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!
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Sauté garlic and onion in butter and/or oil, then mostly cook the chicken – it finishes cooking with the rice;
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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;
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After 12 minutes of simmering, add the broccoli and cook for a further 3 minutes; then
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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
Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
Watch how to make it
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One Pot Broccoli, Chicken and Rice Casserole
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
Instructions
- Melt butter and heat oil in a pot over high heat. Add onion and garlic, cook for 1 minute. Add chicken and cook until it changes from pink to white. (Note 5)
- Turn stove DOWN to medium. Add flour and stir for 1 minute.
- Add half the milk, stirring as you go, and once incorporated into the flour add the rest of the milk and stir.
- Add broth, rice, thyme and a just pinch of salt and pepper.
- Stir, bring to simmer, then cover. Turn down to medium low and cook for 12 minutes.
- Remove lid – there should still be liquid on the surface. Working quickly, add broccoli, push down so it’s partly submerged, cover and cook for a further 3 minutes until broccoli is just cooked.
- Preheat grill/broiler. Remove lid and stir through half the cheese – don’t worry if it looks a bit too saucy, excess liquid gets sucked up in minutes (see video). Smooth surface, top with remaining cheese. Grill/broil until melted (or just put lid on and allow to melt with residual heat on turned off stove).
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Chicken and Rice Casserole originally posted January 2018. Updated for housekeeping matters in January 2019 – no change to recipe, I wouldn’t dare!
More one-pot Chicken and Rice recipes
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Baked Chicken and Rice – one of my all time most popular recipes!
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One Pot Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice – firm reader favourite!
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See all One Pot Recipes
More Chicken and Broccoli recipes
For those of you who consider these standard weekly grocery items like I do!
Life of Dozer
This is how he leaps into the water – eyes tightly closed and nose up. If he were human, he’d be holding his nose and wearing goggles. For sure.
Shari says
What if you don’t want to use milk? How would the consistency be? Is the milk for creaminess?
Rachel Keyte says
I made this for the first time last night, and I almost cried when my bowl was finished. Then, because I’d made a huge batch and it was just my daughter and me, I had to put the leftovers in the fridge. Quite a bit less was left of the leftovers before they made it to the Tupperware…
Nagi says
I love this!!! 😂
Linda Kozak says
Hi Nagi, love your recipes. Can I use parboiled rice? It’s all I have at home right now. If so, should I reduce the amount of liquid at all? I’m looking forward to trying this recipe!!
Nagi says
Hi Linda, yes, you’d need to adjust the liquid and cook time to account for the cooked rice. Love to know what you think if you try it!
Linda says
This was just as good as it looked thanks whole family loved it and Dozer can I say I look forward to pics of him as much as your great recipes. You rock!!
Nagi says
If it’s a hit with your family then it’s a winner!!!
Josephine B says
Hi Nagi, Going to try this one for sure even though YES! we’re having 40+C this week. My questions is: I’ve usually used basmati rice for risotto and you say here that it’s OK to use, but NOT to use a “risotto” rice. Can I ask you please what rice do you use for your “Risotto’s” if not basmati? Love that Dozer is enjoying “splash time” with his friends, hubby has just got out of our pool as it’s actually 43C (109.4F – for our American friends) outside of our home and we live in the “Hills district” suburb N/W of Sydney. Hope our friends in America are enjoying their “snow”.
Nagi says
Hi Josephine, It’s a stinker here I hope you’re enjoying the pool today! Risotto is made with Arborio rice (it’s a short grain rice) because it’s extra starchy and this is what makes risotto beautifully creamy ☺️
Kat says
Hi Nagi, I love all your recipes, Should I wash the rice before cooking?
Krisby says
Made this for dinner. YUM! Making your Lasagna for tomorrow. You and your website are dangerous.
Nagi says
Hi Krisby, Im glad you enjoyed it and I promise you you won’t be disappointed with the lasagna!
Ms B. says
Hi Nagi, do you think this would work with low GI smart rice (doongarra)?
Nagi says
I haven’t tried to be honest!! I’d love to know if it works!
Chervyn says
This looks great! Can’t wait to try it! Do you have any instant pot recipes coming?
Lee says
I didn’t get this recipe in my email. I went to your Web Site to get it. I have always gotten your emails before. Did something happen to prevent me from getting it? I love your recipes and would be lost without them.
Nagi says
Hi Lee, could it have gotten caught in your junk mail?
FLAP says
Hi, Nagi,
From N. California, just wanted to let you know this is a huge hit! I sized it down for 3 people, even though I only have to cook for myself. (Leftovers, yeah!) Everything came out just like your photos, and the flavors, taste and appearance were all “On Fleek”, which in the US seems to mean “Spot On!” I had to go a bit more time on the rice, 20 mins., but that might be because I didn’t have a large dutch oven. It didn’t matter, I was very impressed a pleased with the effort and the result. I’ve said it before, but yeah…”You Rock”! Thanks for the great D-Dog snaps as well…
Nagi says
😂 I’m so glad it was on fleek!!
Alina says
It was very tasty. Everyone loved it. I just had to cook the rice longer than it’s indicated in your recipe as after 12 min the rice was still too hard.
Nagi says
Hi Alina, can I ask what type of rice you used? I’m so glad it worked in the and you loved it – N x
Debbie Reginato says
Hi Nagi your food is wonderful .Every recipe I have cooked has been yummmmmm .Need recipes for partner going away for a week .Can most of your recipes freeze mainly your one pot meals .Thankyou Deb
Ben says
Nice and easy, tastes better than you would think with the ingredient list and also healthy. Unfortunately a layer of rice burnt on the bottom, although it didn’t ruin the meal because I served it carefully without scraping the bottom.
Nagi says
Oh no Ben! Sounds like the temp may have been slightly too high. Glad you enjoyed it anyway! N x
C. Wong says
I made this last night for dinner. It was quick, easy and super delicious. However, I used brown rice (as it was all I had on hand) and it failed to soak up the liquid for some reason. I had ton of liquid left. But the fact that my super picky 6 year old ate a very big helping was a definite win!
Nagi says
Hi C! Brown rice takes twice as long to cook and absorb liquid as white rice, please see the Rice note 🙂 I’m glad it was enjoyed though! N x
E.A. says
Made this tonight and added a spritz of lemon at the end. Really delicious. So nice to see a casserole dish that doesn’t use “cream of something” tinned soup. 😉
Nagi says
Great to hear you enjoyed this EA! N x
Lois says
Can i switch out the broccoli for mushrooms? If so, is there any volume changes for the liquids I need to make?
Thanks!
Nagi says
Hi Lois! I would reduce the milk by 1/4 cup as the mushrooms will leech liquid 🙂
Darryl Anne McClellan says
LOVE YOUR ASIAN RECIPES. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK
Nagi says
Thanks Darryl! N x
Nerida says
I cooked this last week and it was easy and delicious! I ate it for lunch as well for the next 2 days and added baby spinach leaves when reheating for extra veg and served with a side salad. Tastes and looks like risotto without the hassle. I cooked the rice 5 mins longer based on previous comments and added less broccoli and added carrot when frying the onion and included zucchini when adding the broccoli. All worked perfectly. Will try with some corn next time too. I will try with less cheese next time as it’s tasty enough without too much. My only problem with this dish was a layer of rice stuck to the bottom of my pot (I used the same sort as you use Nagi) so maybe I had the heat too high? Despite this, it’s worth cleaning the pot to eat this again!
Denise says
Made this for tea tonight so easy and tasty, have tried a lot of your recipes and they are all fantastic, keep up the good work, I love easy recipes 🙂