Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole with no canned products is the perfect one-pan meal with a creamy sauce and crispy topping your whole family will enjoy.
easy Cheesy chicken broccoli Rice casserole
Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole is the perfect one-pan meal that will have your whole family enjoying a warm, filling, healthy meal together and with such an easy recipe you’ll appreciate the break from all the holiday cooking you’ve been doing!
Plus just look at this glorious pan of food, I think everyone at the table will absolutely love this meal! 
This post is generously sponsored by Minute® Rice, a product I absolutely love to keep on hand for quick and easy meals. I always keep a box of it in the pantry and because the time it takes to prepare is so minimal it is perfect for a meal like this one where you take some cooked chicken you have, add in some broccoli and make a sauce that takes just a few minutes while the minute rice is cooking. 
One of my favorite things about this Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole is how incredibly warm and cozy this meal is. And if I am enjoying leftovers or a midnight bite in peace, I’ve been known to sit on the couch with a cereal bowl full of chicken broccoli casserole and a blanket while watching television. 
WATCH HOW EASY CHICKEN BROCCOLI CASSEROLE IS WITH MINUTE® RICE
This Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole is an easy dish made with Minute® White Rice which takes just five minutes to cook before going into the recipe. Want a quick video to see how easy it is?
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The rice is not processed, just pre-cooked long grain white rice. It’s fat-free, non-gmo, gluten, MSG and preservative free and is grown in the US. Basically, it is the classic white rice you’re used to but without the 20 minute cooking time! 
This Chicken Broccoli Casserole Freezes, Too!
If you’re looking for an easy meal that will keep your whole family, warm, full and happy I think you’re going to be thrilled with this Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole. It also freezes well if you freeze before the baking. I just keep the crunchy topping in a little sandwich bag on top before wrapping in foil.
When you’re ready to cook, defrost the night before in your refrigerator, sprinkle with the topping and bake it off!
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups whole milk
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese , chopped
- Salt and pepper , to taste
- 4 cups cubed cooked chicken (2-3 chicken breasts)
- 4 cups broccoli florets , cut into ½ to 1 inch pieces
- 3 cups cooked rice
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
- 2 cups buttery crackers , crushed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Add the butter to a large oven safe pan and when melted whisk in the flour.
- Once the flour is completely mixed with the butter, pour in the milk slowly and whisk.
- Let reduce on medium heat until the milk is slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes
- While the milk is reducing add the crushed buttery crackers to the melted butter in a small bowl.
- Add in the cheese salt and pepper and whisk until fully combined.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the rice, broccoli and chicken.
- Top with the buttery cracker mixture.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Nutrition
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This Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Minute® Rice.
What an easy and delicious casserole! I had leftover rotisserie chicken and a bunch of veggies that needed to be used up, so I added broccoli, zucchini and shredded carrot. For the topping I used multigrain crackers. So hearty and tasty! I can’t wait to make this with my leftover Thanksgiving turkey!
What great ideas! Thank you Adrienne for the 5 star rating.
This sounds delicious! But I’ll use Success Rice instead of Minute Rice (never liked Minute Rice’s ‘graininess’).
Hope it turns out just the way you want it to 🙂
I’m making this recipe tonight! I’m really excited to do it. I did pre-cook my broccoli though. I was confused on the butter as well, but I reread the recipe and saw the two different places that have the butter made perfect sense. Can hardly wait to eat it smells so good.
So delicious. I’ve made several different versions of this recipe but yours, by far, has been the best. I love the idea of making a rue with the cheese, I think this made all the difference. I will be 100% making this again.
Thanks 🙂
Thank you, Wendy, this is so sweet! So happy you enjoy this recipe!
Easy recipe. If I make it again, I would increase the liquid and the cheese, as it was a bit dry and bland. Maybe add some sautéed onion and garlic to the butter. And I precooked the broccoli, as I prefer soft broccoli in a casserole.
This was horrible. Very dry and also recipe was confusing. A casserole dish instructions would be much better. Also the instructions above say to add flour to melted butter, then it also says to put melted butter in small bowl and mix crackers??
Sorry it was confusing for you. There are two measurements for butter listed in the ingredient list. The first 4 tablespoons get melted and the flour get whisked in. The second 4 tablespoons are melted and get mixed with the crackers. Hope this helps if you decide to try it again.
Few things I am not understanding what sauce? Also I cook a lot how ever this recipe is very confusing. It says to put melted butter into bowl and add crushed crackers? I thought the melted butter was in with the flour and milk? I also didn’t have a pan that size that can go into the oven so a different version would help alot.
Sorry you felt it was confusing. There are two different butters in the ingredient list. The first is mixed with the flour and milk and the last one is used for the topping. I’ve listed them in order used in the ingredient list. Hope this helps clear things up.
