This Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole is ultimate comfort food. With easy ingredients and the ability to make it ahead, this chicken broccoli and rice casserole will become part of the meal rotation.
I am partnering with Gold’n Plump® to bring you this delicious dinner recipe.
I’m so excited about today’s recipe! It is a spin on my Broccoli Rice Casserole, but made with delicious Gold’n Plump® boneless skinless chicken breasts. If you are in the Midwest (and lots of other places!) you probably recognize this amazing comforting casserole. It’s a classic!
I love using Gold’n Plump® in my cooking! Their chicken always turns out moist and delicious. And I love that we are supporting a Midwestern brand has the ‘no antibiotics – ever’ label.
Gold’n Plump® is in the midst of a hunt though! Their mascot, Cooper, has gone missing! Join them on social media to see if you can figure out where Cooper has been spotted and be entered to win prizes!
Guess what!?! We spotted Cooper in our kitchen! (Psssst, check out my latest IG story to see if you can figure out where else we found him!) We found him as I was doing one of the things I love to do with my kids most: cooking!
Cooking with my kids is such a great way to spend time together. We talk, I teach them about something I love, and they get to understand more about filling a house with love by cooking delicious comforting meals.
TOTALLY FROM SCRATCH CHICKEN BROCCOLI CASSEROLE
I know there are a lot of people who get turned off from recipes that call for condensed soup.
I get it. So this chicken broccoli rice cheese casserole has the short cut of using the store bought condensed cream of chicken soup. But, you can also substitute that with my homemade condensed cream of chicken soup!
It makes the exact amount the can gives you, so it’s a perfect swap out.
MAKE AHEAD CHICKEN CASSEROLE
I love that this chicken broccoli cheese rice casserole is an easy make ahead meal. This makes it perfect for a busy week night.
Follow the instructions up until you put the mixture in the casserole dish and the stop. Cover it and put it in the refrigerator.
When you get home from work the next night, pull it out, add the remaining cheese and fried onions, and pop it in the oven. Just five extra minutes of bake time and you have a delicious chicken and broccoli casserole.
FREEZER FRIENDLY CHICKEN BROCCOLI RICE CASSEROLE
This chicken broccoli rice casserole makes a great freezer meal!
Use an aluminum disposable baking dish so you don’t have to worry about your frozen glass or ceramic dish cracking and breaking in your hot oven.
Like the instructions above, you want prepare your casserole but not top it. Wrap it several times in aluminum foil or plastic wrap before placing it in the freezer.
When you are ready to bake it, take it right from the freezer, top it with the remaining cheddar cheese and fried onions and put in the oven.
Bake your frozen casserole for 45 minutes covered at 350 degrees. Then remove the foil and bake another 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the casserole is bubbling.
SERVING SIZE FOR CHICKEN BROCCOLI RICE CASSEROLE
This recipe makes 7 cups. The nutritional information listed in the recipe card below is based on six servings. So each serving is one overflowing cup.
OTHER DELICIOUS RECIPES USING GOLD’N PLUMP CHICKEN®
As I mentioned, I love using Gold’n Plump Chicken® in my dinner recipes! Here are some other delicious ideas using their products:
- This Butter Chicken Recipe is super popular and my family loves how perfect that sauce is over rice.
- I’m obsessed with this Bourbon Chicken. It’s like take out but better!
- And everyone loves the amazing flavors in this Baked Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs.
If you make this Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole or any of my other dinner recipes, please let me know by leaving a comment! I love hearing what’s working for you and what’s not.
Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 16 ounces frozen broccoli
- 1 teaspoon onion powder optional
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder optional
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 10 ounces condensed cream of chicken soup (store bought or homemade)
- 1 cup milk (I used skim)
- 1 cup instant rice
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
- 1 pound Gold'n Plump Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts diced
- 1 cup fried onions
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 by 13 inch casserole dish with cooking spray.
