Have you ever wondered if broccoli can be the best combination with cheese? Since childhood, we have been taught that broccoli is a very healthy vegetable. It is loaded with fiber and nutrition, which positively soothes the body.
Coming up with an easy Broccoli casserole recipe, you will now have a simple side dish with multiple pantry staples. For creating a healthy Broccoli casserole recipe, you can use fresh broccoli or even frozen broccoli with the addition of a few substitutions.
Ingredients For Preparing Broccoli Casserole
- 2 cups of vegetables broth or water
- 1 cup quinoa rinsed under running water
- 16 ounces of broccoli florets from pre-packaged or two large bunches of broccoli
- Two tablespoons olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- Ten twists of ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (it can be avoided if you are sensitive to spice)
- 8 ounces of grated, shredded cheese
- One cup of low-fat milk
- ½ tablespoons of butter or 1 ½ teaspoons of olive oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- One slice of whole-wheat bread
Instructions To Cook Broccoli Casserole
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Take a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- For cooking quinoa, take the vegetable broth in a medium pot and add quinoa to it. Cover it and let it steam for 10 minutes.
- For roasting the broccoli, slice the large florets into half bite-sized pieces. Transfer it to the baking sheet and toss with olive oil.
- Sprinkle some salt on the top and bake it for about 20 minutes until they become tender and start to caramelize.
- To prepare bread crumbs, tear the pieces of bread and toss them into the food processor. Keep processing them until they are broken down into smaller crumbs.
- Take a small pan and melt the butter. To add fragrance, add garlic and cook it.
- Add the bread crumbs and keep stirring until they become crispy light brown. Keep them aside to cool down.
- Reduce the heat of the oven to 359 degrees centigrade. Add pepper, salt, and red pepper flakes to the quinoa pot and stir them.
- Keep ¾ cup of cheese for later use and add the rest to the pot.
- Pour milk and keep stirring until milk and cheese become perfectly incorporated in the quinoa. Take a baking dish and pour the cheesy quinoa into it. Add the roasted broccoli on top.
- Sprinkle the ¾ cup of cheese to the surface of the casserole along with the bread crumbs.
- Bake it for 25 minutes until the upper portion is golden. Let it cool down for 10 minutes before it is ready to be served.
And with this, your cheesy and creamy broccoli casserole is ready to be served. Without mayonnaise and cream of mushroom soup, this casserole recipe is good to go for all health-conscious addicts.
Healthy Substitutions To Broccoli Casserole
Since people nowadays are quite health-conscious, they prefer healthy substitutions for healthy recipes. Even for Broccoli casserole recipes, few health substitutions can be made.
Like light mayonnaise can be used for milk, low-fat cheese can be consumed. Instead of cream of mushroom soup, organic and gluten-free mushroom soup can be used. The topping can be skipped completely, and Ritz crackers can be added if you want Keto Broccoli casserole.
Nutritional Calculation Of Broccoli Casserole
⅙ serving of Broccoli casserole has the following nutrition:
- 275 kcal calorie
- 19 g carbohydrates
- 10 g proteins
- 18 g fat
- 7 g saturated fat
- 62 mg cholesterol
- 626 mg sodium
- 704 mg potassium
- 3 g fiber
- 4 g sugar
- 1055 IU vitamin A
- 90.2 mg vitamin C
- 239 mg calcium
- 1.3 mg iron
Other Broccoli Recipes To Try Today!
No wonder the Broccoli casserole recipe is so healthy and tasty. With the availability of healthy substitutes, even fitness freaks and trying out this recipe. Some other broccoli recipes that you might like to give a try are as follows:
- Broccoli cauliflower salad
- Broccoli and cheese
- Garlic Roasted Broccoli
- 10-minute oven-roasted Sesame Broccoli
Additional Cooking Tips For Broccoli Casserole
To prepare the best broccoli recipe, here are some tips that you should not avoid.
- It is better to use frozen broccoli florets as they are convenient shortcuts and do not require chopping.
- When ore cooking broccoli, it is recommended to steam them until they are crispy and tender.
- Broccoli casserole with Ritz crackers is the best option for fitness-conscious people.
- To make this casserole dish convenient, it is suggested to assemble the entire dish in advance.
The Bottom Line
Broccoli is the most popular vegetable amongst all age groups. The Broccoli casserole recipe is a new and better way to feed the nutritional veggie. Instead of choking down flavorless, mushy broccoli, now you can grab the cheesiest and creamiest Broccoli casserole without any worries of taste buds.
Description
The Broccoli casserole recipe is proving to be one of the favorite and healthiest recipes of all time. Let us know how this casserole recipe works for you.