Cheesy Broccoli Casserole with Ritz Topping
Broccoli casserole baked with sharp cheddar, a tangy sour cream base, and a buttery Ritz cracker topping. The potluck side dish that comes home empty.
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Broccoli casserole is the dish that empties first at every potluck I’ve ever carried a pan into. It’s broccoli bound in a tangy sour cream and cheddar base, baked until the edges bubble, with a sleeve of crushed Ritz crackers going on near the end so the topping stays buttery and crisp.
The blanching step is deliberately short. Three minutes in boiling water turns the florets bright green and takes the raw edge off, and then they finish in the oven. Broccoli that’s fully cooked before it’s baked comes out gray and stringy, and the whole pan goes watery underneath it.
Drying the broccoli is the step people skip and then regret. Water clinging to the florets thins the sauce into a puddle at the bottom of the dish. Drain them hard in a colander, then spread them on a clean towel for a minute while you mix the sauce.
Why You’ll Love This Broccoli Casserole Recipe
- The pan that comes home empty. Broccoli, sharp cheddar, and buttery crackers is the combination that gets kids to eat a green vegetable without a word about it.
- Buttery crackers that stay crunchy. The Ritz topping goes on for the last 10 minutes only, so it browns instead of steaming soft under the heat.
- Assemble it the day before. The whole dish can be built and refrigerated, with the crushed crackers waiting in a bag until baking day.
- Fifteen minutes of real work. Blanch, stir, bake. Most of the hour belongs to the oven.
Broccoli Casserole Ingredients
Use a block of sharp cheddar and shred it yourself. Extra-sharp works too and stands up better against the sour cream and mayonnaise. Pre-shredded cheese is dusted with starch that keeps it from melting smoothly, and in a base this creamy you notice it.
- 8 cups fresh broccoli florets (about 2 lbs), cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 tbsp salt, for the cooking water
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 (10.5 oz) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar (8 oz block), divided
- 1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 3 tbsp butter, melted
Recipe Variations
- Use 2 pounds of frozen broccoli florets (two 16-ounce bags) instead of fresh. Thaw them, skip the blanching entirely, and squeeze them dry in a clean towel. Frozen broccoli holds a surprising amount of water.
- Swap the cream of mushroom soup for cream of chicken. It’s a little sweeter and less earthy, and it’s what most family recipe cards actually call for.
- Stir 1 1/2 cups of shredded cooked chicken into the sauce to turn the side dish into a main. Bake until the center reaches 165°F, which the time in the recipe already does.
How to Make Broccoli Casserole
- Heat the oven and the water: Heat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9×13 baking dish. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with the 1 tablespoon of salt.
- Blanch and dry the broccoli: Add the broccoli florets and boil 3 minutes, until they turn bright green and a fork goes in with some resistance left. Drain in a colander, then spread them on a clean kitchen towel to dry while you mix the sauce.
- Soften the onion: Melt the 1 tablespoon of butter in a small skillet over medium heat and cook the onion 4-5 minutes, until soft and translucent.
- Mix the sauce: Whisk the cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, mayonnaise, egg, garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in the cooked onion and 1 1/2 cups of the cheddar.
- Fold and fill: Fold the dried broccoli into the sauce until every floret is coated. Spread it into the greased baking dish and scatter the remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar over the top.
- Bake: Bake uncovered 25 minutes, until the edges bubble and the center is set.
- Add the crackers and finish: Toss the crushed Ritz crackers with the 3 tablespoons of melted butter until the crumbs look damp, scatter them over the casserole, and bake 10 minutes more, until the topping is deep golden and the center reads 165°F. Let it stand 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe FAQs
Can I Make Broccoli Casserole Ahead of Time?
Yes. Assemble it through the cheese layer, cover, and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Bake it straight from the fridge and add about 10 minutes to the first bake, then add the buttered crackers for the last 10 minutes.
Can I Use Frozen Broccoli?
