Easy Cheesy Ham Broccoli Rice Casserole is a one-pot wonder that's quick to put together and can be made ahead of time. Your whole family will love the combination of tender chunks of ham, frozen broccoli florets, and fluffy rice baked in a dreamy creamy cheese sauce.
Because this casserole can be put together ahead of time, it is perfect for busy weeknights when served on its own. It's so perfect for an informal, stress-free dinner party when served with a nice Caesar salad and crusty French bread or Southern flaky biscuits.
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Why You Should Make this Delicious Casserole
- Quick and Easy to Prepare: On those days when time is short, this is the perfect casserole to turn to.
- Versatile: You can easily substitute ingredients to use what you have on hand. For example, substitute chicken to make my Easy Chicken Rice and Broccoli Casserole. If you're a fan of Velveeta like I am, you can easily substitute Velveeta for part of the Cheddar cheese. Want a pasta dish? Substitute your favorite pasta for the rice.
- Leftover Ham: This recipe is perfect for leftover holiday ham. You can, however, also use deli ham in this casserole.
- Make Ahead: This awesome casserole is not only quick and easy to prepare, but also can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until you're ready to pop it into the oven.
- Yummy Leftovers: The leftovers, if any, are just as delicious as when the casserole was first made.
Ingredients: Here's What You'll Need
- The "Main" Ingredients: Chopped ham, frozen broccoli florets, and cooked long-grain rice.
- The Sauce: For the sauce, I used undiluted cream of mushroom soup and low-fat sour cream - simple and delicious.
- The Cheesy Part: I use shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese mixed into the ingredients and sprinkled on top of the casserole.
- The Rest of the Ingredients: I also sprinkle Ritz cracker crumbs on top of the casserole, dotted with butter, for added crunch. I lightly cook the frozen broccoli florets in boiling water with Kosher salt added.
Steps: Here's How I Make This Casserole
- I started by cooking the frozen broccoli florets in salted boiling water for four to five minutes. Then, I drained the broccoli well.
- I cleaned out the saucepan used to cook the broccoli and used it for the rest of the preparation. I started by cooking chopped ham in some melted butter over medium heat for about five minutes.
- Next, I added the cream of mushroom soup and sour cream to the ham in the saucepan and stirred to combine.
- After that, I stirred in half of the shredded Cheddar cheese.
- Finally, I added the cooked rice and drained broccoli, and stirred everything together until well mixed.
- I transferred the casserole mixture to a casserole dish that I had sprayed with nonstick spray.
- I sprinkled the remaining cheddar cheese and Ritz cracker crumbs on top of the cheesy ham rice and broccoli casserole. Then, I dotted the top with unsalted butter.
At this point, I could have covered the casserole with aluminum foil, refrigerated it for later use, or heated it in the oven.
Once I was ready to heat the casserole, I baked it uncovered in a preheated 375°F oven for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, the cheese was melted and bubbly, and the Ritz cracker crumbs were golden brown.
The Cheesy Ham Broccoli and Rice casserole was absolutely delicious. All of the flavors perfectly complemented each other for a fantastic one-pot meal.
If you're looking for comfort food at its best, give this quick and easy recipe a try. Yum!
Recipe FAQ
When I use Velveeta cheese in this recipe, I add a cup or four ounces of cubed Velveeta to the cream of mushroom/sour cream sauce. I heat the sauce until the Velveeta cheese has melted.
I store leftovers, if any, in the refrigerator, covered, for two to three days. I reheat the leftovers either in the microwave for several minutes or in a preheated 350°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through. Sometimes, I'll first heat the leftovers in the microwave and then put them in the oven for five to 10 minutes to crisp up the top.
Feel free to use fresh broccoli florets in place of frozen broccoli.
If you have picky eaters who don't like broccoli, consider substituting green peas for the broccoli.
Plain dry breadcrumbs and Panko breadcrumbs work just as well in this recipe as the Ritz cracker crumbs.
