Chicken and Broccoli Casserole with Rice and Cheddar
Add Preferred SourceChicken and broccoli casserole is the dinner I make when I want everyone at the table to eat their vegetables without a fight. The chicken, broccoli, and rice all bake together in one dish, so there’s no rice to boil or chicken to brown before it goes in the oven.
Two chicken breasts stretch across six servings here, because the rice and broccoli carry most of the bulk. The one thing I’ve learned to watch is the rice: it bakes from raw, so a few small moves keep it from staying crunchy in the middle.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s a whole dinner in one dish. Protein, vegetable, and starch bake together, so you plate a full meal without cooking separate sides.
- Nothing gets pre-cooked. The chicken goes in raw and the rice goes in dry, so you stir the base, top it, and let the oven do the rest.
- Two chicken breasts feed six. The rice and broccoli fill most of the dish, so a small amount of meat covers a whole table.
- Fresh or frozen broccoli both work. You can use whatever is in the freezer or the crisper drawer without changing the method.
- Leftovers reheat for lunches. Portions go from the fridge to a plate for an easy second meal later in the week.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s what’s worth noting before you start; the printable card below has the full list with quantities.
- Long grain white rice. It goes in uncooked and cooks as the casserole bakes, so spread it in an even layer. The covered bake is on the short side for raw rice, and an even layer is what helps it cook through (there’s more on that in the tips).
- Cream of chicken soup. Two cans make the savory base of the sauce, thick enough to bind the rice as it bakes.
- Milk. It thins the condensed soup into a sauce loose enough to coat the rice.
- Garlic powder and onion powder. A teaspoon of the garlic powder and a teaspoon of the onion powder stir through the base and give it a savory backbone without any chopping.
- Cheddar cheese. Shred it yourself and divide it, half through the base and half over the top, where it melts and browns over the last ten minutes.
- Chicken breasts. Dice them into even one-inch cubes so they cook through in the same time the rice needs. Uneven pieces leave you with some cubes done and others still raw.
- Broccoli florets. Fresh or frozen florets both work here. If using frozen, thaw and pat them dry first so they don’t water down the sauce.
How to Make Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
A complete printable recipe and the measurements in both US customary and metric are available in the recipe card below.
Heat the oven and grease the dish
Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and lightly grease a 9×13 casserole dish. Greasing it now saves you scrubbing baked-on cheese off the corners later.
Mix the base
In a large bowl, stir the uncooked rice together with the cream of chicken soup, milk, garlic powder, onion powder, and half of the shredded cheddar, then season with salt and pepper.
Stir until it’s evenly combined so no pockets of dry rice are left sitting on top.
Assemble
Pour the rice mixture into the greased dish and level it out. Scatter the diced chicken and the broccoli florets over the top, then press them down so they sink partway into the rice.
Pressing them in helps them cook in the sauce rather than drying out on the surface.
Bake, then finish with cheese
Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. A tight seal is what traps the steam the raw rice needs, so take a moment to crimp the edges down.
Take the foil off, scatter the rest of the cheddar over the top, and return it uncovered for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly.
The chicken goes in raw, so check that the largest cube has reached 165°F (74°C) before serving rather than going by the timer alone.
Serve
Scatter chopped fresh herbs and a little ground black pepper over the top, then scoop and serve straight from the dish.
Recipe Notes and Expert Tips
- Spread the rice flat. An even layer cooks through more reliably in the time given, while a mounded, uneven layer can leave the middle firm. It’s worth the extra few seconds to level it.
- Keep the foil sealed for the full 30 minutes. The rice cooks on trapped steam, so a loose or peeled-back foil edge is the most common reason it stays hard. Crimp it tight and leave it alone.
- Taste a grain before you serve. Raw rice varies from bag to bag, so one quick taste at the end tells you more about doneness than the timer does.
- Par-cook the rice if you want it soft. The uncooked rice bakes 30 minutes covered, which can leave it a little firm. Cooking it briefly before it goes in gives you a softer center.
- Grate your own cheese. Freshly grated cheddar melts more smoothly than pre-shredded, which is coated with anti-caking agents that stop it clumping.
Recipe Variations
- Cream of mushroom or cream of broccoli soup is a tested swap for the cream of chicken; it shifts the flavor of the base and leaves the bake unchanged.
- For a different melt, mozzarella, Monterey Jack, or Swiss are supported stand-ins for some or all of the cheddar.
