Broccoli and rice casserole with Cheese Whiz is an old-fashioned comfort food classic casserole made with Minute Rice, frozen broccoli, condensed cream soup, and creamy Cheez Whiz cheese sauce. This easy, oven-baked side dish has been a favorite at family dinners and holiday gatherings for generations. My version keeps the original convenience-food ingredients and familiar flavor that made this casserole a classic.
Quick Look: Broccoli Cheez Whiz Rice Casserole
- 🧁 Serves: 6
- ⭐ Features: Nostalgic ✓ Creamy ✓ Comforting ✓
- ⌛️ Prep Time: 30 minutes
- 🍪 Cook Time: 40 minutes
- 🕑 Total Time: 1 Hour, 20 Minutes
- 👩🍳 Skill Level: Beginner
- 🏆 Why make THIS version? Creamy, cheesy goodness, original recipe, tried-and-true classic made with simple convenience ingredients and the familiar flavor that never goes out of style.
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Cheez Whiz, It’s As Old As Me!
Did you know they still make Cheez Whiz? It may be one of those things you’ve not had since you were a kid. Can you believe it made it’s debut on grocery shelves in 1953???
As part of the processed food revolution, it brought us a whole new level of convenience, along with a slew of recipe developers who made sure we had hundreds of ways to use this unnatural wonder. When I was growing up it’s favorite targets were hot dogs, sandwiches and taco chips.
And purchasing the pressurized can version, one was able to make pretty little orange squiggles on crackers… or shoot it right into your mouth.
What is Cheez Whiz?
Cheez Whiz is a smooth, processed cheese sauce known for its salty, savory cheese flavor and creamy texture. In this old-fashioned broccoli and rice casserole, it melts into the condensed soup and liquid, creating the rich, cheesy sauce that coats the rice and broccoli. It’s a key ingredient that gives this classic casserole its familiar flavor and nostalgic appeal.
Cheez Whiz was invented by Edwin Traisman, who died at the age of 91. He was a food scientist who, as director of research at Kraft, led the invention of Cheez Whiz. He went on to own five McDonald’s franchises during the 1950s to 1960s.
No Reason To Fix Something That’s Not Broken
I considered updating this recipe with less processed ingredients and a healthier, more modern twist, but that would have missed the point. This is one of those old-fashioned comfort food recipes that deserves to be made just the way it was meant to be. The familiar flavor, the nostalgia, and the memories attached to that original version are what make it special. Sometimes, you don’t need to reinvent a classic; you just need to bring it back to the table in all its original glory.
I will say, though, it tasted a little sweeter than I remembered. I’m almost afraid to read the labels, but I have to wonder if corn syrup has found its way into the Cheez Whiz mix. And don’t get me started on corn syrup. That’s a whole new glow-in-the-dark can of worms!
Chef Lea Ann’s Tips For Success
- Minute Rice: Minute rice is a pre-cooked dried rice product which works well in this recipe and quickly becomes soft with the amount of liquid specified. Do Not use any other rice product such as uncooked long-grain, short-grain rice.
- Broccoli: This old recipe calls for a 10 ounce box of frozen broccoli. Back then, frozen vegetables were routinely packed in boxes. Modern options are now packaged in plastic bags with a 12 ounce weight. I use the 12 ounce pacakges all the time for this recipe, and the increased 2 ounces works very well without any further alterations in other ingredients.
- Adding Chicken: This broccoli cheese rice casserole was a Thanksgiving tradition in our home, but when making this year round, my mom would add a pound of cubed cooked chicken breast to the casserole to make it a main course. Delicious.
Broccoli Cheez Whiz Rice Casserole FAQ’s
Absolutely! Which comes in so handy during the holiday food rush. Make a day ahead, cover and refrigerate until time to bake. Let is set at room temperature for about 30 minutes so it will cook through in the 30 – 40 minute time frame.
Yes. And I’ve done so many time. Use equal parts of fresh broccoli. Cut into small florets and chop some of the stems into bite sized chunks. Blanch broccoli in a pot of boiling water for two minutes, then proceed with the recipe.
An equal amount of cubed Velveeta works very well for this recipe.
Recipe for Broccoli Cheez Whiz Rice Casserole
This old fashioned minute rice broccoli cheese casserole recipe is just as delicious as I remember it. This recipe is perfect for a comfort food side dish. A perfect combo of textures and cheesy flavor.
Don’t forget to drag out your vintage Corning Casserole dish for this one.
Explore More Classic Comfort Food Recipes
And if you’re looking for more side dish recipe ideas, don’t miss my Side Dish Category. Lots of supporting actor ideas. Including this very popular recipe for Best Pasta Salad Ever, made with frozen cheese tortellini.
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Broccoli, Minute Rice, Cheez Whiz Casserole
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup onion chopped
- ⅓ cup celery chopped
- ¼ cup oleo oleo is an old name for margarine. Butter will work for this recipe.
- 1 cup Minute Rice Uncooked. Do not use regular rice. Minute Rice is a brand name freeze dried product that quick cooks.
