This Cheesy Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole is made with a creamy cheese sauce and a crispy garlic breadcrumb topping.
This is a popular Thanksgiving dish that we love, along with a Classic Green Bean Casserole or Creamy Brussels Sprouts with Bacon.
This is a Thanksgiving vegetable side dish recipe that doesn’t use a lot of oven time, we all know how valuable oven real estate is on turkey day!
Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole Recipe
We’re using a few of our favorite things: veggies (yes, we love them!) cheese, an herby creamy sauce, and crispy garlicky breadcrumbs to make this one of the top contenders for best side dish ever!
Ingredients Needed
Here’s the basic list of ingredients you’ll need in order to make this Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole recipe. As always, you can find the full list of ingredients located in the recipe card below.
- Broccoli & Cauliflower – use fresh for the best texture
- Butter – salted
- Garlic – minced
- Onion – white or yellow
- Milk – 2% preferred
- Flour – all purpose
- Chicken Broth
- Spices – fresh thyme, salt, pepper, and garlic powder
- Cheese – fresh cheddar and fresh parmesan, shredded
How to make Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole:
- STEAM VEGGIES Start by chopping the broccoli and cauliflower into 1 inch florets. Steam or boil in a large pot of water for 4-5 minutes, drain, and place in 9×13 inch pan.
- CHEESE SAUCE In a skillet cook onion and garlic with butter until they are tender and fragrant, about 3- 5 minutes. Whisk in the flour, then gradually whisk in the milk and chicken broth. Whisk until mixture is smooth and creamy. Season with salt, pepper and fresh thyme, and pour over broccoli and cauliflower. Sprinkle cheddar & parmesan cheeses on top.
- BREADCRUMBS Make the breadcrumb topping by combining melted butter, breadcrumbs, and garlic powder. Sprinkle over casserole.
- BAKE Finally, bake at 350 Fº for 15-20 minutes, until crumbs are golden brown and broccoli is tender.
Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole Recipe Tips and FAQ:
- Can I Make This Recipe Ahead of Time? – YES! Simply prepare the casserole as directed in the recipe below (do not bake yet), and refrigerate until ready to bake.
- How Long Does It Take To Reheat? To reheat, place in a 350 degree F oven, covered, for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.
- Can I Use Different Cheeses? Of course! You can use flavorful, melty cheeses like mozzarella, gouda, fontina or gruyere.
- Can I Use Different Seasonings? Yep! I love the fresh flavor of thyme, but parsley, rosemary, or sage would also work great in this casserole. If you’re not into the green herbs, feel free to leave it out!
- Can I Freeze Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole? Unfortunately, no. I do not think this recipe would work well being frozen. The cream sauce and veggies would not have the best texture (it could become grainy), and the breadcrumbs would likely lose their crispiness.
What to serve with Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole
Looking for the best side dishes to go with this casserole recipe? Here are some of our favorites…
- Parmesan Roasted Potatoes
- Air Fryer Turkey Breast
- The BEST Mashed Potatoes Recipe
- One Hour Ranch Dinner Rolls
More Easy Broccoli Recipes
You can never have too many vegetable side dishes, but if you want to try something other than a casserole, I have you covered!
- Roasted Broccoli Salad with Lemon and Parmesan
- Deli Style Broccoli Cheddar Salad
- Loaded Broccoli Cheese Mashed Potato Casserole
- Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
I’m so excited for you to try this easy casserole recipe!
Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole
Equipment
- large pot
- skillet
Ingredients
- 4 cups broccoli, washed and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 3 cups cauliflower, washed and cut into 1 inch pieces
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese, shredded
For The Crumb Topping
- 1½ cups plain bread crumbs
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° and heat large pot of water.
- After preparing broccoli and cauliflower, boil or steam in pot of water 4-5 minutes, until semi-tender. Drain and place in lightly greased 9x13 inch pan.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter and cook the onion and garlic until tender and fragrant, about 4-5 minutes. Whisk in the flour until thick, then gradually whisk in the milk and chicken broth. Keep whisking until mixture is smooth and creamy. Season with salt, pepper and fresh thyme.
- Pour creamy mixture over broccoli and cauliflower, then sprinkle on the cheddar and parmesan cheese.
- In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, garlic powder, and melted butter. Spread over broccoli cauliflower casserole.
- Bake at 350 ° 15-20 minutes until top is golden brown and broccoli and cauliflower are tender.
Notes
Nutrition
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Giule
Made this for Thanksgiving. It was a big hit and requested for the next family gathering. I had to make a second batch the next day to go with the left overs.
Kate
Great dish no trouble with thickening.. Everything was perfect. A winner for sure, not the same old, same old.
Jamie
Made this today, adding different types of cheese makes it so yummy. Thank you
Tea
I used only one cup of milk. Once the sauce had thickened, I removed from heat and added 1 cup of grated cheddar stirring to combine. Panko bread crumbs for topping. Dish was a hit with my family.
Adele
I think there was too much salt as the chicken broth is naturally salty too. The casserole was watery when it came out of the oven – perhaps the cauliflower had leached its water into the sauce during the cooking.
Dana
I had so much trouble getting the milk and to thicken in the pan. Do you think it will be ok if I put it over the broccoli and cauliflower still watery?? Ahh
Mare Marra
I just made this and followed the instructions exactly, except I added a bit of white wine to the sauce and used cheddar along with Swiss & Gruyère. It was absolutely delicious!!! I wanted to do a “test run” before I bring it to Thanksgiving.
I think it’s going to be a HIT ⭐️ !!
Christine StJohn
I followed this to the T and although I really had to work to get the sauce to thicken in the skillet, it was very watery after coming out of the oven. I love qarlic and onions but could not taste either.
Thomas Mueller
Making this for Thanksgiving but noticed there is no amount for the garlic to be sautéed with the onions for the cream sauce.
I’m going to try one teaspoon of minced and see if that works.
Sara Smith
Thank you Thomas! The recipe is updated to reflect the correct amount.
Kim
This sounds DELICIOUS!! I’m definitely giving this recipe a try!
Shawn
Hope you enjoy it Kim!
Libbi Hockwalt
I love this site it’s so fun and informative. I have used several recipes and they have all been easy and delicious. I always wait for a new recipe to come to my e-mail, it’s such a treat to find a new and good recipe. Thank you for all your hard work in putting this site together.
Shawn
Thank you! I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipes. 🙂
Donna Reynolds
I’ve made this 3 times,and loved it more each time.Thank you it’s a lovely way to enjoy cauliflower and broccoli.
Steven Painovich
At 45 emails a day I read “I WASH YOU DRY” before the rest. I pass on the sweet things I’m diabetic but I’ve tried several. Thank you
Shawn
Wow!! What a compliment! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the emails Steven. And the recipes too! 😉