One Pan Broccoli Cheese Wild Rice Casserole.
Keeping things healthy and cozy today with this one pan Broccoli Cheese Wild Rice Casserole. Roasted broccoli, fresh herbs, hearty wild rice, and plenty of melty cheese, all together in one casserole. This is equally great as a healthy vegetarian main course or as a side dish for your next holiday roast. Either way you serve it up, cheesy broccoli with rice is always a good combo!
With the holidays here, it can be hard to sneak in vegetables between all the cheese filled appetizers, pasta dishes, and of course, all the holiday cookies. Trust me, I’m the first to admit that once November and December roll around, I go all out with recipes. I firmly believe we should allow ourselves to indulge in all the holiday food…and then go for a hike!
That said, it’s also nice to have balance. In between all the pasta and cookies, some veggies and whole grains are needed too! I know to some this sounds boring, but I promise veggies can be just as delicious. This casserole is proof.
I always cook so much wild rice during the months of November and December. It just feels so cozy to me. It reminds me of being a kid, and mom making her Sunday night rice pilaf that I loved so much. It’s one of those healthy foods that feels extra comforting, and I’m loving incorporating it into more dishes this year.
One of the main requests I get, is for more vegetarian friendly recipes. I know so many of you are looking to cook more veggie heavy dinners. So I thought I’d share this casserole that my family loves so much.
Growing up my dad used to make these rice bakes that consisted solely of rice, broccoli, cheese, and hard boiled eggs. It probably sounds really odd, but those cheesy rice bakes were delicious. They’re also the inspiration behind today’s recipe. I took his base idea and upgraded it a bit. The end result was this casserole.
It’s quick, simple, a little bit retro (because I think all casseroles are kind of retro), healthy but cozy, and delicious. It’s hearty enough to be a full meal, but could also double as a simple veggie filled holiday side dish. Love a two in one kind of recipe!
The details.
First things first, I always get a lot of questions about what wild rice brand I use. Personally, I like to use a wild rice blend to get a good mix of texture and flavor. This is my favorite wild rice blend. I’ve been ordering via Amazon…where I do 90% of my shopping…anyone else? But Thrive Market and a few other stores carry it as well.
If wild rice is not easily available to you, I recommend using brown rice, but the cooking time might be a few minutes less as wild rice tends to take a touch longer to cook, so just be aware of that!
Ok. That’s the rice.
Now, cook up the shallots along with some thinly sliced cremini mushrooms, some thyme, and a little dill. Add a few pats of butter, and let the wild rice toast up in the skillet. This step is KEY. Toasting the rice in the butter adds a nice nutty flavor to the rice that’s DELICIOUS. It’s a simple step that takes no time, but makes a big impact in the recipe. Don’t skip.
Pour in some water, cover, and let the rice steam until fluffy. This takes a little bit of time. So…pour or mix-up a holiday cocktail, turn on the Christmas music, and relax a bit while this simmers away.
When the rice is fluffy, stir in the broccoli and a couple handfuls of baby spinach (going heavy on the veggies today!). Then add lots of cheese, and transfer the dish to the oven to finish cooking.
When the casserole comes out, the cheese will be bubbling, the edges will be crisp, and the smells coming from your kitchen will be beyond good. Finish off with a sprinkle of fresh thyme and you’ll have the perfect vegetarian dinner that’s both healthy and comforting. Trust me, I know this might not seem that special, but don’t knock it till you try it.
Every bite is filled with nutty wild rice, crisp broccoli, and delicious Gruyère, because two is always better than one.
