Broccoli Casserole (From Scratch!)
When I was growing up, we had Sunday Dinner at my grandma’s every single week. It wasn’t something that was put on the schedule. It didn’t require a phone call. It just was. Every Sunday, my grandma would cook a spread of pasta, meats, potatoes, vegetables, salad, and more. Our family (both immediate and extended) would show up around lunchtime, usually moseying in after church, and sit down to eat. We wouldn’t just eat dinner (which is what Italian families call lunch), we would spend the entire day there. Sometimes we’d play cards or games, or watch football, or complain that my uncle was watching golf… and sometimes we’d just sit around the table and BS.
Every Sunday. No exceptions.
My great aunt (my grandma’s sister) lived on the other side of the duplex that my grandparents lived in, and she often made a broccoli casserole on Sundays. I never had the recipe, but I know it was made with some cream of mushroom soup, I think frozen broccoli, and a Ritz cracker topping. It definitely fell into the category of comfort food, much like the scalloped potatoes that often graced the table that my cousin and I would hoard, right on through adulthood. We always devoured the broccoli casserole, and recently I was thinking about it, and wanted to recreate it, but with homemade, from-scratch adjustments.
I’ve long thought that this casserole would be a fabulous addition to a Thanksgiving spread, and finally sat down this year to put some thought into recreating a homemade version. This revamped version uses fresh broccoli, chopped mushrooms, an easy homemade white sauce, some cheddar cheese, and because I cannot quit Ritz crackers, I kept that same buttery cracker topping. The result was amazing, and brought back so many fun Sunday afternoon memories.
Sunday dinner is something I really miss and totally took for granted when I was younger; making dishes like this makes me feel closer to my grandma, who I miss tremendously. I’m so thankful that she fostered an environment that enabled us to make so many wonderful memories growing up.
Two years ago: Turkey Pot Pie
Homemade Broccoli Casserole
An old family favorite is re-made with fresh ingredients.
Ingredients:
- 3 pound broccoli florets, cut into bite-size pieces
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- ½ medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 8 ounces white button mushrooms, finely chopped
- 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded and divided
For the Topping
- 30 Ritz crackers, crushed
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish; set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil, add the broccoli and boil for 3 to 5 minutes, until still firm, but tender enough that a fork can pierce through. Drain the broccoli in a colander and rinse with cold water.
- In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter, then add the onion and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms release liquid and it has all evaporated, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter, then add the flour and stir until the mixture is lightly browned and has a nutty aroma, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly begin to add the milk, whisking constantly until all of the milk has been added. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture begins to thicken. Add one-third of the shredded cheese and stir until completely melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the reserved onions and mushrooms, then stir in the salt and pepper.
- Place the broccoli in the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with another one-third of the shredded cheese. Pour the sauce over the broccoli, then sprinkle with the remaining third of the shredded cheese. In a small bowl, combine the Ritz cracker crumbs and melted butter until all of the crumbs are moistened. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the casserole.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the top is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling, 15 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
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This sounds so tasty! I love proper home cooked meals xo
This looks delicious! I love reading stories about your grandma and her cooking. My grandma was my biggest influence when it comes to cooking and I miss mine a ton also.
This looks fantastic! Thanks for sharing! My 2 year old loves broccoli but only if it’s IN something :)
I love it when you share stories about your family. Yesterday I was studying the recipe for those walnut filled cookies that you said were your grandmas’ recipe – was seriously contemplating making them and I loved reading the post, too. And this casserole, brought into the modern day (but there’s nothing wrong with some cream of mushroom soup – my mom and grandma used a ton of it!) and with fresh ingredients.
And thanks for not quitting the Ritz :)
Hey, it’s a great idea for Advent time, as we try to keep the fringe – means no meat at that time.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Michelle, at what point do you add the mushrooms…. apologies if I’ve missed something!
And, thanks for your wonderful, wonderful recipes… it’s a delight to see a new one every single day and keep adding to my repository and kitchen trials!