- 10.5 ounces Cream of Mushroom Soup or Cream of Chicken, canned
- 1 cup water or milk or chicken broth
- 8 ounce Cheez Whiz
- 10 ounce box frozen broccoli Use broccoli florets, or broccoli pieces. A 12 ounce bag of broccoli works fine for this recipe.
- Pam non-stick spray
Instructions
- Let the package of frozen broccoli partially thaw. About 30 minutes at room temperature. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a fry pan, saute the onion and celery in the oleo (butter or margarine) until soft.
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and stir together.
- Turn into a 2-quart casserole pan which has been coated with non stick spray (Pam). Bake uncovered for 30 – 40 minutes.
Video
Notes
- This recipe is very old and calls for a 10 ounce box of frozen broccoli, which is now hard to find. I have used a 12 ounce bag of broccoli florets, it works just fine without any alterations to other ingredients.
- This casserole can be assembled the day before. Cover the casserole dish tightly and store in the refrigerator until ready to bake. Let it sit at room temperature before baking to insure it will be cooked through in the 30 – 40 minute time.
- If you can, choose a 2-quart casserole dish that is wider with low sides. As pictured in this article. Of course a deeper casserole dish will work fine, but the lower sides and wider base of a shallow baking dish helps the casserole cook quicker and more even.
- Fresh Broccoli? You can use an equal amount of fresh broccoli to make this recipe. Purchase broccoli heads and trim them into florets and chop stems in bite sized pieces. Blanch fresh broccoli in a pan of rolling boiling water. Cook for about 1 – 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water. Proceed with the recipe.
- Brown Rice: Minute Rice, Brown rice can be substituted. Since brown rice takes longer to cook, cook the rice first before adding to the casserole.
Nutrition
Old Fashioned Broccoli Cheez Whiz Minute Rice Casserole …It’s what’s for Dinner
Why Trust My Recipes? I am a Culinary School Graduate and a lifelong student of home cooking. I hope to inspire you try to cook as often as you can. I’ve been cooking for 50 years, and my recipes are tried and true tested and tested and then tested again before published. To read more take a look at my About Page.
Thank-you for reminding me how good this is ! I made a half-portion with leftover cooked basmati, steamed broccoli crowns, chicken stock and a small chunk of Velveeta, following your recipe for quantities and additional ingredients, just with a slightly shorter cooking time in the oven. OMG – and I’m not using this lightly! I think the basmati is a game changer. Looking forward to a second batch with the remaining 1/2 can of mush soup. Need to get more Velveeta! Colleen
Don’t have cheese whizz here, I’m not really sure what it is… but you made me really excited about it!
I don’t think you’re missing much. The only thing might be it’s easy melting qualities. 🙂
you get cans of Campbells cheese soup . I do that and make it it with Campbells cream of mushroom soup as well. I learned how to make this in a jr. high cooking class, it is so yummy. I am bringing it to the family Christmas party tomorrow. I hope I can make enough for about 20 people.Everyone have a merry Christmas!
I learned how to make this in a JR high cooking class. I love broccoli and rice so it was a gaiven I would love this. Going to run out and get the ingredients now to bring for tomorrow’s Christmas dinner. I have to bring enough for 22/23 people. Merry Christmas!
Thank God we did not have this in Egypt while we were growing up … although it really looks delicious :). Edwin Traisman was a very courageous man indeed.
ok, I had to chuckle about this, I just can’t imagine the marketers advertising Cheez Whiz with the magnificent pyramids in the background. 🙂
I love your casserole dish. I have one exactly like it. I was born in 1953 so I’m as old as Cheez Whiz. Jee Whiz!!!
well…..I didn’t want to say anything …. but me too! 🙂
I haven’t had cheese whiz in ages! Talk about memory lane. 😉 It’d be interesting to compare the flavors of Chez Whiz and Cream of Mushroom soup from the 50s and today. I’ll bet the current versions actually are sweeter. In part because tastes have changed. But mainly because when food processors try to remove fat from products (which they’ve been doing for decades) they tend to add more sugar. For flavor Not a good tradeoff, IMO, but there it is. Anyway, fun post — thanks.
I KNEW IT! Thanks for confirming my suspicions John. As a kid, my favorite candy bar was Reeses. I can’t stand them now because they taste too sweet. I imagine the difference is corn syrup. But I was surprised in the sweet flavor of this dish. Thanks for confirming my tastebuds. 🙂
I can remember friends of my kids squirting this directly into their mouth. They had mothers who packed it in their lunch boxes. I must admit to not being a fan, though I would love to read a biography on this man. He sounds like quite the character!
I really don’t remember much of the canned stuff, but we most certainly enjoyed our share of fake cheesy casseroles.
He was a pretty brilliant man. When you read about folks like him, George Washington Carver, and Norman Borlaug, it makes one feel like a real underachiever, lol. So glad you brought out the Corningware too, perfect dish for this recipe.
Thanks Chris.
