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Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Casserole with Garlic Butter Pretzels. A mix between the coziest bowl of broccoli cheddar soup and a savory biscuit-topped cobbler. This dish is creamy, filled with broccoli, and topped with salted pretzel rolls. Cook everything together in a big skillet, add cheese, and finish this off in the oven. Simple, but so delicious. The perfect weeknight casserole!
Ingredients
- Instant yeast
- Salted butter
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Egg
- Pretzel salt
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt and pepper
- Yellow onion
- All-purpose flour
- Garlic cloves
- Paprika
- Cayenne
- Fresh thyme leaves
- Veggie or chicken broth
- Fresh Broccoli florets
- Whole milk
- Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Kitchen Supplies
- parchment paper
- sheet pan
- stand mixer
- large pot
- slotted spoon
- large mixing bowl
It’s really no secret, but wow, I love a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup. Probably more so than chicken noodle. A creamy broccoli cheddar soup is hard to beat. I grew up loving Panera’s broccoli cheddar soup in a bread bowl. To this day, it really is my type of comfort food.
When fall rolls around, I always think back to what my family would eat when we lived in Cleveland.
It was a lot of chicken and rice, a lot of tacos, and every so often my mom would make her Sunday pot roast or casserole. But then sometimes on the weekend, mom and I would head to Panera for a warm bowl of soup.
Today’s casserole is a combination of two favorite “old school” comfort food dinners, soup and casserole.
On the bottom, we have an incredibly creamy broccoli cheddar soup with extra broccoli. And on the top, there are salty, addicting soft pretzel rolls.
Here are the details
Start with the pretzels. I used my basic soft pretzel dough, only I cut the recipe in half for a smaller portion. I also used instant yeast to ensure the process was speedy.
Start by mixing the dry ingredients with the wet, then let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes.
While the dough is resting, make the broccoli soup.
Start with the basics. Cook your onion, then add a touch of butter, garlic, fresh thyme, paprika, and a pinch of cayenne.
At this point, pour in the broth and broccoli. Then simmer until the broccoli is tender. Once the broccoli has cooked, mix in the milk and stir in a handful of cheese until creamy.
This is when you can transfer everything to a casserole dish if needed/desired.
Now, going back to the pretzel dough, roll the dough into about 8 balls.
Once the pretzels are shaped, boil them in water mixed with baking soda. The baking soda in the water helps the pretzels achieve that soft, chewy texture we all love so much!
Then brush with a beaten egg and place the rolls right on top of the broccoli. Put everything into the oven. Bake until the cheese is melty and the pretzels on top are golden. As soon as you pull the dish out, finish the rolls off with melted butter and a sprinkle of flaked sea salt or pretzel salt.
The corners of the dish will form an insanely delicious cheesy crust with buttery, salty soft pretzels baked right on top!
And the middle is creamy and delicious, like a thickened-up broccoli soup. It’s a wonderful combination.
We all love this dish, a truly special dinner and makes for delicious leftovers the next day.
Looking for other easy back-to-school recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Broccoli Cheddar Chicken and Rice Casserole
Garlic Butter Creamed Corn Chicken
Cheesy Zucchini Chicken and Rice Bake
One Skillet Street Corn Chicken Enchilada Bake
Broccoli Cheddar Chicken and Noodle Casserole
Lastly, if you make this Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Casserole with Garlic Butter Pretzels, 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 tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Casserole with Garlic Butter Pretzels
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 856 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
Pretzels
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 1 egg, beaten
- pretzel salt (for sprinkling)
Casserole
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped, 1 clove, grated
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, more or less to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 3 cups low sodium veggie or chicken broth
- 4 cups broccoli florets, chopped
- kosher salt and black
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- 1. Combine the flour and instant yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the water and 3 tablespoons butter. Mix on medium speed until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough is too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Cover the bowl and place in a warm spot 15-20 minutes.2. Meanwhile, make the casserole. Preheat the oven to 425° F. 3. Heat the olive oil, butter, and onion in a large, oven-safe skillet with sides. Cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the flour, garlic, paprika, and cayenne and cook until golden, 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the broth until smooth. Add the broccoli and a large pinch each of salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, until the broccoli is tender, about 10 minutes.4. Stir in the milk and 2 cups of cheese until melted and creamy. Let cook 5-10 minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat. If needed transfer the mix to a casserole dish. Top with 1/2 cup cheese. 5. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.6. Remove the pretzel dough from the bowl and place on a floured surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal balls. Add the baking soda to the boiling water. Boil the pretzels, 4 at a time, for 30 seconds. Remove with a large slotted spoon, then place on top of the broccoli. Brush each roll with a beaten egg, sprinkle with salt. Bake until the broccoli is bubbling and the pretzels are golden, 25 minutes. 7. In a bowl mix 1 tablespoon melted butter with 1 clove grated garlic and the thyme. Brush the rolls with garlic butter. Top enjoy!