Also, if you love broccoli cheddar soup, think of this as the carb heavy, baked version. Just with rice and cheese on top. You might not believe me, but this version may just even be better…
If you make this wild rice casserole be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Broccoli Cheese Wild Rice Casserole
Roasted broccoli, fresh herbs, hearty wild rice, and plenty of melty cheese, all together in one pan. This is equally great as a healthy vegetarian main course or as a side dish for your next holiday roast!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 small shallots, thinly sliced
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, plus more for serving
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 cups wild rice blend
- 3 heads broccoli, cut into florets
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded Gruyère cheese
Instructions
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1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Heat the olive oil In a large, oven safe skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the shallots and cook until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add the mushrooms, thyme, dill, crushed red pepper, and season with salt and pepper. Cook undisturbed for 5 minutes or until golden. Add the butter and wild rice, cook 2-3 minutes, until the rice is golden and toasted. Pour in 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook, covered for 40-45 minutes.
3. Once the rice is cooked, stir in the broccoli, spinach, and 1/2 cup of each cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Scatter the remaining cheese over top the casserole.
4. Transfer to the oven and bake 20-25 minutes, until the cheese is melted and just beginning to brown. Serve warm with additional thyme.
Our Favorite Recipes
One-Pan Cheesy Spaghetti Pie.
oh my, that rice looks really amazing!!
Thank you so much Ruth!
Always appreciate your emphasis on balance and no guilt; and casseroles are retro in the best way possible 🙂
Thank you so much Liz! I am so glad you like this!
New reader here! This looks amazing!! I love your photographs, they are gorgeous.
Welcome! I am so glad you are enjoying my blog, Andrea! Also, I hope you love all the recipes you try!
This is such a great recipe! I’m making this tonight!
I hope it turns out amazing for you, Marian! Thank you!
Love how creamy and comforting this looks! 🙂
Thank you Brittany!
Great recipe idea! My family eats a lot of meatless meals each week, so we will have to try this one. Was just adding Lundberg Wild Rice to my grocery list yesterday! Do you have a Walmart Super Center near? They have all the Lundberg rice and grain varieties at ours here on the Eastern Shore Maryland. I think my family will like this dish….just minus the mushrooms for all three of them…maybe I’ll put some in my portion?!
Happy last days of November to you!
Hi Valerie! I hope your family loves this recipe! I do not have a Walmart Super Center, but I do have a regular Walmart near me! Thank you!
This looks amazing and is just begging for some chickpeas or lentils added in to up the protein a bit. I can’t wait to try it! Thanks Tieghan!
Thank you Dana! I hope you love this recipe!
I’m thinking about making this soon, but since it’s just me, I anticipate a lot of leftovers. Is it possible to freeze this?
Thanks!
Hey Erica! Yes, this freezes really well. You can also easily halve the recipe too. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan ?
Definitely going to try this, thanks!
Thank you so much Fiona!
Goes to my favorites list! Always loved the broccoli & cheese combination, and wild rice is a perfect company! I mixed half white rice, so my 5 & 9 y.o. kids would also eat it, and it was a hit! Served with fish sticks, absolutely delicious!
YUM! I am so glad you and your family loved this recipe, Anya! Thank you!
This broccoli cheese casserole is to die for! I am such a fan of wild rice in anything and flavors of your recipe look divine! Thanks so much for sharing.
Thank you so much! I am so glad you like this recipe!
It was DELICIOUS. The family loved it. Made a few substitutions: Vegetable stock vs water and added carrots and cauliflower as I did not have enough broccoli. Thanks and Happy December month.
Thank you so much Karine! I am so glad you loved this!
Just made this tonight and it turned out delicious! I actually cut the recipe in half, since it’s just me. I plan on eating this all week for lunch. I too, love wild rice in the winter, so bring those recipes on! Thanks again! (btw, I also tagged you in my instagram story:) )
Thank you so much Alyssa! I am so glad this turned out amazing for you!
Do you precook the broccoli or add it to the rice raw and have it cook in the oven?
HI! You should not precook the broccoli. Add it raw. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan ?
This was so yummy. I doubled the amount of broccoli (which made it hard to stir) but it turned out AMAZING once it cooked in the oven. I was really surprised at how delicious this was because it was so easy! YUM!!
Thank you so much Libby!
This was delicious. Thank you for a great recipe with a wonderful flavor combination. I love the Lundberg Rice products too.
