Easy cheesy chicken broccoli rice casserole is a one-pot wonder that's sure to become a family favorite. With the combination of chicken, broccoli, rice, and cheese, this perfect comfort food epitomizes deliciousness. You'll receive rave reviews when made for an easy weeknight dinner. This casserole can be made ahead of time and produces awesome leftovers.
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Ingredients - Here's What You'll Need
You probably already have all of the ingredients needed for this amazing casserole.
- Chicken: I used skinless, boneless chicken breasts. You could also use skinless, boneless chicken thighs so long as you trimmed them of the fat.
- The Sauce: The sauce includes cream of mushroom soup and mayonnaise. You may think that mayonnaise is a weird ingredient to use in a dish like this. However, it works great. If you don't want to use mayonnaise, you can use sour cream instead. Also, you could use cream of chicken soup rather than cream of mushroom soup.
- Rice: The rice in this casserole should be cooked. I like to use long-grain white rice that has been rinsed very well before cooking to remove as much excess starch as possible.
- Broccoli Florets: I don't like over-cooked broccoli at all, so I use frozen broccoli florets straight from the package, i.e., not thawed or cooked. This way, the broccoli is perfect, at least for my taste. I would caution against your using frozen broccoli pieces, however. My experience is that the broccoli pieces are mainly tough stalks. You could use fresh broccoli that has been blanched in boiling water for about 2 minutes, submerged in ice water and drained well.
- Cheese: I use shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, but you could use sharp or regular Cheddar cheese if that's what you prefer.
- The Toppings: Besides topping this casserole with Cheddar cheese, I also use bread crumbs dotted with butter for the crunch. You could also use crushed Ritz crackers or crushed cornflakes.
Steps - Making the Casserole
- First, I cooked the chicken in a bit of butter in a skillet over medium heat until it was no longer pink. This took 7 or 8 minutes.
- While the chicken was cooking, I whisked together the cream of mushroom soup, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. That was the extent of the prep!
- Next, I added the chicken, rice, broccoli, and part of the cheese to the soup/mayonnaise mixture.
- Then, I stirred all of the ingredients together.
- Once the ingredients were combined, I transferred the mixture to a baking dish I had sprayed with non-stick vegetable spray. Since I was making this in advance, I covered the casserole dish with aluminum foil and refrigerated it.
- When I was ready to bake the casserole, I covered it with aluminum foil and transferred it to a 375°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Then, I removed the casserole from the oven, sprinkled on shredded cheese and bread crumbs, and dotted the top with unsalted butter. I returned the casserole to the 375°F oven for another 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, the cheese was melted, the bread crumbs were golden brown, and the casserole was bubbly.
I served the Easy Chicken Rice and Broccoli Casserole with some crusty French bread and a salad on the side..
The casserole was absolutely delicious. It was creamy and cheesy and a perfect one-pot meal. Yum!
Frequently Asked Questions
If you're using fresh broccoli, plan on about 4 cups of florets. If you plan on using fresh broccoli, blanch it for about 2 minutes and then submerge it in ice water to stop the cooking. Drain it well before adding it to the rest of the ingredients.
I like my broccoli crisp-tender, so I don't thaw or cook the frozen broccoli. Don't be tempted to use frozen broccoli pieces. In my experience, the pieces are mainly the tough stems.
I used extra-sharp Cheddar cheese because that's what I had on hand, but you could also use sharp or regular Cheddar cheese.
You can definitely use cream of chicken soup instead of the cream of mushroom soup.
You can use sour cream if you don't want to use mayonnaise.
You can use crushed Ritz crackers, cornflakes, or Panko instead of the bread crumbs.
One of the beauties of this dish is that it can be made ahead of time, covered in aluminum foil, and refrigerated. If you do this, add about 5 minutes to the cooking time.
If there are leftovers, they can be reheated for several minutes in the microwave or in a 350°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
Instead of making one large casserole, I sometimes divide the mixture between two smaller casserole dishes. I bake one and freeze the other for another time.
Other Amazing One-Pot Dishes
If you like the idea of a one-pot dish that reheats well, you should check out the following:
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Recipe
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Easy Chicken Rice and Broccoli Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound (16 ounces) boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1-inch pieces (See Tip 1)
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup (See Tip 2)
- ½ cup (4 ounces) mayonnaise (See Tip 3)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (I usually add around ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper)
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 12 ounce package of frozen broccoli florets (See Tip 4)
- 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, divided (See Tip 5)
- ¼ cup bread crumbs (See Tip 6)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a 2 ½-quart or 9 x 13-inch casserole dish with non-stick vegetable spray. Set aside.