- In a large sauce pan, melt the butter. Add the onion, and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the broccoli, and cook until no longer frozen, about 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the condensed cream of chicken soup, milk, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir in the broccoli onion mixture, diced chicken, instant rice, and 1 cup of cheddar cheese. Pour into the prepared casserole dish.
- Top with remaining cheese and fried onions. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for 15 minutes.
Steve Heiser says
When you say freeze dried onions are you meaning freeze dried or dehydrated onions in a package and what brand would that be? Thanks Steve
Lisa Longley says
Hi Steve! I don’t think it says freeze dried onions anywhere . . . I searched for that and didn’t find it. I’m talking about the crispy fried onions that come in a plastic container. French’s is the brand most people use. And the other onions called for in this recipe are fresh! I hope you enjoy!
Carl Pirro says
Sounds great Lisa. On my try list. Thank you.
Lisa Longley says
I hope you love it, Carl!
Linda Fenstermaker says
This may be a really dumb question but do you cook the rice?
Lisa Longley says
Shoot Linda! I KNEW someone was going to ask this question. Why didn’t I just put it in the post?! No, you don’t cook the rice. Its one of the things I love about this recipe, the rice is instant rice so it just gets tossed in.
Shirley says
I prefer brown rice & not to buy instant rice. Guessing I need 2 cups? Or more? Thanks.
Lisa Longley says
Hi Shirley! I haven’t tried it with brown rice or non-instant rice. If you try it that way, let me know how it goes.
Phyllis says
I would think you would need to cook brown rice first. Would be a great way to use leftover rice.
Linn says
Do you think I could switch out the milk for chicken or bone broth–or at least half milk and half broth? I’m also going to try it with partially cooked brown rice and leftover rotisserie chicken.
Lisa Longley says
I haven’t tried it that way. I would try with only taking out half the milk – likely it will make the sauce just a little less creamy. If you try it, let me know how it goes.
Katherine says
I want to make this without broccoli. How much addl instant rice do you think I should add to substitute for broccoli? Thanks!
Lisa Longley says
Hi Katherine! Unfortunately, I can’t really give you a good answer to this question because I haven’t tried it and because more instant rice means more liquid to make it cook well. So it’s not a simple swap. If you aren’t a fan of broccoli, but do own an Instant Pot, try this Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Casserole instead!
Kristi Doyle says
Is the chicken cooked before added to the mix?
Lisa Longley says
Nope, raw chicken.
Sheila Zimmerman says
are you pre-cooking the chicken? Thanks!
Lisa Longley says
Nope
Natalie says
hello, i’m sorry if this is a stupid question but in the recipe description it says cook time is 1 hour and 5 minutes but in the actual directions it says cook for 45, which do i do?
Lisa Longley says
The extra time accounts for what you need to do on the stove top. Sorry that wasn’t more clear.
Vicki says
Can you use fresh broccoli?
Lisa Longley says
Yes, you can!
Cathy says
Just asking if you can use fresh broccoli instead of frozen broccoli
Lisa Longley says
Yes! Fresh broccoli would also work. It will need to sauté for slightly less time.
Tammy says
Instead of cut up chicken could you do strips?
Lisa Longley says
I think that would work!
PATpat says
2(343 Where can you buy canned fried oinions these days , not at safeway
Lisa Longley says
I’m able to find them in my grocery store. I use French’s.
Maggy says
Love this recipe. Thank you
Lisa Longley says
I’m so glad to hear it Maggy!
Linda says
Hi Lisa, to freeze this delicious casserole do you prepare it to step 3 and then add the extra cheese and onions when you cook it? Also do you thaw it or cook from frozen and if so what temperature and for how long. Thank you very much!
Lisa Longley says
Yes! You add the cheese on top and the onions right before cooking. You can bake right from freezing, adding 15 minutes to the baking time. Make sure you freeze it in a container that won’t crack (like aluminum) when it goes from the freezer to the hot oven. You can find more details about this in the post about 3/4 ways through.
Brenda Richardson says
Was was one of the easier chicken, broccoli, rice casseroles and I added some canned corn. Was great. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Lisa Longley says
I’m so happy you liked it!