Name: Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons butter; 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (or 2 cups diced rotisserie chicken); Salt/Pepper (to taste); 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning; 2 1/2 cups chicken broth; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 ¼ cups white long grain rice (uncooked); 2-3 cups fresh broccoli florets (uncooked); 10.5 oz. Cream of Chicken Soup ((condensed)); ½ cup milk; ½ cup sour cream; 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (separated); ½ teaspoon dried thyme; ½ teaspoon garlic powder; 1 cup Ritz crackers (crushed); 2 tablespoons melted butter

Before You Begin

Chicken broccoli rice casserole brings chicken, rice, and broccoli together with a creamy cheddar mixture. A crushed-cracker topping goes on for the last 10 minutes of baking.

Cook the rice and broccoli in the pot before mixing the casserole, and give the rice its full 10-minute covered rest. Use fresh chicken or the cooked-chicken option, then finish the six-serving casserole in a 9 x 13-inch dish.

Check your white long-grain rice package for its liquid amount and cooking time. The method below uses 1¼ cups uncooked rice and 2½ cups chicken broth.

For cooked chicken, use 2 cups diced rotisserie chicken and add it with the other casserole ingredients rather than cooking it in the pot first.

Have a pot with a tight-fitting lid and a lightly greased 9 x 13-inch casserole dish ready. Reserve the cracker topping for the last 10 minutes in the oven.

6 servings · 16 ingredients. Adapted from The Cozy Cook. The source lists 10 minutes prep, 50 minutes cooking, and 1 hour total. The oven stages are 15 minutes covered and 10 minutes uncovered; the rice cooking and its 10-minute covered rest happen before those stages. Rice-package adjustments or chilled make-ahead assembly can increase the time.

Cooking Steps

Check the rice instructions
Read the rice package for the required liquid amount and cooking time, using chicken broth as the liquid. The amounts and timings below are for white long-grain rice; follow any necessary adjustments for the rice you have.
Heat the oven and season the chicken
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
Cook the chicken
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes, until golden brown. Remove it from the pot and set aside.
Start the rice
Add the chicken broth, olive oil, and rice to the pot. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Cover tightly and cook for 6 minutes.
Cook the broccoli with the rice
Add the broccoli and put the lid back on. Cook for another 9 minutes, or until the rice is cooked through and no liquid remains. If the rice still needs cooking, quickly replace the lid and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until cooked through.
Rest the rice without stirring
Remove the pot from the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes. Do not stir during the rest; this gives rice on the bottom time to release.
Mix the casserole
Stir in the cooked chicken, condensed cream of chicken soup, milk, sour cream, the optional thyme and garlic powder if using, and half of the cheddar cheese. Mix until combined.
Bake with the cheese topping
Transfer the mixture to a lightly greased 9 x 13-inch casserole dish and scatter the remaining cheese on top. Cover the dish and bake for 15 minutes.
Add the crackers and finish baking
Mix the crushed Ritz crackers with the melted butter. Sprinkle them over the casserole, then bake uncovered for another 10 minutes. Serve.

Recipe Notes

Use cooked chicken

If using 2 cups diced rotisserie or other cooked chicken, skip cooking it in the butter. Add it with the soup, milk, sour cream, seasonings, and cheese in the mixing step before baking.

Frozen broccoli option

You can replace the fresh broccoli with 2 cups frozen broccoli, cauliflower, or a combination. Thaw it and pat it dry first. Frozen broccoli is already partly cooked; for a softer texture, the source suggests steaming it for about 5 minutes as well.

Choose the cheddar

The source recommends shredding cheddar from a block and avoiding aged or crystallized cheeses that do not melt well.

Assemble ahead and refrigerate

Assemble the casserole up to 2 days before baking and refrigerate it. Let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking and add 15 minutes to the baking time. Keep the cracker-and-butter topping for the final 10 minutes.

Freeze before baking

Assemble the casserole without baking it. After freezing, thaw it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking and add 15 minutes to the baking time. Add the cracker-and-butter topping only during the last 10 minutes.

Spare Hours · sparehours.puzzlegames.app/recipes/chicken-broccoli-rice-casserole/ · Recipe source: https://thecozycook.com/broccoli-cheddar-chicken-and-rice-casserole/

Recipe Source

Adapted from The Cozy Cook: Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole. Ingredient amounts, method details and source time estimates come from the supplied recipe record. The instructions have been rewritten for this page.

The food image is an illustration supplied in this collection, derived from the source recipe photograph. Image credits

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

Before You Begin