Broccoli, Chicken & Rice Casserole
Broccoli, Chicken & Rice Casserole a classic casserole topped with crunchy, crispy Ritz crackers.
As promised, here is the recipe for this tasty casserole dish. It has great flavor and the Ritz crackers on top give it such a nice buttery addition!
There has been a new, updated version of this recipe.
Posted on August 05, 2011
I made this for a “family” style dinner that me and my roommates do once a week. THIS WAS SO DANG GOOD. Honestly, I’m not much of a chef. But I was googling casseroles and came across this one and I don’t think I’ve ever had one that’s better.
AND IT’S SO EASY TOO!
Just found your website thru Tasty Kitchen. I’ve been looking for a good simple Chicken & Rice casserole and I’m excited to try yours. One question though, do you use long grain rice or minute rice. From reading the recipe it sounds like you put it in uncooked and then all the liquid cooks the rice. Hope you see this!
You can use long grain rice. You’re correct in using it uncooked then all the liquid cooks the rice in the baking process :) enjoy & thanks for stopping by! This was a huge hit so I hope you love it!
I tried making this with brown rice and the rice never cooked. I was very disappointed. What did I do wrong?
Typically brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice. Since my recipe instructions were with white rice, it wouldn’t have been long enough cook time for brown rice. Next time you should soak the brown rice for a few hours or even overnight before cooking it. I would then cook the dish about 10-15 mins longer than my instructed cook time. The chicken might be dried out though so I’d suggest brining it before cooking this casserole. As you can see, this dish is kind of made to go with white rice since it cooks faster and with the dish better. Good luck!
Actually, your recipe just says rice, it doesn’t specifically say white rice. Thanks for clarifying, though! That will be good to know for next time.
Cant wait to cook this tonight!!
Did you cook this covered or uncovered? Thanks!!
Uncovered
I made this tonight and used cream of celery since I did not have cream of chicken and added some chicken base in it. It was excellent! I use Jasmine rice and cooked it a little longer.
I can’t wait to try this recipe, although, I too will be making it with brown rice so thanks for the heads up on soaking it before. I’m not sure what “brining” is so I’ll have to do some research on that but could you just put the chicken in raw? Or perhaps just browning the chicken…could that be an option? Hope you see this and thank you for this delicious sounding recipe :D
I wouldn’t suggest browning the chicken since that starts the cooking process & it’d dry out. Brining is just soaking the chicken in salt water to keep the moisture in. Because we are baking the chicken for so long, brining would keep your chicken tender and juicy. Yes, you would put the chicken in raw since it’ll cook with the rice and everything else.
Sorry but this was very bland…not good. :(
I’m so happy to come upon your website, I miss down home cooking; I appreciate the smaller portion size recipes. I tried this and it was very tasty just as is, but I did add a littlle sriracha on the side for a little kick and it was awesome! Also I used fresh broccoli and arborio rice.
i made this today and it was really good. I had to cook it for about 55-60 minutes for the rice to soften. I just sprinkled 1/4 sleeve of ritz cracker crumbs without the melted butter and it was still really yummy. thanks for the recipe!
I read some of the Brown Rice comments so I use Jasmine Rice which is a longer cooking rice too so I upped the milk to a cup and only did 2/3 cup of rice. It turned out perfect! I also added a little garlic to boost the flavor! Thank you for the recipe!
Would there be a way to make this with instant rice & rotisserie chicken?
Yup, I’d imagine it’d be the same process :) good luck!
If i was going to make this for a family of four… would i just basically double everything? Sounds yummy!
Yup!
Is there anyway that this could be used in a crock pot?
I’ve never done it myself but I don’t think it’d work. The chicken would end up being too dry and you wouldn’t even be able to cook this very long in the crockpot either. I’d imagine 2 hours tops. You could definitely try it though but I’m sorry I can’t offer up much help! Good luck!
Hi! Just came across this recipe and want to try tonight. Is fresh broccoli ok to use (I am wondering because I know frozen has more liquid to help cook rice)? Also, can cream of mushroom work? Trying to avoid going to the store!!
Frozen broccoli only has a tad bit more – not much difference. Yes, it’s ok to use fresh broccoli, and yes, definitely ok to use cream of mushroom.
Can I use basmati rice?
Yup, any rice works.
My family enjoyed this dish. I’ve made it twice so far and each time the rice wasn’t fully cooked even though I baked it longer the second time around. Did anyone else have this problem? Has anyone tried using cooked rice instead?
Can I use whole skinned chicken legs instead?
Yes, you can.
Can this dish be assembled the night before, and then put in the oven the next day for supper? I am looking for dishes I can make a day in advance- then stick in the oven when I’m home from work.
Thanks!
Hi Mandie! You sure can! I would just add the ritz crackers on top before you pop it in the oven, otherwise, it’ll get really soggy sitting on top for a day :) enjoy!