What can be more comforting than this easy, creamy, cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole Recipe?!! It's filled with tender chicken and fluffy flavorful rice. The ultimate comfort food and one delicious dinner!
If you love an easy recipe that tastes just like Mom's home cooking then this classic recipe will check all the boxes for you!
Next time try this chicken casserole - Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells with Bacon and Ranch!
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Why you'll love this recipe
✔️ You'll love it because it's simple to make like the Chicken Pesto Pasta Bake and uses leftover rotisserie chicken and pantry ingredients.
✔️ Like the Chicken Tater Tot Casserole, this is perfect for busy weeknights; this will quickly become a favorite casserole recipe!
✔️ You'll prepare the casserole, and place in the oven to bake while you go about the important things in life!
This rice dish is a meal the whole family will love; it's pure comfort food! It's the perfect meal and just delicious.
Ingredients
You'll only need a handful of simple ingredients for this great recipe! Please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for the exact measurements.
- onion - I use yellow onion, but you could substitute with shallots or white onion as well.
- cooked leftover chicken - about 1 ½ cups cooked chicken breasts, skinless chicken thighs, shredded chicken, sautéed chicken, leftover rotisserie chicken is ideal and you can use white or dark meat.
- ranch dressing mix - that's the powdered stuff! I love using this simple shortcut, rather than putting together a mix of salt, black pepper, garlic powder, etc. This is just so easy!!
- white rice - Use regular long grain rice, jasmine rice or basmati rice. Use your favorite kind of rice. Brown rice or wild rice would be amazing as well. If you do, adjust the liquid and cook time accordingly. Do not use instant or minute rice.
- can of cream of chicken soup - You can use any canned soup you like; cream of mushroom soup, cream of celery would be delicious as well, really any of the creamed canned soups will substitute nicely.
- chicken broth - I prefer chicken stock as opposed to beef or vegetable.
- evaporated milk - whole milk is a good substitute, having said that I like the creaminess of evaporated milk.
- fresh broccoli - have a bumper crop of frozen broccoli? That works as well. You could also add broccolini or cauliflower.
- shredded sharp cheddar cheese - pepper jack cheese would give it a little spice, Monterey Jack cheese would be great too!
- fried onions - the crispy crunchy kind you get in a can, it's the perfect topping. However if you don't have those on hand, crushed potato chips or bread crumbs will work as well.
Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. For the complete directions for the Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole just scroll down to the bottom!
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 9x11 casserole dish by spraying with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.
- Dice the onions and cooked chicken breast.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the chicken soup, evaporated milk, ranch dressing mix and chicken broth until creamy. Add in the chicken, raw broccoli onion, uncooked rice and half the cheese into the creamy sauce, stir to combine.
- Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Top with fried onions and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes until the rice is cooked and the dish is hot and bubbly.
- At the end of the cooking time, remove it from the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.
- Optional - after resting, remove the foil and place it underneath the broiler for 2-3 minutes until the top is golden brown. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve!
Equipment
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- This casserole dish is great. It's good value and comes as a set. So pretty!
- A large mixing bowl is perfect to combine the ingredients - I have this set!
- You'll need a whisk to combine the seasoning and sauces. This set is great - 3 sizes and super affordable.
- These serving spoons are pretty enough to go from mixing to the dinner table.
FAQ's
No, there's no need to cook the rice first.
You can, but I really prefer to use leftover rotisserie chicken.
Yes, this casserole dish freezes well!
Absolutely! However both wild and brown rice take longer to cook and may take more liquid.
Tips
- Don't substitute minute, instant rice or cooked rice, raw rice is best in this recipe.
- If you're making this great meal for a potluck, wrap the casserole in several layers of aluminum foil and a thick towel prior to transporting. Then place it in an insulated cooler. You'll be surprised how long this will stay warm!
- If you're using a raw chicken breast, season chicken. You can use onion powder, salt & pepper. Cut chicken into small pieces. Stir fry it with some fresh garlic first before adding it to the casserole.
Variations
- Substitute brown rice or wild rice in the chicken broccoli casserole, just be sure to adjust the cooking time and amount of liquid accordingly.
- Making homemade cream of chicken soup adds even more flavor.
- If you're watching your carbs, cauliflower rice would be a great change-up too, but again you'd need to adjust the amount of liquid and cooking time.
- To mix things up, use French Onion Soup mix for flavoring. A tablespoon of Dijon mustard adds a hint of tangy goodness!
- Want a crunchy topping? Add crushed potato chips, panko crumbs, ritz crackers, corn flakes, crushed pretzel sticks or parmesan cheese to the top of the casserole before baking - yum!
Storage
Allow leftovers to cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and place in the refrigerator. It will last up to three days refrigerated.
This is a great freezer meal. To freeze, allow leftovers to cool completely. Place in an air tight container, freeze up to three months.
Serving suggestions
Are you wondering what are good recipes to serve with this casserole? I have so many wonderful side dishes on the blog!
- a yummy side dish would be a simple green salad!
- served with a side of dinner rolls, sliced ciabatta bread or some easy homemade breadsticks - yum!
- of course you can make some additional veggies to serve alongside like Roasted Brussels Sprouts or Oven Baked Carrots.
If you're still looking for side dishes to go with your meal, click here for What to Serve with Chicken Casserole. There are tons of ideas and recipes!
Related Recipes
Oh my goodness, are you looking for more amazing casserole recipes? I definitely have you covered! How about this recipe for Chicken Noodle Casserole?!! SO GOOD!
