Cheddars Broccoli Cheese Casserole Recipe

Cheddars Scratch Kitchen is famous for exactly what the name says, making great food from scratch.

From their beloved honey-butter croissants to a chicken pot pie, they can turn a few basic ingredients into delicious meals the entire family can enjoy.

There’s one dish in particular that anyone looking for a low-carb yet rich and filling meal will love, and that is their Broccoli Cheese Casserole.

Making this dish is extremely simple, yet it still delivers a rich flavor and a lot of nutrition.

Today we’re sharing with you this great Cheddars Broccoli Cheese Casserole copycat recipe so that you’ll be able to make this classic dish from home, anytime you’d like!

How to make Cheddars Broccoli Cheese Casserole

All we need is a few simple ingredients that can be found at all common grocery stores.

But a couple of things to note before we begin!

First of all, you need to cut your broccoli beforehand (unless you specifically like full florets, but most people don’t).

If you’re not sure, be on the side of caution and chop them up to make them a little bit more bite-sized.

The second thing to do is ensure your baking dish has been sprayed with a non-stick cooking spray, or you can also grease it with butter.

This will help the baking process and ensure nothing gets stuck to the bottom when it’s time to serve.

Ingredients:

(8 servings)

• cooking spray
• 1 egg
• 15-16 oz of fresh broccoli, cut to preference
• 1 packet of mushroom soup mix
• 1 cup of cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup of chopped onions
• 1 cup of mayonnaise
• 2 sticks of butter
• 1 tsp of chili powder

Instructions:

The fundamentals of the recipe just call for broccoli, cheese, butter, and mushroom soup.

Everything else is considered flavoring and as such, very much open for you to get playful with.

Broccoli pairs excellently with anything from garlic to extra butter, so feel free to add all your favorite seasonings that you’d traditionally serve on broccoli, and you can be sure it’s going to work great!

Step 1:

Take a large mixing bowl and beat the egg into it thoroughly.

Step 2:

Once the egg is nice and fluffy, we can add in both the soup mix and chopped broccoli.

Step 3:

Stir everything thoroughly, paying particular attention to ensure the broccoli florets are completely coated with the soup and egg mix.

Step 4:

Next, we can add the onions and cheddar cheese on top and continue to mix all the ingredients together.

Step 5:

Lastly, we can add chili powder and mayonnaise.

Continue stirring some more until it’s become quite creamy, it should also look a little fluffy.

Step 6:

Now we need to bake it, the first thing to do is begin preheating the oven to 350°F.

Step 7:

Grease up a big enough baking tray with cooking spray, if not use oil and a kitchen tissue to paint a thin coat all around the tray.

Step 8:

Transfer all the ingredients into the now greased baking tray and top it off with the 2 butter sticks.

You can just dice them and sprinkle them over the top before baking.

Step 9:

Bake for 40-45 minutes until the outer layer is nice, crispy, and golden.

It’s now ready to serve!

Ingredients substitutions

Most of the supporting ingredients (i.e., anything that’s not broccoli) are there to help with the flavor and texture of the dish.

Fortunately, there are many substitutions and alternatives to these.

You’re also free to add some new ingredients to spice the flavor up a bit should you wish.

1. Sour Cream

One of the most popular substitutions for mayonnaise, particularly because it has a similar taste and texture.

It can easily be used as a nice and simple 1:1 replacement.

It’s also a little bit healthier than mayo, with slightly less fat and more vitamins including vitamin A and B12.

2. Olive Oil

While not quite as effective as sour cream at replacing mayo due to its slightly different taste, it does make an excellent vegan-friendly substitute.

It’s considerably more healthy thanks to the ‘good’ fats.

The final product will be slightly less creamy, but still just as delicious.

Olive oil can also be used as a replacement for butter.

However, we don’t recommend using it to replace both the mayo and butter or it will affect the flavor too much.

3. Cauliflower/brussels sprouts

This works as both substitution and addition.

The recipe calls for a lot of broccoli, so if you either don’t have enough or simply just want to make the recipe more interesting, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts make fantastic alternatives.

They can be baked in the same way and in the same quantities, try to still hit that 15-16 ounces of total green vegetables, but feel free to split that up between the different greens as you see fit!

What to serve with Cheddars Broccoli Cheese Casserole

Generally speaking, a casserole is designed to be a ‘complete meal’ all by itself, so there is usually some combination of vegetables and meat such as fish or chicken.

However, in this case, it’s a predominantly vegetable-based dish with the only protein coming from the cheese/dairy ingredients.

So, some kind of high protein/meat-based side works great here, helping to round off and complete the meal package.

Grilled Chicken

One of the cleanest types of meat with the lowest fat-to-protein content.

If you are going with a broccoli casserole in the first place there’s no need to spoil the healthy qualities of the meal by introducing some kind of high-fat red meat to the mix.

A simply grilled chicken breast with your preferred seasoning will be perfect here!

Firm Tofu

Can you increase the protein content of the meal without introducing meat and keeping it vegetarian?

Absolutely, tofu has for the longest time been a wonderful, high-protein alternative to chicken or any meat for that matter.

It’s fairly bland in taste meaning you can season it however you like, and thanks to its ‘firmer than normal’ texture it’ll taste remarkably similar too!

How to reheat Cheddars Broccoli Cheese Casserole

This is a fantastic dish to make in bulk as it stores so well.

This means that when you come home after a hard day’s work, just reheat some of it and you’ll have a rich and healthy cooked meal for you in just a few minutes.

How to reheat Cheddars Broccoli Cheese Casserole in a pot

Pour a little water into a pot (or if you still have some of the mushroom soup, a little bit of that works too).

Heat using a medium setting place and the casserole in the pot, and then cover with a lid.

Let it sit in the hot steam for about 8-10 minutes and it should be nice and hot!

How to reheat Cheddars Broccoli Cheese Casserole in a microwave

Pour 1 or 2 tablespoons of water over it first to prevent the casserole from drying out.

Heat in the microwave on a high setting for 2-3 minutes and it will be adequately warmed through.

How to reheat Cheddars Broccoli Cheese Casserole in the oven

Preheat the oven to 305°F and simply rebake for 20-30 minutes (depending on how much you have to reheat).

If you want to help it retain moisture you can cover the dish with aluminum foil first.

How to reheat Cheddars Broccoli Cheese Casserole in an air fryer

A faster method than oven baking, preheat the air fryer to 400°F, place the leftovers into the cooking basket, and fry for just 3-4 minutes.

It’ll be nice, hot and a little crisped too.

How to store Cheddars Broccoli Cheese Casserole

What’s convenient about this casserole is you can refrigerate it using the same dish you baked it in.

Just be sure to cover it with foil beforehand.

Store in the fridge

Ensure it’s cooled to room temperature first and place it in the fridge.

Once refrigerated it should keep for 3 to 4 days.

Store in the freezer

If you want to freeze it, however, we need to transfer it to an airtight container or freezer bag. Once frozen it will keep for 6 months.