Broccoli Rice Casserole is a hearty and delicious addition to any dinner. The classic casserole side dish with rice, broccoli and a cheesy sauce. A great side dish made with just a few pantry ingredients.

Broccoli rice casserole is always a hit and I just almost always have the ingredients on hand. It’s one of the side dishes that our whole family can agree on.

Table of Contents

How to Make Broccoli Rice Casserole:

Add chopped onions to a skillet with olive oil and cook until onions are softened.

Stir in cream of mushroom soup, 1 cup of shredded cheese, milk, chopped water chestnuts, salt, pepper and garlic.

Add cooked rice, cooked broccoli and sauce to a casserole dish, stir together and smooth the top.
Sprinkle remaining cheese over casserole.

Bake for 25 minutes or until casserole is heated through.

Recipe Variations:

I love how simply this broccoli casserole is to make and it’s super easy to adjust to the ingredients you have on hand.

Use cream of chicken soup, cream of celery soup or broccoli cheese soup.
Skip the can soup and use 1 teaspoon of chicken base (or a bullion cube) with 1 cup of heavy cream, increase milk to 1 1/2 cups total.
A combination of cauliflower and broccoli.
Add cooked carrots, celery or zucchini in addition to the broccoli.
Use farro in place of the rice.
Try smoked gouda, Swiss or colby cheese.
Replace the French fried onions with 1 1/2 cups seasoned bread crumbs mixed with 2 tablespoons of melted butter or crushed Ritz crackers.
Toasted sliced almonds are also a great addition to this casserole.

How to Cook Rice:

I love to make extra rice anytime we are having it for dinner. It is great to have on hand to stretch leftovers or to use in a casserole. I always buy long grain white rice but use what you have on hand.

To cook rice add 1 part rice to 2 parts water, bring to a boil. Cover and lower to simmer. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside 5 minutes.

How to Cook Broccoli:

Use fresh or frozen broccoli for this recipe. To cook either, heat a pan of boiling water. Add broccoli florets and cook for 5 – 7 minutes or until heated through. Drain well.

How to Store and Reheat:

Store leftover casserole in an airtight container up to 3 days in refrigerator. Reheat casserole by adding a couple of tablespoons of water or milk to a skillet. Add casserole and place over medium heat. Stir frequently until heated through.

You might also like this easy Mushroom Rice for a quick and easy side dish that goes with just about every meal and another vegetarian favorite is our Zucchini Lasagna.

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This is a great pantry recipe, perfect when you are running low on ingredients or have leftovers to use up.

I just had a can of soup on hand and a few French fried onions from the last time I made green bean casserole and they made this casserole super simple. The flavors bake together for a delicious side dish that you can throw together really quickly.

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5 from 2 votes