Cheddar’s Broccoli Cheese Casserole
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Cheddars Broccoli Cheese Casserole is a delicious and easy-to-make side dish for weeknights or any holiday table! Loaded with broccoli, rice, Velveeta and – of course – a little butter! 😉
What You Will ❤️ About Cheddars Broccoli Casserole Recipe
- Easy to Make! The most difficult step is cooking the rice! After that – it’s just stir and bake!
- Kid Friendly! Kids don’t always want to eat their broccoli – but when you add Velveeta – it goes down a lot smoother!
- Holiday & Weeknight Friendly! While this dish is super easy to make any night of the week – it’s also a great side dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter.
Cheddars Broccoli Cheese Casserole Recipe Ingredients
Simple ingredients combined to make a delicious cheesy vegetable casserole! Here’s what you need for this casserole that has the taste just like Cheddar’s!
- cooked white rice – I can’t figure out why but most of the other copycat recipes are missing THE RICE! You need 3 cups cooked white rice (1 cup uncooked) for this recipe.
- frozen broccoli – I used a large bag of frozen broccoli with lots of florets!
- cream of mushroom soup
- milk – any kind of milk, cream or half and half will do – you could even use sour cream if you were in a pinch
- Velveeta cheese – the casserole is very creamy which is the sign of Velveeta – but you could also add cheddar cheese if you wanted a bit of a “real cheese” flavor
- butter – I recommend salted butter for this recipe
- Ritz crackers – one sleeve of any of those crackers loaded with butter and salt will do
- OPTIONAL: salt & black pepper – I found plenty of seasoning from the butter and crackers but feel free to add a little salt and pepper as well. Garlic powder would be good too!
How to Make Cheddar’s Broccoli Cheese Rice Casserole
Once you make the rice, it’s a mix, layer and bake! So simple and easy – here’s how to make it:
- Cook white rice according to package directions. (1 cup uncooked rice = 3 cups cooked rice)
- Preheat oven to 375º and spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray
- Add cooked rice to bottom of casserole dish
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 1/2 stick melted butter, cream of mushroom soup and milk.
- Stir in frozen broccoli, cubed velveeta and half of the crushed cracker crumbs. Stir to combine. Spoon broccoli mixture on top of the rice.
- Crush remaining cracker crumbs and sprinkle on top of broccoli mixture. Pour remaining 1/2 stick melted butter over top of casserole.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
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Tips, Tricks & FAQs
Can I Use fresh broccoli in Broccoli Cheese Casserole?
Yes – definitely! It will cook while baking so it’s an even swap.
Can I use brown rice in broccoli cheese casserole?
Yes – definitely! Again – even swap!
What is the best method for crushing crackers?
Take out the aggression! Those buttery crackers (like Ritz, Town House) are super fragile – so just grab a handful and crush over the bowl/dish.
Can I make Broccoli Cheese Casserole ahead of time?
Yes – this casserole can easily be made the night before. Refrigerate or put in the freezer until ready to bake!
How do you store and reheat leftover broccoli cheese casserole?
Store leftovers in an airtight container (I like these glass ones) in the fridge for up to a week. You can freeze up to three months. Reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
Broccoli Cheese Casserole Variations
- Chicken – Add rotisserie chicken or diced cooked chicken before you bake to add protein for a complete meal
- Cauliflower – Swap out broccoli florets for cauliflower – you could also add sauteed onions and bell peppers or sliced frozen carrots
- Flavors of Velveeta – Use another flavor of Velveeta like Queso or Mexican
- Cheese Sauce – Instead of straight Velveeta – make my Flourless Cheese Sauce and stir that in!