Ok comfort food at it’s finest! Looks great! I also love that you brought out the old Corning Ware! So great!
I love my old corning ware, and so glad I’ve kept it all these years.
I love these old recipes from the 1950’s and ’60’s. We loved all those weird convenience foods when they came out and canned cheese and crackers were our favorite snack. Haven’t seen a recipe that calls for oleo in years. Great post, Lea Ann. We thought Velveeta was the greatest thing ever.
I’m in that same generation as you Kathy … with Parents that grew up in the depression, even though they only knew fresh foods, the convenience revolution was a fun way to shop and cook.
Hi Lea Ann, I have just the casserole dish for this recipe, I bet this is delicious! brings back great memories.
I saved all my old vintage casserole dishes … and glad I did.
I loved reading about the inventor and didn’t realize the did research at our University of Wisconsin! He certainly was a forward-thinking person and came up with some great ideas! I didn’t grow up with Cheez Whiz and am a sharp cheddar gal myself.
Wisconsin probably banned fake cheese … ya can’t blame em.
Oh, you’ve made me nostalgic. 🙂 There was always a box of Ritz crackers with a can of the squirtable stuff (usually bacon flavored) by my grandfather’s chair. Great memories of us watching TV and making squiggled designs on the crackers before we popped them in our mouths.
oh my gosh, I had forgotten about the bacon flavored. Good grief, I might just have to buy some.
LOL….yes, that is one from the past. I love this casserole and I appreciate the reminder! My recipe includes sliced water chestnuts….I love the crunch! I will be adding this to the menu for next week!
Kate, I think I remember a water chestnut or two sneaking into that casserole. Thanks for the reminder.
Talk about rolling back the clock – what a classic recipe with both Cheese Whiz and Oleo. Mom always had a jar of Cheese Whiz on hand and she may well have made this same dish. A quickie snack was Cheese Whiz atop Ritz Crackers. Mom and us kids ate Oleo, sometimes colored with the little dye packet, but Dad would only eat real butter and I finally learned why.
I’m surprised we didn’t have more fresh butter around our house. After all, Dad milked cows.
Edwin Traisman sounds like a great guy, always had an interest in food and had a great deal to contribute to how we eat today. I applaud him for hiring women, even it was against the rules. My guess is he had a strong mother who instilled in him the power of women and I bet he married one too. I’ve never eaten this dish, even as a child. My mother never used canned soup but she did use Velveeta cheese to make pimento cheese. In my house it seems we were served the foods my mother liked and occasionally she would please my father with overcooked stinky cabbage. Those were the days. So glad I rule my kitchen today 🙂 🙂
Sam
The processed food revolution was quite an experience. I try to stay in charge of the fresh side of our kitchen, but Hubs will drag in some potato chips and crackers on a regular basis.
In Texas we didn’t buy Cheez Whiz in a can, our brand was Easy Cheese with the long white stem which you turned upside down and squirted on a cracker, or better yet, a large Frito! Ah, those were the days my friend. Glad we know better now (but shhhhh, I still might buy a can on a road trip). I remember this casserole well.
I Googled it before I wrote that and the canned stuff is made by Cheez Whiz. I couldn’t remember the exact name and yes, they still make it with the name, Easy Cheese.
Did your arteries have something to say after this ? 🙂
I loved broccoli cheese rice, and I guess it was made with chez whiz..I never made it, just ate it.
It was delicious. Still looks good!
My arteries were complaining! 🙂
By the way, am I allowed to buy oleo? I thought you had to be at least 90-years-old with ID proof! 😉
If you can find oleo then go for it. HA, maybe I can get my mom to buy some for us. They won’t card her.
I think you know how much I love the rest of the story. Excellent job! I was only allowed the pressurized (canned) ‘cheese’ when friends came to spend the night. Hell, I wasn’t even allowed American slices. (We were a Velveeta family.) — And we were a Minute Rice family too! As long as we’re bringing back the childhood comfort that you’re offering up here, you think we could also bring back those orange-colored waffle-shaped wax harmonica thingys? Not only were they fun to play, but that’s where my wax-chewing addiction began…
Hi Lea Ann, Anything that orange cannot be good for us! I still remember those spray cans of cheese – we’d take them in the car on road trips, and I could just make the kids instant snacks. I have several of those casseroles and still use them often.
I have several old casserole recipes also, I’m dying to make them again.
Hi Lea Ann, can I prepare the minute rice cheese whiz & broccoli casserole before hand & then bake it later.
I’m not sure how far in advance you’re thinking. And I’m not sure what would happen to that minute rice.
I tried Googling a few sites to see if they mention making ahead and even Kraft (original recipe) doesn’t mention that option.
I think you’d be safer by baking it ahead of time and then refrigerating. When you’re ready to re-heat, either in microwave or oven, add a little milk. If it were me, I’d reheat in the microwave for about 8 minutes on 50% power and then check it for heat.
Hi Lee Ann. So my question is you don’t have to cook the rice beforehand??
No, the instant rice cooks quickly in the mixture.