Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice Casserole

There are few flavors loved in my home more than broccoli and cheese. Tender-crisp broccoli can be dished up as a side with a creamy cheese sauce, served as a soup in a bread bowl, or dressed up in a fancy-ish risotto dinner. This casserole recipe is my biggest dinner win yet, not only because it brings broccoli and cheese together, but also because it’s baked with chicken and rice in a creamy sauce to make it a complete meal. 

When you lean on supermarket shortcuts like rotisserie chicken, pre-shredded cheese, and frozen broccoli florets, this homestyle casserole comes together in mere minutes. Here’s how to make this comforting cheesy chicken broccoli and rice casserole for dinner tonight — or how to stash it in the freezer as a gift to your future self. 

• Cooked chicken: Use a rotisserie chicken or cook a batch of simply seasoned chicken breasts in the oven.
• Yellow onion: Dice a medium yellow onion. You should have about 1 1/2 cups of diced onion.
• Garlic: Mince two garlic cloves.
• Broccoli: Cut bite-size florets from fresh broccoli crowns (save the stems for another use, like a vegetable stir-fry) or use frozen broccoli florets. 
• Cheddar cheese: Shred sharp cheddar cheese on the large holes of a box grater, or use thick, homestyle pre-shredded cheese.
• Butter: Melt unsalted butter in the skillet, then cook the onion and garlic. 
• All-purpose flour: Sprinkle the flour over the tender onion and garlic, and cook for a minute to remove the raw flour flavor. The flour is what thickens the sauce.
• Chicken broth: Low-sodium chicken broth allows you to control the amount of salt in the final dish. 
• Milk: Use whole or 2% milk to add creaminess to the sauce.
• Rice: You’ll need 3/4 cup uncooked long-grain white rice.

• Prep ingredients. Dice the chicken and onion, mince the garlic, cut the broccoli, and shred the cheese before you turn on the stove. Prepping ingredients in advance makes the actual cooking go so much more smoothly.
• Make the sauce. Add flour to the sautéed onions and garlic, then whisk in broth and milk. Bring to a boil and cook until the sauce thickens. 
• Add chicken, cheese, and rice. Stir in the chicken, half of the cheese, and the uncooked rice until coated in the sauce. 
• Bake the casserole. Transfer the casserole to an 8×8- or 9×9-inch baking dish (or keep it in the skillet if it is oven-safe) and bake, covered, until the rice is tender. 
• Add the broccoli and top with cheese. Uncover, stir in the broccoli, top with the rest of the cheese, and bake for a few more minutes until the broccoli is tender and the cheese is melted. You can finish under the broiler to brown the cheese slightly, if desired. 

Casseroles are prime freezer fare, so whenever you’re making this cheesy chicken broccoli and rice casserole, why not double the recipe and freeze one? To make chicken broccoli and rice in advance, assemble as instructed. You may want to use a disposable aluminum pan, so that your baking dishes aren’t tied up in the freezer for weeks at a time. 

Bake the casserole as instructed until the rice is tender. Stir in the broccoli, top with cheddar cheese, and then set the casserole aside to cool to room temperature. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and freeze. Whenever you need a no-prep dinner, let the casserole thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bake until heated through and bubbling around the edges.