Better Broccoli Casserole
Broccoli casserole made better with roasted broccoli, cheddar cheese, creamy quinoa and toasted bread crumbs. This healthy broccoli casserole is delicious!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
Did you know that cheddar cheese isn’t actually orange? It’s really white, and they add orange coloring to make it orange. We’ve been duped all along. I know.
I opted for cheddar without coloring, so this broccoli cheddar casserole may not look like the kind you grew up eating. It’s also more redeeming than typical Midwestern broccoli cheddar casseroles, while still being gloriously cheesy and creamy.
You won’t find mayonnaise, cream of mushroom soup, or annoying Béchamel sauce to make in this healthy broccoli casserole recipe. You don’t need it!
Casseroles aren’t my typical fare, but they do hit the spot on cold, gray winter days. Plus, they make for great leftovers. Hooray for meals that keep on giving!
Watch How to Make Broccoli Casserole
The Best Broccoli Casserole
- My broccoli cheddar version here features tons of caramelized roasted broccoli for extra flavor, plus some milk and sharp cheddar cheese.
- Nutritious quinoa magically blends into creamy oblivion while it’s in the oven.
- Top all of that with some garlicky breadcrumbs and you have one amazing dish that makes for great leftovers.
You can be fancy and call it a “grah-tahnnnn” in your best French accent, or announce it as a “hot dish” in your finest Minnesotan. Either way, it’s a stellar broccoli casserole.
Please let me know how this broccoli casserole recipe turns out for you in the comments! I always love to hear from you.
Craving more lightened-up comfort foods? Here are a few of my favorites:
- Real Stovetop Mac and Cheese
- Spaghetti Squash “Pizza” Bowls
- Best Vegetable Lasagna
- Roasted Veggie Enchilada Casserole
For even more hearty dinner recipes, be sure to check out my cookbook!
Better Broccoli Casserole
Broccoli casserole made better with roasted fresh broccoli, cheddar cheese, creamy quinoa and irresistible, garlicky whole grain bread crumbs. This healthy casserole is easy to make and tastes amazing! Recipe yields 6 to 8 servings.
Ingredients
- 2 cups vegetable broth or water
- 1 cup quinoa (any color), rinsed under running water in a mesh sieve for a minute and drained
- 16 ounces broccoli florets, either pre-packaged or sliced from 2 large bunches of broccoli
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 10 twists of freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, omit if sensitive to spice
- 8 ounces (about 2 ½ cups) freshly grated cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 cup low-fat milk (cow’s milk tastes best but unsweetened plain almond milk works, too)
- ½ tablespoon butter or 1 ½ teaspoons olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 slice whole wheat bread (substitute gluten-free bread for a gluten-free casserole)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- To cook the quinoa: Bring the vegetable broth or water to boil in a heavy-bottomed, medium-sized pot. Add the quinoa, reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 17 to 20 minutes, or until all of the liquid is absorbed. Cover and set aside to steam for 10 minutes.
- To roast the broccoli: Slice any large broccoli florets in half to make bite-sized pieces. Transfer the broccoli to your prepared baking sheet and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, until lightly coated on all sides. Sprinkle with salt and arrange in a single layer. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the broccoli is tender and starting to caramelize on the edges.
- To make the breadcrumbs: Tear your piece of bread into bite-sized pieces and toss them into a food processor or blender. Process until the bread has broken into small crumbs. In a small pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, stirring often. Add the bread crumbs and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until slightly browned and crisp. Set aside to cool. (If you cooked your bread crumbs in a cast iron skillet, transfer them to a bowl to prevent them from burning.)
- Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees. Add the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to the pot of quinoa, and stir to combine. Set aside ¾ cup of the cheese for later, then add the rest of the cheese to the pot. Pour in the milk and stir until the cheese and milk are evenly incorporated in the quinoa.
- Pour the cheesy quinoa into a 9-inch square baking dish and top with the roasted broccoli. Stir until the broccoli is evenly mixed in with the quinoa. Sprinkle the surface of the casserole with the reserved ¾ cup cheese, then sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top.
- Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes, until the top is golden. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my creamy roasted Brussels sprout and quinoa gratin, which was originally adapted from The High-Protein Vegetarian Cookbook by Katie Parker of Veggie and the Beast.
Storage suggestions: Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 4 days. Gently reheat in the oven or microwave before serving.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Yum! This is so delicious. I used two slices of wheat bread but otherwise followed the recipe. Loved it and will definitely make it again. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Laura!
I’ve made this so many times and it’s one of my favorite winter quinoa recipes
Great to hear, Diana!
Can the broccoli and cheese casserole be made ahead of time and frozen?
I believe others have tried it and didn’t mind the results.
Fabulous! Thank you!!
You’re welcome, Laurie!
Good evening! I wanted to make this but had only 1/2 the required amount of broccoli. I made up the difference with mushrooms and onions, cooking all the vegetables on a sheet pan as described. It was terrific. I’d never before considered making a veg casserole with quinoa. This recipe far exceeded my expectations, and seems to be suitable for anything that you might have in the vegetable drawer.
Excellent suggestion as I too don’t have quite enough broccoli – Thankyou
I made this for lunch today for my husband and myself. It is absolutely delicious! I will definitely be making it again.
We’ve been making this excellent recipe for years now! For those asking about freezing, I always make a double batch, one for dinner and one to freeze. Because everything is cooked, it’s easy to make the dish, but don’t bake it, instead just wrap it well and pop it in the freezer. I usually let it thaw in the fridge the night before, and then it’s ready to go in the oven with foil on top until the last 15 minutes or so.
Hey Christine, thank you for the helpful tip about the freezing! I am guessing you just wait to add the bread crumbs till when you go to bake?
I’ve made this so many times now and it’s always a hit! Reheats well. I’ve started to use frozen broccoli florets to save some time. They roast up perfectly! So good
Great to hear, Eliza!
Any suggestions on making it dairy free?
Thx! Cant wait to make it.
I made mine with vegan butter and extra creamy OatMilk. I did use cheese because I cheat sometimes, but you could either use non-dairy cheese or nutritional yeast. Follow Your Heart makes a non-dairy smoked Gouda that might be delicious in this!
I fixed this for dinner last night exactly as written. Served with pork chops and stewed apples. Delicious!
Thank you for your review, Melissa!
I’ve been making this dish on and off for several years as its the best recipe I’ve found for quinoa. I use kale instead of brocoli. Being British I’m totally thrown by “cups”, and tend avoid American recipes as a rule… so the quantities are guesswork to done extent but its still proven delicious. I add a stock cube while I cook the quinoa for extra flavour. I’m also going to try sweet potato slices under the gratin this time. Thankyou for your website.
I made this last night and much like all the other recipes it was a hit with the family. My 4 year old even asked for seconds and she rarely eats so much as half her dinner. My husband was (as always) surprised that he can enjoy and feel full from the vegetarian meals. The lentil soup is the other favorite with my toddlers and I cannot recommend every recipe I’ve tried and especially this one enough. Thank you for helping my family enjoy nourishing meals. Thank you so much!
You’re welcome, Olga! Thank you for your comment.
I (and family) absolutely love this recipe! We have made it so many times, it usually makes a feature at least once a month!
I do make some slight changes – I roast cauliflower and zucchini too and add them in with the broccoli. We just like some additional veggies added, but it’s delish!
Loved this recipe. I didn’t have fresh broccoli but used chopped frozen instead. I roasted it instead of cooking it and it got really good. Next time I’ll try roasting fresh broccoli.
Can I use farro? I don’t have quinoa.
Sure, or you can try rice.
My whole family loved this recipe! The only modification is I used Progresso bread crumbs with a little melted butter as the topping. I also used frozen broccoli florets roasted straight from the freezer to the oven. I needed it to be very easy today! We will definitely make this a lot!
That’s great to hear, Jennifer! I appreciate your review.
