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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!
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.
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.
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 was really, REALLY, tasty! Can totally add cooked chicken for a protein boost should that be wanted. Personally, I like a meatless meal about once a week, just to save some dollars, and because 2 of 5 in this house aren’t really meat lovers. Anyhow, other than that, the only change I’d make moving forward (as this recipe will be repeated) is to bake the pretzel buns separately, and this is just because we love yummy browned crust. I found that all members of the family saved the tasty top of the bun for the last, most delicious bites and while we enjoyed the wet roll bottoms well enough, we all agreed that we’d prefer a crusty bottom.
Hey Melissa,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it and sharing your review:)
This is a great recipe but my pretzels turned out really heavy and dense. I’m not sure what I did wrong. I will definitely try again.
Hey Jody,
Happy Friday! Thanks so much for trying this recipe, so sorry to hear you had some issues with the pretzels. Was there anything you adjusted in the recipe? Please let me know how I can help! xT
I made this recipe tonight because another couple was coming over for dinner. Everyone loved it, but I ended up with a beaten egg in a bowl and no directions for what to do with it. When I went online just now to check the comments and re-read the recipe I found a sentence in the middle of instruction #6 missing about brushing the pretzels with the egg before baking and instruction #7 didn’t say to mix butter and garlic together, just brush the rolls with butter and sprinkle with sea salt. I don’t know how that happened. I’d like to make it again, and add those two steps. It was really delicious and I added cubed chicken to the recipe to make it a little hardier. I love your recipes and my friends are starting to follow you too because I like to make things from your recipes and take them to friends parties as well as serve them at my own parties.
Hi Betsy,
Thanks so much for giving this dish a try and sharing your feedback! The instructions are corrected and include both of those steps:) Please let me know if there is anything else that I need to fix! xT
My family of 7 loved this! Thankyou!
I also love how simple and relatively fast it was to make pretzel buns! Definitely will make again!!
Hey Sarah,
Happy Wednesday! Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xTxT
1/4 cup baking soda? Is that accurate?
It’s to pour in the boiling water to make the pretzels have the proper texture 🙂 it’s correct!
Hi Stacey,
Sure is, it’s used for boiling the pretzels:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Greetings!
If I only have regular yeast (which I thought was instant 😕 lol), how could I adjust the recipe for the pretzels?
Thank you!
Hey Suzann,
You will just need to dissolve the yeast in the warm water and allow that to proof, then follow the recipe as written:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
I made this yesterday for dinner and it was SO good! I’d like to try it again with either shredded chicken or some crisped up bacon, but it was excellent on its own. It was such a win with my husband too, he had 3 helpings!
Hey Erin,
Perfect!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was a hit! Happy Halloween! 👻
First time making one of your recipes and absolutely loved this!! Thought it would be super difficult, especially never making any sort of bread and not having a mixer, but it was quick, easy, and sooooo good!
Hey Abigail,
Happy Monday! 👻 I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! Happy Halloween! 🎃
Hi Tieghan! I had the idea to use Pilsbury biscuits instead of the pretzel rolls since I don’t have a dough hook. Do you think that could work? Unsure!
Hi Sarah,
Sure, that will work! You could also do the pretzel dough by hand, but totally up to you! I hope you love this recipe! xT
Update: the Pillsbury rolls worked and tasted soooo good!!! I cut them in half because they were the “grand” rolls. I definitely recommend that method to anyone who doesn’t have a mixer or a dough hook. I’m a college student so I don’t have the space for a standing mixer in my tiny apartment. 🙂 Definitely will make this again!!!!
Oh that’s awesome, thanks so much for sharing Sarah!!
My BF was feeling under the weather and this meal “healed him” ! LOL so thank you for the great recipe! Held up the next day too!
Hey Courtney,
Happy Sunday! 🎃 LOL so glad to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for making it and sharing your feedback! xx
Loved the recipe instead of making the pretzels I used pretzilla bites and extra soup.
Hey Ed,
Great idea!! So glad to hear this dish was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xT
This was delicious!!! The pretzel rolls did not turn out for me. Not sure what I did wrong. Either way, I will definitely be making the soup again!! Thanks for the recipe!
My pretzels also sank and didn’t cook through 🙁 I wonder what we could have done different?
Hi Shaz,
Sorry to hear this! Was there anything you adjusted in the recipe? Let me know how I can help! xx
Hey Rebekah,
Awesome!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for trying it out! What happened with the pretzel rolls? Let me know how I can help! Have a great weekend! 👻
Oh wow, thank you – this was so good!! My husband loves broc. cheddar and hates any soup that’s not thick and creamy haha, so this was great!! And the pretzel rolls were amazing – we both had a 2nd (:
Also, honestly, it just looked so nice when I pulled it out of the oven, makes me feel like a great cook hahaha
Hey Amanda,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! Happy Friday! xx
This was absolutely amazing! My 9 year old daughter and I made it together and had the best time cooking! We love all your recipes (and she loves to watch your reels before bed every night—we both do!)
Hey Erin,
Happy Wednesday! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback! xx
Made this tonight , taste was ok . Thought it would be more of soup but once I baked it the rolls soaked up most of sauce an was more of side dish. It was thick so had to add meat to finish meal as guys were still hungry !
Hi Cindy,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear you didn’t love it! xT
Tieghan – It’s been a rainy, cold, and very windy day…and I have been wanting to make this. We made it as directed, with only the omission of chili powder because I couldn’t find it. It was possibly the best thing I’ve ever tasted. It was warm and cozy, soul warming food. Thank you for creating an amazing dish. We loved it!
Hey Sara,
Awe, so glad to hear this!! Thanks so much for making this recipe:) Stay warm!! xx