What to serve with Broccoli Cheese Casserole
More Copycat Side Dish Recipes
- Mary Mac’s Oven Baked Mac & Cheese
- Boston Market Sweet Potato Casserole
- Ruby Tuesday Pasta Salad
- Longhorn Steakhouse Spicy Brussels Sprouts
More Rice Recipes
More Broccoli Recipes
- Weight Watchers Beef & Broccoli
- Cheesecake Factory Chicken & Broccoli Pasta
- Panera Teriyaki Chicken & Broccoli Bowl
Cheddar’s Broccoli Cheese Casserole
Cheddar's Broccoli Cheese Casserole is a delicious and easy-to-make side dish for weeknights or any holiday table! Loaded with broccoli, rice, Velveeta and – of course – a little butter! 😉
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked white rice
- 1 stick butter
- 10.5 oz cream of mushroom soup
- 1/2 cup milk
- 16 oz frozen broccoli
- 12 oz Velveeta diced into 1/2" cubes
- 1 sleeve Ritz crackers
Instructions
- Cook white rice according to package directions. (1 cup uncooked rice = 3 cups cooked rice)3 cups cooked white rice
- Preheat oven to 375º and spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray
- Add cooked rice to bottom of casserole dish
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 1/2 stick melted butter, cream of mushroom soup and milk.10.5 oz cream of mushroom soup, 1 stick butter, 1/2 cup milk
- Stir in frozen broccoli, cubed velveeta and half of the crushed cracker crumbs. Stir to combine. Spoon broccoli mixture on top of the rice.16 oz frozen broccoli, 12 oz Velveeta, 1 sleeve Ritz crackers
- Crush remaining cracker crumbs and sprinkle on top of broccoli mixture. Pour remaining 1/2 stick melted butter over top of casserole.1 stick butter, 1 sleeve Ritz crackers
- Bake for 30 minutes.
Notes
**We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**
Nutrition
Serving: 0.5cupCalories: 394kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 15gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 1179mgPotassium: 437mgFiber: 2gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 1149IUVitamin C: 51mgCalcium: 322mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
I just made this for dinner and then another for the freezer. It was delicious!! So cheesy and crunchy. I bought pretty big frozen broccoli florets that had to be cut up. Thank you so much! Very tasty!!
woohoo!!!! glad you liked it!
I made this recipe, but it lacked seasoning.. very bland. My husband wouldn’t eat any after sampling. I wish I had added my own seasoning before wasting my ingredients. DISAPPOINTED
have you had the broccoli casserole at Cheddar’s? cuz it’s fairly bland as well – this is a copycat of that. you could also easily sprinkle on seasonings.
Yikes, what an aggressive all caps comment about casserole on a page that someone spends a lot of time putting together 😅😅
The old standby that every home cook knows if you need to amp up the flavor is to make your rice in salted chicken stock, and add half a packet of HVR seasoning mix. Voila! Flavor your husband will love…. But be forewarned- this is no longer a Cheddars copycat.
You’ll catch tastier flies with honey. And hidden valley ranch seasoning, probably 😂
I don’t think Velveeta was the cheese in the one I had at Cheddar’s, I did not see any mushroom either. I am thinking a soft white cheese.
When I make copycat dishes – I make sure to go to the source and order the dish and basically disect it. I can promise you I saw yellow cheese and mushroom bits when I had it.
Cheddar’s uses a yellow emulsified American Cheese product not dissimilar to Velveeta.
you are absolutely correct. they do use American cheese not Velveeta and absolutely under no circumstance is there a single Mushroom in it!
well sorry to disappoint you all – but mine had mushrooms – maybe they were having a mushroom day
I did my own version with Green Giant Simply Steam Broccoli & Cheese Sauce, 10 oz (Frozen Vegetables), Alessi Risotto with Cheese and Broccolini Rice, 8 oz, Ritz crackers and butter and it came out so good.
The recipe couldn’t have been any easier. I substituted cream of chicken for cream of mushroom since I have family members who doesn’t like mushrooms. I also included chicken. I took it to my daughters and everyone loved it. It was a big hit !!!
I actually work at Cheddars. This is sooo close it’s unreal. It is made a bit different than this, and Velveeta is not necessary. Just a great tasting option. I did use Velveeta when I made this but the cheese was more “powerful” than the other flavors. Also, florets are diced small. Bite sized. There is not a soup added. All in all, this recipe is great! I am happy to add this to my home cache of tasty home dishes.
Just had this ar Cheddars the other night. Definitely does not have rice in it. my mom hates rice, it’s a texture thing so she would have noticed and not ate it. she loved it.
sorry charlie – it has rice – but have a great day. I’m not sure if you know this but when I try something at a restaurant – I literally disect it. I separate it and take notes and make sure everything is in there. I’m not just pulling this sh!t out of the air.
I tried your recipe for thanksgiving this year. It was a hit! Even my picky 6 year old loved it and said it was just like Cheddars, thank you! I’ll add this to my rotation for meals
loved this Cheddar’s inspired dish with a few tweaks after reading the previous comments. I made an 8×8 so I cut the milk and butter in half. I also swapped the cracker crumbs for ground cheezits. I didn’t have Velveeta so I used half a bag of a shredded cheddar mix, and precooking the rice and broccoli saved half the cooking time.
highly recommend this recipe! so yummy!
This recipe was better than Cheddars. I added salt and pepper. I will make this again.