I’ve missed this casserole! I remember enjoying it as a child, but looking at all of my family and church cookbooks I realized that the recipes all called for minute rice and fake cheese. While we’re not the healthiest of healthy, I try to only use real cheese and whole grain rice in my dishes.
What to do? Make up my own! Let me know if your family likes it as well as mine did.
Cheesy Broccoli and Rice with Chicken
- 2 c. cooked whole grain rice (Tip: cook your rice in chicken broth or with some ham juice for extra flavor. I used a little ham juice and water.)
- 2 cups cooked, diced chicken
- 2 cups chopped fresh or frozen broccoli
- 1 c. cream of mushroom soup (1 can would work fine, too)
- 1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 1/4 c. milk
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
Mix together in a large bowl. Pour in a 8×11 or 9×13 pan. Bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes or until heated through and bubbly.
Find more tasty recipes at The Grocery Cart Challenge, Tasty Tuesday and Tempt my Tummy Tuesday.
Wow! I love dishes like this. It looks really yummy!
Yum! We make something like this and everyone loves it. My boys really like broccoli so I try to use it a lot. Thanks for sharing your great recipe!
~Kim
Thanks for sharing a version that is a little healthier!
Wow, this looks really good!
YUM! This sounds absolutely scrumptious!
This is about the only way I couild get my children to eat cooked broccoli with cheese. 
Sounds delicious to me – broccoli rice casserole is one of my favorites.
This looks really good and I think I have everything at home to make it.
This looks great…I might have to make some changes on this week’s menu!
I love this casserole – thanks for sharing a healthier version!
This looks yummy. I make something similar but will have to try your’s!
JudyBug
Great casserole, I make a very similar one and we love it.
Sounds great. It takes me back to my childhood, too. Thanks for sharing your recipe and linking up to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.
Totally yummy … I feel hungry now! I never thought of cooking my rice in broth before!
Oh man, I wish my husband would eat broccoli. I think I might try it without chicken as lunch tomorrow. It sounds and looks delicious!
I’m with you on not wanting to do all the fakey fakey ingredients, so thanks for sharing this one. It sounds great!
Wow, this was great… I made it and my family ate it all up
Do you know if this could be made ahead and frozen? THANK YOU!!!!
@sally, I’ve never done that with this particular casserole, but I have with others that have these ingredients. I’m sure it will be fine.
@Amy, If making ahead and freezing to cook later, would you suggest baking the casserole before freezing, or just combining the ingredients as listed in your recipe, freezing, and baking later? Also, if you froze this recipe, would you bake from frozen, or thaw in fridge overnight first? Thanks!
I don’t bake before I freeze. You can thaw then bake, or just bake frozen. If you bake frozen, be sure to allow for a longer cooking time.
This was AWESOME!!! I added a little velveeta, but other than that it was great
This was great! I was searching for a recipe that used real chicken, cheese, fresh broccoli, and regular rice. I found it! I used rotisserie chicken and topped the casserole with French’s cheddar onions. It was delicious!
Oh, the onions would definitely be a nice touch!
IT LOOKS VERY GOOD.I WAS WONDERING IF IM ABLE TO USE VELVETTA CHEESE INSTEAD.:)
I’m sure you could. I’ve eaten several different broccoli rice casseroles with Velveeta.
To make this even a bit healthier sub in 1/2 Quinoa for the 1/2 the rice- it’s yummy too, and it cooks in about the same time as white rice- so you can cook them together.
jen
Quinoa is one of those foods I have never, ever tried. Crazy, right?!
Take the plunge!!
jen
I make a broccoli cheese casserole and have thought about putting chicken in it. And now, I will. I do use cream of chicken soup instead of cream of mushroom. We don’t care for mushrooms of any kind. =) Just another way to make this. Oh, and a little Velvetta cheese will work, too. That is what I use, instead of cheddar. We do like cheddar cheese though.
Yes, cream of chicken is a perfectly fine substitute.
going to give it a try tonight
looks and swound good
I just made this recipe! It is in the oven right now! I topped my casserole with some Italian bread crumbs to give it a little crustiness. My husband is the cook of the family but I wanted to try my hand! I love how all the ingredients are fresh! We didn’t have Velveeta or cheese whiz so I was trying to find a recipe that I could use without going to the store. And this one is healthier for you anyways! Thanks for sharing!!!
Thank Goodness I found this recipe. Always looking for more recipes to add to my weekly meal plan..I made it last week, that night that I found it and oh boy, It was a Hit my daughter who is not picky at all but just not a big eater ate 3 servings of it. Perfect and wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you so much!! I am also making it again tonight.. mmmmmm