: My mom adds a cup or two of cooked rice to stretch it when she makes it for church potlucks. Feeds way more people that way.

Extra Cheesy: Throw more cheese on top before you add the crackers. Obviously this makes everything better. I’ve done an extra half cup of cheddar or some Parmesan mixed in.

Spicy Kick: Red pepper flakes in the base or some cayenne pepper, but my husband absolutely won’t eat it if I do this so I gave up trying.

Soup Swap: Use literally any cream soup that’s in your cabinet. Cream of chicken, cream of celery, cream of anything. They all work fine.

Make-Ahead Options

Make it the day before if you’re trying to get ahead, just don’t put the cracker topping on yet. Cover the whole thing tight with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge. Next day pull it out and let it sit on the counter for about 20 minutes to take the chill off, then put your buttery crackers on top and bake like normal. You might need to add an extra 5 or 10 minutes to the baking time since it’s starting out cold from the fridge. I do this every Thanksgiving morning so I’m not scrambling at the last minute.

Freezer-Friendly: Wrap it really good in plastic wrap first then wrap it again in foil, don’t put the cracker topping on yet. Throw it in the freezer and it’ll keep for like 3 months easy, maybe longer. When you’re ready to use it, thaw overnight in the fridge, add your cracker topping, and bake it up normal. The texture’s basically the same as fresh.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

• Puffs up in the oven then goes back down when it cools, that’s totally normal so don’t freak out
• Top browning too fast but middle’s not done? Just throw some foil over it loosely
• Honestly tastes better the next day after everything’s had time to sit together in the fridge
• Got an 8×8 pan instead of 9×13? Use that but make it thicker and add like 10 extra minutes to baking time

Serving Suggestions

This goes with literally any meat you can think of. Chicken, pork, ham, beef, turkey, whatever’s on sale that week. It’s on my table every single holiday right next to the mashed potatoes and stuffing. For weeknights I make it with grilled pork chops or meatloaf or whatever’s easy. My kids eat it with fish sticks sometimes which is weird but whatever makes them eat vegetables.

My daughter bugs me every single time to put fresh parsley on top to make it look fancy and Instagram-worthy. I remember to do it maybe once a year if I’m being honest. Usually I just pull it out of the oven and put it on the table as-is.

Sometimes I just eat a giant scoop of this with absolutely nothing else and call it dinner. It’s got vegetables and cheese and protein from the eggs, that basically counts as a balanced meal in my book. No shame here.

How to Store Your Broccoli Cheese Casserole

Refrigerator: Put leftovers in a container with a lid and keep them in the fridge for 3 or 4 days. Sometimes I just eat it cold straight from the fridge standing at the counter but that’s probably weird.

Reheating: Microwave single portions for a minute or two until they’re hot all the way through. If you’re reheating the whole thing or a big chunk, cover it with foil and stick it in a 350°F oven for about 15 to 20 minutes until it’s heated through and bubbly again.

Freezing: You can freeze this after you bake it but I’m warning you the cracker topping won’t be as crispy when you reheat it. Still tastes good though. Wrap it really well in plastic wrap then foil, freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge then reheat in the oven.

Allergy Information

Contains: Dairy (cheese and butter), eggs, gluten (in the crackers and maybe the soup), soy (in the mayonnaise)

Dairy-Free Option: Use dairy-free cheese and dairy-free mayo, swap the butter for olive oil or vegan butter, and grab a dairy-free cream soup from the store. Tastes different but my cousin does this and says it’s still good.

Gluten-Free: Buy gluten-free crackers or use crushed gluten-free cornflakes for the topping. Make absolutely sure your cream of mushroom soup is certified gluten-free because some brands aren’t.

Egg-Free: Use another half cup of mayo or sour cream instead of the two eggs. Texture’s gonna be different and not quite as firm but it works okay in a pinch.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Can I use fresh broccoli instead of frozen?

Yeah you can totally use fresh. Get like 4 cups of broccoli florets from the store or cut them off a head yourself. Steam them for maybe 3 or 4 minutes until they’re still a little crunchy, don’t cook them to death. Drain them really good and pat them dry with paper towels. Fresh works fine, just make sure you don’t overcook them or they’ll turn to mush in the casserole.

Why is my casserole watery?

You didn’t squeeze the broccoli enough. That’s literally always the problem, I promise you. Frozen broccoli holds so much water and if you don’t really squeeze it hard, all that water comes out while it’s baking and ruins the whole thing. Next time squeeze it way harder than you think you need to. Get every last drop out.

The top is browning too fast – what should I do?

Just grab some aluminum foil and lay it loosely over the top of the casserole, don’t press it down or anything. Then keep baking until the middle’s done. All ovens heat differently so you gotta watch yours and adjust. My oven runs hot so I always have to cover mine halfway through.

💬 Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and rating below! Tell me how it went! What’d you do different?