Thank you so much Kristine!
I am new to your blog and I have to say you are so very talented! I took your persimmon burrata salad to Thanksgiving and received rave reviews. Tonight I made this amazing dish and took it to a family fish fry. It was the perfect side and oh, so tasty. I received so many compliments! I almost made a half batch ~ so glad I didn’t! We barely had any leftovers. Thank you for sharing your talents 🙂
Hi Jeanne! Welcome to my blog, I am so glad you found it! Also, I am so glad you have been enjoying the recipes! Thank you so much!
I made this for dinner tonight and my family loved it. Delicious! My husband wants me to add it to the Christmas menu.
We also have your shredded Brussels sprouts and bacon salad on the Christmas menu 🙂
I am so glad this turned out so amazing for you, Gail! Thank you so much!
Made this the other night and it was really delicious. One question – it refers to roasted broccoli, but I don’t see roasting the broccoli in the recipe. I went ahead and roasted ours since there was time while the rice cooks, but just wondering if that is the way it is meant to be or if the broccoli should go in raw?
Hey Amanda! I like to add the broccoli raw, but I am sure the roasted broccoli was delicious! Please let me know if you have any other questions. Glad you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan ?
Loved this one too. Super easy and fast.
Thank you! I am so glad this turned out so well for you!
Thank you very much for this lovely recipe! I followed it as written except for one additional shallot, not quite a full eight ounces of mushrooms, vegetable broth instead of water. It was happily eaten by all members of family! Next time, I will sub parmesan for the Gruyere because I think we will enjoy that as well. I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes! Thank you again, Tieghan!
Thank you for trying this! I am so happy you loved this!
Made this last night in conjunction with your amazing Golden Sweet Potato Soup. Used 1 shallot, 1 small yellow onion, and a few big handfuls of baby kale, baby spinach & chard mix. Great way to use up random wild rice mix and veggies and cheese. Bonus- I mixed half and half leftovers of the sweet potato soup and this casserole today for lunch and it’s bangin!!!! My mind is playing tricks on me thinking the soup is actually cheesy sauce, which works so well with the broccoli. Thank you so much!
I am so glad you loved this! Thank you!
Will for sure try this! Looks and sounds delicious. Can you tell me, please, I’m sure you’ve said it many times, but, what skillet you use?? Need to get one that can also go in oven. Or do you have a recommendation for a good multi-purpose stove-top and oven skillet/pot and size?! Thank you!
Hi Cassandra! I use staub cast iron skillets! They’re linked in the shop page on my site!
https://dev.halfbakedharvest.com/shop/kitchen/
Made this for dinner last night and it was delicious! I added some shredded chicken to the mix when I added the broccoli. Thank you! The entire family (hubby and 3 kids) enjoyed it!
Thank you so much Christa!
Loved this recipe so much. Just came back to make it for a 2nd time. It was a huge hit in my home, and the leftovers were also wonderful. About to take it out of the oven for a second time. This time we are eating it with Salmon. 🙂
I am so glad you loved this so much Laura! Thank you!
Hi! So looking forward to making this! – it’s for my husband and he will want some protein so I’m going to add chicken – at what part in the recipe do you recommend it? should I pre-cook the chicken and then just add it in to heat for the oven phase? thank you!
HI! I would add raw cubed chicken in when you add the rice. The chicken will cook up with the rice. Alternately, you could add cooked shredded chicken once the rice is cooked. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan ?
this is in the oven – can’t wait to try it, LOVE wild rice! Just wanted to double check the broccoli amount… 3 heads = approx 9 cups of broccoli… is that right? That how we made it and ours seems to be pretty broccoli heavy compared to your photos. Maybe we’ve misinterpreted a ‘head’ of broccoli? I’m sure it will be delicious either way it already smells amazing!
Hi Natalie! That sounds about right. My heads of broccoli may have been a bit smaller than yours. I hope this still turns out amazing for you! Let me know ?
