Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Rice Casserole
Shredded chicken, rice, and blanched broccoli bound in a from-scratch cheddar sauce, no canned soup involved.
- Serves
- 6
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Written
Method
-
Preheat the oven to 375°F and butter a 9x13-inch baking dish.
-
Blanch the broccoli in boiling salted water until bright green and just tender, about 2 minutes, then drain well.
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Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, whisk in the flour, and cook until it smells nutty, about 1 minute.
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Whisk in the broth and milk in a slow stream, then simmer, stirring often, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
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Off the heat, stir in the cheddar, garlic powder, and onion powder until the sauce is smooth.
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Fold in the rice, chicken, and broccoli, season with salt and pepper, and spread into the prepared dish.
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Toss the cracker crumbs with the melted butter and scatter evenly over the top.
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Bake until bubbling at the edges and the topping is deep gold, 25 to 30 minutes.
Notes
The canned-soup version of this casserole gets gluey; a quick roux-based cheddar sauce sets up just as thick but actually tastes like something. Blanching the broccoli separately keeps it green instead of going gray under 30 minutes of oven heat.
Rotisserie chicken and leftover rice make this a real use-up-the-fridge dinner — frozen broccoli works too, just thaw and pat it dry first so the sauce doesn’t go watery.