Delicious Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Rice Casserole – Not Your Typical Broccoli Casserole

We had made a version of this broccoli casserole several years ago but I updated it for a larger dish and a different assembly method as shown in the recipe below.  It's different than the usual holiday version of broccoli in that it contains rice.  I topped this one with cheese but the traditional crumb topping can also be used.  The original recipe calls for boiling the chicken then using the water for the rice but I hate to boil the flavor from the chicken so I baked it and added some Chicken Better Than Bullion to the rice cooking water.

Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Rice Casserole

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cups water

1 cup uncooked rice

2 tsp. chicken base

5 cups cooked broccoli cut into small-medium size pieces

1¼ cup sour cream

¾ cup mayonnaise

1¼ Lemon juice

10-ounce can cream of chicken soup

1¼ tablespoon minced onion 

1¼ teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

3¾ tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

S&P to taste

5 cups cheddar cheese, grated (half mixed into the sauce, half sprinkled on top)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Trim and Jaccard the chicken breasts then rub them with oil and season with S&P.

Bake in a 350F oven to an internal temperature of 160F – cool and cube.

Prep and steam two large heads of broccoli.

Cook one cup of long grain rice in 2 cups of water with chicken base.  Season with S&P.

Alternatively, the chicken can be cooked it water, then the rice cooked in some chicken cooking liquid.

Spray a 10x13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray.

Add the broccoli, chicken and rice to a large bowl, seasoning the broccoli as it is added and mix.

Add the sour cream, mayo, lemon juice, soup, onion, Worcestershire, parsley, to a separate bowl and mix well.  Taste and add salt if needed.

Add the wet ingredients to the broccoli mixture and mix well.

Add the mixture to the dish and bake until bubbly (about 45 min), top with remaining cheese and cook until melted (about 15 minutes). (I forgot and added some of the cheese prior to baking).

The Verdict:

It was totally delicious and we ate nothing else so we could fill up on the casserole.  It was cheesy, flavorful and not too runny or dry - just right.  I can’t remember a having better broccoli casserole and I’d serve it in my restaurant (if I had one).

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Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

7/6/24 meal date