Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole

4.50 from 24 votes

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This cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole is impossible to mess up and super tasty! It’s a vegetable-filled dinner that everyone will love!

Broccoli Rice Casserole

Broccoli Rice Casserole

So, this Broccoli Rice Casserole recipe I’m posting today it a mish-mash of things I found in the cupboards and in the fridge all sauteed and baked into one delicious casserole. When I placed this on the table for dinner last week, the first words out of my mouth were “I don’t know if this is going to be good!” but after we all took our first bites, it wasn’t long before the entire casserole was gone. Completely. Meaning no leftovers! I love it when miscellaneous ingredients all come together to make a great meal.

Main Ingredients Needed

With a diverse mix of vegetables, ham, cheese, and rice this dinner is bursting full of flavor! Here’s everything you need to make Broccoli Rice Casserole:

  • Butter – this is used for flavor and to saute the vegetables.
  • Onions, Carrots, Corn, and Broccoli – all of the vegetables in this casserole. For more ideas see the sections below.
  • Ham – use either cubed ham pieces, deli ham, or even leftover ham from the Holidays!
  • Cream of Chicken Soup – this brings a lot of flavor to this dish and helps tie in all of the different ingredients. Use store-bought or homemade.
  • Salt, Pepper, and Thyme – don’t forget the seasonings! Thyme basically goes with anything which is great when this recipe is so adaptable.
  • Rice and Water – these two go hand in hand when making a rice-based casserole.
  • Cheddar Cheese – freshly grated is best for melty cheese. And feel free to top your casserole with a little sprinkle as well.

Variations

Now if you don’t have 1 large carrot or happen to have an ear of corn on hand, then don’t sweat it. Use what you have! Any veggies would be tasty. Here are some other variations for this Broccoli Rice Casserole recipe:

  • Meat: instead of using ham, try leftover or rotisserie chicken! Quick and tasty!
  • Rice: you could go the healthier route and use brown rice, just remember that it takes slightly longer to cook. Quinoa is also a good option.
  • Cheese: switching out the type of cheese is a great way to change the whole casserole. You could go sharper or milder and still have a great dinner on your hands.
  • Veggies: as I said before, use what you have! Celery, spinach, artichoke hearts, cauliflower, and zucchini are all wonderful options.

Broccoli Rice Casserole

How to Make Broccoli Rice Casserole

The whole cooking method to this dish is super simple and can be done in about 10 minutes, then it’s off to the oven to bake! For full details check out the recipe card below.

  1. Preheat oven. Lightly grease a baking dish and set aside.
  2. In a large skillet melt butter. Saute onions, carrot, corn, and ham until veggies start to soften. Stir in broccoli and cream of chicken soup.
  3. Once the soup starts to melt into the veggies, add in seasonings, rice, and water. Stir to incorporate and remove any lumps
  4. Melt cheese into mixture and pour entire contents of skillet into prepared baking dish. Bake until rice is completely cooked and no liquid remains. Serve hot.

Also, I would like to point out that cooking rice in the oven is genius. You absolutely cannot CANNOT screw it up. Lots of people don’t know how to cook rice which baffles my mind. To them, I say bake it in the oven in a casserole, and it will turn out beautifully.

And then while your Broccoli Rice Casserole is baking, you can do the dishes, make a salad, set the table, and check your email. And then feel like wonder woman. Don’t you love days where you feel like that?

Broccoli Rice Casserole

More Casseroles to Try!

If you loved this dinner, be sure to check out my other casserole recipes!

So there you have it, my friends. Broccoli Rice Casserole, an easy and delicious dinner everyone will love.