- Have you tried Slow Cooker Chicken and Gravy? Oh my goodness this is rich and creamy and topped over rice or noodles. This recipe for Slow Cooker Paella is fantastic and super easy to make!
- This recipe for Tuna Casserole is always one of the top recipes on the blog. Classic comfort food this is easy to make with pantry ingredients!
- Stuffed Bell Pepper Casserole has all your favorite flavors for stuffed bell peppers without all the fussy prep! It's delicious and I hope you try it soon!
- Broccoli Casserole - this easy recipe and so delicious! You'll love it, I promise!
- Creamy Chicken and Potato Bake is another hearty delicious casserole that's so simple! A winner every time.
- Another great chicken casserole recipe is Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells - it's a favorite!
- Be sure to try One Pot Chicken Alfredo with Peas - this is a delicious meal!
More rice casserole recipes
Don't you just love a great homemade casserole?
- This easy Chicken and Wild Rice Recipe is so delicious and comforting!
- Cheesy Shrimp and Rice Casserole - loaded with cajun flavor, this is a family favorite!
- A quick, one pot meal, Tex Mex Chicken and Rice is incredibly simple to make, what's not to love!
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Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 small onion diced
- 3-4 cups cooked chicken cut into small cubes
- 2 teaspoons ranch dressing mix
- 1 ½ cup long grain rice uncooked
- 10 ounce cream of chicken soup
- 14.5 ounce chicken broth
- 12 ounce evaporated milk
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 1 cup fried onions
- 1 cup cheddar cheese
- minced parsley - optional
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x11 casserole dish, set aside.
- Dice the onions and cooked chicken breast.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the chicken soup, evaporated milk, ranch dressing mix and chicken broth until creamy. Add in the chicken, raw broccoli, onion, rice and half the cheese. Stir to combine.
- Pour chicken, broccoli rice cheese sauce into prepared casserole dish. Top with fried onions and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes until the rice is cooked and the dish is hot and bubbly.
- At the end of the cooking time, remove it from the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.
- Optional - after resting, remove the foil and place it underneath the broiler for 2-3 minutes until the top is golden brown. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve!
Melanie
From reading the recipe I cooked my rice part way than pulled it at 13 mins. My rice ended up being cooked maybe a little overdone. And so therefore I only used half a cup of broth. I used 1 can of cream of chicken soup like it called for but I think it should of been 2 cans maybe even 3. Because mine didn't turn out creamy at all. Was rather dry. Didn't taste bad but dry. I also added celery salt and used a Lil onion soup mix . 2 teaspoons each. Nice call on the topping of dried onions I used some but I also used panko mixed in . I think mine would of turned out perfect if I would of added another can of chicken soup. If anybody follows what I said I'd like to know how it turned out . Thanks for the recipe .
Amanda H.
The flavor was incredible; the only difference I had was instead of the regular ranch packet, I used the buffalo chicken ranch packet. Like many others, my rice did not cook fully either, despite following the recipe. We fought through the unwelcomed texture of uncooked rice, and everyone went to bed fed... But it was a disappointing meal. I wish I had read the reviews, as I was hesitant about the uncooked rice. I will cook the rice al dente prior to baking next time and decrease cook time to 35 minutes, I think.
Bowl Me Over
I'm sorry you had that issue. Was the casserole well sealed? I'm going to make it again here and do some additional recipe testing. Thanks for the feedback Amanda.
Carmen
I made this recipe last night. I used jasmine rice and it was still crunchy after an extra 15 minutes. The raw onion was really strong as well. Will make again, but will adjust liquid and cooking time for cooke rice, and will use sautéed onions in place of raw.
Bowl Me Over
Sautéed onions is an excellent substitution Carmen, that sounds great. Make sure you have the oven preheated and seal the casserole well so the rice cooks/steams. Enjoy the recipe and thanks for letting me know.
Noelle
Unfortunately after 50 minutes, the rice was still crunchy. It’s currently back in the oven. Maybe for 20 more minutes? We will see! But even for crunchy rice, the flavor still was good! I added an extra teaspoon ranch seasoning and used Italian bread crumbs on top since I didn’t have any fried onions. Thank you for the recipe!
Bowl Me Over
Hmmm.... what type of rice did you use Noelle? And was the casserole covered? That's odd. I hope that rice finally got tender for you and you enjoyed the recipe. Those Italian bread crumbs sound delicious!
Pam
I made this last night and my rice didn't get fully cooked either. I added another 20 minutes to the already 50 minutes. I covered with foil also. I used regular long grain white rice as instructed. The casserole itself was delicious!!! I'll cook it again but with cooked rice next time.
Jess
Could I use rotisserie chicken?
Bowl Me Over
Yes, the chicken is cooked before it is baked, so rotisserie chicken is great for this recipe. Enjoy Jess!
Shawna
This looks delicious I am going to try this recipe this week! Is it possible to split the casserole between 2 8x8 baking dishes? Should I make any cooking time adjustments?
Bowl Me Over
That's smart Shawna! Yes, you can split the recipe. The cooking time will be unchanged. Wrap each dish tightly with foil and bake a directed. Enjoy!
Shawna
Thank you for the response, I split the recipe between two baking dishes and it turned out great! Very flavorful and comforting meal!
Shelley
Would Jasmine rice be ok?
Bowl Me Over
Yes, I love jasmine rice and that would be delicious Shelley! You may need to adjust the cooking time but it will work great in this recipe.