- Cook chicken in 1 Tablespoon melted butter in a skillet over medium heat until chicken is no longer pink, 5 to 6 minutes. Set aside.
- Whisk together cream of mushroom soup, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
- Add chicken, rice, broccoli, and 1 cup of shredded cheese to the soup mixture. Stir well to combine. Correct the seasonings.
- Transfer to a prepared casserole dish. Cover with aluminum foil. If desired, the casserole can be made in advance up to this point and refrigerated.
- Bake in preheated 375°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until heated through.
- Remove from the oven; remove the aluminum foil. Top with remaining shredded cheese and bread crumbs. Dot with remaining butter. Return to the 375°F oven for another 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted, the bread crumbs are golden, and the casserole is bubbly.(See Tip 7)
- Yield: 6 to 8 servings. (See Tip 8)
Video
Tips/Notes
- These days, it's not unusual for the chicken to be tough. To easily tenderize the chicken, brine it in a mixture of 4 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of Kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon of sugar for 30 minutes. Remove from the brine and pat dry.
- You can use cream of chicken soup instead of cream of mushroom soup.
- You can use sour cream if you don't want to use mayonnaise.
- You can use 4 cups of fresh broccoli florets instead of the frozen broccoli. Blanch the fresh broccoli for 2 minutes, submerge it in ice water, and drain well. I like my broccoli crisp-tender, so I don't thaw or cook the frozen broccoli. Don't be tempted to use frozen broccoli pieces. In my experience, the pieces are mainly the tough stems. Also, if your frozen broccoli florets have a lot of stem pieces, add another 3 to 4 ounces of the florets.
- I like to use extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, but you can use sharp Cheddar or regular cheddar.
- Rather than bread crumbs, you can use crushed Ritz crackers, crushed corn flakes, or Panko bread crumbs..
- Instead of making one large casserole, divide the mixture between two smaller casserole dishes. Bake one and freeze the other for another time.
- If there are leftovers, they can be reheated for several minutes in the microwave or in a 350°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
Anonymous says
Should say in recipe directions that rice should be cooked first. Used instant brown rice and cooked longer but still pretty chewy. Wished I had read all the things prior to recipe.
Chula King says
Actually, the recipe indicates 2 cups of cooked rice.
Tia says
I found your website through your YouTube channel. Thank you for making easy to follow recipes. Much appreciated! And it was delicious.
Chula King says
Thanks so much for your comment Tia. I'm glad you found the website!
Chula
Vylette says
Third time I made this. Always great for dinner and easy to make. Thank you:)
Chula King says
So glad you liked it!
Chula
Elyse Williams says
Added this recipe to the rotation. Added an extra cup of cheese to the mix. Should've cut the broccoli in smaller pieces but hubs loved it so thank you !!
Chula King says
Extra cheese would be yummy! So glad you liked the recipe.
Anonymous says
Great. Easy. Thank you Chula. Chula is my dog's name. Means pretty girl in Spanish.
Chula King says
Thanks! I had to smile when you mentioned that your dog's name was the same as mine!
Chula
Katherine Kiele says
I need amounts.
How many chicken breasts, how much Mayo, rice cheese etc?????
Chula King says
Katherine,
The quantities are included in the recipe (https://pudgefactor.com/easy-chicken-rice-and-broccoli-casserole/#recipe). Generally, one pound of chicken breasts equates to two chicken breasts.
Chula
Bonnie n says
Looks delicious. I have a recipe similar but lost it. I like at the tips at the end. I always change things up.
Chula King says
Thanks Bonnie! This casserole really is delicious - even as leftovers.
Chula
Donna Dearing says
Best every
Gwen Van der Westhuizen says
Easy to make and really tasty.
Chula King says
I'm so pleased that you liked the casserole Gwen.
Chula
Eileen says
So glad to find a recipe that uses canned soup - Like a lot of cooks, I don't always have time to make a white sauce (and it never tastes as good anyway) - So thank you for the real-life, easy recipes.
Chula King says
Eileen, I totally agree with you - I always have cream of mushroom soup in my pantry. It's so easy to use and so good, especially in dishes like this casserole!
Chula