- I make this often with leftover roast chicken in place of the raw cubes, and that tested shortcut trims a little time since the meat only warms through.
- Brown rice hasn’t been tested here, and it needs more liquid and a longer bake than the recipe gives, so it isn’t a straight swap.
How to Store Leftovers
You can assemble this casserole up to a day ahead. Because it holds raw chicken, cover it tightly, keep it in the fridge, and bake it within that day; it goes in cold, so check that the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C) and the rice is tender before serving rather than going by the clock. This is a raw dish held cold, not a cooked leftover.
For cooked leftovers, don’t leave the dish out longer than 2 hours, or 1 hour when it’s above 90°F (32°C). Cool, then refrigerate baked leftovers 3 to 4 days, or freeze up to 2 months.
Thaw frozen portions overnight in the fridge, then reheat in the oven until the casserole reaches 165°F (74°C), stirring in a splash of milk if it looks dry.
What to Serve With Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
This casserole already bakes a vegetable and a starch into it, so it doesn’t need much alongside. When I add a side, I keep it fresh and sharp to cut through the rich, cheesy base.
A crisp honeycrisp salad brings a bright, crunchy contrast that lightens the plate, and a tangy Asian slaw adds a sharp, crunchy edge if you’d rather skip the fork-and-knife salad. Either one gives you something fresh against the warm, creamy dish.
FAQs
Usually the layer was too thick or the dish lost steam partway through. Level the rice thin before it bakes and keep the cover tight the whole time, and if a grain is still firm when you check, put it back under cover for a few more minutes before serving.
Yes. Thaw it and pat it dry before it goes in, because the water frozen broccoli releases can loosen the sauce and leave the dish watery. Dried off, it behaves just like fresh.
No. The chicken bakes from raw, so you cut it into even one-inch cubes and check that the largest one reaches 165°F (74°C) before serving. You can also start with cooked chicken instead, which takes the timing question off the table.
More Casserole Recipes To Try
If this one earns a spot in the rotation, here are a few more one-dish bakes from the site.
- Easy Chicken Casserole is the one I make when I want the same creamy, cheesy idea with egg noodles instead of rice.
- Chicken and Rice Casserole is the closest cousin to this one, baking chicken thighs over rice in a mushroom sauce, so it’s the one to make when you’d rather use thighs.
- Chicken Pot Pie Casserole layers puff pastry right through a filling of chicken and vegetables for a night you want something a little more special.
- Cowboy Casserole is the heartier, beefier option, with a crispy tater-tot and cheese top for a hungry table.
- Tuna Casserole is a pantry-friendly swap for a night with no chicken in the fridge, finished with a crisp panko top.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups long grain white rice
- 2 cans cream of chicken soup
- 2 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded, divided
- 2 chicken breasts diced in 1 inch cubes
- 2 cups broccoli florets chopped
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh herbs finely chopped
- black pepper to serve
Video
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350°F). Grease a 9 × 13-inch casserole dish.
- In a big bowl, combine rice, chicken soup, milk, garlic powder, onion powder, half of the cheddar cheese, and season with salt and pepper.1 ½ cups long grain white rice, 2 cans cream of chicken soup, 2 cups milk, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 2 cups cheddar cheese, Salt and pepper
- Transfer the mixture to the casserole dish and level it out. Add the chicken and broccoli florets and arrange them over the rice, you can push them a bit so they partially sink.2 cups broccoli florets, 2 chicken breasts
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, cover with the rest of the cheese and return to the oven for 10 more minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly.
- Serve with fresh herbs and ground black pepper.Fresh herbs
Notes
- Doneness: the chicken bakes from raw, so cook until the largest cube reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) rather than by time alone.
- Rice: the uncooked rice bakes for 30 minutes covered, which is on the short side, so spread it in an even layer and keep the foil sealed tight; par-cook it briefly first if you want it fully soft.
- Make ahead (before baking): assemble and refrigerate no more than a day ahead, since it holds raw chicken, and bake it straight from cold, going by the chicken reaching 165°F (74°C). This is a raw dish held cold, not a cooked leftover.
- Storage (after baking): Cool, then refrigerate baked leftovers 3 to 4 days, or freeze up to 2 months. Reheat in the oven to 165°F (74°C), adding a splash of milk if dry.
- Nutrition: the figures are an estimate provided for guidance, not a guarantee.
Yummy easy and quick.
Thanks Mandy Have only just started to enjoy your recipes.
Really pleased you’ve found them and are enjoying cooking them 🙂