These broccoli cheese bites are the perfect quick and easy appetizers, full of veggie and cheesy goodness. Everything you love about a broccoli cheese casserole all in one tiny bite. These broccoli bites are perfect for a weekly dinner side or served at a brunch!
When I was growing up, my mom would make us like the same twenty meals all the time. One of those meals was pizza loaf and another was French dip sandwiches with tater tots.
A third was a broccoli cheese chicken casserole topped with Ritz crackers. I remember thinking it was like the best thing ever. I actually recreated a grown up version of that easy broccoli cheese casserole recipe here if you want to see my inspiration for these broccoli bites!
One of the things that I remember being best about the Ritz broccoli casserole was the melted cheese with the crunchy Ritz cracker top!
I host a lot of parties and am always looking for party appetizers that taste good both warm and at room temperature.
These broccoli bites are a bite-sized version of that Ritz broccoli casserole I mentioned earlier, and they’re great for serving at any party!
Or if you’re not looking for a party appetizer, these make great finger foods for picky eaters and a great option for getting some veggies in for the whole family! They’re always a big hit with kids and adults, and a fun way to serve healthy foods without just doing a standard veggie tray.
Why You’ll Love This Broccoli Bites Recipe
- Simple – all you need to do is mash up some crackers, mix all the simple ingredients together, and bake!
- Healthier Alternative – these are a great healthier alternative for an appetizer compared to something like these bacon wrapped dates or these grape jelly meatballs.
- Versatile – these work great for all sorts of occasions from a baby shower brunch to a game day football party! They don’t really have a particular theme, which means you could make them all year round!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Broccoli – you’ll need three cups of fresh broccoli florets that are cooked and chopped up into small bite-sized pieces. You can either use raw broccoli that you cut and cook yourself or something like broccoli wockly that’s already cut up for you and ready to cook. I do not recommend using frozen broccoli because it adds too much liquid to the broccoli bites.
- Ritz Crackers – I used about 30 crumbled up crackers to make these but if you want a little less, you can skip adding the cracker crumbles on top of the broccoli cheese bites.
- Salt – while it’s not pictured above, you’ll also need to add a little salt to pull all of the flavors together nicely. Salt is the easiest way to really bring out the natural flavors of food.
- Cheddar cheese – you can either buy store-bought shredded cheese or shred it by hand, just make sure it’s thinly shredded so it’ll mix with the other ingredients nicely. You could also make these with a combination of 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, but I prefer the classic cheddar cheese combo.
How to Make Broccoli Bites
Making these broccoli cheddar bites is so easy, seriously. It’ll take you about 20 minutes tops!
Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and spraying a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. You could also use a mini muffin tin if you want to make mini bites, I just prefer the full-size ones.
While your oven is preheating, cook your broccoli. You can either steam it (here’s a great tutorial if you’re not sure how) or use a micro-steamer like this to make the process faster!
Then throw the pieces of broccoli in a food processor along with 25 of the Ritz crackers, cheese, egg, and salt. Pulse until everything is well combined into one broccoli mixture.
I picked up this food processor on Prime Day last year, and it’s been worth every cent!
Once the egg mixture is ready, spoon the mixture loosely into muffin tins until they’re about 3/4 full either using a large spoon or cookie scoop. Do not press down on the mixture or it’ll get drier than you want.
I prefer to use a silicone muffin pan like this one so that they slide out easily once baked but you can use any muffin tin you’d like. Once all of the muffin tins are filled, sprinkle the remaining crumbled Ritz crackers on top before baking.
Bake in muffin cups for 12-15 minutes and you have yourself bite-sized bites of broccoli and cheese goodness. The cooking time may vary depending on how quickly your oven bakes and the actual size of the broccoli bites.
Let cool for just a minute then use a small silicone spatula to slide those bites out! So much cuter than a casserole.
They were perfect for my game day party!
They’d also go great paired as a great side dish with this almond chicken or even this balsamic chicken – great way to make eating veggies fun for both younger and older kids! Or just stack them on a plate and serve as is!
Expert Tips & Storage Info
Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to three days. After the three days either freeze using the instructions below or throw away.
