You are going to love this broccoli casserole if you are looking for a flavorful vegetable loaded casserole.
Global Food Recipes
with Spices and Herbs
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I was inspired by my zucchini casserole and broccoli cheese soup when I came up with this broccoli casserole recipe.
Brace yourself and eat guilt-free!
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Ingredients
- Broccoli — fresh and cut into florets
- Salt Water — to blanch broccoli (briefly cook).
- Eggs
- Table Cream
- Black Pepper ground and Salt
- Italian Seasoning
- Dijon Mustard — optional, but adds a nice flavor to the casserole dish.
- Shredded Cheese — simple Mozzarella will do, but for more flavor, I recommend Swiss Raclette, Emmental, or Gruyère cheese.
- Olive Oil — if you can spare a dime, get a cold pressed olive oil. All those other labels for extra virgin olive oil are super misleading. The cold-pressed olive oil label is your best option.
How to make it?
To make our own easy and healthier broccoli casserole, you will need a casserole dish and a pan to blanch the broccoli. Here is a quick overview to help you get going.
Step 1
Keep a pot with salt water to boil.
Place your clean broccoli floret chunks into the cooking water and keep a timer to 3 minutes to blanch the vegetables.
When done, take the broccoli through cold running water as this will retain the green color too.
Get rid of excess water and keep your broccoli aside.
Step 2
Add to a mixing bowl the eggs, cream, black pepper, Italian seasoning, cheese, and Dijon mustard.
Combine all the ingredients.
Step 3
Place broccoli florets into your baking dish.
Pour the egg-cream mixture over the broccoli in the dish and spread out as well as possible.
Drizzle some olive oil over the dish and bake in the oven.
📖 Recipe
Simple Broccoli Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
To blanch broccoli
- 21.2 ounces Broccoli cleaned + cut into florets, *See Notes
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- Water to blanch Broccoli
For the casserole dish
- 2 Eggs
- 1¼ cup Table Cream
- ½ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning *See Notes
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard optional
- 1 cup Shredded Cheese *See Notes
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Instructions
- Keep a pot with water and salt to boil, and place your clean broccoli pieces into the water so that they are submerged completely. Place the timer to 3 minutes to blanch your broccoli and then take out to leave in cold running water or a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.21.2 ounces Broccoli, 1 Teaspoon Salt, Water
- Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit/ 180° Celsius.
- In a mixing bowl combine the egg, cream, salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, mustard paste and cheese to a well-combined sauce.2 Eggs, 1¼ cup Table Cream, ½ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground, 1 Teaspoon Salt, 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning, 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard, 1 cup Shredded Cheese
- Place cooled broccoli pieces into a large casserole dish. Spread out so that they fit into the whole dish and that they are on a level.
- Pour the cream sauce mixture all over the broccoli in the casserole dish.
- Sprinkle olive oil over the dish.1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- Bake the cheesy broccoli egg casserole at 350° Fahrenheit/ 180° Celsius for about 30 minutes or until it has a golden crust, it's cooked through and done.
Notes
- Use fresh or frozen broccoli. Fresh broccoli needs sot be blanched. Frozen broccoli needs to be thawed, but I don't blanch frozen broccoli. You can skip step 1, blanching, if you use frozen broccoli. Frozen broccoli is usually blanched before it is frozen to retain the vital vegetable enzymes.
- You can substitute Italian seasoning with your favorite dried herb or herb blend such as oregano, Herb de Provence, Spaghetti Seasoning (yep that does the trick too) or even a Mediterranean multipurpose herb blend such as Zaatar.
- The addition of Dijon Mustard is optional. It adds some interesting flavors and compliments the broccoli. Besides, mustard is an emulsifier, and it will help bind your sauce for the perfect bake.
- You can use a good melting cheese that has flavor and that you enjoy. I like to use cheddar, raclette, Emmental, Gruyère, and occasionally some Parmesan. You can also mix two or three cheeses.
Nutrition
Serving
The easy broccoli casserole recipe makes a lovely side dish with roasted turkey or chicken.
That means you can serve this vegetable casserole dish for Thanksgiving, or on other holidays such as Easter, with other amazing side dish meals.
OR you can simply enjoy your casserole as a stand-alone vegetarian dish.
I even make it in the summer when I'm craving a lighter vegetable loaded meal.
Variations
You can elevate your broccoli dish to turn it into a wholesome dinner meal.
Here is how:
- with leftover rotisserie chicken or Thanksgiving ham — Just add the meat shredded or cut into pieces over the broccoli before pouring the egg-cream mix over the uncooked dish.
- with bacon — fried bacon chopped into small pieces
- with zucchini or other squash
- with rice — a layer of cooked leftover rice over the broccoli
- with a different seasoning instead of Italian seasoning — you can use only oregano, Herb de Provence or my I like it also with spaghetti seasoning.
Freezing
Prepare the dish as per recipe instructions in a foil-lined casserole dish.
Place into your freezer and allow your casserole to freeze completely.
When hard frozen, take it out (it's easier because we lined it with foil) and wrap the dish completely in foil.
Take your casserole dish back to the freezer, where it can be stored for up to 4 months (I don't recommend any longer).
To thaw your broccoli cheese casserole, place it frozen into the fridge for about 24 hours before you intend to bake it.
Make sure your casserole is properly thawed or else it might turn out soggy after the baking process.
FAQs
A baked cheesy casserole with broccoli is good for about 3–5 days in the fridge.
I like to use cheddar, Emmental, or Raclette cheese. You can use hard mozzarella cheese and other cheese such as Gruyère too.
You can make two casserole dishes to serve a larger crowd.
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