I enhanced this recipe by substituting cremini mushrooms for some of the broccoli (about 1/4 to 1/3). So delicious!
Oh my gosh! So yummy and easy to make!
We loved it! Delicious, nutritious, and filling! Thank you, Kate, for another wonderful recipe.
This looks delicious! Do you think I could use frozen/already cooked quinoa in this recipe instead, maybe if I thaw it?
This recipe is fantastic!! It’s delicious, with a complex flavor profile, which is exactly what we were looking for. We’re panning to make it for Thanksgiving, and it will fit in well and I think will be a big hit!! Thanks for another hit, Kate!
Make this every thanksgiving, but this year for some reason when I did the milk it seemed like way too much and soupy? What should I do?
I’m sorry for my delay! I would suggest baking for longer.
It was pretty good but somehow my broccoli seemed way overcooked. Maybe I should have roasted it for a shorter time, or I wonder if one could not roast it at all?
I’m sorry to hear that! Did you like the casserole, though?
It was ok, i think it would have been really good had I figured out the broccoli situation. Thanks!
Can you prep this ahead of time and then just do the final
Bake at the end?
I haven’t tried it. Let me know if you do!
This casserole was delicious! Can’t wait to make it again. I’ve never enjoyed a recipe with quinoa so much.
Yuuuummmmmmmm.
I was staring at a drawerful of broccoli and didn’t want to make a pasta dish. I found this recipe and oh my gosh!!! Knowing I’m getting all the goodness of quinoa makes it even better…
So tasty!
This was fabulous and will become a regular addition to our menu planning – thank you – delicious!!!
I’m confused… is it 8 ounces of cheese or 2.5 cups? Those are very different amounts
Family Favorite!! I made this for Thanksgiving and several times for our family, we all agree this is our new go to recipe! Thank you for another great recipe that we use often.
Made this tonight and oh my, it was delicious! Followed the recipe as written but had to sub with Italiano Shredded Cheese because I didn’t have cheddar. I left the final bake at 350 in for an additional 15 minutes to melt the cheese a bit more. It was delicious and not a problem to substitute with another cheese. Definitely a keeper and even hubby said make sure you keep this recipe. Thanks for another great recipe C&K. :)
DELICIOUS ! Heavenly!
Did not have sufficient brocoli so I added one sweet potato cut in pieces (cooked together with brocoli). I used Panko instead of bread crumbs – so threw in the raw garlic with the Quinoa, cheese and milk !!!!! THANK YOU so much for this great recipe++++.
This is SO good! I used cream instead of milk (wanted to use it up) and corn flake crumbs with Parmesan on top. Wow. Amazing way to eat quinoa. Thanks you!
I added a can of white beans just before adding the broccoli so that this would be a main dish and it turned out great! I’ll be keeping this one.
I usually roll my eyes at people who post comments to a recipe that tell all their substitutes that make it better. Well, I substituted the heck out of this recipe because I recently moved and it turns out I didn’t have what I thought I had on hand.
This is a great recipe to be able to substitute. A grain, a protein (because I did not have the quinoa I thought I had), assorted veggies (because my “fresh” broccoli turned out to be not so fresh but I had other options). It turned out amazing. Don’t be afraid to be creative – this recipe gives you all the tools you need!
This was so insanely good! I skipped making my own breadcrumbs and just topped it with panko and a spritz of spray oil. This will be going in our regular rotation! I served it with pork chops and we had the leftover casserole for lunches. It made six large servings for us.
I used extra old cheddar and oat milk. I was surprised to see that a white sauce was not necessary and there was enough fat in the cheese to make it creamy. My touch was adding a bit more chili’s and paprika in my breadcrumbs. Next time I will add a bit more broccoli. My Frenchie absolutely loved licking my bowl and wanted more.
I was hesitant about this recipe because I thought there’s no way quinoa and broccoli can taste that good. I was wrong. Like every other recipe I’ve tried on this blog, this one is a 10/10 that I keep going back to.