Printable recipe card is below 🙂

Broccoli Cheese Rice Casserole
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4.50 from 24 votes

Broccoli Rice Casserole

This cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole is impossible to mess up and super tasty! It's a vegetable-filled dinner that everyone will love!
servings 4 servings
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 medium onion diced
  • 1 large carrot peeled & diced
  • 1 ear yellow sweet corn
  • 2 cups steamed broccoli florets
  • 4 oz. deli ham diced
  • 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 2 pinches ground thyme
  • 1 cup long grain white rice
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 cups medium cheddar cheese grated

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease baking dish and set aside. {Use a 9x9 square dish or one that is slightly larger.}
  • Place large skillet over medium heat and melt butter. Saute onions, carrot, corn, and ham 5-7 minutes or until veggies start to soften. Stir in broccoli and cream of chicken soup.
  • Once soup starts to melt into the veggies, add in seasonings, rice and water. Stir to incorporate and remove any lumps
  • Melt cheese into mixture and pour entire contents of skillet into prepared baking dish. Bake 40 minutes or until rice is completely cooked and no liquid remains. Serve hot.

Nutrition

Calories: 577kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 1220mg | Potassium: 474mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 3645IU | Vitamin C: 44mg | Calcium: 372mg | Iron: 2.8mg
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Keyword: broccoli cheese rice casserole, broccoli rice casserole

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Recipe Rating




64 Responses
  1. Eli

    5 stars
    Great recipe! I had to adapt it a bit – used mushroom soup, and more veggies instead of ham, to make it vegetarian. Was worried about missing the flavor of the ham so I also used vegetable broth instead of water like some others suggested. Tasty 🙂

  2. Patsy

    1 star
    Sorry this was awful. Sauteing carrots and broccoli in butter? Takes about an hour to soften up. The rice didn’t cook well and this was in the oven way longer than 40 minutes

    1. Lauren

      Hi Patsy, I’m sorry you had a hard time with this recipe! But it sounds like a bit of user error! The broccoli was supposed to have been steamed before you added it to the pan. That’s what is stated in the ingredients list: “2 cups steamed broccoli florets”. About the carrots: they’re not supposed to soften completely in the pan since they will cook in the oven, which is why the directions say to “Saute onions, carrot, corn, and ham 5-7 minutes or until veggies start to soften.” Perhaps the rice would take longer to cook, depending on your oven running hot or cold, but did the rice end up cooking? And was the taste terrible or just the directions?

    2. Kathy S

      4 stars
      I, too, had a problem with the rice and carrots the first time I made it. It took forever to cook and even the. Wasn’t quite where I would have wanted it. So, I now park cook the rice and the carrots and the do the sautéing and then it makes a beautiful casserole.

  3. Zoë

    5 stars
    I made this first as a side for Thanksgiving and have made it several times since then. Hubs lovesssss anything with broccoli and cheese. I’ve made variations of it too, adding chicken, using cauliflower or zucchini in the place of broccoli. Thanks!

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  5. Diane Smith

    Which peach cobbler does reader comment on in kitchen sink rice dish? There a LOT of pins lol. I found the cheese garlic bread one!

  6. Katharine

    5 stars
    Tried this tonight and followed the recipe except for using chicken broth instead of water. Hubby loved it so I will be making it again. Never cooked rice in the oven and it turned out great. Thanks!

  7. Bev

    This sounds so good. I’m on my way into the kitchen right now to get it started. I love recipes where you already have most, if not all the ingredients. Thank you

  8. Lisa Grillo

    I made this dish tonight. The flavors were delish. Unfortunately the rice was undercooked. I cooked it way longer than in recipe. About an hour plus. The dish started to get thick so I took it out of oven. Not a fan of hard rice. Sorry

  9. deidra

    This looks like a dish the entire family will love. I’m going to try it with a homemade version of cream of chicken. I’ll let you know how it goes. 🙂

  10. Barb

    This recipe looks so good and I may try quinoa mixed with the rice or as a replacement for it.
    Thank you for sharing your recipes with us

  11. Orea

    This sounds like the kind of thing I love to make – and eat! Do you bake this covered, or uncovered? I’m a little concerned that the rice on top would tend to dry out if uncovered. Thanks.

  12. Kristin S

    5 stars
    I have had this on my “To make” list for a while and I made it tonight. It was a big hit, and there are no leftovers. My family devoured it! Hubby said it was a “keeper”. Thanks for sharing!

