With pumpkin season going strong, I’m at the phase of the year, when I’m pretty much always opening a can of pumpkin purée for something or other and then finding ways to use the rest of it. This Broccoli Pumpkin Queso Casserole is a cheesy, flavor-packed comfort food dish at its best. It’s made with a blend of broccoli, pumpkin, sausage, onion, jalapenos, and cheese. The fact that it happens to be veggie-filled is just a happy bonus. 🙂
Challenges
I’ve been on a kick of eating dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner in an attempt to eat lighter at our typically late (by U.S. standards) dinner time between 8 and 9 pm.
We quite simply don’t do mornings in our house. This means there is no version of life in which we’re going to be getting up and cooking even our simplest of weeknight meals before we start our day. It would be dangerous for all involved. That has presented us with two primary challenges–(1) pre-cooking and (2) finding a way to incorporate veggies.
Solution
Our solution to these challenges has mostly been to make a variety of casseroles and skillet meals in advance that can be heated in the mornings. After the first week, we realized that we had way under-indexed on the vegetables. Usually for dinner, we’ll make a casserole and then make a side of broccoli or roasted asparagus or brussel sprouts. Since we have no intent of getting up earlier to do so, the follow up solution has been to add more vegetables into the casseroles and skillet meals. To that end, this Broccoli Pumpkin Queso is deliberately a bit heavier on the broccoli than the sausage.
Inspired By: Pumpkin Queso Fundido from How Sweet Eats
What You Need to Make Broccoli Pumpkin Queso Casserole
Ingredients
- Broccoli – I buy the family size bag of florets from the store and then just trim them into bite size pieces.
- Jalapeño Peppers – Don’t forget to put on some rubber gloves (latex, nitril, food service, whatever) before handling these. It’s not fun to use your bare hands and then accidentally touch your face.
- Onion – I usually use Spanish Onions because they are readily available near me. If you are using the smaller yellow onions, use a whole onion instead of ½ an onion.
- Sausage – You can use whichever kind of sausage you like in this recipe–Sweet, Mild, Breakfast, Chorizo, or Hot Italian. My recommendations are Chorizo or Hot Italian, but you do you.
- Avocado Oil – I cook the onions and jalapeños in the leftover drippings from the sausage. This oil is just in case the pan starts to dry out while you’re sautéing them. You could also use regular olive oil if you prefer. Just don’t use extra virgin, please.
- Sour Cream – You can also substitute whole fat, unsweetened Greek Yogurt if that’s what you happen to have on hand.
- Mayonnaise
- Pumpkin Purée – I know it can get annoying to only use partial cans of pumpkin. However, I suggest perhaps going all in on pumpkin recipes for the week to use the rest up. As an alternative, you can get can saver lids to use and stick them in the fridge. These are my current favorites. I know they’re listed as pet food savers, but a can is a can, so they work just fine for regular food cans.
- Heavy Cream
- Garlic Powder – I specifically recommend using garlic powder rather than fresh garlic in this case for better flavor distribution.
- Onion Powder
- Dried Parsley
- Ground Sage
- Kosher Salt
- Ground Black Pepper
- Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend – The blend that I use is a combination of Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Asadero, and Queso Quesadilla Cheese. You can also use ½ Sharp Cheddar and ½ Monterey Jack instead if you can’t find a Mexican Cheese Blend in your store.
- Cotija Cheese – Optional for topping.
Equipment
- Cutting Board
- Chef’s Knife
- Large Sauté Pan or Skillet
- Spatula
- Microwave Steamer Basket – I use a microwave steamer and work in 2 batches of about 16 ounces each. I like the microwave steam because it’s easy to clean up and doesn’t involve waiting for water to boil–one of my least favorite pastimes. Alternatively, you can steam the broccoli in a steamer basket on the stove top for 2 minutes. As another option, you can place it in a plastic zip top bag with about a quarter cup of water, seal all but an inch of the zipper, and microwave it for 2 minutes.)
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Cups – I suggest the plunger-style ones for liquids and creamy things like mayo and sour cream.
- Cooking Spray
- 9×13-inch Casserole Dish
Getting Started with Making Broccoli Pumpkin Queso Casserole
Cooking the Sausage
First we’ll get the sausage cooked and out of the way. We remove the sausage from the casings, break it up / crumble it, and cook it over medium high heat in a large sauté pan or skillet until cooked through. This takes me about 8 to 10 minutes.
Once done, you’ll remove the sausage from the heat to a paper towel lined plate and set it aside. Drain / remove all about about 1 tablespoon of the drippings / grease, but don’t clean out the pan yet.
Lori Side Note: I find that I get way more drippings / grease if I’m cooking chorizo vs. Italian sausage.
Vegetable Prep and Cooking
After that, we’re going to get all of our vegetable chopping out of the way. Trim 32 ounces of broccoli florets and cut them into bite size pieces. I buy the family size bag of broccoli from the store and use that.
Steam the broccoli for 2 minutes. I steam my broccoli in a plastic steamer basket in the microwave. Due to the volume, I have to work in two batches for 32 ounces of broccoli.
Lori Note: If you don’t have a microwave steamer, you can use a steamer basket in a pot on the stove. As another option, you can put the broccoli in a large zip top bag, add ¼ cup of water, seal all but 1.5 inches of the zipper, and microwave it for 2 minutes. With the “bag in the microwave” method, you might need to go a little longer than the 2 minutes due to the uneven heating of the broccoli in the center. You’ll need to check. If it still looks completely raw, microwave it for 1 additional minute.
Toss the par-cooked broccoli into a large mixing bowl and set it aside. While it’s cooking, you can start on the other dicing.
