Broccoli Rice Casserole
on Aug 19, 2014, Updated Aug 19, 2020
This Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole is a one-pan Southern dish that you can make for a dinner side. This recipe is easy to make and is made from scratch.
Table of Contents
About This Recipe
Southern Broccoli Rice Casserole is a one-pot meal where velvety cheese sauce is combined with rice and broccoli to make a mouth-watering dish.
The velvety sauce is made with all-purpose flour and milk, and later processed cheese and cheddar cheese are added to make the sauce more cheesy and creamy.
This Broccoli and Rice Casserole is,
- Cheesy
- Filling
- Made from scratch
- One-Pot Meal
- Perfect for weekday meals
Ingredients
Rice – Here, in this recipe, I have used white rice, but you can use brown rice too. We will use raw rice, and it will cook in the milk while cooking.
Broccoli – When it comes to vegetables, I like to add only broccoli and keep it simple. But you can go ahead and add in more veggies too. As it is a Broccoli Rice Casserole, I like to add only broccoli and not complicate it further. Use fresh or frozen broccoli, it’s your choice.
Milk – Always use full-fat milk for the creamy texture, but you can go ahead and add low-fat milk or skim milk too.
Cheese – I have added a combination of processed cheese and cheddar cheese, to make it extra cheesy. But you use either of these two.
Butter & Olive Oil – Use a combination of butter and olive oil for the best taste. Sometimes, I even use only olive oil to make this casserole.
Flour – All-Purpose Flour is added along with milk to make a creamy white sauce for the casserole.
Vegetable Broth – Vegetable Broth is added so that it has enough liquid so that the raw rice gets cooked properly. It also adds a nice flavor in the dish, but if you do not have the same you can use water too.
Heavy Cream – Make it extra creamy and add some heavy cream too.
Garlic Powder, Salt & Pepper – To add some more flavor, we will add in garlic powder, salt, and pepper. You can even use fresh minced garlic in the beginning if you like garlicky flavor in your casserole. Also feel free to add more pepper, if you like to add more heat in the same.
You can also top it with some Breadcrumbs on top, for a crusty top, if you are planning to bake it further.
Step by Step Recipe
Heat butter and olive oil in a pan.
Add onion and celery and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add rice and saute for 2-3 minutes.
Now add flour and cook for another minute.
Add milk slowly and mix continuously.
Cook until the sauce thickens. Add vegetable broth, fresh cream, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Cover the pan and cook for 10-12 minutes.
Stir in the broccoli and processed cheese.
Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top evenly.
Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes until the rice is cooked and the cheese melts. Serve hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can put uncooked rice in a casserole. Rice will cook on its own if there is enough liquid in it.
So make sure you have enough sauce in the casserole so that the rice gets cooked properly and doesn’t get dry.
I strongly suggest sticking to the measurements given below while making this casserole. It’s super easy to make the result will be delicious when you follow the measurements correctly.
If you are making it for the first time, just make sure you have twice the amount of liquid as your rice.
For example, if you are using 1 cup of rice, just take 2 cups of liquid to make the Rice casserole. If you want it more creamy, then you can add more sauce in it.
You can always add vegetables of your choice to make a casserole. Along with Broccoli, you can add other vegetables such as sweet potato, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, cauliflower, etc. to make it more healthy.
But if you are looking to make a non-vegetarian casserole, then you can add Shrimp or Chicken. Even Turkey and Ham works great in this Casserole.
You can add in Processed Cheese, Cheddar Cheese, Parmesan, Swiss, Monterey Jack, or any cheese that you have in hand.
You can also make your favorite Broccoli Rice Cheese Casserole in a slow cooker.
Just spray the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Add all the ingredients except cheddar cheese inside the cooker and mix it well.
Cover and cook on HIGH for about 2 hours or LOW on 4 hours, sprinkle cheddar cheese and cook for another hour and your Broccoli Rice Casserole is ready to serve.
Once you add in processed cheese and broccoli, give it a mix and add in a baking dish. Now top it with cheddar cheese, bread crumbs, and bake it for 15 to 20 minutes or until the top becomes crusty.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve this delicious pot of Broccoli Rice along with Baked Chicken and fresh Summer Salad on the side. You can opt for any Salad on the side.
I also like to serve some Garlic Bread or Dinner Rolls on the side.
You can also serve it along with Cream of Mushroom Soup, for a Winter dinner.
Storage Suggestions
Yes, you can freeze Broccoli and Rice Casserole. But before you freeze it, let the dish cool down properly and then cover it in a double layer of tin foil.
But make sure you thaw it before heating it again, to remove the excess moisture.
If you are using raw meat in the dish, make sure you cook the meat properly before you freeze it.
Broccoli Rice Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 cup Onion (Finely Chopped)
- 2 tablespoon Celery (Chopped)
- 1 and ½ cup Long Grain White Rice
- 2 tablespoon All Purpose Flour
- 2 cups Milk
- 2 cups Vegetable Broth
- ¼ cup Fresh Cream
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- Salt & Pepper
- 3 cups Broccoli (Cut into small florets)
- 1 cup Cheddar Cheese (Shredded)
- 1 cup Processed Cheese (Shredded)
Instructions
- Heat butter and olive oil in a pan.
- Add onion and celery and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Add rice and saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Now add flour and cook for another minute.
- Add milk slowly and mix continuously.
- Cook until the sauce thickens.
- Add vegetable broth, fresh cream, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Cover the pan and cook for 10-12 minutes.
- Stir in the broccoli and processed cheese.
- Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top evenly.
- Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes until the rice is cooked and the cheese is melted.
- Serve hot.
This recipe was delicious. I made it using the slow cooker option on my NuWave Duet. There’s also a “sear” setting which allowed me to put together the sautéed items and the roux. Now I made this without deviation in order to give it the a fair and just review and it was very, very tasty. I was pleasantly surprised that the uncooked rice cooked perfectly. Sometimes that can be a challenge in baked dishes, especially if you don’t compensate with enough liquids (which Neha suggests in the instructions). I also prepared a 2nd pot and made some slight adjustments to the liquids as well as threw in a few extras. I adjusted the amount of broth since I added more [fresh] broccoli and because I used heavy cream (in addition to the 1/4 cup listed) instead of milk. I shredded Monterey Jack along with the Velveeta, some scallions right before the simmer stage, and a few dashes of smoked paprika. Most of the recipes online call for instant or pre-cooked rice so I’m sure other’s will appreciate being able to use uncooked rice in this dish and if you follow the recipe you won’t end up with crunchy nor mushy rice.