Easy and Comforting Broccoli Cheddar Cobbler

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This Easy Broccoli Cheddar Cobbler is one of the coziest, most warming recipes you could ever hope you make – perfect when you want to weave a little comfort into your nighttime meal routine. Broccoli and cheddar is a classic flavor combination – one that I love – and tucking those flavors into a cheesy, creamy (albeit, healthy) mixture and then cobbling the top with some fresh, cheesy and buttery buttermilk biscuits is just about the best way to highlight them that I can think of. Yes, my friends, this is the only Broccoli Cheddar Cobbler recipe you’re ever going to need.

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This one-dish meal comes together easily and relatively fast; just cook together the vegetables in a large pot in lots of olive oil until tender, season to taste with some salt and pepper, coat with flour, and then drown in milk, creating a thick and rich-seeming sauce that is actually packed with healthy components. All of this to say, when you’re eating a big bowl full of fresh, good-for-you vegetables, you’ve unquestionably earned yourself a giant buttermilk biscuit … or two.

What you’ll need to make this Easy Broccoli Cheddar Cobbler

There are a few simple things that make this Broccoli Cheddar Cobbler great. Firstly, the fact that we’re using buttermilk not only in the biscuits, but also in the actual filling, means that we get its total flavor boosting benefits all the way through. Awesome.

Secondly, the chicken stock concentrate just deepens the flavor of the filling. It’s optional almost every time I call for it, but SO worth using when and where you can.

Lastly, the cheese in the biscuits is just CLUTCH here.

Broccoli Cheddar Cobbler INGREDIENTS

Yellow onion: Sliced and diced. Easy peasy.

Carrots: Here, you’ll want two big boys, thinly sliced. That said, you could absolutely use a couple big handfuls of baby carrots, if you happen to have them around. No big deal.

Broccoli florets: For the sake of saving time and energy, I grab two 12 to 16-ounce bags of pre-cut broccoli florets for this recipe. You don’t need to get your measuring cup out for this, just make sure your filling has more broccoli than anything else you know? Because we’re giving it top billing here, it needs to be the star.

Garlic: I say to use two cloves in this but let’s be real with each other – you should darn well use as many as your heart calls you to use. Want to do five? Cool. Want to add some roasted garlic or garlic powder? I think the more garlic the merrier, so go for it.

All-purpose flour: So, I wrote this recipe in a way that allows up to re-use several of the ingredients – in the base and in the biscuits. The flour does double-duty by helping to thicken the creamy buttermilk sauce in the filling. It then gets a second act in the biscuits, which is cool.

Vegetable or chicken stock concentrate: If you don’t care whether or not this Broccoli Cheddar Cobbler is vegetarian, then go ahead and use the chicken stock concentrate (it’s SO delicious). But veggie stock concentrate is actually really awesome as well. I always have both on hand, and call for them in just about everything, I really do. I typically use this brand. If you’re feeling somewhat adventurous or inspired, I actually have a recipe for something I like to call, “Southern Summer Concentrate” in my cookbook, Southern Lights, that is essentially a lovely homemade vegetable stock concentrate.

Vegetable or chicken stock: Again, if you don’t care if this Broccoli Cheddar Cobbler is vegetarian, chicken stock works beautifully to give the filling a really nice depth of flavor.

Buttermilk: Holding steady in my top five favorite ingredients of ALL TIME, buttermilk is a hero ingredient in this Broccoli Cheddar Cobbler to be sure. It not only adds its creamy zip to the veggie filling, but it also makes the biscuits the very best they can be. You can also use up any extras in this Southern Buttermilk Salad Dressing or this apple fritter quick bread.

Shredded sharp cheddar: You simply can’t have a Broccoli Cheddar Cobbler without it.

For the Biscuits

All-purpose flour: You’ll need the amount called for in the ingredients list (2 cups) then a little more for your work surface, to keep things from being way too sticky.

Baking powder: The baking power reacts with the acid in the buttermilk to help the biscuits rise and stay nice and tender and fluffy in the process.

Salt: Yes, even though we’re using salted butter, these biscuits need a little extra salt to make sure they’re tasty. Honestly, I don’t care to go indulging in biscuits if I can’t really taste them, and we need salt to get us there. It’s just true. I also like to sprinkle a little crunchy sea salt over their tops just before sending them into the oven.

Freshly cracked black pepper: This is pretty self-explanatory, I think.

