Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Rice Casserole

This Chicken and Broccoli Rice Casserole is baked with plenty of cheddar cheese!

There’s something about eating a casserole that gives you a feeling of great comfort. Casseroles are filling, and they’re easy to make. And they’re usually pretty welcome as a family friendly meal. This chicken and broccoli rice casserole is made with a delicious white cheese sauce and cheddar cheese too. It’s baked a short amount of time to warm it all up.

Ingredients needed:

• unsalted butter
• yellow onion
• garlic
• all purpose flour
• chicken broth
• whole milk
• cream cheese
• salt, pepper and sweet paprika
• broccoli florets
• cooked rice
• cooked chicken
• shredded cheddar cheese
• fresh parsley

How to make Chicken and Broccoli Rice Casserole:

The complete, printable recipe is at the bottom of this post.

The first thing to do is make the creamy sauce. Onion and garlic are cooked in a pan. Flour is mixed in, and then chicken broth and milk. Cream cheese, salt, pepper and sweet paprika are added last. The mixture is heated and stirred until thickened and creamy.

In a bowl, add cooked broccoli, cooked rice and cooked chicken. Stir in the sauce and 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese.

Transfer the mixture to a casserole dish. Sprinkle with more cheddar cheese, of course!

Cover the pan with foil, and bake until heated through (about 20 minutes). Then place the casserole dish under the broiler for a couple of minutes to brown the cheese on top.

Oh, that cheese!  If you like a good, cheesy casserole then this is the casserole for you. As school begins this year and things get busy, this is an easy recipe to make for a weeknight dinner.

Since you have broccoli, chicken and rice all in one dish in this casserole, there is no need to serve any side dishes. That’s the great thing about making casseroles! But you could always add a simple green salad to the meal, if you’d like. Enjoy!

5 from 2 votes

Chicken and Broccoli Rice Casserole

By RecipeGirl.com

Easy, family friendly casserole recipe for tonight's dinner!

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 35 minutes mins

Total: 50 minutes mins

Servings: 8 servings

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Ingredients

CREAMY SAUCE:

• ▢ ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• ▢ 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• ▢ 6 medium garlic cloves, crushed
• ▢ 6 tablespoons all purpose flour
• ▢ 2 cups chicken broth
• ▢ 1 cup whole milk
• ▢ 4 ounces cream cheese
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon sweet paprika
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

OTHER:

• ▢ 3 cups broccoli florets
• ▢ 3 cups cooked rice
• ▢ 3 cups cooked chopped chicken
• ▢ 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• ▢ 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley, for garnish

Instructions 

MAKE THE CREAMY SAUCE:

• In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion and cook until softened, but not browned, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn the heat down to low, add the garlic, and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. 
• Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. 
• Whisk in the chicken broth and milk. Bring to a simmer (it will thicken), whisking constantly. 
• Whisk in the cream cheese until smooth, and then whisk in the salt, sweet paprika, and black pepper. 

ASSEMBLE THE CASSEROLE:

• Preheat the oven to 375F. Spray the inside of a 9x13-inch casserole dish with nonstick spray. 
• For the broccoli, fill a medium saucepan ⅔ full with water. Bring to a full rolling boil, salt the water, and add the broccoli. Cook for 3 minutes and then drain the broccoli. 
• Add the rice, chicken, broccoli, creamy sauce, and 2 cups shredded cheddar to a large bowl and stir to combine. 
• Transfer the mixture to the prepared casserole dish and sprinkle the remaining 1 cup shredded cheddar on top. 
• Cover the dish with foil and bake until the casserole is warm throughout and the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and broil a couple minutes to brown the cheese on top. Garnish with fresh parsley, and serve.

Notes

• If you’re making the rice from scratch, you’ll need about 1 1/2 cups of uncooked rice to yield 3 cups of cooked rice. 
• Rotisserie chicken works well in this dish. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 552kcal, Carbohydrates: 28g, Protein: 32g, Fat: 34g, Saturated Fat: 20g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 9g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 140mg, Sodium: 881mg, Potassium: 458mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 1394IU, Vitamin C: 37mg, Calcium: 400mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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