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This easy Broccoli and Cauliflower Casserole is a low-carb take on your favorite comfort food that the whole family will enjoy. It requires less than 15 minutes of prep before baking in the oven!
Cheesy casseroles are perfect during the fall and winter seasons. This recipe takes a classic broccoli casserole, adds cauliflower and lightens it up by making it lower carb and just as delicious!
The cheesy goodness creates a great recipe that is the perfect addition to your holiday meal.
This is a popular Thanksgiving side dish to serve along with Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Turkey and Apple Cranberry Sauce.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s creamy, cheesy and delicious!
- It’s naturally gluten free and low carb.
- It’s the perfect side dish for Thanksgiving dinner or weeknight dinner.
- It requires less than 15 minutes or prep work.
- You can easily prep it in advance and reheat prior to serving.
Ingredients You Need
You will need the following simple ingredients to make this casserole with homemade cheese sauce.
- Broccoli and Cauliflower: You can use all broccoli or all cauliflower instead of a mix, if desired. They should be chopped into small florets.
- Unsalted Butter: You can use ghee instead.
- Onion and Garlic: These add flavor so don’t omit.
- Cream Cheese: This helps create the cheesy creamy texture. You can substitute for mascarpone or even cottage cheese, but the texture and flavor of the casserole will be different.
- Heavy Cream: You can use whole milk instead, if needed.
- Dijon Mustard: Adds flavor.
- Cheese: You will need a combo of mozzarella cheese and sharp cheddar cheese (white) for the best flavor. You can substitute for another type of cheese like gouda, fontina or gruyere.
- Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
How to Make Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole
This easy side dish is made completely from scratch and comes together with only 15 minutes of prep work.
- Blanch Veggies – Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the cauliflower florets and broccoli florets and blanch for 1 minute. Drain well.
- Make the Creamy Cheese Sauce – Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion for 3 to 4 minutes, then add the garlic. Stir in the cream cheese until melted, then stir in the heavy cream, mustard, salt, pepper, half of the cheddar and the mozzarella. Once the cheese is melted, stir in the broccoli and cauliflower.
- Assemble the Casserole – Preheat the oven to 400° F and butter an 8×8 casserole dish. Pour the broccoli and cauliflower mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with the remaining cheddar.
- Bake – Bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, until cheese is bubbling and golden.
Garnish the casserole with freshly chopped parsley or sliced green onions before serving to add color, if desired.
Recipe Tips
- Prep ingredients ahead of time: Save time by chopping the fresh vegetables in advance. You can save more time by blanching the broccoli and cauliflower ahead of time.
- Drain the broccoli and cauliflower well: This prevents the sauce from becoming watery from the water stuck in between the veggies.
- Add rotisserie chicken: Make a broccoli cauliflower chicken casserole by adding shredded cooked rotisserie chicken to the mixture before baking.
- Add breadcrumbs: You can add bread crumbs or sprinkle crushed ritz crackers to the top of the casserole just prior to baking if you like casserole with breadcrumbs.
Storage
You can store leftover casserole in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat the leftovers in the microwave uncovered. Or you can reheat in the oven at 350° F for 20 to 25 minutes.
FAQs
Fresh is always best. You can use frozen broccoli or cauliflower in a casserole, but you will want to blanch it in water before adding it to the casserole. For frozen casserole, you will need to blanch it for 2 to 3 minutes.
We recommend dividing the uncooked casserole into freezer safe containers, making sure it is wrapped well or has an airtight cover. Store for up to 3 months. Remove from the freezer and bake the casserole at 400° F for 30 to 35 minutes or until it’s cooked through. It may take a little longer since it’s frozen.
Yes, you can bake it in advance and reheat just prior to serving. To reheat, cover with aluminum foil and heat in the oven at 350 degrees F. Reheat for 20 to 25 minutes or until reheated through.
For best results, bake this casserole uncovered.
What to Serve with Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole
Broccoli and Cauliflower Casserole tastes great with a variety of meals. Try serving it with a few of our favorites!
- Easy Dinner Rolls
- Cast Iron Chicken Thighs
- Maple Glazed Ham
- Sweet Potato Souffle
- Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin
Other Easy Casserole Recipes
You can never have too many easy casserole recipes. They help make dinner time easy and are the perfect side dish for a holiday table.
- Wild Rice and Mushroom Casserole
- Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole
- Baked Lobster Mac and Cheese
- Green Bean Casserole
Did you try this cheesy Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole recipe? Leave a recipe rating and review below.
Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 cups broccoli florets
- 2 cups cauliflower florets
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or ghee
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 ounces cream cheese, cubed, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 8 ounces shredded white cheddar cheese,, divided
- 3 ounces mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter an 8×8 casserole dish and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil; add the broccoli and cauliflower and blanch for 1 minute, then drain well.
- Melt butter in a deep skillet over medium heat. Saute onion 3-4 minutes, then add the garlic.
- Stir in the cream cheese until melted, and then stir in the heavy cream, mustard, salt, pepper, half of the cheddar, and the mozzarella. Once the cheese is melted, stir in the broccoli & cauliflower.
- Pour the contents into the prepared dish and top with the remaining cheddar. Bake uncovered 20-25 minutes, until cheese is bubbling and golden.
Notes
- You can use all broccoli or all cauliflower instead of a mix.
- Cream Cheese: This helps give this dish the creamy cheesy texture. You can substitute for mascarpone or even cottage cheese, but the texture and flavor of the casserole will be different.
- Heavy Cream: Use whole milk instead, if needed.
- Store in the refrigerator covered for up to 3 days.
- To freeze, store the uncooked casserole in a freezer safe container, making sure it is wrapped well or has an airtight cover. Store for up to 3 months. Then bake the casserole at 400 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, or until cooked through.
- To reheat, cover with foil and heat in the oven at 350 degrees F. Reheat for 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was originally published in November 2018 and was updated in October 2020 with new process photos, tips and more.
I loved this casserole. So flavorful. It went right into my repeat file folder. Made it as a side dish with main course of Cod au Gratin, except I used tilapia instead. I increased it to 8 servings so adjusted the increments. I deleted the cream cheese as I felt the recipe had enough cheese without it. I also sliced the onion rather than chopping it, as I like the feel and texture of sliced onions. I also used up some of the cheese I had in my refrigerator rather than going out and buying more. However I did buy some fresh mozzarella cheese and attempted to shred/grate it. You didn’t say how to prepare it.
I don’t like using pre-shredded cheese as a rule as it doesn’t melt as well as fresh does nor does it taste as good. I prefer the fresh cheeses so that’s what I did. In any event, it didn’t go well. BTW if anyone wants to shred or grate mozzarella cheese, freeze it and then grate/shred it. Otherwise it’s a complete mess. Regardless, even if you can shred/grate mozzarella cheese the right way, I wouldn’t use it again in this recipe. I thought it was way too stringy when mixing it up with everything, making it very difficult to spread it out evenly among all the other vegetables and ingredients, so next time I will use another cheese in it’s place. Great recipe. Thanks for sharing. It’s a keeper.
This is the most amazing recipe! I call it Pandemic “Mac” and Cheese. It’s so comforting, like mac and cheese but more healthy with all the veggies and no carbs! We all need comfort right now but we also want to eat better.
I love this casserole! It turned out so perfectly cheesy and delicious. I had zero trouble getting anyone to eat their veggies!
So creamy and delicious! It was a hit at our family dinner.
this was so yummy and now I finally got my non vegetable eaters to like broccoli this is a great recipe thank you!
This is a super yummy way to get those veggies in!