Chula's Test Kitchen Tips
- I like using frozen broccoli florets in this recipe because I generally have them on hand. One thing that I tend to do, however, is to trim the frozen florets to roughly the same size for even cooking and cut off any tough stalks.
- Some years back, I made the mistake of purchasing frozen broccoli instead of frozen broccoli florets. I ended up with a bag of mostly tough broccoli stalks. Do yourself a favor and spend the extra money on the florets.
- Other than cooking the broccoli in salted water, I don't find that it's necessary to add any additional salt. The reason is that the ham tends to be pretty salty and provides all the salt the recipe needs, at least for my taste.
- As you may know, ham has some to a lot of water added. The reason for cooking the ham in the melted butter is to remove any excess water. You can, however, skip this step if your ham is on the dry side.
- I like to use fat-free cream of mushroom soup and low-fat sour cream in this recipe to minimize the calories. I haven't found that this negatively impacts the taste.
- If you prefer crisp broccoli, you can skip cooking the frozen broccoli in salted water. I would, however, recommend at least blanching the florets if you use fresh broccoli.
Other One-Pot Wonders
If you're like I am, you are always looking for recipes for delicious one-pot meals. Here are some of my favorites.
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Easy Cheesy Ham Broccoli Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 12 ounce package (about 3 cups) frozen broccoli florets (See Tip 1)
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt, for cooking the broccoli
- 12 ounces (2 cups) chopped ham (See Tip 2)
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 10.5 ounce can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted (See Tip 3)
- ½ cup (4 ounces) sour cream (See Tip 3)
- 2 cups cooked long-grain rice (See Tip 4)
- 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded extra sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
- ½ cup (1 small sleeve or 14 crackers) Ritz cracker crumbs (See Tip 5)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 2 ½ quart casserole dish with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Bring a large saucepan of water with 2 teaspoons of salt to a boil. Add frozen broccoli florets and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Drain well.
- Wipe out the pan used for the broccoli. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the ham and cook for 5 minutes. (See Tip 6)
- Stir in the cream of mushroom soup and sour cream. Then stir in 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Finally stir in the drained broccoli and cooked rice.
- Transfer the ham broccoli and rice mixture to the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle on the remaining cup of shredded Cheddar cheese. Top with Ritz cracker crumbs and dot with remaining 2 tablespoons of butter.
- May be prepared in advance up to this point; cover and refrigerate.
- Bake the casserole in the preheated 375°F oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. (See Tip 7)
- Yield: 6 servings.
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Tips/Notes
- May use fresh broccoli florets in place of the frozen.
- I used leftover holiday ham in this recipe. You could also use deli ham.
- I used fat-free cream of mushroom soup and low-fat sour cream in this recipe. However, you could also use regular cream of mushroom soup and full-fat sour cream.
- This recipe is perfect if you happen to have leftover rice. However, if you prepare the rice for this recipe, use ⅔ cup of rice, rinsed well, and 1 ⅓ cups of water.
- May substitute plain or Panko breadcrumbs for the Ritz cracker crumbs.
- The ham in this recipe is already cooked. The reason for cooking it in melted butter is that ham is often water-added. Cooking the ham helps to evaporate the excess water. You can, however, omit this step. If you do omit this step, there's no need to heat the remaining ingredients.
- If the casserole has been refrigerated before baking, add 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time.
Don Young says
Cooking dinner for a local men's homeless shelter, I needed to feed 24 people. I multiplied all the ingredients by 5 and used a 11 pound butt, bone in, smoked ham, that I sliced and cubed, yielding 7 pounds of meat. Prepped and mixed it in three portions. It was the perfect amount for a full size steam tray. The guys loved it. (Of course, I had to taste for seasoning as I put it together, so I know it was delicious.)
I also had the bonus of the ham bone left over which went into a pot with veggies and water to make a great broth I will use for cooking beans and ham.
Chula King says
WOW Don, I'm so glad that the recipe worked out for you and the dinner to feed 24 people! You're adding the 11 pound butt sounds amazing. I'm sure you're eagerly anticipating your beans and ham!
Thanks so much for your comment.
Chula