I can’t call this a casserole. I won’t call this a casserole. Nah.. this a bake.
I’m not entirely sure what the difference is, but I think it has something to do with a blond roux, heaps of flavor, nutty brown rice, tender-crisp broccoli, and an incredibly rich sauce. It has nothing to do with “cream of” anything and nothing to do with cans. This, my friends, is your broccoli chicken casserole, upgraded.
My best friend came in town this week, and we decided to invite her and my mom (who secretly wishes she was her daughter instead of me, pretty sure. Pretty sure!!) over to dinner on a whim. I didn’t really feel like coming up with and buying for a whole new dish, so I just worked with what we had on hand–broccoli, chicken, brown rice, and lots of cheese. I wasn’t thrilled by any of the recipes I was seeing, so I just pieced together a dish off the top of my head.. and it was righteous.
I made a blond roux after sautéing onions and garlic then added chicken stock, essentially going for a rich “cream of” soup without any pink slime. I added cheese for a tangy mornay, mixed that sauce in with everything else, and covered it all in loads of cheese. The broccoli had perfect texture–still very crisp, but oh so tender. The sauce coated the nutty brown rice in a way that seemed almost luxurious, and there was chicken in every bite.
A few of us went back for seconds.. I won’t name names.
And then O tried to negotiate eating these leftovers for dinner the next night instead of the tom kha tofu I had planned.. no dice, sucker.
It’s good. I was surprised at how good. In fact, I was surprised it made sense at all, considering I just winged it. (Wung it? Wang it? OK, maybe not, erm, wang it..) But I’ll be making this again and again, and that’s a promise. I made a huge batch because I wanted leftovers, but you can very easily half the recipe.
Cheesy Broccoli Chicken Brown Rice Bake
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 6 tablespoons flour
- 3 ½ cups stock
- ½ teaspoon teaspon dried thyme leaves
- 2 pounds chicken breasts cooked, shredded or diced into bite-size pieces
- 3 cups brown rice cooked or frozen
- 2 large heads broccoli raw, cut into florets (about 7-8 cups)
- 3-4 cups shredded cheese 3 for less cheesy, 4 for more cheesy
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º F. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add chopped onion and sauté until translucent and very soft, almost browning, about 5-10 minutes. Add garlic and sauté, stirring constantly, for 1 minute, or until very aromatic.
- Sprinkle flour over and whisk to combine. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until flour is cooked and mixture is a strong yellow color. Add stock and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a strong simmer. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until mixture is thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Stir in thyme leaves and salt and pepper, to taste. Reduce heat and stir in 2 cups cheese. Whisk until very well combined and remove from heat.
- In an ungreased 13x9" pan, combine chicken, brown rice, and broccoli then pour sauce over. Stir until combined. Sprinkle remaining 1-2 cups cheese over top. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, or until a fork easily pierces a piece of broccoli. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Cheryl Malik is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind the healthy, flavorful, family friendly recipes at 40 Aprons. She’s been a blogger for 10+ years and is known for her delicious recipes and detailed recipe instructions. Cheryl is a mom of three who lives in Memphis, TN.
Heather Kesler says
How would you do this with frozen chicken?
Anna Claire | 40 Aprons Team says
Hey Heather, it would be difficult to safely prepare this with frozen chicken because you’d have to test its doneness while it was inside of the casserole, either as whole pieces or cubed. If you need to cook frozen kitchen in a pinch and have an InstantPot, try these recipes: https://40aprons.com/instant-pot-frozen-chicken-breast/ and https://40aprons.com/instant-pot-frozen-chicken-thighs/.
Arianna says
Hi! Can I freeze this?
Amelia Camurati says
Absolutely!
Heather Geiyer says
Are there any alterations to when you freeze it? As in, don’t cook at all before freezing or cook until step #3?
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
We honestly would probably just freeze the broccoli, chicken, and cheese mixture without the rice. The rice may get a little mushy if you freeze it, but that doesn’t bother some people!
JT Kurtz says
Made it per instructions and mine came out a little dry as well. I’m thinking about adding an extra cup or cup and a half of chicken stock to the sauce mixture and letting the rice absorb it next time I make it. Aside of that, it was delicious!!
Sara says
If I put this in the freezer, would the baking instructions change at all? Can’t wait to try!
Linda Christensen says
will make this again, add mushrooms.
Cheryl Malik says
Great idea!
Gayle says
Sounds really tasty, thank you for sharing! Just wondering though, you say 3 cups of brown rice. Ia it cooked, dry, long grain, instant? Thank you for the recipe and for your time!
Cheryl Malik says
Definitely cooked, but beyond that, it doesn’t really matter. Instant would work fine, so long as you finish the cooking process first. You could use long-grain brown rice or jasmine, even, too! Whatever you have on hand. I prefer long-grain in general, so I would go with a basic long-grain brown, not jasmine.