I haven’t tested the recipe with anything else, so I’m not sure how substitutions would work. If I make it the day before, I go ahead and bake it as directed, refrigerate after cooling, and then reheat it in the oven on the day of. I have doubled this recipe – my family is huge, too! To reheat broccoli casserole:  Bake, covered, in a 350° F oven until hot, about 25 to 35 minutes, then uncover for 5 to 10 minutes to crisp the topping. Unused breadcrumbs can be stored in the freezer. Thank you for taking the time to let me know. I hope your family enjoys as much as we do! Happy Holidays! I want to try this for Christmas Eve but am limited on time! Yes, you can substitute the smashed Ritz for the breadcrumbs. … I’m sorry I can’t help. Wow, you rock Kristine! Let me know how you like it! Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Thank you. If garlic isn’t a problem for anyone, you might saute a little garlic in butter in the pan before you add the rest of the ingredients for the cream sauce to add more flavor. I will have to find a time when it isn’t my family I’m cooking for. This looks amazing! If you have a lot of sides, though, I can see how you might run out of space! We have it at nearly every large family gathering (so most holidays). Good quality store-bought breadcrumbs can be used, if you like. I would love to thank you for this wonderful recipe. Thank you so much for your sweet comment! I know this is an older post so I hope you see this soon. 🙂. We love broccoli casserole. I’m living in France, but I love to make casseroles when I’m missing food from home! I just found your website on Pinterest and so excited! A Well-Rounded Healthy Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole. Glad you appreciate the fresh mushrooms!  Thank you Kristine. This easy, low-fat broccoli casserole is made with a homemade white sauce instead of a can of cream soup and is topped wtih seasoned breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese. I’ve made it many times for my family and we all love it. Bake the broccoli casserole, and when it comes out…. – I’ll be using unsweetened almond/coconut milk and organic whole milk (3/4 cup each) for the white sauce. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. (Don’t think I’ll get to it this year!) Whisk in the flour until smooth. Put the can opener back in the drawer, we’re using fresh broccoli, quality sharp cheese, pure butter, and creamy half and half, and that pretty much guarantees success. Any special Thanksgiving requests? – (my kids, as well as some extended family members, really don’t like mushrooms) – so my next preference would be shallots, but I’ll be sautéing finely minced sweet onion. I really want to make this, but as someone from the UK, what is half-and-half? I don’t think it would fit into a 9×13-inch dish. So much better than the casserole with the soup. Follow the recipe but skip the cooking until the day of. I like the ease of frozen chopped broccoli here–I’d recommend it over fresh. Top with breadcrumbs mixture and bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Add milk whisking constantly over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Hey! Is there a substitute? 🙂. This broccoli casserole from scratch takes a little more time and effort to make than the kind made with packaged ingredients. I always use Velveeta or generic cheese melt when a recipe calls for American cheese. We have just a few dietary issues to contend with that makes cooking for a family gathering quite the challenge. ©2021 I haven’t ever tested this in a crockpot, and I think it would need quite a bit of adapting to make it work. Stir to combine. making this ahead of time?? Pinning it. For this canned soup-free version, pick up some juicy rotisserie chicken and a … It ends up al dente; if you would like it softer, then I would blanch it or do a quick steam before adding it. Angie — November 3, 2015 @ 6:17 am Reply – I think I might replace the yellow onion with green onions (hmm? Beautiful! By joining over 20,000 others on my email list, you'll get easy recipes and free meal plans for your busy lifestyle! I haven’t. This cheesy chicken broccoli and rice casserole is the ultimate comfort food! Planning on making it for thxgiving next week! This is a great casserole that I threw together one day when a friend requested Broccoli au Gratin for her birthday dinner. I’m prepping this today (Wed.) to bring to Thanksgiving dinner on Fri. Should I bake the whole thing and just reheat it on Fri, or should I prep it and cook it on Fri? Reply Diane Filbert-Leonard August 1, 2019 at 5:26 pm. Thank you so much for creating this. I’m planning to make this for Thanksgiving, but I think I may want to use Ritz crackers instead of bread crumbs. Her greatest passion is creating in the kitchen and making deliciously comforting recipes for the everyday home cook! Mom’s Crockpot Broccoli Casserole is a comfort food classic. One kid doesn’t like mushrooms, one doesn’t like peppers, one only wants raw veggies. I made this and it seemed mushy. Wondering if a double batch would fit into a 9×13. 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing my blog! Drain the cooked broccoli from the water and set aside. Do you just add the diced onions in raw, or should sauté them with the mushrooms?Â. Enjoy! I was happy with the result and my family really enjoyed the dinner, so thank you very much for your detailed instructions. I’m sure you’re an expert at adapting recipes to meet your needs. Kristine, this looks amazing! The fresh ingredients are better and I can’t wait to make this for the holidays! I wonder if I could make it in ramakins and freeze it. We don’t have products like this in the UK. Or can I just kind of guess a bit of extra milk and some cream? We ate this as part of our Christmas lunch, and it was absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to try this! I hope you love this broccoli casserole.  