Broccoli cheese casserole is one of those side dishes that gets gobbled up every time. It’s so creamy, cheesy, and full of flavor. Even your picky eaters will devour this broccoli.
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Would you believe that my parents never made me eat broccoli as a kid?
I honestly don’t think I ever even tasted broccoli until I was a teenager.
Which, hey, I’m not complaining. Broccoli was scary and green looking and I was super picky. My parents picked their battles and broccoli was not one of them.
But now? I LOVE broccoli. It’s probably my favorite veggie and I often eat it steamed with just a sprinkling of salt. No butter, no cheese, just good ol’ broccoli.
Sometimes, though, you’ve got to get a little fancy with your vegetables, whether that’s for Thanksgiving dinner or just a weeknight and a craving hits, and that’s where this easy broccoli cheese casserole comes into play.
Y’all are going to love the decadent cheese sauce that coast the tender broccoli in this low carb broccoli casserole recipe is!
🍗 Variations:
Make it a Meal – Add cooked, shredded chicken or sliced and seared smoked sausage right into this dish to make it a meal.
Add Veggies – Swap half of the broccoli for cauliflower and proceed as directed!
Get Cheesy – Swap the cheddar for a different cheese of your choice, such as gruyere, colby jack, or mozzarella!
Crunchy Topping – Traditional broccoli casserole often has Ritz crackers or other cracker crumbs over the top. Instead, try crumbling up some pork rinds and sprinkle them over the top to add a little crunch!
Broccoli Cheese Casserole
Ingredients
- 20 ounces fresh broccoli florets
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add the broccoli to a large microwave safe bowl along with 2 tablespoons of water. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave for 2 minutes. Let sit, covered, for 2 minutes.
- Add the cream cheese, mayonnaise, cheddar, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to a small bowl and mix well to combine.
- Stir the cream cheese mixture into the steamed broccoli until well combined.
- Transfer broccoli to an 8×8 baking dish and sprinkle the Parmesan over the top.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
👩🍳 Ingredient Notes:
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Fresh Broccoli – You’ll note that I’m a fan of the fresh broccoli over the frozen! It just tastes better, but I do understand the convenience of the frozen kind. If that’s what you’ve got, it should work. I’ve just never made it myself in this recipe.
Cheese – This broccoli and cheese casserole is loaded up with rich cream cheese, freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese, and some grated Parmesan cheese! That’s going to add tons of creamy, decadent cheesy flavor to this casserole.
Mayo – It’s going to add even more creamy flavor to this keto casserole.
Seasoning – You don’t need many seasonings for this casserole. The rich, cheesy flavors with the broccoli pretty much do most of the work but we do like to mix in some garlic powder, salt, and ground black pepper!
Broccoli and cheese is a classic recipe that just about everyone can enjoy, including the kids!
It’s an easy casserole recipe that you can put together in no time.
With all that rich, creamy cheese nobody will even notice that this is a keto version of broccoli casserole.
How To Make Broccoli Casserole:
Broccoli – We’re starting with fresh broccoli for this recipe, because I personally think it has the best taste and texture. I do usually buy pre-cut broccoli florets in the produce section, but a head of broccoli works just as well. Chop the broccoli into small florets.
Steam – You’ll start out by steaming the broccoli lightly, either in a stove top steamer or in the microwave. For this recipe, I nearly always opt for the microwave, just because it’s easy. Pop your broccoli into a large bowl with two tablespoons of water, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and microwave for 2 minutes.
Cheese – You’ll mix together cream cheese, grated cheddar, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Mix – Scoop that mixture right on top of your hot and steamy broccoli and start stirring. The mixture should melt right into the broccoli pretty quickly as you stir.
Bake – Transfer this to a baking dish and sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese. Bake it up and you’ll have this decadent broccoli and cheese casserole that the whole family will love! This easy broccoli casserole is ready to go in just about 20 minutes. Serve alongside our stuffed chicken breast along with our keto coleslaw.
If you love this keto broccoli casserole recipe, be sure to try my broccoli salad or cauliflower potato salad!
❔ FAQs:
You can keep this low carb casserole stored in the fridge for about 3 to 4 days in an airtight or well sealed container.
This casserole should freeze well for up to few months. Keep it in a freezer safe container or wrapped in some foil and plastic.
I’ve never tried it in this recipe and would definitely recommend using fresh broccoli, but I think it would work fine with frozen.
Keto Broccoli Casserole for a Crowd:
This recipe is perfect for a family dinner and the leftovers will reheat well the next day.
If you’re serving a crowd or want to make this for a larger gathering, we recommend doubling the recipe!
Double all of the ingredients and bake for the same length of time in a 9×13 baking dish.
