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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.
michael p Monahan says
love this recipe one of the best keto dishes iv had thank you
Erin Dobelis says
Can I substitute Greek yogurt for the mayonaise??
Karly Campbell says
I haven’t tried it, but that should work fine! The flavor will be a bit different, but it should still work fine.
faye says
THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR RECIPE i JUST LOVE THEM
Janet says
I usually just have the smoked sausage on it’s own and have to search for a good side to have with it, this is perfect to have all in one dish! Nothing like a good casserole.
Karly Campbell says
Enjoy! 🙂
Gemma says
I can’t lie when this came out of the oven I thought it was gonna be really rubbish but OMG it’s so nice!!!
Karly Campbell says
Haha, so glad you gave it a try!
Josie says
My fiancé, and I tried this recipe and we both absolutely loved it. I subbed the fresh broccoli for frozen steamable, broccoli and found it still to be very delicious. Love how easy this recipe was as well.
Karly Campbell says
Thanks for sharing, Josie! So glad you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
Jennifer Huffman SMITH says
Been eyeing YOUR KETO FRIENDLY recipes. All look delish! Helpful if serving size was provided in oz or gms.” Serves 8″ is not helpful when cooking for 1 serving & needing to measure more or less for macros. Would appreciate the help. Thanks.
Steve says
Way too much cream cheese and Mayo. Didn’t like.
Rana says
When making a main dish casserole I like to make a 9X13 sized dish. Would I need to double the recipe? Just thinking about 20 oz of broccoli and 16 oz of sausage plus all the other stuff, it seems like that would fill a 9×13 dish but recipe says an 8X8. Please advise! Love your recipes and have already made quite a few. Thank you!
Karly Campbell says
Hi Rana! Traditionally, yes, you’d double an 8×8 recipe to get a 9×13. This one is pretty full, but I do think it’d still fit a 9×13.
David Fiala says
I made this per directions but forgot that I was cleaning the oven so I finished it in a crock pot and it turned out great. Next time I’ll be sure to try the oven. Nine the less good dish.
Karly Campbell says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Julie says
I’m on keto and have a family. It’s not always easy to find meals I can make for everyone. We all enjoy this recipe. It’s easy to make, filling and tastes great. Thanks!
Karly Campbell says
Oh, I love to hear that! My entire goal when starting this website was to help make it easier for those doing keto to also feed their family without having to cook a second meal (something I struggled with myself in the beginning). I love when I get the job done right! 🙂
Tracy says
Has anyone made this without cream cheese? I’m finding myself intolerant to dairy and I can sub dairy free cheese, but can’t find dairy free cream cheese anywhere locally.
Lydia Jones says
Are you able to find dairy free yogurt, like the unsweetened coconut based yogurt by the brand “so delicious”? Or even the new heavy cream substitutes made by silk, and country crock?
You could try those with a nit more mayo, and I’d add a bit of lemon juice to ro mimic the tang you get from cream cheese, though, the yogurt might not need that. If nothing else, I’d substitute mayo and a bit of lemon juice. Of course the texture won’t be the same, but it should taste great, I’d think. If you want a bit more flavor, I’d add a bit of finely minced shallot or mild onion.
conswella perkins says
This was so good!!! thank you
Karly Campbell says
Thank you!
Sarah says
I made this dish for dinner and I loved it but it was a little salty. I followed recipe so I don’t know what I did wrong.
Karly Campbell says
The sausage, cheese, and added salt may have just been more than you’d normally like in a dish. Next time leave the extra salt out and/or skip the Parmesan. 🙂
Nancy says
This does not seem to make sense to me. You consider it to be a side dish with 533 calories. I would assume that with the smoked sausage it would be a main dish. As a side dish the calorie count and macros are exorbitant! You could not eat anything else. If you double the macros as you suggested 1 of 4 servings would be over 1000 calories and ridulous amounts of fat, protein etc. How can you publish this. There is no way it is even close to healthy! I am appalled.
Karly Campbell says
There are plenty of recipes out there that have more calories and fat than this. Keto is meant to be high fat, moderate protein, and low carb, which this fits. That said, it’s the responsibility of the reader to decide what fits their idea of healthy and make the recipes that fit within their nutrition goals. Sounds like this one isn’t for you, but that doesn’t make it ‘appalling’ or unhealthy.
Jenn says
Completely agree w you, Kelly. It’s a lovely & perfect KETO FRIENDLY dish & other than keto followers may find over the top but neither appalling or unhealthy. Take care being “thick skined” w such comments!
Josh says
Do you know how large a serving is? I weighed out 8oz and I am trying to calculate the nutrition.
Karly Campbell says
Hi Josh! We just divide equally into 8 servings. I didn’t measure by volume or weight.
Bumbershoot says
I wish I had been paying attention as I followed the recipe. With smoked sausage and cheese in it, it didn’t need any added salt. It also used too many dishes, and the payoff wasn’t worth the labor.
Katie says
This looks really good, I’m thinking of using a sausage substitute to make it vegetarian-friendly. Glad I found this!
Linda says
Made this tonight. It was really good. I wish I had steamed the broccoli longer than listed. It was still a little crunchy for my liking. Definitely will make again.
Susan says
You don’t have a link to save to Pinterest (sad).
Karly Campbell says
Hi Susan! There are links on the side bar and one pops up as you hover over the photo as well. If you’re on a mobile device, there is a pin button right at the top of the recipe card. Hope that helps.
Ann says
Such a good recipe! I adjusted it slightly only because I had these items on hand and we’re staying home due to current events. I used a turkey kielbasa, no mayonnaise, 8 ounces of cream cheese, some riced cauliflower, and a blend of sharp white cheddar and pepper jack cheese plus McCormick Steak Seasoning as I didn’t have garlic powder. SO GOOD! Husband (who is on a keto meal plan now and has lost 30lbs in 6 weeks) L O V E D it! Oh, I also added a 1/4 teaspoon of dried mustard because I enjoy the flavor profile and I thought it was a good addition. Looking forward to making this based on the original recipe as soon as I can get to the store. I bet it will be even better then the adjustments I made.
Karly Campbell says
Your changes sound perfect! Glad it was a hit! 🙂
Jacqueline says
This was the second time I made this for my family. My boys and I really enjoy it, but my husband finds it a bit too rich. I did only use 8 ounces of cream cheese, and definitely didn’t miss the extra. Sharing with my Keto friends!