This comfort food casserole is a whole meal in one dish. It is cheesy, creamy and loaded with the good stuff. It is a great fill your belly meal that comes together quickly, starting with dry rice and raw chicken, no precooking required.
Feeding your family just got a whole lot easier. This cheesy chicken broccoli and rice casserole has it all in one dish. Plus it is a dump and bake recipe, so there is basically no prep work.
Just measure, dump, cover and bake! No pre-cooking. No fussing. It’s a perfectly easy way to fill up your family.
If you are looking for a comfort food option for dinner, this is it! There is nothing like a creamy, cheesy casserole to fill your belly.
This particular version is simplified. There is no pre-cooking of the rice.
There is no browning of the chicken either. You just put everything into a pan and turn it into dinner.
It really doesn’t get much easier than that! The rice soaks up the broth and the soup and cheese make a delicious thick sauce that holds it all together.
Using Velveeta cheese helps to ensure you get a nice creamy sauce. It doesn’t split and melts beautifully.
Meanwhile the chicken and broccoli cook right along with it. Some buttery cornflakes finish it off.
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You could easily sub in cracker crumbs or buttered bread crumbs if that is what you happen to have on hand.
That is one of the best parts about casseroles, they are easily adaptable! You can even leave out the chicken and make this a great side dish or meatless main.
More Chicken Dinner Recipes
If you love a good casserole, you may want to check out grandma’s chicken and broccoli casserole. it is a great way to turn leftover chicken or turkey into a pasta based dinner.
Another comforting all in one meal we love is MiMi’s creamy chicken pot pie. It is another hearty meal that gets requested frequently around here!
Slow cooker chicken and rice is an easy meal that requires almost no prep work. It cooks while you go about your day, all you have to do is make a veggie and dinner is ready.
Or make some cornflake crumb chicken for an oven baked twist on fried chicken. There are plenty of tasty chicken dinner options!
For another great rice option, try making grandma’s baked rice with mushrooms. The rice cooks in a flavorful mix of beef broth and mushrooms for a tasty side dish.
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Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons butter divided
- 21 ounces cream of chicken soup 2 cans
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 12 ounces broccoli florets fresh or defrosted
- 1½ cups long grain rice uncooked
- 1 pound Velveeta cheese or similar
- 1½ pounds chicken breast
- 2 cups cornflakes crushed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 °F. Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in a 9×13" pan.
- Stir the cream of chicken, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, rice, broth and milk together in the pan.21 ounces cream of chicken soup, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, 1½ cups long grain rice, 2 cups chicken broth, 1 cup milk
- Cut the broccoli and chicken into bite sized pieces. Cut the cheese into cubes. Scatter all three over the top of the rice mixture.12 ounces broccoli florets, 1½ pounds chicken breast, 1 pound Velveeta cheese
- Cover with foil and bake for 55 minutes. Stir and set aside.
- Melt the remaining 4 Tablespoons of butter and stir into the cornflake crumbs. Sprinkle over the top of the casserole.2 cups cornflakes
- Bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes or until the rice is cooked and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 °F.
- Let sit for 10 minutes then serve and enjoy.
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Do you think it would be too runny if I took out the rice and just mixed in cooked pasta when it’s done baking? Do you think a pound box of rotini would work?
That’s a fun idea! I would either reduce or omit the chicken broth depending on how loose you want the final sauce to be. Otherwise, I think should work great as you described. I also think you could probably just keep the proportions the same and add the uncooked pasta to the pan and let it cook with everything else. I have several no boil pasta bake recipes on the site that work in a similar way.
Thank you! Would the amount of liquid in this recipe be enough for a 16oz box of pasta if I did the no-boil way?
Yes, it should be about perfect. I would test a noodle near the end of the cook time just to make sure, but this is about the same amount of liquid as I use in other recipes.
This is exactly the recipe I was looking for this time of year. I’ve made my shopping list and will be making this over the weekend. Thank you!
Yay! I hope you enjoy it!
We tried this recipe the other night. It was delicious.
I had fresh broccoli so I steamed that ahead and was able to find all the other ingredients in my kitchen.
This is a keeper.
Fresh broccoli would be great. I am so glad you liked it!
Can I pre make it and put it in the fridge u till I’m ready to put it in the oven?
Yes. Just take it out of the refrigerator while the oven preheats to take some of the chill off. Then add 10 minutes or so to the cook time.
This is my second time making it. It’s so good 👍
I am so glad you like it!
I love that there is no precooking involved! Makes it so much easier on a weeknight.
This casserole sounds so good. I wonder if you could use bread crumbs on top of the casserole since I don't have any corn flakes. Instead of using the velveeta cheese I wonder if you could use shredded cheddar cheese. I have those ingredients on hand. Thanks for the recipe Carlee.
Have a nice week. Stay safe and be well.
I think both should work just fine! Cracker crumbs or whatever you have on hand would be good too. You'll have to let me know how it goes if you give it a go!
It is like a nice warm hug!
I am always on the lookout for recipes suitable for my toddler. I think this is great as the broccoli is almost "hidden". He loves rice so this is perfect.
My toddler loved it. He likes to play with broccoli, but never really eats it!
It was so good!