I am amazed at how quickly it all comes together! And it’s delicious! I did use frozen broccoli, I just set it out for a bit ahead of time so it wasn’t frozen going in. The cheese sauce is so yummy I added half cheddar and half Parmesan, it was fantastic! Also I didn’t have crackers so I used crunched up corn flakes instead with the butter!! Just as good! Thank you for such a delicious and easy meal to prepare!!
Using corn flakes was such a great idea! I’m glad you enjoyed it, Jennifer. Thanks for coming back to let me know.
For someone who doesn’t cook often this recipe was a little confusing. There was nothing saying the broccoli should have been cooked. Everything taste good but the broccoli is undercooked.
The broccoli goes in uncooked. I’m sorry yours was undercooked.
Hi! I’ve commented before on how much my family enjoyed this! I’m making it again later this week but I was wondering if I could use frozen broccoli? That’s what we have in the house. Thank you!
Yes, but I would thaw it out prior so it doesn’t add too much liquid to the casserole while it’s cooking. Enjoy!
This was AMAZING!!! I have tried many chicken, broccoli, and rice casseroles… this is by far the BEST!
Aww, thank you so much Kim!
This was really good and the cheese sauce was very easy to make. I do not like to used canned condensed soup so it was nice to make my own. Thanks for the recipe.
You’re welcome, Lisa.
I haven’t made this yet…
Just a quick question.
Did you use minute rice? If so, if you cook it first then bake it, did it make the rice mushy?
I did use cooked minute rice for this recipe and didn’t have any issues with it getting mushy. I hope you enjoy it!
I made this tonight and we really liked it. I didn’t have a large enough oven safe pan so I had to cook it in a pan and then transfer the sauce to a casserole dish before adding everything and that worked well. One thing I would change was to use cooked broccoli instead of raw. I didn’t like how it was hard it was but other than that we all liked it.
Thanks for dropping by to let me know! I’m so glad you guys enjoyed it!
So good! I didn’t use the minute rice, just made a couple cups of white rice. I also added some mozzarella and Parmesan cheese to add a little extra flavor. It turned out great! Enjoy!
Thanks for dropping back by to let me know how much you enjoyed it!
I posted a comment last night, but I see that it isn’t on your blog, so I’ll try again. I haven’t visited your blog in a long time, but I’ve pinned several of your recipes on Pinterest. Last night, I made this casserole and it was delicious. My family and I really enjoyed this meal and I’ll be making it from now on. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes, especially dessert.
Yes sorry, we’ve been ill in the house, sometimes comments back up. Thank you so much for the review! I hope you find lots of fun recipes to try and visit more! 🙂
No worries, Sabrina. I hope you and your family feel better. I apologize for the double posts, I thought my comments didn’t go through. Love, love, love your blog.
Hi Sabrina! I just made this recipe! I cheated a little, I used frozen broccoli and leftover shake n bake Parmesan chicken breasts from last night. It definitely was not a one pan meal for me though! I had one pan for the rice, a bowl to microwave the broccoli and a large nonstick skillet to put it all together in. I didn’t have a pan that would double in the oven. We just moved and I haven’t found that box yet, lol! Then I dumped it all in a large casserole, put the toppings on, then in the oven it went! I can’t wait for it to come out of the oven!!! Thanks for the recipes! I made the broccoli cheese soup in the crock pot a couple nights ago and my family ate the whole thing and they are still talking about it!!! 🙂 By the way, I love the videos too 🙂
Sincerely, your newest fan!
Sherry
You just made my day! It makes me so happy to hear that you and your family are loving the recipes. Moving can be so stressful so it’s nice to hear that at least on the dinner front, things are going great! I look forward to seeing you around the site!
Hi Sabrina! I am new to your site. I found you on pinterest. I just wanted to let you know that I made your cheesy chicken broccoli and rice casserole. It was wonderful comfort food. I didn’t have to change a thing. It was delicious. I can’t wait to try some of your desserts. I am going to try the special chocolate chip cookies next. Thanks for sharing your talents with all of us., Nina
Aw, thank you so much for taking the time to come back and tell me how you loved it! I look forward to seeing you around the site.
This looks like a delicious easy meal for those busy school nights. Yummy!
Minute Rice is my favorite, and I love homemade casseroles like this –looks so comforting!
You had me at one pan meal!
I hear ya! There are just so many nights that one pan meals save my sanity!
i love a good cheesy chicken broccoli rice casserole!
Minute Rice is always in my pantry for quick and easy meals. This recipe is one my family would love, so many wonderful flavors and ingredients.
Thank you Joanie!
We love minute rice. It’s in our cabinet right now. Never fails! This casserole looks awesome!