We’ll dice ½ of a large onion. This is about 1 cup, 130 grams, or 4.5 ounces. (I always feel like measurements for vegetables can get confusing fast, so I’m just giving you all the ones I’ve got. I’ll try to keep it up for all of my recipes going forward. 🤞) I use Spanish onions. If you’re using the smaller yellow onions instead, dice a whole one.
Next up, we’re dicing 2 jalapeños. Don’t forget to put on a pair of plastic gloves (latex, nitril, food service, etc.) before messing with the jalapeños. (Jalapeño oils + accidental eye touches = bad.) This is also about ⅓ of a cup, 65 grams, or 2.25 ounces.
In the same pan you used for the sausage, you’ll sauté the onion and jalapeños until softened. You can add 1 – 2 tablespoons of Avocado Oil to cook them if the pan is getting too dry. This will take about 6 – 8 minutes. Set them aside.
Mixing Everything Together
Now, in a large mixing bowl, we’ll thoroughly combine ½ cup Sour Cream, ½ cup Mayonnaise, 1 cup Pumpkin Purée, ¼ cup Heavy Cream, 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder, ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt, and ½ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper. Then we’ll add the cooked broccoli, sausage, onions, jalapeños, and ¾ of the 16 ounces of the Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend to the bowl and fold it together until everything is evenly distributed.
Baking the Broccoli Pumpkin Queso Casserole
If you’re going to bake it right away, you’ll want to preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a 9×13-inch casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. If you’re prepping this in advance, you don’t need to preheat the oven yet.
Then you’ll just pour the mixture into the casserole dish and top it with the remaining ¼ of the shredded cheese. Bake the casserole at 350°F for 30 minutes or until the cheese on top is just beginning to get little light brown spots.
Serve warm.
Related Recipes
Wondering what else to serve with this Broccoli Queso Casserole?
If you’re feeling pumpkin-y, you might want to check out my:
If you’d like some other comfort food dishes to go with it, try my:
- Leek and Cauliflower Soup
- Stuffed Pepper Jack-O-Lanterns (with or without the carved face in the peppers 😛)
Broccoli Pumpkin Queso Casserole
Ingredients
- 32 ounces Broccoli Trimmed and cut into bite size pieces
- 2 Jalapeño Peppers Diced (1/3 cup // 65 grams // 2.25 ounces)
- ½ Onion Diced. (1 cup // 130 grams // 4.5 ounces)
- 2 pounds Sausage Sweet, Mild, Breakfast, Chorizo, or Hot Italian will work. If you get links, slice them open before cooking them.
- 1 – 2 tablespoons Avocado Oil
- ½ cup Sour Cream 4 ounces
- ½ cup Mayonnaise 4 ounces
- 1 cup Pumpkin Purée
- ¼ cup Heavy Cream
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Ground Sage
- ½ teaspoon Dried Parsley
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ½ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 16 ounces Mexican Cheese Blend Shredded. You can also use ½ Sharp Cheddar and ½ Monterey Jack instead.
- Cotija Cheese Optional for serving
Instructions
- Crumble and cook 2 pounds Sausage (recommend Chorizo or Hot Italian) over medium high heat until cooked through. About 8-10 minutes. Remove the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate. Drain all but about 1 tablespoon of the drippings from the sausage.2 pounds Sausage
- Trim 32 ounces Broccoli florets and cut them into bite size pieces. Steam it for 2 minutes and set it aside.32 ounces Broccoli
- Dice ½ Onion and 2 Jalapeño Peppers and set them aside.2 Jalapeño Peppers, ½ Onion
- In the same pan used to cook the sausage, sauté the onion and jalapeños until softened. Add 1 – 2 tablespoons Avocado Oil to cook them if the pan is getting too dry. About 6 – 8 minutes. Set them aside.2 Jalapeño Peppers, 1 – 2 tablespoons Avocado Oil, ½ Onion
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ½ cup Sour Cream, ½ cup Mayonnaise, 1 cup Pumpkin Purée, ¼ cup Heavy Cream, 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder, 1 teaspoon Onion Powder, 1/2 teaspoon Ground Sage, 1/2 teaspoon Dried Parsley, ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt, and ½ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper. Mix well.½ cup Sour Cream, ½ cup Mayonnaise, 1 cup Pumpkin Purée, ¼ cup Heavy Cream, 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder, 1 teaspoon Onion Powder, 1/2 teaspoon Ground Sage, ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt, ½ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper, 1/2 teaspoon Dried Parsley
- Add the cooked broccoli, sausage, onions, jalapeños, and ¾ of the 16 ounces Mexican Cheese Blend to the bowl and fold together until everything is evenly distributed.32 ounces Broccoli, 2 Jalapeño Peppers, ½ Onion, 16 ounces Mexican Cheese Blend, 2 pounds Sausage
- Spray a 9×13-inch casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the mixture into the casserole dish and top with the remaining ¼ of the 16 ounces Mexican Cheese Blend.
- Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until the cheese on top is just beginning to get little light brown spots.
- Serve warm. Optionally top with some Cotija Cheese.Cotija Cheese
Equipment
- Microwave Steamer Basket (Or stove top steamer basket or plastic zip top bag and microwave)
- Measuring Spoons
- Cooking Spray
Notes
- Alternative Cooking Method for Broccoli
-
- If you don’t have a microwave steamer basket, you can also cook the broccoli in a steamer basket on the stove top
- OR If you want to go the quicker route, you can heat 1 – 2 tablespoons of Avocado Oil in a large sauté pan. Place the broccoli inside. Add ¼ cup stock, broth, or water. Cover it with a lid and cook / steam over medium heat until just fork tender. Stir occasionally to make sure it doesn’t burn on the bottom.
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