Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole, a hearty family dinner that takes comfort food to the next level. Easy to make with leftover or rotisserie chicken, it can be made ahead and popped in the oven just before dinner time. It is made in one pot, which saves time and effort. My kind of food!  

Casseroles are usually my first choice when I need to use up whatever has been leftover from a hearty Roast Dinner. I have said it so many times, yet I'm still unable to cook less, in order to avoid a heart-aching waste of food.

Nothing like a good rice casserole to bring any leftovers back to life. If you don't have any leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken is the next best thing. I also happened to have some cooked broccoli, so again freshly-cooked one can be used instead.

This rice casserole reminds me of a chicken risotto, it has that creamy texture, but the cooking technique is different. No need to stir constantly in this dish, especially if you have a good non-stick pan, a few times only is more than enough.

Jump to:

• Ingredients needed
• Step-by-step photos and instructions
• Can you freeze the rice casserole?
• Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

Ingredients needed

• Arborio rice - it works wonderfully well in this recipe, compared to basmati rice, as it makes the dish creamier
• chicken stock -broth
• cream of mushroom soup - canned stuff is perfect
• onion - chopped, can be any kind of onion
• shredded cooked chicken - either leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken
• cooked broccoli - chopped
• grated Cheddar cheese - or any other sharp hard cheese
• chopped parsley - fresh is the best for garnishing
• salt and pepper - to taste
• olive oil & a knob of butter - for frying the onion

Step-by-step photos and instructions

This dish might sound complicated, but it's actually one of the easiest casserole you can cook. It only takes about 20 minutes to cook on the stove top, plus other 20 minutes in the oven. So, 40 minutes to cook a hearty casserole, that's not bad at all! It takes a lot longer to make other dishes that sound a lot quicker and easier.

• start by sauteeing the onion with butter and olive oil, then add the rice, chicken broth and mushroom soup

I prefer using a round grain rice like the one used in the Spanish paellas or Italian risottos, rather than basmati rice. Basmati tends to become a bit mushy in casseroles, which would change the texture we want. Arborio rice is usually the best here.

To bring some extra flavour, I used one tin of cream of mushroom soup, to make it extra creamy and extra tasty. You can use only chicken stock though, if you don't have tinned soup.

• leave to cook until the liquid is nearly all absorbed, and the rice is nearly cooked
• add the leftover chicken, chopped broccoli and half of the cheese, season well, then transfer everything to an oven-proof dish and top with the remaining cheese
• bake for about 20 minutes until the cheese has melted and the rice is cooked through

If for the first 20 minutes you kind of have to be around it, once you threw it in the oven, you can get on with other things. I took advantage and cleared the mess I made in the kitchen, I am terrible at cleaning as I cook.

Can you freeze the rice casserole?

I used only one cup of rice for this dish, and I thought that was more than enough for 4 generous portions. You could freeze some as well if you make more than needed, a good tupperware is all you need, then into the freezer until you need it.

To re-heat, just pop it in the microwave until hot and bubbly, and that's another dinner sorted for you. Or you can try and pop it in the oven for a few minutes once it's defrosted, to give the cheese a little bit of colour, but you don't really have to.

And there you have, a fantastic chicken and rice casserole for the whole family to enjoy. But, if you are looking for something beefy, how about my Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole?

If you’ve liked my CHEESY CHICKEN BROCCOLI RICE CASSEROLE or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.