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This broccoli cheddar casserole with smoked sausage is extra cheesy, bursting with flavor, and a quick way to get dinner on the table!
My dad was always a huge fan of smoked sausage when I was a kid and I was honestly just kind of weirded out by it.
Like, was it just an overgrown hot dog? Why are you slicing it up and putting it in things? What is even happening?
Then I grew up and decided that smoked sausage is one of my favorite things ever because a) it tastes good and b) it cooks in about 2 minutes and I’m a busy mom who’s just trying to get dinner on the table as easily as possible.
So, today we’ve got this broccoli cheddar casserole situation loaded with browned smoked sausage. It’s beyond easy and oh so delicious.
You ready for the step by step? But first, drool over that saucy goodness happening in the photo below…oh man.
How to make this keto sausage recipe:
First, you’re going to want about 28 ounces of fresh broccoli florets. I just buy the bag of florets, but you can definitely by a head of broccoli and chop it up yourself.
I don’t recommend frozen broccoli for this recipe. Fresh is best, always. It doesn’t get nearly as mushy or weird as frozen broccoli does.
Add your broccoli to a large mixing bowl along with a couple tablespoons of water and cover it all tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave this for 2 minutes and then let it sit for 2 minutes to steam.
If you don’t have a microwave or don’t like using plastic wrap in the microwave, you can do this on a stove top steamer. You’re looking for warm, barely cooked broccoli. We’re going to finish this in the oven, so don’t over do it.
While the broccoli is doing it’s thang, slice up some smoked sausage and toss it in a hot skillet to brown. I like to get mine really browned on the edges, because it amps the flavor up majorly.
Add some cream cheese, mayo, cheddar, garlic powder, and pepper to a mixing bowl and stir really well to combine.
Dump that mixture over your hot broccoli and sausage and stir to coat. The cheese mixture is thick, but it should mix in pretty easily since the broccoli is hot.
Pop all that in a baking dish, top it off with a sprinkle of Parmesan, and bake it up!
If you love my broccoli casserole, you might notice that this is a riff on that recipe!
What comes out of your oven is a seriously gooey, creamy broccoli cheddar casserole loaded with bits of browned smoked sausage.
I think I could eat this every day!
Side dish or main dish?
This recipe is pretty filling thanks to all of the cheese, broccoli, and sausage so you definitely could consider it a main dish. Just know that it also packs a lot of fat and is a bit carb heavy if you’re keto.
We serve this as a side dish and the nutrition is based on this making 8 servings. If you’d like to serve as a main, double each portion to serve 4 people and be sure to double the nutrition info when tracking. 🙂
What kind of smoked sausage to use?
Smoked sausage comes in a variety of flavors and from many different brands. I was super surprised to see how many carbs are loaded in some of those sausages!
Hillshire Farm makes a smoked sausage with only 1 carb per 2 ounce serving and that’s what I use and how I’ve calculated the nutrition info for this recipe. It’s the lowest carb option I’ve seen and tastes great.
More low carb favorites to try:
Broccoli Salad: Broccoli is my favorite veggie, if you hadn’t noticed! This broccoli salad is divine.
Pulled Pork: I love a good slow cooker recipe and the sauce on this one is amazing.
Lemon Chicken: Quick, easy, and so creamy and flavorful!
Fathead Pizza: I topped mine off with BLT goodness!
Cheesy Broccoli & Sausage Casserole
Ingredients
- 20 ounces fresh broccoli florets
- 16 ounces smoked sausage
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 cups freshly grated cheddar cheese
- 2 teaspoons 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.
- While broccoli is steaming, slice the sausage into thin rounds and add to a hot skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sausage is browned on the outside.
- 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 and browned sausage into the steamed broccoli until well combined.
- Transfer broccoli to an 8x8 baking dish and sprinkle the Parmesan over the top.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
Jackie Butts says
I just made this with a few modifications and my husband loved it. (I mean LOVED it) The reason for the modifications were simply because necessity is the mother of invention (and recipe changes) I discovered that someone had already broken into my brick of cream cheese, so I used the remainder (5 oz) and also used 5 oz of sour cream. I liked an earlier commenters idea of adding some sautéed onion, so I diced a half an onion and cooked it with the sausage and some fresh garlic. My sausage was only 12 oz (your recipe called for 16 oz) so I upped the meat by adding some bacon (the precooked kind, just scissored right in with the cooking sausage and onions) I used a nice quality cheddar cheese, and could really tasted it in the finished product. Hubby requested this be added to the regular rotation (and specified that the bacon needs to remain) Thank you for a great (adaptable) recipe.
Karly Campbell says
Sounds like some amazing changes! 🙂 Glad it was a hit with the husband – always nice when that happens!
