This Broccoli Cheese Potato Casserole recipe is the perfect simple dinner idea that the whole family will love. Throw some chicken in and freeze for your next busy night!
This Broccoli Cheese Potato Casserole is an awesome simple side dish that can be put together right before dinner, or even the night before. Five out of five kids ate it, and four of five without any complaints! That’s a serious achievement folks. Very serious.
It’s perfect for a busy night, lazy Sunday, or for bringing to a friend. You can throw some shredded chicken in to make it a full meal, or do what we did and serve it with stuffed chicken breasts from the frozen food aisle!
You can make this potato broccoli casserole super easy by purchasing a bag of shredded potatoes (like for hash browns) in either the freezer or refrigerator. But if you don’t have one or just prefer to use your own potatoes, no big deal!
You can see in our recorded live video that I forgot to buy pre-shredded potatoes so we just grated a whole potato! Make sure you stick it in the microwave or blanche it for a few minutes first if you go this route.
Sometimes your two year old needs love while dinner’s fixing. Being two is tough. He says hi (or more likely “HIIIIIIIII!!!!“) and wants you to know that he’ll listen to mommy next time and not pinch his fingers in the garlic press.
Speaking garlic presses, here are Amazon affiliate links to a few things I love!
- Garlic press – this is the press I have, I love it possibly an unhealthy amount. It both minces and slices!
- Glass casserole dish – a casserole dish that comes with a lid? Oh, bae. Let’s make dinner.
- Steel Spatula – oh, yeh. Get allllll the casserole (or brownies!) out of the pan. Mmmmm
If you like our Broccoli Cheese and Potato Casserole, then you’ll love these other simple and delicious casserole dinner recipes:
- Hot Chicken Salad Casserole – an eighties classic! This Chicken and Rice Casserole was a favorite in our house. Did you eat it too?
- Tortellini and Pesto Chicken Casserole – put an Italian spin on dinner tonight with this simple pesto casserole. One of my husband’s top choices.
- Chili Dog Casserole – can you say game day hit? My oldest son could eat the entire tray on his own.
- Ham and Potato Breakfast Bake – we love this for both breakfast and dinner. Easy to make and it freezes well too.
- Loaded Cauliflower Casserole – add chicken for a full meal, or skip it to use as a side dish. The secret ingredient is ranch dressing powder. Yum.
- Thanksgiving Leftovers Casserole – I don’t care what anyone says, leftovers are the BEST part of Thanksgiving! And this casserole is proof of that!
If you’d like to make our Broccoli Cheese and Potato Casserole a full meal, you can add chicken breast. Make sure it’s fully cooked chicken breast.
Adding uncooked would drastically change the time needed for the casserole to come to a safe temperature. It would also add moisture to the recipe.
I usually have cooked chicken breast in my freezer, but if we’re out I’ll grab a rotisserie chicken, some from the market freezer aisle, or even canned chicken would work fine in a pinch!
If you’re not into chicken, pork loin or ham would taste great too.
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Broccoli Cheese Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 cups shredded potato I used a 20 ounce bag of hash browns
- 4 cups broccoli florets I used frozen/thawed
- 2 cups finely shredded cheese I used a fiesta blend - add an extra cup to the inside of the casserole if you like things really cheesy!
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sweet onion small chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- optional: shredded chicken breast
Instructions
- Put everything EXCEPT 1 cup of the shredded cheese into a large bowl and mix well.
- Press mixture into a 9x9 casserole dish and top with remaining cheese.
- Bake covered on center rack at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 - 15 minutes until cheese is starting to brown.
- Enjoy!
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This Broccoli Cheese Potato Casserole Recipe was originally developed for Collective Bias and Barber Foods. Mama Loves Food has been compensated for time and work. Opinions and recipes are mine alone. #CollectiveBias #SimplySpecialMeals. FIRST PUBLISHED 09.22.15
Broccoli Cheese Potato Casserole, Ingredients:
- 4 cups shredded potato (I used a 20 ounce bag of hash browns)
- 4 cups broccoli florets (I used frozen/thawed)
- 2 cups finely shredded cheese (I used a fiesta blend) – add an extra cup to the inside of the casserole if you like things really cheesy!
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sweet onion, small chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- optional: shredded chicken breast
Broccoli Cheese Potato Casserole, Directions:
- Put everything EXCEPT 1 cup of the shredded cheese into a large bowl and mix well.
- Press mixture into a 9×9 casserole dish and top with remaining cheese.
- Bake covered on center rack at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 – 15 minutes until cheese is starting to brown.
- Enjoy!
Elaine Freimuth says
September 7, 2016 at 9:10 pmThat broccoli cheese and potato recipe sounds heavenly! Thanks for sharing! Hugs Elaine
Alyssa says
December 22, 2017 at 11:16 pmDo you thaw the hashbrowns before making the casserole?
April says
December 28, 2017 at 5:04 amI used refrigerated hashbrowns, but if you were using frozen hashbrowns then yes, I would thaw first 🙂
Christen says
July 21, 2019 at 4:09 pmHow long should I bake this if I freeze it ahead of time?
April Woods says
July 23, 2019 at 5:22 pmIt will depend on the dish you freeze it in, but I typically check after 30 minutes extra and plan on as much as an hour extra.
Brian Henderson says
December 24, 2017 at 4:45 pmTried this recipe, but had a few questions. With the frozen broccoli, four cups is the equivalence of what size frozen bag? Does one defrost the frozen hash browns and broccoli? I didn’t and the recipe worked fine, but you should have indicated if the frozen items can remain frozen or should be defrosted. Also, how much should I use if I substitute bottled garlic? Finally, I didn’t have a 9″ by 9″ casserole dish; I find that most recipes offer alternate dish sizes and the appropriate cooking time adjustments for each. In the end, I found the finished dish to be a bit bland. I will play with the recipe further. Thank you for allowing me to leave comments. — Brian
April says
December 28, 2017 at 4:57 amHi Brian –
Thanks for trying our recipe! As you’ll see in the instructions, it specifically states we used frozen broccoli that was thawed. The hash browns we used weren’t frozen (and therefore never indicated as such), but you could use frozen/thawed as well.
I don’t suggest using frozen vegetables directly in the casserole as that may water the dish down and affect it’s flavor.
As for the broccoli, we don’t use a particular sized bag, just measure out 4 cups.
Bottled garlic will generally have measurement conversions on the container. It depends on the brand and how it’s minced/chopped/pasted. It is worth noting that bottled garlic generally will not have the same potency as fresh garlic, and will affect the flavor outcome of your recipe. Especially in a dish like this that relies on very few ingredients.
Hope this helps!
Val Hughes says
October 24, 2018 at 8:44 pmJust made this for supper, April, and it was DELICIOUS! I loved it. Will be making this many times – thanks so much! Not the first of your recipes that I’ve made – love how they are simple but taste so good. Thanks!!
April says
October 25, 2018 at 10:49 pmi’m so glad you loved our broccoli cheese potato casserole! <3