This Broccoli Gratin with Swiss and Parmesan is a deliciously healthy option for a Thanksgiving side dish, and it’s low-carb, Keto, low-glycemic, gluten-free, meatless, and South Beach Diet friendly; use the Recipes-by-Diet-Type Index to find more recipes like this one.
I love, love, love Thanksgiving, and 2015 is the 11th year I’ve been sharing Carb-Conscious Thanksgiving Recipes on this blog. There have been some definite favorites along the way, and this Broccoli Gratin with Swiss and Parmesanis a dish I’ve made over and over for Thanksgiving.
The recipe was adapted from one I saw in A Pinch of Salt Lake, a book published by the Junior League of Salt Lake, and I love this cheesy broccoli that’s definitely fresher-tasting and a bit lighter than the canned soup version of Broccoli with Cheese Sauce that quite a few people in my family still like.
Broccoli Gratin with Swiss and Parmesan is low-carb and gluten-free, but it’s still relatively high in fat like all gratin recipes are, so for the South Beach Diet this is probably best as a once-in-a-while treat. But if you’re looking for a more carb-conscious vegetable option for Thanksgiving, I think this recipe is perfect. Here are my picks for The BEST Low-Carb and Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Side Dishes, in case you’d like more ideas. And if you really like broccoli, look after the recipe for 10 more ideas for Thanksgiving-worthy broccoli, enjoy!
(Broccoli Gratin with Swiss and Parmesan was updated with better photos, November 2015. For these new photos I increased the recipe to a larger size that serves 6-8 people. If you want the smaller original size that serves 4-6, use the printer friendly link below for that recipe.)
Blanch the broccoli just two minutes minutes in boiling salted water, then drain well. Mix together grated swiss cheese, mayo, lemon juice, Dijon, and finely chopped green onion to make the cheese topping. Put drained broccoli in a low-sided glass or crockery casserole dish, then spread the cheese topping over the top. Sprinkle the finely grated parmesan over the top.
Bake about 30 minutes, or a little longer if you like it well-browned like I do. Serve hot.
And just for fun, here’s the original photo for this recipe from back in November 2008, not bad at all for those days!
Broccoli Gratin with Swiss and Parmesan
(Makes 6-8 servings, recipe adapted slightly from A Pinch of Salt Lake.)
Ingredients:
8 cups bite-size broccoli flowerets
1 1/2 cups finely grated swiss cheese
8 T mayo (use a combination of light and full-fat mayo if you prefer)
1 1/2 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
3/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
fresh ground black pepper to taste
3 T finely chopped green onions
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil while you trim broccoli and cut into small flowerets. (I leave on a fair amount of the stem, but if stems are thick I recommend peeling some of the stem with a vegetable peeler.) When water starts to boil, put broccoli in and cook exactly 2 minutes (just until the broccoli turns bright green.) Immediately dump broccoli into a colander placed in the sink and let drain well.
Spray a low-sided glass or crockery casserole dish with non-stick spray or olive oil. Put broccoli in casserole dish, spreading out into close to a single layer.
Stir together mayo, lemon juice, Dijon mustard and black pepper, then mix in finely chopped green onion and finely grated swiss cheese. Spread mayo-cheese mixture over the top of broccoli (I used a rubber scraper to do this. This is not a sauce that will completely cover the broccoli, but a thin layer of cheese sauce on the top.) Sprinkle parmesan cheese over mayo-cheese mixture. (On Thanksgiving Day, this could be made ahead up to this point and kept in the refrigerator. Let come to room temperature before baking.)
Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and slightly browned on top. (I baked the broccoli gratin in the photos for exactly 32 minutes. Serve hot.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
All the ingredients in this dish are low-carb foods, making this a better choice for low-carb diets than many traditional Thanksgiving vegetable dishes. But this recipe is relatively high in fat, so if you’re following The South Beach Diet, it’s probably a “once-in-a-while treat”.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan.
Nutritional Information?
I chose the South Beach Diet to manage my weight partly so I wouldn’t have to count calories, carbs, points, or fat grams, but if you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into Calorie Count, which will calculate it for you.
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This was winner today at a church lunch. It was almost gone before I had a chance to get a serving. I used a combination of cheddar and Gruyere along with the Parmesan cheese. So delicious. Thanks for this great and simple recipe.
I haven't tried it with frozen broccoli, but I don't think it would be nearly as good. The frozen broccoli seems like it will get too soft in a recipe like this. You could try it with a shorter cooking time and see what you think.
I haven’t done it, but I think you could cook the broccoli, drain well, cover with the gratin topping, and the cover and refrigerate and finish baking the next day. You need to let it come to room temperature before you bake, or add a little more time in the oven. Love to hear how it works, I can’t think of any reason why it won’t!
