This broccoli cheese casserole is easy to make and perfect for Sunday dinner or a holiday feast. In this recipe we use steam-in-the-bag broccoli and pair it with a homemade cheese sauce. Then, it’s topped with buttery bread crumbs and baked until golden and bubbly.
It’s really easy to eat your broccoli when it’s covered in a creamy, cheesy sauce and topped with crunchy bread crumbs. I say, bring on the broccoli!
Broccoli cheese casserole Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons Butter, divided
- ¼ cup Plain Bread Crumbs
- 2 cups Whole Milk
- 2 tablespoons Onions, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons Flour
- ½ teaspoon Salt, divided
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 cup Cheddar Cheese (about 3 ounces), shredded
- 3 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese, grated (plus a little extra for topping, if desired)
- 12 ounces Package Steam in the Bag Broccoli Florets
Prep work
To make the cheese sauce, it’s best to have all of the ingredients prepped and ready to go before you get started. The sauce doesn’t take very long to make, but it does require frequent stirring. There won’t be any time for prep in between.
Preheat oven to 350°F
Make the bread crumb topping
Get this out of the way first, it only takes a few minutes, that way you can concentrate on the sauce and pour it while it’s still nice and hot. The bread crumb topping will keep just fine, while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. When the butter is melted, add the bread crumbs. Stir well until the bread crumbs are moist. Remove the skillet from heat.
Make the cheese sauce
Heat the milk in the microwave until warm.
Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons. of butter in a large sauce pan, over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook gently for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the flour to the pan and whisk until incorporated. Make sure you get into the edges of the pan with the whisk. Cook the flour for 1-2 minutes, stirring almost constantly.
Gradually add the warm milk, whisking constantly until the milk is incorporated. Stir in ¼ teaspoon salt, pepper, nutmeg and add the bay leaf.
Raise the heat to medium and bring the sauce to a simmer (this should take about 5 minutes). As soon as you see a few bubbles, lower the heat to medium-low. Continue to stir the sauce, especially as it starts to thicken. Cook the sauce for an additional 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
Cook’s notes
The sauce will thicken as it heats up and comes to a simmer. It will happen. Be patient. Don’t crank up the heat. Also, it’s important to never leave milk/cream on the stove unattended. Keep an eye on it and don’t leave the stove’s side.
Remove the bay leaf from the sauce and discard. Add the cheddar and the Parmesan cheeses to the sauce and stir until melted and smooth. Keep the cheese sauce on low heat and give it a quick stir every so often so it doesn’t stick or burn on the bottom.
Make the broccoli
Cook the broccoli in the microwave, following the package directions to the lowest recommended cooking time. Add the broccoli to a shallow casserole dish and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
Pour the cheese sauce over the broccoli.
Distribute the bread crumb topping evenly over the top.
Bake the broccoli cheese casserole for 25-30 minutes, or until the topping is golden. Place the casserole dish on a baking sheet, just in case it bubbles over. Remove from the oven and let the broccoli cheese casserole cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
You may also like these side dish recipes:
Broccoli Cheese Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons Butter divided
- ¼ cup Plain Bread crumbs
- 2 cups Whole Milk
- 2 tablespoons Onions thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons Flour
- ½ teaspoon Salt divided
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 cup Cheddar Cheese about 3 ounces, shredded
- 3 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese grated (plus a little extra for topping, if desired)
- 12 ounces Package Steam in the Bag Broccoli Florets
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
Make the bread crumb topping
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. When the butter is melted, add the bread crumbs. Stir well until the bread crumbs are moist. Remove the skillet from heat.
Make the cheese sauce
- Heat the milk in the microwave until warm.
- Melt the remaining 3 tablespoon of butter in a large sauce pan, over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook gently for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the flour to the pan and whisk until incorporated. Cook the flour for 1-2 minutes, stirring almost constantly.
- Gradually add the warm milk, whisking constantly until the milk is incorporated.
- Stir in ¼ teaspoon salt, pepper, nutmeg and add the bay leaf.
- Raise the heat to medium and bring the sauce to a simmer (this should take about 5 minutes). As soon as you see a few bubbles, lower the heat to medium-low. Continue to stir the sauce, especially as it starts to thicken.
- Cook the sauce for an additional 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Remove the bay leaf from the sauce and discard.
- Add the cheddar and the Parmesan cheeses to the sauce and stir until melted and smooth.
- Keep the cheese sauce on low heat and give it a quick stir every so often so it doesn’t stick or burn on the bottom.
Make the broccoli
- Cook the broccoli in the microwave, following the package directions to the lowest recommended cooking time.
- Add the broccoli to a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the broccoli.
- Distribute the bread crumb topping evenly over the top.
- Bake the broccoli cheese casserole for 25-30 minutes, or until the topping is golden. Place the casserole dish on a baking sheet, just in case it bubbles over.
- Remove from the oven and let the broccoli cheese casserole cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
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