A broccoli bake – on steroids! Like a savoury version of Bread and Butter Pudding, this delicious Chicken and Broccoli Strata has a creamy filling with bacon, chicken and broccoli topped with crunchy bread sprinkled with panko and parmesan. Comfort food at it’s best because it’s fast to make (only 15 minutes of active effort), nutritious (430 calories per serving) and can be made ahead.
We make Strata for breakfast – now try it for dinner!
Creamy Bacon, Chicken and Broccoli Strata (Bread Bake)
This chicken strata is the creamier version of a Chicken and Spinach Strata that I’ve previously shared. And here’s why I love it – and you’re going to love it too:
1. The crunchy, cheesy top
2. Easy
3. The crunchy, cheesy topMade from scratch
4. Everyday ingredients
5. Thrifty – use up leftover bread
6. The crunchy, cheesy top Creamy cheesy indulgent with only 430 calories
7. Hides a lot of broccoli
8. Potential to hide more veggies
9. The crunchy, cheesy top Less washing up than a pasta bake
10. Make ahead
Just in case you missed it – the crunchy topping of this bake is awesome!! It takes me a lot of willpower to restrain myself from just scooping the top off and having an entire plate of that for dinner. It’s that good. Truly.
So what is it about this Chicken and Broccoli Strata’s topping that’s just made of plain old sandwich bread? Well, let me tell you – it’s drizzled with a creamy béchamel sauce then sprinkled with panko and parmesan. So when it is baked, you get that incredible combination of golden parmesan crunch on the outside and creamy béchamel sauce soaked bread on the inside.
ThisChicken and Broccoli Strata is like a cross between croque monsieur (but with no ham and a lot less cheese), pasta bake (but with no pasta), strata/bread pudding (but no egg and a lot less bread is used) and a broccoli bake (but a whole lot more interesting!). So as you probably guessed, this is just something I made up. So I have no idea if there is an official name for this dish, hence the long winded unoriginal name.
Actually, this was originally intended to be a pasta bake which never happened. That is, I started out with the full intention of making a pasta bake loaded with broccoli, but then I got lazy and decided that instead of using another pot to cook pasta, I’d top it with bread. A great way to use up leftover bread (in fact, the staler the better). It also means that this bake has less calories than if it was a pasta bake, but it is just as filling.
I made this bake using chicken breast. I am very selective about cooking with chicken breast. It has virtually no fat so unless cooked with caution, it is horribly dry. But you can get away with chicken breast for dishes like this where there is a lot of creamy sauce. Though you can use any boneless chicken cut you want.
It’s surprising how much broccoli is in this. There’s 4 packed cups of florets (cut small) which is one largish broccoli. You could add more vegetables if you want, this recipe makes enough sauce to add another 1 – 1 1/2 cups of vegetables, like diced carrots or peas.
Love to hear if you try it! Or what ideas you have for variations of it, like other vegetables you would add, or maybe add spices or herbs to the sauce?
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Creamy Bacon, Chicken and Broccoli Strata (Bread Bake)
Ingredients
- 250 g / 8 oz chicken breast fillet , cut into small bite size pieces
- 2 bacon rashers , diced
- 1 small brown onion (or 1/2 large), diced
- 4 packed cups (300g/10oz) broccoli florets
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
Béchamel Sauce
- 40 g / 1.3 oz / 3 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup grated cheese (tasty, cheddar, gruyere or any other good melting cheese)
- 3 cups low fat milk
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Black pepper
Topping
- 3 to 4 slices of thick slice white sandwich bread , cut into 1cm / 1/3" cubes (note 1)
- 1/4 cup panko (or breadcrumbs)
- 2 tbsp parmesan cheese , grated
- Fresh parsley , finely chopped, to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
Chicken Mixture
- Heat olive oil in a deep non stick fry pan over high heat. Add onion, minced garlic and bacon. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes until onion is translucent and bacon is starting to brown.
- Add chicken and cook just until the outside of the chicken turns white (do not cook through). By this time, the onion should be caramelised and bacon should be crisp.
- Remove from pan onto paper towel to drain.
Make the Béchamel Sauce (see notes for tips)
- Lower heat to medium. Wipe pan clean and return to heat.
- Melt butter, then add flour and whisk constantly for 1 1/2 minutes.
- Add 1 1/2 cups of milk, whisking constantly, until it is well combined and lump free. It should be very thick.
- Add remaining milk and whisk to combine well. Cook for 2 minutes or so, whisking constantly, until it thickens to the consistency of pouring cream (not whipped cream).
- Remove from heat and add garlic powder, cheese, salt and pepper. Whisk until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Do a taste test and add more salt if you want.