This was so good almost better than the skillet chicken cordon bleu I served with it!. We have started keto again this week. We were very successful last year losing 40lb each in less than 4 months. At 50 years old I became pregnant for the first time in my life. I went on to have two miscarriages in 10 months. As sad as that was regaining the 40 lb is a constant reminder. So heres hoping we are sucessful and can make a lifelong change from eating so many carbs. Oddly when I was pregnant all I wanted was carbs, crunchy carbs. I couldnt stomach most vegetables either. It has taken 4 months for me to get to the place where I could get back to eating vegetables and start to cook again. Easy successful recipes like this make my transition so much easier. I didnt have enough swiss cheese so I used mozzerella instead. But I will try the swiss and even cheddar to go with many entrees.
![Broccoli Gratin with Swiss and Parmesan [found on KalynsKitchen.com]](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4k5-MngBrs8/VjgThi46uDI/AAAAAAABAgE/pAqCNsxb8RI/s1600/1-text-550-broccoli-gratin-kalynskitchen.jpg "Broccoli Gratin with Swiss and Parmesan [found on KalynsKitchen.com]")
![Broccoli Gratin with Swiss and Parmesan [found on KalynsKitchen.com]](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wbZ-e1YU-ts/VjgUDUvWTfI/AAAAAAABAgM/S2d-iHa1Lcw/s1600/broccoli-gratin-collage.jpg "Broccoli Gratin with Swiss and Parmesan [found on KalynsKitchen.com]")
![Broccoli Gratin with Swiss and Parmesan [found on KalynsKitchen.com]](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mcbYxWZnfPI/VjgUKDHPPoI/AAAAAAABAgU/6czo-ZkCcyI/s1600/2-550-broccoli-gratin-kalynskitchen.jpg "Broccoli Gratin with Swiss and Parmesan [found on KalynsKitchen.com]")
And just for fun, here’s the original photo for this recipe from back in November 2008, not bad at all for those days!![Broccoli Gratin with Swiss and Parmesan [found on KalynsKitchen.com]](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tkIQDYgTAyc/V-2JrZLYCYI/AAAAAAABKBY/eRwegHAGbks1_yGuPUHXBZ6otv2MwRZLgCLcB/s1600/Broccoli%2BGratin%2Bwith%2BSwiss%2Band%2BParmesan%2Bcopy.jpg "Broccoli Gratin with Swiss and Parmesan [found on KalynsKitchen.com]"){kind=small}
Have you made the recipe just using the light mayo?
Barbara, I haven't. I like the creaminess of "real mayo" mixed with light mayo.
This was winner today at a church lunch. It was almost gone before I had a chance to get a serving. I used a combination of cheddar and Gruyere along with the Parmesan cheese. So delicious. Thanks for this great and simple recipe.
Kit, so glad you liked it. I love the blend of cheeses you used!
Can you use frozen broccoli? It's not in season here, yet. Thank you!
I haven't tried it with frozen broccoli, but I don't think it would be nearly as good. The frozen broccoli seems like it will get too soft in a recipe like this. You could try it with a shorter cooking time and see what you think.
This looks really good! I'm just curious why you say 8T instead of 1/2 cup?
Cici, who knows, but probably because I was increasing it to a larger size so I just doubled the amounts and didn't think to make the conversion.
This is a go to recipe for big family dinners. I use a combo of broccoli and cauliflower.
I like that idea Lori! So glad you have enjoyed it.
I had tried many recipes with Broccoli.
But this is something new to me!
Thanks for it Kalyn 🙂
Hope you enjoy Edgar!
I hate broccoli but in combine with Swiss cheese and Parmesan i hope it will be tasty. Thanks for sharing Kalyn!
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Could this be made the day before?
I haven’t done it, but I think you could cook the broccoli, drain well, cover with the gratin topping, and the cover and refrigerate and finish baking the next day. You need to let it come to room temperature before you bake, or add a little more time in the oven. Love to hear how it works, I can’t think of any reason why it won’t!
Is there anything you could substitute the mayo for? I am not a fan of mayo at all unfortunately.
I haven’t tried it with anything else, but maybe sour cream would work. I can’t say for sure, but would love to know what you think if you try it.
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This was so good almost better than the skillet chicken cordon bleu I served with it!. We have started keto again this week. We were very successful last year losing 40lb each in less than 4 months. At 50 years old I became pregnant for the first time in my life. I went on to have two miscarriages in 10 months. As sad as that was regaining the 40 lb is a constant reminder. So heres hoping we are sucessful and can make a lifelong change from eating so many carbs. Oddly when I was pregnant all I wanted was carbs, crunchy carbs. I couldnt stomach most vegetables either. It has taken 4 months for me to get to the place where I could get back to eating vegetables and start to cook again. Easy successful recipes like this make my transition so much easier. I didnt have enough swiss cheese so I used mozzerella instead. But I will try the swiss and even cheddar to go with many entrees.
Oh Michelle, so sorry to hear about that. I’m happy you enjoyed the recipe and that it can help you get back to healthy eating!!