Chicken Broccoli Cheese Rice Casserole is a favorite comfort food recipe. This casserole is loaded with everything that makes you think of home, and you’ll be shocked how easy it is to put together. This Chicken and Rice Casserole with broccoli and cheese is the type of cheesy recipe your family will request time and time again.
Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole
Chicken and Rice Casserole with Broccoli (and CHEESE) is the of the best chicken casseroles. This is one of my favorite easy dinner recipes.
If you’re in need of a comforting, easy, CHEESY meal to make your family this week, can I please suggest this chicken broccoli cheese and rice casserole?
There’s just something so homey about rice, broccoli, chicken, and cheese. Seems like something ole Marie Callendar would make, but so much better. Get to cookin’ this amazing dish!
Broccoli Rice Casserole with Chicken
Broccoli Rice Casserole is SO simple to throw together, great for making and ahead and freezing for a friend, or reheating for lunch throughout the week.
I love casseroles because they’re an entire meal in one. We have made so many casseroles on here and some of our faves include Chicken Pot Pie Casserole, Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole, and Enchilada Stuffed Pepper Casserole.
When you make this for dinner, you don’t need an extra side dish. This is main course and side dish in one.
This chicken broccoli cheese rice casserole is the type of recipe that warms the soul while it fills your belly. Its the kind of meal you’ll make again and again when you’re just not sure what to make for dinner. You’ll likely have all the ingredients in your kitchen already, so it’s just a matter of tossing them together and baking them to perfection. I wish I would have realized years ago that recipes like this existed. I would have eaten a lot less frozen dinners!
If you’ve never tried Chicken and Rice Casserole it is TIME…tonight! This EASY casserole recipe is a must make for anyone who loves comfort food.
I hope this Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole warms your home this Winter! It’s a cold one! We all need some easy casseroles in our lives for seasons like this. Looking for some good bread pairings to serve alongside this Chicken and Rice Casserole? Be sure to check out our Icebox Dinner Rolls or Beer Bread Muffins. YUM!
See the recipe card below for details on How to Make Chicken and Rice Casserole. Enjoy!
Looking for more chicken comfort food recipe? Try these favorites:
- Oven Fried Chicken
- Chicken Divan Casserole
- Spinach Dip Stuffed Chicken
- Chicken Pot Pie Casserole
- Queso Smothered Chicken Fajitas
- Chicken CousCous with Bacon and Corn
- Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu
- Basil Cream Chicken Recipe
- 40 Clove Chicken and Potatoes
Chicken and Rice Casserole
Email This Recipe
Enter your email and we’ll send the recipe directly to you!
Ingredients
For Topping:
- 1 sleeve Ritz crackers crushed
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- ¼ teaspoon smoky paprika
For Casserole:
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or stock
- 2 cups long-grain white rice
- 1 bag frozen broccoli
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground sweet curry or mild curry
- Meat from 1 Rotisserie chicken or 3 medium-sized boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons canola or olive oil divided
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½-1 medium sweet yellow onion diced & sautéed
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1¼ cup half-and-half
- 2 cups shredded cheddar or Gruyere cheese or a blend of both
Instructions
For the Topping:
- In a small bowl, combine crushed crackers, butter, Parmesan and paprika. Set aside.
For the Casserole:
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 13x9-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Bring chicken stock to a boil and add the rice, broccoli, salt, black pepper and sweet curry. Stir once, cover, reduce heat to low and cook 18-20 minutes or until rice and broccoli are tender.
- While rice and broccoli cook:
- If using rotisserie chicken, cut the chicken into 1/2-inch cubes or shred the chicken meat (your preference).
- If using chicken breasts, sprinkle breasts with salt & pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and add 2 tablespoons oil to the pan and heat until the oil shimmers. Carefully place the breasts in skillet and cook 4-5 minutes per side (depending on the size of the breasts). Turn off heat and transfer breasts to a paper towel-lined plate to rest (the chicken will continue to cook a bit and will finish cooking while in the oven). Tent the chicken with foil and allow to rest a few minutes, then cut into cubes.
- Scoop out the skillet drippings and use the same skillet for sautéing the onions & garlic. If necessary, add 1-2 tablespoons oil and 1-2 tablespoons butter.
- In the skillet over medium heat, place the diced onions and cook until onions are translucent. Add minced garlic, stir and turn off the heat.
- Add the cut-up chicken, sautéed onion/garlic mixture, half-and-half and cheese to the rice mixture. Mix well.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. *See Note.
- Sprinkle the cracker topping over the broccoli rice mixture.
- Bake 20-25 minutes or until top is golden brown and sauce is bubbly.
- Enjoy!
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Nutrition Information
We’re sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy this recipe, Karen! We always recommend tasting and adjusting the seasonings to suit your personal preferences, since everyone’s tastes are different!
I would like to make this to freeze ahead. How would you recommend best to do this/store this? And how best to reheat?
Hi Michelle, leave off the cracker topping, cover the casserole tightly with plastic wrap and aluminum foil in the pan you intend to bake it in (not glass, though! It could shatter), and freeze. To reheat, remove the plastic wrap, sprinkle on the cracker topping, and bake in a 350°F oven covered with foil for 40 minutes. Remove the foil, stir, and bake for an additional 10-20 minutes, or until hot.
Just to be clear…don’t bake it initially if freezing? I’ve just made the recipe and will be freezing it in two 8x8s. It smells amazing!
You can freeze it after the fact!
Hi, so do you bake it before freezing or no?
Hi Meagan, you can freeze it before baking as described in my previous comment or after baking!
This was excellent — my husband in particular loved it! I made the mistake of using leftover broccoli instead of frozen but will follow the instructions next time.
I’m sure it still tasted amazing! I’m glad you both enjoyed it!
I felt very happy while reading this site. This was a really very informative site for me. I really liked it. This was really a cordial post. Thanks a lot!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy this yummy dish!
This was amazing! I have yet to find a recipe that I did not like!
That makes me so happy. Thanks Keandrea!
This is really good for the everyone
The article you have shared here is very awesome. I really like and appreciate your work. The points you have mentioned in this article are useful. I must try to follow these points and also share others.
These were a huge hit at our dinner last night. Seriously, I thought there would be some leftovers for lunch but we devoured them all!
Yay! Best type of comment :)
I enjoyed cooking and experimenting with new recipes. I will try the way you suggested. It’s not like I do. thank you for sharing. It will be better than what I do.
Awesome, so glad to hear that!
Cooking is an art. Thank you for your great recipes. It’ s so good.