Southern Broccoli Casserole

4.80 from 5 votes

Southern Broccoli Casserole

Southern Broccoli Casserole is cheesy, creamy, and perfectly delicious. The buttery cracker topping is perfectly crunchy and balances out the soft broccoli and creamy sauce. It's the perfect Southern side dish.

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Total Time1

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Southern

Keyword: broccoli casserole, southern broccoli casserole

Cooking Method: Oven

Servings:

Calories: 347kcal

Author: Kari

Equipment

a casserole dish or small baking dish

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter
½ cup onion finely diced
2 cloves garlic minced
6 cups broccoli florets chopped or 2 (10 ounce) packages chopped frozen broccoli, thawed
1 10.5 ounce can cream of mushroom soup
1 ½ cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
pinch kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
15-20 Ritz crackers roughly crushed (use as many as you need to cover the top of the casserole)
2 tablespoons butter cubed

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
While the oven preheats, melt three tablespoons of butter in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the diced onion & slowly let it start softening.
3 tablespoons butter, ½ cup onion
While the onion softens, partially cook the broccoli by steaming it. You can do this either in the microwave or on the stove:
In the Microwave - place broccoli in a microwave-safe bowl with three tablespoons of water & cover with a plate, then microwave for four minutes.
On the Stove - Use a steamer basket - place broccoli in a steamer basket over simmering water, then cover for 5 minutes.
6 cups broccoli florets
Once you get the broccoli going, add the diced garlic to the cooking onion, & cook it for just a minute or two until the garlic is fragrant. Remove it from the heat. The broccoli should be just about done cooking now as well - let it cool.
2 cloves garlic
While you let the broccoli, butter, onions, & garlic cool a little, you can make the rest of the filling.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cream of mushroom soup, mayonnaise, sour cream, eggs, lemon juice, salt, & pepper until well combined.
1 10.5 ounce can cream of mushroom soup, ½ cup mayonnaise, ½ cup sour cream, 2 large eggs, 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, pinch kosher salt
Then fold in the broccoli, the onion mixture (including all the butter from the pan), and all of the cheese.
1 ½ cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Pour the filling into a casserole dish.
Next, crush up the crackers to your desired level of crumbliness.
15-20 Ritz crackers
Sprinkle the crushed crackers on top of the broccoli mixture, making sure to cover the entire casserole. Dot the crackers with the remaining cubes of butter.
2 tablespoons butter
Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven until heated through and browned on top - about 45 minutes.
Let the casserole sit for 10-15 minutes before serving - it will be very hot.

Notes

Note about the crackers, I like to use my hands and crush them up into pieces. You can use a food processor if you want to make even crumbs, but I think homeyness & a little chaos is key to a good casserole. (You can also put the crackers in a plastic bag and beat them with a rolling pin.) Use as many as need to cover the top of your casserole.

Tips to make the BEST Broccoli Casserole

If you use frozen broccoli, be sure to defrost it and drain the liquid before preparing the casserole.
To prepare this casserole the day before, make the filling (everything but the cracker topping) and store it in a Tupperware container, but do NOT bake it. The day you're ready to serve the casserole, dump it in your casserole dish, then crumble the crackers on top and top the crackers with butter. Then bake. (I prefer to do it this way instead of chilling a baking dish, then putting that in the oven - I don't like doing that to nice casserole dishes.)

Nutrition