In The Kitchen with Laura McKenna: Mama Linda’s Broccoli Casserole


November 6, 2024 8:13 PM CDT
By: Laura McKenna
Supported by
This is a staple at every Thanksgiving at the McKenna household (and every Christmas, too!)
This is my family’s absolute FAVORITE holiday side dish. I know it will soon be yours, too! My Mom (Linda) hates to cook and if SHE can do it, you definitely can! So trust me when I say, this is super easy and a whole new level of delicious!
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
-1/4 cup butter |
-1/3 cup milk (using dairy free versions won’t hurt!) |
-1 medium diced onion |
-2 packages of frozen broccoli (12 or 16 oz bags are fine) |
-15oz. jar of Cheez Whiz (Mom uses the generic/store brand kind) |
-2 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup (10.5oz each)* |
-1 small can mushrooms (with the juice) |
-1 cup dry white Minute Rice |
.
WHAT YOU’LL DO:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, then:
In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add milk, onions, and broccoli**. Cook until broccoli is tender.
**If broccoli florets and stems are large in size, feel free to chop them into more bite size pieces.
Add in Cheez Whiz, soup, mushrooms, and rice. Mix all together.
Spray a 13×9 casserole baking dish (or any similar size) with non-stick spray. Pour everything in and cover with foil.
Bake for 1 hour. Oven baking times may vary but you’ll know this is done when it’s all bubbly.
Prepare for this to become a family favorite around your holiday dinner table, too!
*Don’t like mushrooms? You can use a different cream soup (like Cream of Onion or Celery). You can also omit the can of mushrooms but since that will omit some of the liquid as well, just add another TBSP of milk and perhaps a little more diced onion for flavor.
I like to use plant based ingredients so swapping in those soups for the traditional dairy kind won’t change the flavor either.
Want to contact Laura McKenna about some of your favorite holiday recipes or cooking tricks you do? Anything else on your mind? Email anytime, she’d love to hear from you: [email protected]
And tune in weekdays starting at 10am to St. Croix Country & WCFW!

More Articles By Laura McKenna

04.08.25
Recall Alert: Johnsonville Cheddar Bratwurst
As soon as baseball season begins, it’s time to fire up the grill. But before you place a bratwurst on there, make sure it’s not one of the packages involved in the bratwurst recall. I know I don’t have any of these at home (being a vegetarian and all) but the makers of Johnsonville brats […]
Read More >

04.07.25
Movie Monday: Pet Lovers, You’re About To Have Your Heart Melted
As you know I am a big time cat lover. Here’s my boy, Phil Dawson. I try to make him behave but who can say no to this little face? So I am both excited and bracing myself to just turn into a ball of mush with the upcoming documentary directed by Bryce Dallas Howard. […]
Read More >

04.01.25
In The Kitchen with Laura McKenna: Bread Making Tips
FUN FACT (that I don’t find very fun at all): Don’t slice bread while it’s still warm, fresh out of the oven! Honestly, this goes against everything I live for because bread hot out of the oven tastes THE BEST! But cutting off the first slice right away might make the rest of the loaf […]
Read More >

03.31.25
Movie Monday: The movie next in line for Hunger Games fans
Hunger Games fans can mark their calendars for November 20th, 2026. That’s when The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will be released in movie theaters. The new prequel book centers on Haymitch (played in all the previous movies by Woody Harrelson) but casting hasn’t been released just yet for the movie. The book so […]
Read More >