Name: One Pot Broccoli, Chicken and Rice Casserole
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 tbsp (30g ) unsalted butter; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion (, finely chopped); 2 garlic cloves (, minced); 500g (1 lb) chicken thigh (, cut into bite size pieces (Note 1)); 2.5 tbsp flour ((or 1 ½ tbsp. cornflour / cornstarch)); 2 cups (500 ml) milk ((any, I use low fat)); 2 cups (500 ml) chicken broth; 1 1/4 cups (225g) long grain white rice (, uncooked (Note 2)); 1 tsp dried thyme (or other herb of choice); Salt and pepper; 1 large head of broccoli, broken / cut into small florets (~400 - 500g / 14 oz - 1 lb) ((Note 3)); 2 cups (200g) shredded mozzarella or cheddar ((or other cheese of choice) (Note 4)); Finely chopped parsley (, optional garnish)

Made-from-scratch creamy, cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole made in ONE POT on the stove! Tastes like risotto, but much faster to make and completely low maintenance. Loaded with tons of broccoli, this is a terrific quick dinner idea you can get on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

It never even crossed my mind to make a recipe such as this Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole from anything but scratch. But a quick Google and I was somewhat bemused to find that there are in fact many versions of similar rice casseroles made using canned soup.

I’ve never tried this with canned soup, and I never intend to. Having tried canned soup in various forms in my time, I can say with absolute confidence that homemade from scratch is tastier, it’s better for you and it’s easy!

How to make Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole – from scratch!

Sauté garlic and onion in butter and/or oil, then mostly cook the chicken – it finishes cooking with the rice;
Add flour, milk, broth and basic seasonings (salt, pepper, thyme), then add the rice right into the same pot. As the rice cooks, the flour thickens the liquid which makes the sauce beautifully creamy;
After 12 minutes of simmering, add the broccoli and cook for a further 3 minutes; then
Stir through cheese, top with more cheese then give it a quick broil/grill just to melt the cheese.

What this Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole tastes like

It tastes like a creamy, cheesy risotto, it truly does. Except it’s made with normal white rice.

And being the rice snob that I am ( 🤗Asian blood), I promise you that this is as far from gluey rice as you can get. The rice is just cooked to tender al dente and it’s smothered in a creamy sauce (but no cream), as opposed to overcooked super soft rice that is gluggy with thick sauce.

Here’s close up proof – see? 🙂 If it were overcooked and gluey, the surface of the rice grains would look mushy.

I wasn’t quite sure what to call this recipe. I think of this as a rice bake which is completely illogical because it’s not cooked in the oven at all. Though someone please remind me a few months down the track to share the recipe for this that’s made entirely in the oven!

So in the end, I decided to call it a casserole, guessing that is what normal people would call this. Is that what this is?? I’m not sure. I know I’ll always think of this as a “Rice Bake”! – Nagi x