Yes, and plenty of families always have. Thaw 2 pounds of frozen florets (two 16-ounce bags), squeeze them dry in a towel, and skip the blanching. Frozen broccoli is already blanched at the plant and will fall apart if you boil it again.
Why Is My Broccoli Casserole Watery?
The broccoli went in wet. Drain it hard and let it sit on a towel for a minute before it meets the sauce. Overcooked broccoli also releases more water, so pull it at 3 minutes even if it still looks a little firm to you.
Can I Leave out the Mayonnaise?
You can use 1 cup of sour cream in place of the half-and-half split. The casserole comes out tangier and a bit less rich. The mayonnaise is what makes it taste like the version most people grew up with.
Is This a Side Dish or a Main?
As written it’s a side that serves 8 to 10 next to a ham or a roast. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of shredded cooked chicken and it becomes a main that feeds 6.
Cooking Tips
- Cut the florets to about the same size, roughly an inch and a half across. Big trees stay raw in the middle at 3 minutes while the small pieces overshoot and go limp.
- Crush the crackers in the sleeve with your hands, not in a food processor. You want irregular pieces with some sizeable shards, since a fine uniform crumb packs down into a dense layer instead of staying crisp.
- Let the sauce sit out while the broccoli blanches if you mixed it early. Sour cream and mayonnaise straight from the fridge pull heat out of the pan and the center takes noticeably longer to set.
Storage and Freezing
To store: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The cracker topping softens overnight and there’s no way around that.
To freeze: Freezing isn’t recommended. The sour cream and mayonnaise base separates when it thaws, and the broccoli comes back limp and watery.
To reheat: Warm uncovered at 350°F for 15-20 minutes, until it reaches 165°F. Scatter a handful of fresh buttered cracker crumbs on top for the last 5 minutes to bring the crunch back.
How to Serve Broccoli Casserole
Broccoli Casserole belongs next to a holiday ham, a roast turkey, or a weeknight rotisserie chicken, and it holds its own beside mashed potatoes and dinner rolls. Outside the holidays it’s a good partner for meatloaf or pork chops. Bake it in a dish you don’t mind putting on the table, since it doesn’t transfer neatly once the topping is on.
Loved This Recipe?
Broccoli Casserole takes about an hour, most of it hands off, and it’s the pan that comes home empty from every potluck.
Leave a star rating in the comments below, it helps other people find this recipe. Made it? Tag @allwellfed on Instagram, I love seeing this one in other people’s kitchens.
Cheesy Broccoli Casserole with Ritz Topping
Ingredients
- 8 cups fresh broccoli florets about 2 lbs, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 tbsp salt for the cooking water
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 small yellow onion finely diced
- 1 (10.5 oz) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar 8 oz block, divided
- 1 sleeve Ritz crackers crushed, about 1 1/2 cups
- 3 tbsp butter melted
Instructions
- Heat the oven and the water: Heat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9×13 baking dish. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with the 1 tablespoon of salt.
- Blanch and dry the broccoli: Add the broccoli florets and boil 3 minutes, until they turn bright green and a fork goes in with some resistance left. Drain in a colander, then spread them on a clean kitchen towel to dry while you mix the sauce.
- Soften the onion: Melt the 1 tablespoon of butter in a small skillet over medium heat and cook the onion 4-5 minutes, until soft and translucent.
- Mix the sauce: Whisk the cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, mayonnaise, egg, garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in the cooked onion and 1 1/2 cups of the cheddar.
- Fold and fill: Fold the dried broccoli into the sauce until every floret is coated. Spread it into the greased baking dish and scatter the remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar over the top.
- Bake: Bake uncovered 25 minutes, until the edges bubble and the center is set.
- Add the crackers and finish: Toss the crushed Ritz crackers with the 3 tablespoons of melted butter until the crumbs look damp, scatter them over the casserole, and bake 10 minutes more, until the topping is deep golden and the center reads 165°F. Let it stand 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
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