This broccoli and cheese casserole is rich, cheesy, and loaded with nutritious broccoli. We top it off with buttery Ritz crackers! It cooks so quickly in the air fryer and tastes so good even the kids will eat their broccoli!
Okay, like most parents, my kids have their moments when it comes to veggies! I guess I got pretty lucky because both of them will at least try everything and there are a few veggies they eat without complaint.
Neither kid LOVES green vegetables, but they both eat them. Probably because I’m not shy about testing the same veggie on them in 300 different ways. Don’t like it roasted? Let’s try it steamed. Not like that? Let’s cover it in cheese. 😉
That is where this casserole comes in. This is so cheesy, you would have to be a cheese-hater to not like this broccoli!
Another great thing is that this is so fast to make in the air fryer! Way faster than heating up and cooking it in your oven.
There are several ways to make a casserole, but for this recipe, we are all about ease and speed so that’s it’s just as enjoyable to cook as it is to eat!
If you are exploring for air fried casseroles you might try our air fryer green been casserole too! It’s AMAZING!
Ingredient Notes:
- Broccoli Florets– It is helpful here to not have too much stem on your florets. If you cut them yourself, keep them under an inch long. I like them even under a half-inch long. If you buy precut florets from the grocer, clean them up a bit by cutting off any long stems, this is a fast process that helps quite a bit.
- Cream cheese– You need a pack of cream cheese at room temp. It’s best to set this out a little before you are ready to cook.
- Cheddar cheese– Freshly shredded cheddar cheese will melt better than the pre-shredded cheddar. If you have the time, shred it yourself for the best results.
- Crackers- We love to use Ritz crackers in our casserole. You can use an off-brand or another type of cracker but the best results will come from a cracker that has a rich butter flavor.
- Other fillers– You will also need sour cream, butter, and pepper.
How to air fry broccoli casserole:
Add your broccoli to a microwave-safe bowl with a 1/4 cup of water and microwave for 5 minutes. This should stay covered with plastic wrap during the cooking as well as for 3 minutes you remove it from the microwave before proceeding. The easiest way to steam broccoli ever.
Remove the plastic wrap and drain out the water.
Add cream cheese, sour cream, and cheddar to the bowl of broccoli and stir to combine.
Spray a 7-inch baking dish with vegetable oil or non-stick spray. We linked our baking dishes that fit the air fryer below…keep on reading!
Pour the broccoli mixture into this pan and spread evenly. Cover it with foil.
Place in the air fryer and cook for 10 minutes.
While that is cooking stir together cracker crumbs and melted butter.
When the broccoli has cooked for 10 minutes, remove the foil and top the casserole with the cracker crumbs.
Cook for 5 minutes to turn that cracker topping golden brown and crunchy.
FAQ:
Yes, you can. Freeze your leftovers in an air tight container for up to one month.
It is easy to reheat your leftover casserole in the air fryer to get the same quality you had when you made it the first time! Heat it at 350 degrees F until warm. This should take around 5-7 minutes straight from your fridge.
There are many options for this, you almost can’t go wrong. The casserole is usually the main dish, so garlic bread or a potato makes a good side. Roasted veggies can be good too like zucchini. If this casserole is your side, consider a meatloaf or grilled chicken as the main dish.
Want to add chicken?
You will want to have a pre-cooked chicken. For ease, you can purchase a small rotisserie chicken and chop or shred the amount of chicken you want to add. If you start with precooked chicken you shouldn’t need to add any more time to cooking this recipe although I haven’t tested that myself.
Comments & Reviews
Agape Kim says
I made a single serving in a small casserole dish. You have salt and pepper in the ingredients list but didn’t state when to add?
I used mozzarella instead of cheddar…and didn’t really measure everything…but it tastes GREAT!! Super cheesy!!!
Thank you!!!
Karly Campbell says
The salt and pepper gets added with the cheese – sorry about that! Glad this was a hit! 🙂
Christi says
Can̈ I use cream of mushroom soup instead of cream cheese?
Karly Campbell says
I haven’t tried it, but I think it would work great!
Alison says
This is dangerously delicious… arguably one of the tastiest things I have ever experienced. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Karly Campbell says
Oh wow, so glad you enjoyed it!
Claire McKenzie says
Really good except in your video it’s not showing that you cover it with foil like it says in the instructions
Karly says
We’ve made it both ways, but prefer it covered. The top gets a bit too browned without the foil.
Liz says
Great recipe! However I did not See what temperature to put air fryer on!. As new to air fryer…Need to know ! Had to Google several other recipes to guess!
Karly says
Oh my gosh, I can’t believe we left that important bit out. We cook this at 350. Sorry about that.