This post was originally published on October 19, 2022
This recipe worried me it may not turn out with the milk cooking (worried about separation) and the chance the pretzels would be soggy on the bottom – but it turned out great! I always fill a pot only half full of water when making pretzels and when adding the baking soda to avoid bubbling over. My dough did not look as pretty as yours in your video but it tasted great. And was a good combo with the broccoli cheddar casserole/soup. I added carrots to increase the veggies and decreased the amount and of milk so it was thicker overall. Kids and spouse ate like mad and wanted more so woohoo it was a success! And I liked it too 😊
Hey Courtney,
Love to hear this! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and sharing your feedback! Happy Fall!
Hopefully this turns out good. Love your recipes, but we added the baking soda to the water and it immediately exploded everywhere and burnt my husband pretty bad. I should have assumed it might do that, but I didn’t, and not everyone makes pretzels so how would we know this might happen? No note about this possibility, so be careful when boiling the pretzels and the baking soda!
Hi Jamie,
Very sorry to hear this. You definitely want to use a large pot when boiling the pretzels. I hope your husband is okay!
thank you for this recipe! this is the first broccoli cheddar soup/casserole i ever made, and the first i ever liked!! and the pretzel rolls just make it even more cozy 😍🤌🏼 it’s a cold snowy day here and this felt like the perfect cozy winter dinner!!
Hi Amanda,
Yay!! Love to hear this dish turned out well for you, I appreciate you making it! Have a great day! xx
Made this looked great. The pretzels weren’t very tasty . Not sure what I did. Will try again
But a question when I threw the dough into the baking soda the whole pot bubbled over like crazy all over the stove.
Hi Joanne,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback. Yes, that can definitely happen when doing the pretzels, you want to use a super large pot. I hope this helps! xx
Wow this recipe is so good it’s become a guilty pleasure in my house. We add a cup and a half of shredded chicken and then reduce the broccoli by about half a cup to a full cup for some extra protein.
Hey Jack,
Thank you so much for making this recipe so often! Love to hear that it always turns out well for you:) Happy Thursday! xT
Can this be made a day ahead??
Hey Joanne,
Sure, that should work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
Let me just say, I don’t typically like broccoli and cheese together, but my husband wanted to try this recipe and I’m SO happy I made it because now it’s one of my favorites!!!
Hey Kaley,
Thanks so much, Trista! Glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you! Have a great day:) Xx
I’ve made this recipe quite a few times already and so so delicious every time! Thanks for a great recipe😊
Hey Karine,
Happy Monday! I love to hear that this recipe always turns out well for you, thanks a lot for making it so often! Xx
This was really good! Very creamy and perfect for a cold night! I didn’t have pretzel dough but I just popped open a can of Grands biscuits and put them on top and sprinkled with everything bagel seasoning. The biscuits got too brown so next time I’ll probably decrease the cooking temp to 375. Thanks for sharing! Will definitely make again!
Thanks so so much Tammy! Love to hear that! 🙂 xT
What can I use if I don’t have a stand mixer for the pretzel dough
Hey Suzanne,
You can go ahead and mix with a wooden spoon and knead by hand. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
I am sorry to say that this was very disappointing to me. I did not care for the flavor of the broccoli/cheese mixture, and thought the cheese was grainy. I always grate my own cheese, so I think the issue was with adding the cheese during the stovetop cooking process as opposed to after the mixture was removed from the heat.
Hi Cindy,
Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! Please let me know if there is anything that I can help with! xT
Oh my goodness! So good! I was concerned about the pretzels being soggy but they weren’t! I also added chicken to the recipe for more protein! So good!!!
Hi Alice,
Happy Friday!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was delish, thanks for trying it and your comment! xT
Made for a second time tonight but was short on broccoli so added other frozen veg, and ham for some extra protein. So good. Thanks for sharing
Really tasty. I added some shredded chicken for some protein, it seemed a bit too dairy and carb-tastic. Something was weird with the pretzle dough for me I had to add a couple (5??) extra tablespoons of water. My partner ate three dinners the night I made it though so it was a good recipe. I wont even tell him I forgot to add the other half of the onion.
Hey Crystal,
Wonderful!! I am so glad that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for giving it a go! xx