Hi Priya, It’s in step #3, you add the onions and mushrooms.
the emailed version skips when to add the mushroom mixture…:S I ended up pouring them on top of the sauce before the crackers and just mixing up a bit- still tastes delicious :)
Oh my goodness, yes please! Broccoli…cheese…butter…ritz?! Those are the 4 words to my heart! I love how simple and tasty this dish sounds :)
Michelle,
I am also making a broccoli casserole for the big day. It is my cousin’s recipe and uses the canned cream of mushroom soup. I just bought a batch of fresh mushrooms yesterday to make my homemade version. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe…I am going to follow yours instead. Looks delish as always.
Thanks for sharing this story. It certainly made me feel nostalgic. And the broccoli casserole recipe is wonderful – I hope to create my own family memories with this dish.
I grew up in Pittsburgh and we went to my grandparents’ house every Sunday after church just as you did. Such great memories. Broccoli casserole was a staple on our holiday tables when I was growing up too…although we put a can of crunchy onions on top instead of Ritz. Have a great first Thanksgiving in your new home hosting your family and starting traditions of your own with your CCC!
I’ve never had broccoli casserole! I know I’d love it though – yum!!
I have never tried a broccoli casserole-only done green beans. But I like broccoli better than green beans so I’m going to give this a try for Thanksgiving. Yum!
Thank you for this! My husband loves my mom’s broccoli-rice casserole but I never make it due to the nature of who-knows-what is in a cream soup.
Oh my gosh, does your casserole sound good!!!! This is such a great side dish and I bet the kids love it!!!
This looks delicious! I definitely want to give this a try!
This recipe is a must try. your story made me remember my own family sunday lunches at my grandmas, we would arrive around eat and just stay and talk, or watch tv, the cousins would all play around. I miss my grandma so much and I miss our sunday´s lunch.
I love broccoli casserole but how could I add some long grain rice to the dish?
Hi Tye, I haven’t played around with adding rice to this; you might be able to par-boil the rice and let it finish cooking in the casserole, but you would need more liquid/sauce, since the rice would absorb some of it.
This is my first time to see a broccoli casserole. Think people in Texas tend to eat broccoli and rice. Have not made one in years. Your recipe looks great but the men in my family will not eat broccoli.
Just what I was looking for! Thanks! Oh, Happy Thanksgiving-it’s finally here.
Good luck with your spread- take pictures.
Thank for sharing a “scratch” recipe for this dish. I use mushroom soup once in a while … sure is nice to have options!
This is great! It reminds me of my Grandma also! We always had this at Thanksgiving, but with canned cream of mushroom soup, and frozen broccoli. Ours had rice in it also. Thanks for re-creating this as a from-scratch recipe, and thanks for keeping it topped with Ritz! I will re-post after I make it!
Sounds delicious.. thanks for sharing :)
Is this something that I could make ahead the day before and then just add the Ritz topping before I bake on the day of?
Yes, definitely!
I think one of the best things about food blogging is reading everyone’s memories and family stories. There are many recipes I make that remind me of members of my family and family gatherings. I’ve been looking for a homemade Broccoli Casserole for a long time and now I’ve found it! Thanks for sharing such a special family recipe with us.
This looks unbelievably good. I love the addition of Ritz crackers!
Thanks for sharing! What a great childhood to spend so much time with your grandmother :)
I love reading your family stories. It really make a great recipe even better when it comes with a story! This casserole looks so good and I LOVE that is is from scratch!
Made this tonight alongside a roast….my whole family loved it! Chopped the mushrooms and onion in the Cuisanart so they would go undetected by my picky kids. It worked! Thanks for such a terrific side dish recipe…this one is definitely a keeper!
OMG Yum!!! I am deffo going to make this, it has made me hungry just looking at it x
Looks yummy! Especially the crispy topping! I’m such a fan of anything broccoli so will definitely give this a go!
I have the one grandmother in the world who cannot cook–seriously, almost anything she makes is bland at best and nasty at worst. But broccoli casserole, I believe with some rice thrown in there, was the one thing she could consistently make that I actually enjoyed eating! I love your recipes that to me are so classically Midwestern. :)
Can this be made the day ahead minus adding the Ritz before baking? Then day of just add the Ritz & bake? Thoughts?
Hi Kelly, Yes, I think that would be just fine. Enjoy!