Assemble and Bake
- Place broccoli in baking dish (see notes for size), then top with chicken onion mixture. Pour over half the béchamel sauce.
- Top with bread cubes, then drizzle over the remaining béchamel sauce as evenly as possible over the bread cubes. Use an egg flip to squash the bread cubes down - this helps disperse the béchamel sauce throughout the bake.
- Sprinkle over panko and parmesan cheese.
- Place in oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown.
To Serve
- Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with finely chopped parsley, if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This was quick and delicious…almost like deconstructed chicken Cordon Bleu with broccoli… didn’t have onion or garlic salt when I decided to make it sour od rye moment. Was still really delicious. I love your recipes and almost exclusively cook from them. The videos make it super easy to follow. Thank you Nagi and Dozer…love the doggy snippets
What’s your thought on using whole milk for this recipe instead? It’s all we have on hand these days (toddler needs her whole milk! 😂)
I’m a big fan of making double-sized recipes and serving it once and freezing the rest for another night. It’s less cooking time/effort if I do it this way. I’m concerned about the sauce, though. Whether it will freeze okay and will it get too thick or too thin after it’s been in the freezer. Should I freeze everything but the sauce and make the sauce the day I cook the casserole?
Oh my goodness. This was so decadently delicious. Love the addition of bacon.🥓 It’s still hard to get my hands on pasta, so love how you don’t need it with this recipe… 😍
I added a tonne of other veg and it was great! 🤤
#NoLeftovers 😂
Sounds perfect Kyra!! N x
What would you recommend having with this dish?
Hi Colm, a nice side salad would be perfect! N x
I made this last night for my family. I usually make chicken/broc bake with pasta but it was after 5pm when I realised I didn’t have pasta. I found this recipe it was super quick and easy and absolutely delicious! I love all your recipes Nagi and the work you put into explaining the process and added notes. Love this site receipetineats.com X
Thanks so much for the great feedback Steph!!
Hiya! Been using a few of your recipes lately and have really loved everything so far, thanks so much for putting this up here <3
Planning to try this one over the weekend. I live alone and don't have a freezer… how long do you think I could keep this for after baking? Thanks!
Hi Rachel! I’d keep this for 3 to 4 days in the fridge 🙂 YUM!
Would I be able to make this a pasta bake?
I was really surprised by this one – it was really yum and great for a winter night. I was looking for a recipe I could use some stale bread in and found this. Probably will sneak some extra veggies in next time but we liked it. We’ve made a few of your recipes which have been great but I thought I’d comment on this one as a slightly different recipe that people may not try – but I definitely suggest you do!
I’m so pleased to hear that Penny! Thank you for letting me know you enjoy it, it definitely is a little different and I’m pleased you enjoyed it! 🙂 N xx
Definitely will make this. Could you use your poached chicken instead? Cheers
Definitely!! 🙂
This was SO good! Thank you for another winner!
Thanks also for the freezing tips. I always wish I knew how to prepare things for the freezer but I’m clueless. So I wanted to check, it says not to cook the chicken through – but then you are freezing partially cooked chicken, is that correct? Fine if you say so but I just have to be sure before I make 3 more batches of this yumminess!
Thanks again LOVE your recipes Nagi!
AWESOME! Thanks for trying it Rebecca! And yes to freezing partially cooked chicken – that way it is lovely and juicy once cooked. But it won’t make a massive difference so feel free to cook it through. Just ensure you don’t use defrosted chicken because you can’t refreeze it if partially raw, has to be fully cooked through! N x
The Bechemel Sauce part of the recipe says to use 13ozs butter but this seems like far too much, is this a typo? Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Woah, that’s a major typo – decimal point missing! 1.3oz which is 3 tbsp!!
Just ran across your lovely site and love what I have seen and read. Going to make this and the spinach, chicken strata this weekend. The egg and ham quick breakfast rolls really interest me. I like that as a single person your recipes seem to fit well for cutting in half. I love leftovers but not for 10 days, yes, I know these can be frozen but would like to try them first, silly me. Anyway a beautiful site and I also like the remarks at the end very helpful for this senior.
Hi Lorie, thanks so much for your lovely comment! I too am single and so I am rather mindful of making recipes that can either be cut in half or freezer very well! 🙂 I hope you try some recipes, love to know what you think! 🙂
This sounds delicious and I’m eager to make it but my boyfriend prefers pasta over bread. Is it just a simple substitute?
Thanks!
Hi Chelsea! Cooked pasta is a fabulous substitute for this – great idea! It will work perfectly, just like any pasta bake!
Yummy casserole! Crushing huge on that casserole dish you have there too! Great invention, Nagi. 😉