🥘 More Keto Casserole Recipes:
- Philly Cheesesteak Casserole
- Meatball Casserole
- Cheeseburger Casserole
- Spinach Casserole
- Keto Taco Casserole
- Big Mac Casserole
- Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Marcie Walker says
How many cups of broccoli florets do you think your 20 oz would be? I’m using heads not bagged broccoli.
Karly Campbell says
I’m really not sure. If you have a kitchen scale, you could measure it. Otherwise, just give it your best guess – you can’t mess this one up. 🙂
Michelle Hoffman says
We had it for dinner tonight, it was amazing! Loved it, thanks for a great side dish and looking at comments I’ll add chicken and make it a main.
Racquel Coral says
I’m planning on making this, this weekend. Do you know how it would cook it in the slow cooker with chicken?
Karly Campbell says
I haven’t tried it in the slow cooker.
Jean says
This was amazing, I had it with some rotisserie chicken, and it was perfection! It’ll be my lunch for the week.
Bernadette says
Adding this to my family’s dinner rotation! This dish was so easy and absolutely delicious.
Karly Campbell says
Glad to hear!! 🙂
Sarah Pratt says
Thank you for the awesome recipe! My cream cheese mixture didn’t melt all the way over the steamed broccoli – microwave a little more to mix it before cooking, or throw it in and mix it at the end??
Karly Campbell says
It should be fine to just toss it in the oven. It’ll melt in there and you can stir if needed. 🙂
Susan says
I put chicken, mushrooms and onion in my cast iron casserole and cooked that in coconut oil, then added a bit of Tamari and pepper . Then I added a wee bit of water with the broccoli and put the lid on it to steam while I mixed the cheese. I did the rest (with some curry added) according to your recipe. It reminded me of my mother’s Chicken Divan. My hubby and I LOVED it!
BeeBee says
This is so good! I have my second batch in the oven in as many weeks!
Karly Campbell says
That’s awesome to hear! 🙂
Faith says
Made this tonight and we loved it!! I added diced baked chicken and followed the recipe. Thank you, we enjoyed this a lot!! Perfect for a fall day
Karly Campbell says
Glad to hear! Thanks for the review! 🙂
Charlene says
This recipe is the BOMB! I have tried numerous other recipes for Broccoli casserole and this one won us over….Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Karly Campbell says
Yay! I’m so glad to hear that! 🙂
Low Carb Mama says
We are trying to stay away from Mayo in our house but this recipe sounds delicious and would love to try it. I’ve heard that Pearo can be a substitution for Mayo…how do you think that would be in this recipe? Or has anyone tried it?
Karly Campbell says
I’ve never used or heard of Pearo, so I can’t say.
Deanna says
I’m going to make this for dinner tonight. Can I use miracle whip instead of mayonnaise?
Karly Campbell says
It will significantly change the nutritional values. Otherwise, I’m sure Miracle Whip would work, but I’m not sure how the flavor will be.
Tawnya says
Made this tonight. Added leftover Rotisserie Chicken. Was so decadent. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
Jeri says
Did you shred the rotisserie chicken?
Angel says
I’m excited to try. I think I’ll substitute sour cream for mayo since I don’t have keto friendly mayo in the house (and don’t want to make).
Ketolicious says
Tastes great! It’s keto, for sure but divided into six isn’t enough for a main, and as a side dish it’s pretty calorie rich. Prep was simple but not 10 minutes. More like 30 minutes- retrieving ingredients and tools- just freshly grating cheddar takes at least 10 minutes.
Karly Campbell says
Everyone will take different amounts of time in the kitchen…it definitely doesn’t take me 10 minutes to grate cheese and it’s hard to guess how long it might take someone else, so you’ll just have to use the prep time as a guideline. 🙂
Julie says
Can you use frozen broccoli?
Karly Campbell says
I don’t ever cook with frozen broccoli, so I can’t say for sure, but it’d probably work if you like the texture. 🙂
Stacey Ann Smith says
I got this in the oven right now ! YUM!
John Smith says
I could see roasting the broccoli first for something like 20 minutes at 450F, instead of steaming (more caramelized flavors can come out), and maybe basted in some butter or maybe bacon fat. I could see adding either (leftover) grill smoked chicken to the mix too, or maybe some bacon.
Do you think a sharp cheddar would be better than a mild one in this dish? I’m thinking sharp, but will it overpower the parm?
Karly Campbell says
Hi John!
Roasting the broccoli first should work just fine. Bacon and chicken would be great as well.
I think any type of cheddar you prefer will work fine here.
Maggie says
This looks amazing!!!! I’m going to try this tonight. Although, I had to comment out of concern because plastic wrap in the microwave is a huuuuuuuuge no no, I hope you can find an alternative to it.
Karly Campbell says
Plastic wrap in America is all rated to be safe for microwave use, however if you’re outside of America it might be worth checking into. 🙂
Christine Callaway says
This was delicious, fast and easy to make. Will make again!!