Cheesy Broccoli Potato Casserole is a family favorite, with its hearty and filling potatoes, fresh broccoli, and cheesy sour cream sauce, this easy to make casserole is going to be a favorite side dish in your house too.
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Perfect side dish
A perfect budget-friendly side for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any day!
I came up with this easy to make recipe last Christmas when I needed a veggie side dish for Christmas brunch.
It’s a great option for breakfast, just serve it with a couple of poached eggs.
See, we celebrate at my in-law’s house. We all bring the food so that the in-laws don’t have to cook. And, I often like to bring something with some veggies, for a little variety and well, veggies!
Most of the casserole recipes I saw had some pre-cooking, or canned soup, or no broccoli. So, I decided to come up with my own casserole recipe.
And let me say that this is so easy to make, and so delicious!
It’s simply some chopping of the broccoli into florets (which you could have the kids do by breaking the broccoli apart with their hands!), some frozen diced potatoes, some sour cream, and a couple of other mix-ins.
Mix it all together, pop it in the oven, and you have a simple, easy to prepare, delicious, and crowd-pleasing side dish that’s great for any meal: breakfast, brunch, holiday dinner, or weeknight dinner.
Make ahead
This casserole is a perfect make-ahead dish as well.
There are two ways to make this ahead of time if you want to take it to someone’s house for a meal or a potluck.
The first way is to mix al the ingredients together, spread them in the casserole dish, and cover tightly with foil. At this point, you can keep the casserole in the fridge overnight, take it with you and pop it in their oven to bake up following the recipe card instructions.
Or, you can make the casserole, bake it up at home, and reheat it at your destination. I’d slightly under bake it, maybe by 10 minutes or so. And then, let it cool. Pop it in the fridge. When you’re ready to go, take the cold casserole with you , and finish it in their oven.
Feeding a crowd?
If you’re feeding a crowd, this casserole is easily doubled as well. Just make sure you have a big casserole dish to accommodate all the food. Or, try baking it in two casserole dishes.
What Kind of Cheese Is Best to Use?
I like extra sharp Cheddar Cheese in this casserole. It has lots of flavor.
Not a fan of extra sharp cheddar? You could use medium sharp or mild or try a blend of cheeses. Parmesan would be great in addition to medium sharp cheddar. Mozzarella would add a nice creaminess to the casserole.
Keep in mind that changing the cheese will change the flavor of the Cheesy Broccoli Potato Casserole.
What about that onion?
I like to experiment in my kitchen and have fun while cooking.
One of the things I’ve been doing lately is grating my onion on the large holes of the box grater. It totally works, and makes nice easy work of the onion.
And, well, you already have the box grater out for the cheese, so you can give it a try if you want.
Simply run the onion down the large holes just like you’re shredding the cheese. Once you get a ¼ of a cup, you’re done. Maybe if you have an older kid helping you in the kitchen, you can have them try this method.
Or, chop the onion the old-fashioned way with a knife and a cutting board. Either way works great. I left the recipe card with the old-fashioned instruction of finely diced just so that it didn’t confuse anyone who didn’t want to try a new method.
Variations to the recipe
Want it to be more of a main dish? Simply toss in some shredded chicken and you have a family friendly main dish casserole.
Want bacon on it? Because, well, bacon is something everyone seems to want more of, right? Sure, go ahead and top it with some bacon.
Of course, I love it just as it is, a nice vegetarian dish.
This is a great way to sneak in veggies for picky eaters, and it’s a perfect addition to your Thanksgiving or Christmas meal. All of the potato lovers in your family will ask for this recipe!
Other side dish casserole favorites
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Cheesy Broccoli Potato Casserole Recipe
Cheesy Broccoli Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
- 4 cups diced hash brown potatoes thawed
- 4 cups fresh broccoli florets
- 2 cups sour cream
- ¼ cup finely diced onion
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- Reserve ½ cup of the shredded cheese for the top of the casserole.
- In a large bowl mix together all remaining ingredients so that the sour cream coats all of the potatoes and broccoli. Butter or lightly spray with non-stick spray, a casserole dish or 13×9-inch pan. Place the broccoli potato mixture in the prepared casserole dish, and sprinkle the remaining ½ cup cheese over the top of the casserole.
- Bake, covered, in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Carefully uncover, and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is starting to brown, and the casserole is bubbling.
- Remove the casserole from the oven, and let sit to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Can I use raw potatoes, instead of frozen. How much longer woukd I have to cook it for?
Jes, yes, you can use raw potatoes instead of frozen ones. After chopping them, soak them in cool water for 20-30 minutes to remove some of the starch. As for the cooking time, it will depend on how large your potato dice are. That’s one of the reasons I like the frozen hash brown potatoes – they are uniform in size and rather small in shape. Try to cut yours small, and check the dish at the same time as the recipe card calls for by piercing a potato with a sharp knife. If it’s still hard, bake for a bit longer until it’s soft when pierced.