I just wish it was diet friendly. pinterest Thank you… thank you…. Can this be made the night before, stored in the fridge and THEN baked? Please try again. It’s probably a thousand times better! I always use Greek yogurt in it’s place, and if I can’t then I pass on the recipe. My family usually assembles and bakes this casserole the day before Thanksgiving, and then we reheat it right before Thanksgiving dinner. Do I substitute the smashed crackers the same? I’ve made it a few times now and it’s a total success. I’ve done a quick Google, and I’m guessing it’s a pre-mixed 50/50 milk and cream. One of the things that I love best about this dish is that the rich and creamy cheese sauce contains no “cream of” anything soup.  Btw I substituted 1/2 cup of mayonnaise for the yogurt and used cheddar cheese in the recipe but Colby Jack cheese on the top with the bread crumbs. You can also assemble the casserole one day ahead, refrigerate, and bake it the next day. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! Required fields are marked *, Sign me up for Kristine's Kitchen FREE Recipe Emails and eBook Downloads. Add about 10 minutes to the bake time if the casserole is cold from the refrigerator. I LOVE broccoli casserole, and really appreciate your “all from scratch” take on this! To make this gluten free, you could try a gluten free flour instead of the all purpose flour and use something else instead of the breadcrumb topping. Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in salt, cream cheese, garlic powder, black pepper and mustard powder until smooth. Hi Stacy, Thank you for your review. Cook broccoli according to directions, or if using fresh broccoli, chop it and cook it. I hope you had a very Merry Christmas. My family makes it every year so I’m really glad that you enjoyed it, too. Combine 2 tablespoons butter with bread crumbs and set aside. Thank you for your thoughtful words, Jessie! From quick and easy weeknight meals, to turkey dinner! Totally worth the extra effort if you ask me! Hi Erin, yes, you can leave the mushrooms out. Any tips you have for doubling would be appreciated! I haven’t tried freezing this, so I can’t say for sure how it would reheat from frozen. A Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole from Scratch that’s total comfort food! You can assemble the casserole one day ahead, refrigerate, and bake it the next day. I will last for 3-4 days in the refrigerator, after baking. My whole family loves broccoli and cauliflower and of course… the cheese goes without saying! Hi Jenn! This healthier broccoli casserole is made with fresh broccoli and mushrooms. Can I substitute the same amount of gluten free flour for the all purpose flour? I think so! I steamed the broccoli for 3 minutes. If you want to double this recipe, bake it in two separate baking dishes. xo, Catherine. Also, I used commercial breadcrumbs and it came out perfect. © SpendWithPennies.com. You can also steam the fresh cut broccoli in the microwave! This broccoli casserole looks amazing! You’re going to love this casserole! It’s delicious, too delicious!! snapchat Definitely a keeper! The cheesy crumb topping might just be my favorite part of this casserole! Toss with broccoli and cauliflower. This broccoli casserole is incredible. Half milk/half cream? Thanks, Ginny! Love the yogurt in this, too! Be careful not to overcook the broccoli. It’s creamy, cheesy, and so easy to make. Made this casserole as a side dish for Christmas dinner. Combine the broccoli, mushrooms, onion, an egg, cheddar cheese, cream sauce and some breadcrumbs. And then go make this delicious broccoli casserole. Or, you can also replace the Greek yogurt with mayonnaise. My family had this for Thanksgiving this year, too! How to make a broccoli casserole without soup Chop broccoli in small pieces. And it’s a hit you’ll never feel bad about serving over and over again since you’ve made it’s yummy goodness without using any canned soup. Sometimes recipes with dairy-based sauces do not freeze well, but it may work. I like to make homemade breadcrumbs to top my casserole, as it only takes a few minutes. Tips for the best southern broccoli casserole. Thanks, Beth! While my first recommendation is to give this a try with the yogurt (you shouldn’t taste it in the finished casserole), you may omit it.  Love that there is no soup in it and all the ingredients are from scratch. Still thinking on that one) and lower to 1/2 cup  It came out great! I’m so impressed that this is lightened up and good for you. Cooking from scratch is pretty much the only choice for me since canned soups don’t really exist over here. This site contains affiliate links. Your casserole looks perfect, Kristine! I am a wine and cheese lover, recipe creator, shopping enthusiast and self-appointed foodie. I made this for Thanksgiving this year… My first casserole ever, and it turned out AMAZING! Just made it Thanksgiving eve and baked it while the turkey rested! It must be so hard to have a gluten allergy! There was an error submitting your subscription. 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. 🙂, Thank you, Mary Frances! Thank you so much , I will try it with my daughter. Hi Sabbagh, I’ve never tried freezing this, but I think it would freeze ok after it is baked. You can replace the half and half with whole milk. It’s funny how I didn’t question the packaged stuff for so long, and this year I just couldn’t use it any more! Oven space tip: My family bakes this broccoli casserole (and our other side dishes) after the turkey comes out of the oven on Thanksgiving. Now I don’t have to experiment. Swap the soup out for a broccoli casserole with cream cheese instead. Cook, whisking constantly, for 30 seconds. That’s just 81¢ per serving! This post may contain affiliate links. – I’m going to spray some olive oil on the pan for the bread crumbs to give them a slight crunch (more like buttery crackers?) I made this with canned soup for years, and now I’ll never go back. Ahead and sub in frozen broccoli comment to let me know how it turns out chop broccoli a. Instead of bread crumbs always look forward to trying your recipes – thank you we. 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