I’m making this for our Thanksgiving meal get together! It just sounds right and so I’m sure it will be (as long as follow directions well, lol)! Thanks for the story about your family. What a wonderful memory you have!
<3 your site! Also awesome that you actually write your recipe in true recipe form. I get confused when bloggers put it under the picture. Thanks for sharing.
What a tasty broccoli casserole!
hi there – I make a similar broccoli casserole but wanted to know if you could freeze it? I need to make it a week in advance.
Thanks!
Hi Victoria, I’m not sure how it would freeze, with the cream in the recipe. I would probably try to make it the day before and refrigerate it.
We’re not big on mushrooms. Is there something you can suggest to substitute the mushrooms? Thanks. :)
Hi Maritza, I used them to mimic the cream of mushroom soup my aunt used to use; you can simply omit them.
Thanks for this recipe . . . So many recipes from the US seem to rely on assembling collections of processed “ingredients” ; your ‘from scratch’ version is
a great improvement! (And it allows us to make more of our own mistakes!)
Can we substitute some of the butter with olive oil?
Hi Deb, Sure, I don’t see why not.
Can you substitute skim milk in this recipe? or perhaps a mix of skim and fat free half and half? this recipe looks fantastic, just needs to be “healthified” for my relatives. Thank you!
Hi Megan, The sauce will not thicken up very much with skim milk. I would recommend using 2% milk if you want to do something other than whole milk and still want the sauce to come out correctly.
This looks delicious! I’m on a bit of a Greek yogurt kick lately, how do you think it would be if I subbed some of the milk for Greek yogurt? I’m thinking even if I add it with the mushrooms and onions, it may curdle too much in the oven… any thoughts?
Hi Ryan, Unfortunately, you can’t. The milk is used to make the sauce; it thickens along with the flour. Subbing yogurt here would not have the same effect.
So, I love this recipe! After trying it once, my husband decided that it needed to be a bit more substantial so we added rice! I posted my tweaked version on my blog, giving the original credit to you, of course! I would love for you to stop by and check it out if you get a chance. :)
Thank you for sharing! I look forward to trying more recipes from your site!
Am planning to make this for Christmas dinner and am wondering if it would fit in a 2-quart baking dish versus a 9 x 13. What do you think? Thanks!
Hi Amanda, There is too much filling to fit into a 2-quart casserole dish.
Made it in a 9×13, and it was a huge hit! Definite family favorite and will be making again. Thanks so much!
Hi I’m wondering I you could add in some cooked chicken and rice?. Or do you think it would throw the flavors off?
Hi Mary, I think it would be okay, just be aware that the rice may absorb some of the sauce.
I made this last night and was disappointed. My cheese sauce didn’t seep into the broccoli layer below and just kind of sat, layered, on top. Then a layer of water was underneath the broccoli (even though it was par-cooked per the recipe). Next time I try this, I will mix the cooked broccoli with the cheese sauce before putting into the pan. Hopefully that will eliminate the separated layers.
I’m curious if you used pre-shredded cheese or did you grate it yourself? Pre-shredded cheese has an anti-caking agent that can inhibit melting.
Massive fail. Taste was just OK but the sauce really thinned out and wasn’t attractive. I’m a pretty good cook so wasn’t expecting this. I wouldn’t make it again.
I am making your broccoli casserole to take to a Christmas dinner . How many cups of florets is equivalent to your three pounds? I am using frozen so should I just thaw them out? I prefer fresh but a sprained wrist is making it tricky to use a knife.
Hi Joyce, It’s about 8 cups. I think thawed frozen should work okay. I hope your wrist feels better!
This is my go-to recipe for broccoli casserole. I omit the shrooms. I love this recipe.
I am thinking of taking this to a potluck lunch. Is it good at room temperature?
Hi Donna, It’s not bad, but if you have a thermal carrier or something similar you can pack it in to retain as much warmth as possible, that would be best! It doesn’t have to be piping hot, but the consistency will change once it cools to room temperature.
I made this today. This recipe is special. So good. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Can this be made a day ahead and popped in the oven the day of?
Hi Marilyn, Yes, that would work!