Trish says
How about roasting the broccoli while browning the sausage? I’m addicted to roasted vegetables versus steamed.
Karly Campbell says
Should be fine!
Cyndy says
So delicious! Made it exactly as posted. Husband loved it too. Can’t wait to try it with chicken.
Barbara Hamilton says
This is delicious! A big hit here!!!!
christel says
Can I sub cream cheese for sour cream?
Karly Campbell says
You could try, but the mixture might be a bit thick.
Toni Reeves says
Made this today as I am starting over with Keto and this is absolutely delicious. Thanks for the recipe
Laurie says
For the broccoli is it 28 ounces by weight or volume?
Karly Campbell says
By weight.
Melisss McConnell says
It’s TWENTY ounces, NOT 28.
Sunshine says
The story part of the blog does mention 28 oz. while the ingredient list states 20.
Karly Campbell says
Whoops – just a typo. It should be 20 ounces, but extra broccoli won’t hurt anything.
Krystal says
My whole family said this was “a keeper”. I love that it is quick and easy to make! Used my instant pot to steam the broccoli while the meat was cooking.
Eleina says
It was alright, I think next time I’ll use less mayo what the recipe calls for. I guess It’s because I hate mayo and I definitely tasted mayo lots of it.
Deb says
Simply delicious comfort food! I made it exactly as written. Thank you!
Karly Campbell says
Glad you enjoyed! 🙂
Amanda Morse says
How much is a single serving? Like 1/2 cup or 1 cup? Just curious.
Karly Campbell says
I didn’t measure by volume. Just divided it out into 8 servings.
Fran says
I don’t want the sausage I was thinking of doing it with Chicken,and low fat cheese and low fat cream cheese ,do you think that would be just as good .
Karly Campbell says
You can definitely swap in chicken. I don’t use low fat cheese, but if you like those products I think it would be okay.
Ellenmarie says
I added 1 tbsp butter, half a small white onion, chopped, and 2 cloves minced fresh garlic to the sausage mixture. I topped the casserole with parmesan and bread crumbs, which renders the dish not carb-free, but added a needed crunch. Delish!
Carol says
San, that would be good too but by eliminating fat you would lose the great keto advantages here. As a diabetic I would stick to the original recipe. Fat makes your pants fall off. Or it did mine
Kimmer says
This was YUMALICIOUS! Since I’m cooking for one, I cut the recipe in half. Still cooked it in an 8×8 glass pan. Have plenty left over for a couple of lunches. Thank you for sharing your keto recipes.
Itisha says
This looks good but I hate mayo and want to sub it out with something… suggestions?
Karly Campbell says
More cream cheese or maybe sour cream? I haven’t tried it with anything other than mayo myself.
Kimberly says
This was DELICIOUS! So fast, so easy too! This will definitely be on my regular dinner rotation! Thank you!!
Gilly says
Just made this last night. Unfortunately my gallbladder has decided that it hates my body and thr fat content here was just too much. However the taste was AMAZING! Hubby told me that we definitely have to keep this one on the frequent list! He is eating the rest of It and is happy about that while i am shedding a year. The broccoli needed more than 2 minutes to steam all of it for me and i did it in two batches. It did completely stuff an 8×8 dish after packing it down. If you used ever so slightly more ingredients you could easily make a 9×13. I also didnt brown the sausage. It’s fully cooked so not necessary and i cooked for 20 minutes to let the whole thing get bubbly and brown on the top.
Donna Cole says
Maybe not cooking the sausage prior to making the casserole caused the problem with your gall bladder. All of the fat from the sausage was retained in your casserole. Precooking the sausage and draining before added to the casserole might help. Not sure, just a thought. I’m going to try this very soon.
San says
I would use ground Italian sausage instead. Cook in a separate pan, then put the cooked meat in a colander, rinse well under hot tap water to get rid of the grease, then add to the main pan with the broccoli. I would also forgo the cream cheese and mayonnaise – too much fat. I would use low fat sour cream instead.
Coni says
Is anyone else having trouble believing that putting 28 ounces of broccoli florets along with all of the other ingredients will actually fit into an 8″ X 8″ pan?
Karly Campbell says
It cooks down after you steam it and mix it with the cheese, but feel free to use a larger pan.
Brenda says
I put this dish in a 8-13 inch pan.. turned out very good..
Wendy Portales says
I just discovered your recipes thanks to a friend sharing a FB post of this recipe. I cannot wait to try them all. I’ve sat here all night and read them and printed them while salivating uncontrollably! The love of casseroles and cheese and ranch is surely a midwestern thing bc i have it too! Thanks for the great new meals to try.