This Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole is easy to make and is loaded with flavor! This is definitely a family favorite in our house.
I love a good casserole, or ‘hotdish’ as the Minnesotan in me is used to saying (Ya You Betcha!). But since I’m now a Floridian, I realized nobody down here knows what a hotdish is, unless they’re midwest transplants.
Normally when the term hotdish or casserole is used, it always makes me think of the Church Basement Ladies (the wonderful ladies who put together the potlucks in the basement of the Church on Sundays). This was also made into a hilarious comedy play, which I have yet to see.
Growing up in the midwest (Minnesota), we went to church every Sunday and once a month we would have a potluck where every family would bring a dish to share. When the sermon was over we’d all head down into the basement of the church and gorge ourselves in every kind of hotdish imaginable, homemade desserts, and oh yeah – can’t forget the jello salad!
Every hotdish/casserole was made with some sort of Cream of Soup, which was like a staple in every household growing up.
These days I prefer not to use the canned Cream of Soups, they just don’t seem very healthy. They’re usually loaded with Sodium or full of Gluten.
So I like to make my hotdishes or casseroles with more natural ingredients.
Note: For this recipe I used Basmati White Rice. The rice to liquid ratio is based on the cooking instructions for the Basmati Rice. If you use a different kind of rice your outcome may differ and you may have to adjust accordingly.
I start this by cooking two cut up boneless skinless Chicken Breasts in a frying pan over medium/high heat with some Coconut Oil. Coconut Oil is a good healthy oil to use.
Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Layer the uncooked Rice on the bottom of the casserole dish. Layer the frozen Broccoli over the Rice. Then layer the cooked Chicken over the Broccoli.
In a medium saucepan add the Chicken Broth and Almond Flour. Whisk until smooth over high heat for about 1 minute. Whisk in Coconut Milk and Spices for about 3-4 minutes until slightly thickened.
Pour the broth mixture over the Chicken and stir to combine. Top with Cheese. Yaasssss! Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake additional 10 minutes.
Then proceed to chow down on this yummy dish! This also makes great leftovers (if there’s any left).
Try some of my other favorite comfort foods below!
Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole
Easy Quinoa Enchilada Casserole
Chicken Broccoli Quinoa Casserole
Chicken Quinoa Mexican Casserole
If you try this let me know what you think by leaving a comment below!
And don’t forget to take a picture and Hashtag it #Tastefulventure on Instagram so I can see!
Cheers!
Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 boneless Chicken Breast chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 10 oz bag frozen Broccoli
- 1 cup uncooked Basmati White Rice
- 1 Tbs Coconut Oil
- 1 ½ cups Chicken Broth
- ½ cup Almond Flour you can substitute with regular flour
- 2 cups Unsweetened Coconut Milk you can substitute with regular milk
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Chipotle Chili Powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground Sea Salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground Black Pepper
- ½ cup shredded Mexican Cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan Cheese
- Non-Stick cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In large frying pan add Coconut Oil and Chicken, cook over med-high heat until no longer pink.
- Spray non-stick cooking spray on bottom of 2 qt casserole dish.
- Layer uncooked Rice on bottom of dish.
- Top with Broccoli.
- Add cooked Chicken over Broccoli.
- In medium Saucepan add Chicken Broth and Flour, whisk until smooth over high heat, about 1 min.
- Whisk in Milk and spices for about 3-4 min until thickened slightly.
- Pour sauce over Chicken mixture and stir to combine.
- Top with cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake 30 min.
- Uncover and bake another 5-10 min.
- Enjoy!
Peggy Melachrinos says
I made this recipe last night. I had precooked chicken so I skipped that step. I was a little short on coconut milk so added a bit of half and half to equal the amount of liquid the recipe called for. The recipe is similar to ones using cream of chicken soup but healthier because it was made from scratch instead of a can and flavorful with the addition of the spices. I would make it again.
Sara says
Thanks so much Peggy!