Salted butter: You want this very cold and in tiny little bits and pieces. The cold is to give the butter the best chance to explode into steamy bursts that will help the biscuits rise. It’s science! Sometimes I have the patience to get out my box grater and grate the butter – which is an awesome way to go about it.

But most of the time, if I’m being honest with you, I just use the same big knife I’m using to chop all the veggies and I cut the butter into little baby bits. There’s something really satisfying about this, I don’t know. The point? Just get your butter into small bits without handling it so much that you raise the temperature.

Why do I use salted butter? Because it pretty much makes everything it touches more delicious. Same goes for browned butter, but that’s a conversation for a different post.

Shredded cheddar cheese: This is optional, but a cheddar biscuit is just too perfect atop a Broccoli Cheddar Cobbler, right?

Buttermilk: This is the secret sauce to all the best biscuits, you know. Can’t beat it, can’t really replace it.

How to make this Broccoli Cheddar Cobbler

This is a really easy recipe to throw together, even thought you’re making homemade biscuits. But also, YOU’RE MAKING HOMEMADE BISCUITS!! That’s just so great. I promise you it will be worth it, and if I may be so bold, this is just the most delicious broccoli cheddar cobbler ever. It’s worth making your own biscuits – it just is.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a large baking dish with non-stick spray.
To make the cobbler, add the oil to a large pot set over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the onion, sliced carrots, and broccoli. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook the veggies for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until they’ve all softened (especially the broccoli).
Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute more. Add a few more tablespoons of oil to the pan, to help cook the flour that we’ll add next. Sprinkle the flour over the veggies in the pan and stir to coat everything and cook the rawness out of the flour; about 2 minutes.
Add the stock concentrate and the stock and stir to cook and loosen the bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the buttermilk. Stir, allowing the milk to thicken and bubble (you can add a little more if needed). Once it starts bubbling, turn off the heat and add the cheese. Stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and add salt until it’s well-seasoned.
Pour the mixture into your prepared baking dish.
Meanwhile, make the biscuits. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Add the chilled/grated butter and using a fork or your fingers, work it into the flour until well-combined. You should have a shaggy, buttery mixture with the butter being evenly distributed throughout.
Add the cheddar and then the buttermilk and stir just until combined. Transfer the biscuit mixture to a floured work surface and pat into a rectangle, about 1-inch thick. Cut the mixture into small biscuits of equal size (you ca make then whatever size you like, circular or square) and top the cobbler with the biscuits.
Brush the biscuits with a little extra buttermilk, season with a little salt (sea salt if you have it), and bake for 30 to 35 minutes minutes, or until the biscuits are golden on top and cooked through and the veggie mixture is bubbling.

Broccoli Cheddar Cobbler Frequently Asked Questions

Can you substitute something else for buttermilk in biscuits?

Buttermilk is pretty unrivaled when it comes to biscuit-eering, so let’s go ahead and just admit and accept that you can’t really replace it. You can’t substitute anything else. You need its acidity to help the baking powder do its thing. You need its tang to give flavor and depth to the biscuits. You need its inherent creaminess to lend tenderness to the finished crumb. All this said, if you forget to buy buttermilk – or can’t find it – you can make it yourself by simply combing 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar. Let this acidified milk mixture sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before using, and it will act just like buttermilk.

What is a cobbler?

Not to be confused with a person who repairs shoes, an edible cobbler is a baked dish that consists of a filling (usually fruit, but here we’re doing a cheesy veggie-packed one) that is topped with a biscuit, dumpling, or battered crust.

What does broccoli cheddar cobbler taste like?

This cobbler tastes like the most delicious bowl of broccoli cheddar soup you’ve ever had, with the added bonus of some crazy good cheddar buttermilk biscuits on top.

How to store leftover broccoli cheddar cobbler

Allow your baked cobbler to come down to room temperature before fully covering and storing. You can store it in the fridge for up to 4 – 5 days. If you want to freeze it, you might want to transfer it to a freezer-safe dish and cover it really well before popping it in the freezer. It will keep up to three months.

What to serve with this Broccoli Cheddar Cobbler

Because this is a cozy, savory, hearty little number, I like to serve this Broccoli Cheddar Cobbler with something on the fruity side. That little bit of fruity sweetness balances the table out beautifully. I am always going to champion my ambrosia recipe – because it’s great. But so is this warm radicchio salad with squash and my creamsicle caprese salad.