  13. Kristen

    5 stars
    This was amazing! Made last week and making again tonight! I used long grain brown rice and it was fabulous! Cooking time was the same but I used gluten free creamed soup and it’s not condensed so I reduced the amount of water to 1 1/4 cups. Yum! Thanks for the recipe!

  14. amazon.com

    Hello there! This article couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He always kept preaching about this. I am going to send this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!

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  16. Julie P.

    5 stars
    I tried this tonight with a few variations. I started with the onion and carrot, but added a can each of chopped mushrooms, lima beans, and black beans. Used some leftover smoked ham and increased the rice to 1 1/2 cups (I also increased the water). It cooked a little longer, but was totally delicious! This one will be a definite ‘go to’ on week nights. I even calculated the WW Plus points at 10 per serving (2-cup serving). I should have doubled the soup with that much rice, but the whole family loved it. Thanks, from our happy bellies.

  17. Emily Dalen

    Do you think this would work with long grain brown rice? It usually takes about 40 minutes to cook on it’s own.

    1. Kristen

      Hi! I made this with long grain brown rice and it was delicious! I used gluten free creamed soup that was not condensed so I reduced the water to 1 1/4 cups but cooked for the same amount of time! Hope this helps!

  18. Sarah

    I came across this on Pinterest and really liked the looks/sonud of it! I added about twice as much ham as it calls for because my husband is a big time meat-a-tarian. Ha, ha! It’s in the oven and I’m excited to try it. I hope it is a big hit with the kids because I’m always looking to add some things into the rotation. I used celery in place of onion and frozen corn. I’m excited about the big mix of veggies.

  19. Wendy

    5 stars
    I just made this yesterday and had to come back here and tell you how it went! I used a roasted chicken from the grocery store, added a little finely chopped bell pepper, did not add any salt or pepper or thyme, and used brown rice instead of white (I just like the flavor better), cooked it about 50 minutes. I added “no sodium added” chicken broth instead of water, probably about three cups, every thing else the same as your recipe, and OMG! It was delicious! Even Mr. Pickey loved it and kept going back for more! Color me shocked! This will be going into the regular rotation. Thank you very much!

    1. Wendy

      You changed, added, or substituted 7 out of 12 ingredients in the recipe. That is more than half so I’d argue it isn’t even the same recipe anymore. Don’t rate 5 stars when you didn’t even follow the recipe. It’s misleading for the people who want to do it as written.

  20. Linda M.

    I just found this through the Tasty Kitchen site. It looks great and using ham instead of the usual chicken peaked my interest. I always have questions about rice! I know on stovetop, wild rice or brown rice takes longer. Would I have to adjust what you did if I use brown rice? Just curious. Thanks!

    1. Lauren

      I assume it would work just as well, just lengthen the cooking time! I’ve never done brown rice in the oven! Let me know how it goes!

  21. Hala Flores

    5 stars
    I discovered your site yesterday through the sumptuous spoonfuls facebook page. I already made the garlic cheese bread which was a huge hit and the peach cobbler which was divine. I made the casserole today and oh my it was wonderful comfort food. I didn’t have a can of cream of chicken soup, but I had some chicken broth so I made my own. It was super delicious and perfect food to eat during Hurricane Irene. keep uploading those wonderful recipes.

  22. Lacey Wilcox

    Oh my, I just found out I’m pregnant with our second, and the first tri-mester I always crave things just like this. I’m blaming you for the extra pounds I’ll gain tonight…;) Looks delicious!

  23. Barbara | Creative Culinary

    I’m here because you came to visit me…thank you very much…and I love your dish too. I’ll often have to come up with something because I need to use an ingredient…and it is fun when a totally unplanned dish turns out fabulous…so congrats to you too!

  24. Rachel @ The Avid Appetite

    I have such great memories of camping with my family when I was a kid. I had a tie dye purple sleeping bag and I thought I was the coolest 🙂 This looks so yummy!

        1. Lauren

          As long as you add it in near the end of cooking and adjust the liquid amounts to match that of the rice to make sure it cooks properly.

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