Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole
Oct 18, 2024, Updated Apr 12, 2025
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This time of year really starts to bring out my nostalgia for what I like to call church basement classics. This Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole always makes the list. It’s one of the cozy, Midwest casseroles that church ladies would bake in disposable aluminum pans and serve from card tables. Guests load up a paper plate and get comfortable (as much as possible) in folding chairs tucked around paneling-lined walls.
If I close my eyes, I am taken right back there with a scoop of some version of this Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole on my plate. It’s a hefty recipe, one that barely can be held up by the flimsy paper plates I remember from my childhood.
I’d like to think my version is made slightly more sophisticated with Beecher’s Flagship Cheese rather than any old cheddar, though that would do just fine.
Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 5 cups broccoli florets
- 2½ cups cooked white rice
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- 8 ounces Beecher’s Flagship Cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Fill a 3-quart saucepan about two-thirds with water. Place on the stove over high heat and bring to a boil. Drop in broccoli and cook for 2 minutes, until just blanched. Drain and set aside.
- Return the saucepan to the stovetop and add in 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Once heated, add in diced onion and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes, until the onion is translucent.
- Add 2 tablespoons flour to the pot and stir, reducing heat to medium. Cook for about 1 minute, until flour is well incorporated. Pour in milk, 1 cup at a time, stirring until well incorporated.
- Increase heat a bit and stir in seasonings – ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon mustard powder, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Continue to stir until mixture begins to thicken, about 5 minutes.
- Turn off heat and stir in 2 ounces cream cheese and three-quarters of the shredded Beecher’s Flagship. Continue stirring, until fully melted. Fold in 2 cups cooked rice and blanched broccoli.
- Transfer the mixture to a 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle the top with remaining shredded Beecher’s Flagship. Place in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until bubbly, and edges start to crisp.
- Broil for 2 to 3 minutes to brown the top cheese layer (optional). Remove from oven, let rest for 10 minutes and serve.
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