Freeze in a freezer safe airtight container for up to three months. When you’re ready to thaw and reheat, I recommend reheating in the oven by placing them on a baking sheet and putting them in the cold oven. Set the temperature to 350 degrees and let the broccoli bites warm up with the oven. Enjoy once they’re warm.
Spice them up. If you want to add a little more flavor and kick (not recommend for kids), you can add 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper to the mixture.
FAQs
These broccoli bites can be made without crackers by replacing the cracker crumbs with something else you’d prefer such as bread crumbs, panko bread crumbs, gluten free bread crumbs, almond crackers, and more. You’ll want about 1 1/2 cups total of whatever crumbs you choose.
If you’d prefer to make mini bites, similar in size to something like broccoli tots, I recommend filling mini muffin tins 3/4 full and then baking for 6-9 minutes or until the crumbs on the top are slightly browned.
Broccoli bites are made of broccoli, cheddar cheese, Ritz crackers, egg, and salt. The ingredients are combined together into bite-sized broccoli cheese bites of delicious flavor!
More Easy Finger Foods
If these broccoli cheese bites aren’t quite what you’re looking for, here are some more delicious broccoli cheese recipes!
- Bacon brie bites – bacon and brie cheese combines together in these delicious bite-sized snacks!
- Cheese bomb – bacon and cheese stuffed inside a biscuit turns into a delicious bomb of flavor!
- Bisquick sausage balls – five-ingredient sausage balls with tons of yummy flavor!
- Pizza twist recipe – all the flavors of your favorite pizza twisted into a grab and go snack!
- Pigs in a blanket with cheese – classic pigs in a blanket gets a cheesy upgraded into this favorite!
Broccoli Cheese Bites
Ingredients
- 3 cups broccoli , cooked and chopped
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 30 Ritz crackers , crumbled
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray muffin tin with non-stick baking spray.
- Cook broccoli.3 cups broccoli
- Combine broccoli, cheese, 25 Ritz crackers, egg, and salt in a food processor until everything is well combined.3 cups broccoli, 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 tsp salt
- Spoon mixture loosely into muffin tin until about 3/4 full.
- Sprinkle with remaining Ritz crackers.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until crackers are slightly browned on top and mixture is fully cooked.
- Serve hot or at room temperature.
Charole Marie says
My grandbaby is allergic to eggs. What do you recommend as a substitution?
Britni Vigil says
For this particular recipe, the eggs hold the other ingredients together in the cups. Without the eggs, they won’t bind together.
Kathy says
These were really good. I used swiss cheese ( all I had) and a bit of hot pepper flakes.
Britni Vigil says
That sounds good! Glad you enjoyed them!
Chris David says
Really nice recipe. Thanks for sharing. Also see https://www.beckandbulow.com
Angie Johnson says
Can this recipe be made without using the crackers?
Britni Vigil says
I’ve never tried it without the crackers, sorry!
AML says
Is there anyway you cans make this with almond flour instead of the crackers? And if so, how much would you suggest using.
Britni Vigil says
I’m sorry but I’ve never tried that. If you do, please let me know how it turns out!
Linda Cude says
Did you try this with Almond flour?
Britni Vigil says
I have not! Let me know how it goes if you do try it.
Moe says
Love these! Easy and tasty different side dish or appetizer.
BritniV says
Thank you!
Rebecca Payton says
Can these be frozen either before or after baking?
BritniV says
Yes! I recommend freezing them after baking so they keep their shape.
Valerie J Hanson says
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I love broccoli cheese bites and I was looking for a low carb way of having them and you nailed it.
BritniV says
Yay! Glad you enjoyed them!
Leslie says
How should I adjust the cookng time if I use full size muffin tin (instead of mini)?
Britni Vigil says
I actually have never made these in full size muffin tins before – I like them bite-size! You’ll definitely need to cook them a bit longer, try adding five minutes and go from there. I’d love to hear how it goes!
Don Schuldes says
Looks yummy! Actually if you used light cheddar, it would be a fairly healthy snack since they’re baked and not deep fried. I think I’m going to try this on the weekend!!!
BritniV says
Awesome! Let me know how they turn out. Thank you