Broccoli cooked in a creamy garlic butter sauce and topped with cheese and bacon all in one pan! This flavorful creamy dish is a delicious keto side or a whole meal on its own!
Creamy, garlicky and cheesy basically sums up my life. Over the past few months, I have been sharing my favorite keto recipes and this one is another DELICIOUS addition to my collection.
Because the broccoli is cooked in a garlic and creamy sauce, it tastes just like pasta and is great when you’re craving pasta! It’s high in fat, low in carbs and will keep you full for a couple of hours. It makes a great side dish or a main dish thanks to the addition of bacon. It all comes together in one dish in just about 20 minutes. 
To Make Keto Creamy Broccoli and Bacon
- Broccoli Florets: fresh broccoli is preferred but frozen broccoli florets will also work.
- Heavy cream: Can replace with light cream or half & half
- Bacon: Adds protein and flavor to the dish. I like to use thick cut turkey bacon and sautee it in the same pan until crispy. Pre-cooked bacon or bacon crumbles will also work.
- Cheese: I used a mixture of mozzarella and parmesan but you can use your favorite melting cheese! Cheddar, American, provolone, pepper jack or any melting cheese will work.
- Garlic: Lots of it! I like to crush or mince the garlic to extract more flavor.
- Seasoning: Salt and pepper are the only seasonings that are a must for this dish but if you want to go the extra step, i highly recommend adding garlic powder, crushed red pepper, and Italian seasoning if you’d like.
To cook: Simply sautee the broccoli and garlic until tender then adds the heavy cream, cheese, and cooked bacon and bake until bubbly and that’s pretty much it!! This dish can be served as a side or eaten as a main dish or snack.
Keto Creamy Broccoli with Bacon
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw bacon (about 4-6 slices), chopped into small pieces (optional)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4-5 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
- 3 cups broccoli florets
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, optional
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup heavy cream , or light cream or half & half
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, or cheddar, or your favorite melting cheese
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, optional
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400F. In a large pan over medium-high heat, cook chopped bacon for 2-3 minutes or until almost crispy.
- Remove bacon from pan and to the same pan, add the butter, garlic, broccoli, garlic powder, crushed red pepper and a dash of salt and pepper. Sautee for 2-3 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant. Add the heavy cream, cheese, and cooked bacon.
- Transfer to preheated oven and cook for 12-15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and the broccoli is cooked to desired doneness. Serve as a side or eat as a main meal!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This dish was absolutely delicious! My son is doing keto & none of us are huge broccoli fans but this was SO good! Will definitely make again & again. Next time may add chicken for a complete meal.
Hi just wondering how long it is good for to refrigerate? Thanks looking forward to trying this.
It will last 3-4 days in the fridge!
Sorry if this has been asked already but is this dish freezable?
Yes, it freezes well!
It’s great we added Brussel sprouts and cauliflower too it was fantastic!
Yum, that sounds delicious!
Can it be made with no cheese and no garlic?
You can skip the garlic (although it does add lots of flavor) and you can also skip the cheese. It would just be a cream sauce.
I’m wondering if one could finish
Cooking on top of stove in covered skillet instead of finishing in oven. I don’t want to turn on oven on a warm day
Yup, that works!
Fantastic flavors blend well together, and who doesn’t love garlic? I didn’t have enough broccoli so I added spiralized zucchini and it was great! I loved this but next time I’ll add some cream cheese to the garlic and let it melt before adding the rest of the ingredients. Can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow, I bet it will be even better after the flavors meld! Paired with a nice rare grass fed steak.
Loved it but just wondering what the nutrition details were for fat protein and carbs and net carbs?
To get the net carbs, subtract the fiber and sugar alcohols.
I’ve made this so many times that I figured i should come back and leave a review. Its seriously delicious and we drain out the bacon grease first but maybe we will try the other way! We usually grill up some spicy steak and cut it up to put on top of this. Its one of my all time favorites. Thank you!
We love this as a side! We add grilled chicken to make it a meal.
Mmmmmm! Threw in all kinds of cheeses
… mozzarella, sharp cheddar, provolone, taco!
Sooooo delicious!
Do you cook the broccoli and garlic in the bacon drippings? Thank you!
Yes! That where all the flavor is 😀
The creamy, cheese broccoli was very easy and tastes wonderful.
Oh my goodness, this was a delicious side dish that my whole family enjoyed….even the grouchy teenager in the house! We will be making this meal in the future. Thank you so much!
Wow…. this rocks the casbah! So easy to make…It will be a regular in the fridge every week. Thanks for sharing!
My husband and I love this!! This is a new staple in our house. I even substituted cauliflower instead of broccoli and it was still amazing. Give it a try. Either way it’s soo delicious!
Really wanted broccoli and cheese sauce with my roast beef tonight but didn’t want to stand at the stove stirring. THIS IS AWESOME!! I didn’t do bacon since it was going to be a side and it was still so flavorful, cream and just delicious. Ate more of this than the roast!
Happy you enjoyed it, Jami! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
My wife is a stroke victim I wound up having to do all the cooking I loved it it came out perfect she thought it was great to definitely will be making it again
I’m so glad your wife enjoyed the recipe! <3
Fantastic!!!! This could make me a vegetarian!! lol
just made this for a thanksgiving side. Wow, so good. I have a vegetarian in my group, so I used a separate small pan for hers — used double butter instead of the bacon. In my opinion, highly inferior, but she liked it. Kudos to the poster who suggested adding shrimp — going to do that as a main dish one of these first days. thanks for a real winner of a recipe.
Made once before and it was such a huge hit
Making it again, does this reheat okay? Can I make it a day before and just warm back up??
Yes, it reheats just fine!
So yummy and so easy! I seriously tossed it all together within minutes and my toddler loved it. Pairs well with multiple proteins as well.
Yes! happy your toddler loved it <3
Anyone know if this recipe is freezable after making it?
Nothing with dairy freezes well. It would break.
What a great and easy recipe! Everyone loved it….even my pickiest eater cleaned her plate
Picky eaters are the hardest to please! Happy she enjoyed it 🙂
this is amazing! We made it according to the recipe the first go around, then added chicken breast the next time. So good!
Chicken is a delicious addition!
I added cauliflower with it
I made this for the fIrst time tonight. My kids do Not like broccoli, but this smelled and looked so good, that they all tried it. All 3 told me i had to make it again. Delicious!
I’m so glad to hear that your children enjoyed the dish, Kadee!! <3
This is delicious! I followed to an T BUT ALSO ADDED A BAG OF SHRIMP.
This is the very first time I’ve ever made a non-potato, vegetable side dish and was legitimately sad there wasn’t more. I’m positive this is going in regular rotation at my house! Thank you so very much!!
Thanks for the feedback 🙂
I tried this recipe today and it was phenomenal! Hands down the best way I have ever eaten broccoli! We are new to the keto plan and I stumbled across this recipe while looking for keto friendly side dishes. I’m so happy that something so yummy can be enjoyed while we’re on our new “diet”.
This is the best broccoli recipe I’ve ever had. Thank you!
I was getting bored with broccoli so thought I’d try and find a new recipe. I’m so glad I did!
i love this recipe! so delicious with few ingredients and fast to make. i will be having the left overs for work lunch 🙂
So easy to make and a new favorite at my house.