Aunt Betty’s Comfort Kitchen · Vegetables

Broccoli Rice Casserole

The potluck standby — cooked rice and broccoli bound in a smooth cheese sauce and baked until the edges brown. Betty's binder is Cheez Whiz: no soup, no flour, just cheese.

~1 hr 10 min total 20 min prep 45–60 min bake

Effort ●●○○ Time ●●○○ Some Doing

VegetarianGluten-Free

Servingsamounts scale to match

Units

Ingredients

Drain the rice and broccoli well, and don't overbake. Wet broccoli or watery rice makes a soupy casserole — pat the cooked broccoli dry and use day-old rice if you have it. And pull it once it's hot through and just browned at the edges; pushed too long, the cheese sauce breaks and turns oily.

Easier, if you like

Frozen chopped broccoli (thawed and squeezed dry) and a pouch of microwave rice turn this into a five-minute assembly.
Skip the sauté — stir the raw onion straight in; it softens as it bakes (a little sharper, but easy).

Method

Cook's notes

Betty's binder is Cheez Whiz — it melts into a smooth cheese sauce with no flour or soup. Any processed cheese sauce works; for a sharper flavor, stir in a handful of shredded cheddar.

Cook the rice and broccoli first and drain both well — extra water is what makes this casserole soupy. Day-old cooked rice is perfect here.

Many family versions add a can of cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup for extra creaminess — stir one in if that's how you remember it.

Margarine is Betty's; unsalted butter works just as well.

Make it vegan (it's already vegetarian and gluten-free)

Gluten-free: it already is — rice, broccoli, and Cheez Whiz are gluten-free (check the label to be sure).

Vegan: swap a vegan cheese sauce (or melt vegan cheddar with a splash of plant milk) and use plant butter.