Looking forward to making this tonight, it should be great with our Honeybaked ham. Christmas Eve dinner with family.
I hope you have an amazing time and love this! Thank you Kathy!
I made this for a Christmas side dish. Fabulous flavor. And yes the smells from the oven added to the excitement to try it. No vegetarians at the dinner so we used chicken broth instead of water. Nothing was leftover. I use many of your recipes and they are always delicious. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Thank you so much Trish! I am so glad you loved this recipe!
I don’t cook with lentils often, but want to add some for my vegetarian pregnant DIL. I’m guessing to cook them with the rice..any suggestions on perportions and cooking times
HI! I would add 1/2 cup of lentils and an additional cup of water. Add both when you add the rice. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan
Could I use frozen broccoli? If so should I thaw it or put it in frozen? I love your cookbook and website! Big fan!!
HI! You can use frozen broccoli. No need to thaw before using! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan
I need a take- along veggie for a trivia night. I’d like not to mess with spoons, forks, and bowls. I’m thinking this recipe might work to bake in muffin cups, what do you think?
HI Rose! I am sure muffin cups will be great and very fun. Love the idea! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Delicious recipe!! I cut the recipe in half and love it. Indulgent and comforting, but still tons of veggies to keep it feeling healthy 🙂 thank you for another delicious vegetarian recipe!! Freezes well too.
Thank you so much Eliza! I am so glad you loved this recipe! xTieghan
We made this again tonight…OMG, so yummy!
This time, made it in a 7 1/4 dutch oven. Everything in the recipe plus 1/2 cup red lentils, one addtnl cup chicken broth, 2 diced zucchinis, most of a cooked chicken skin removed and shredded, more of each cheese. It was a huge pot of tasty goodness!
Thanks again!
Thank you so much! xTieghan
Great recipe. I made it this week. My advice for people is to use vegetable stock instead of water to add more flavor. Also half the recipe because we had too many leftovers. It’s quite cheesy so maybell youll want it more as a side dish instead of the main dish. If you’re eating it as a main, maybe add sausage to appease any meat eaters. Great recipe. Gruyere made it a slam dunk.
That is so amazing to hear! Thank you so much Kim! xTieghan
This recipe is so underrated!!! I have made it at least three times and keep coming back to it. I added chicken. Love your recipes!
Thank you so much Elaine! xTieghan
I am planning on bringing this dish to our family Christmas Eve dinner. Unfortunately, I have to work that day, and would like to prepare as much in advance as possible. Do you think I could complete Step 2 a day or two before, and complete Step 3 &4 the day of?
HI! You can actually prepare through step 3, then cover and chill. Bake as directed when you are ready to serve. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan
I’m a college student on a budget so I replaced cremini with baby bells and wild rice for regular brown rice. I divided the recipe in half and baked for only 13 mins! Came out so perfect!! Thank you!!
Thank you Tina!! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you!! xTieghan
Trying this recipe for the first time tonight! Feeding 5 teenage boys, along with my husband and I….so clearly I doubled the recipe, and am serving it with chicken on the side. SO excited for dinner
Thank you so much Michelle! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Looking forward to trying this recipe! I don’t have an oven safe skillet- can you use a Dutch oven instead?
Hey Cat,
A dutch oven would work or you could transfer to an oven safe baking dish. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Amazing! So delicious and really not that hard!!!! Healthy but so yummy and cozy!!!!
Thank you so much Megan! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I should have known better. Once in a while, I will trust a recipe online. This was wrong in many ways. No graces. Adding raw broccoli to the cooked rice was a terrible idea, I can’t believe I was tricked into trying. Sigh. Next time, I will trust my instincts.
Hey Flore,
So sorry you had issues with the recipe, please let me know how I can help! xTieghan
Can I add some protein or legumes to this? Chickpeas? Chicken? What would you recommend?
Hey Cassandra,
I think chicken would work well here. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I halved the rice but kept everything else the same! Loved it.
Hey Amanda,
Awesome!! I am thrilled that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a go! xTieghan