Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
This Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole is an easy make ahead meal that you can assemble and bake another day! Your family will love the buttery, crunchy Ritz topping.
My family and I have been eating this chicken and rice casserole for years now. Who needs to separate chicken, rice, and broccoli when you can whip up a creamy casserole?!
☝️ In addition to the ingredients above, you may choose to add some additional seasonings to the mix.
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Rotisserie Chicken is also perfect in this casserole as opposed to chicken breasts.
Cream of Chicken Soup Substitutes
- This recipe can be made with Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Broccoli, Cheddar Cheese, and Broccoli Cheese.
- If you prefer to make this from scratch, try this homemade Cream of Chicken Soup recipe!
Use Regular Rice for a Creamier Casserole
I highly recommend you use regular rice vs. minute rice:
- Regular rice only takes 20 minutes, which is how long the chicken will be cooking for anyway, so it’s not going to take you any longer to prepare the meal with regular rice.
- Regular rice has higher nutritional value, flavor, and texture.
- Long grain rice = creamier consistency. Short grain rice tends to be stickier.
⭐Pro Tip⭐: Add more flavor to the rice by adding chicken bouillon to the simmering water or by cooking it in chicken broth.
Make-Ahead Method
-This casserole can be assembled ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 2 days prior to baking.
-If prepared 2 days in advance, it should be used within 1-2 days or leftovers should be frozen.
-The cracker/butter topping should be made when you bake the casserole and not prepared ahead of time.
Using Frozen Broccoli
-Using a 16 oz. bag of frozen broccoli (and/or cauliflower) can also be used. Just be sure you thaw and pat it dry!
Freezing and Reheating
-This casserole is a great meal to freeze and is best if used within 3 months of freezing.
–To reheat, let it defrost in the fridge overnight or the microwave and bake at 350° for 20 minutes or so.
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Did You Make This Recipe?
I would love for you to leave a rating and a comment below! How’d you do?! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
This Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole is an easy make ahead meal that you can assemble and bake another day! Your family will love the buttery, crunchy Ritz topping!
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Salt/Pepper to taste
- 2 cups white long grain rice, cooked *See Notes
- 10.75 oz. Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese separated
- 2 cups fresh broccoli florets uncooked
- 1 cup Ritz crackers crushed
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter
- Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and season with desired amount of salt and pepper.
Bake at in a lightly greased 9 x 13 casserole dish at 350 degrees, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Drain excess juice from casserole dish. It's okay if it's not completely cooked through yet.
In a large bowl, combine the soup, milk, sour cream, cooked rice, and half of the cheddar cheese. (If desired, you may add 1 tsp dried thyme and 1/2 tsp garlic powder as well.)
- Add in the broccoli and chicken and stir to combine.
- Lightly grease the casserole dish and pour in the rice mixture.
- Top with remaining cheddar cheese.
If baking immediately after assembling, bake the casserole in the same 350 degree oven for 35 minutes, covered.
If preparing this ahead of time, cover with foil and refrigerate for up to 3 days prior to baking. Then bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, covered.
Melt the butter and crumble up the crackers. Combine to form the topping for the casserole.
Top the casserole with the crumbled cracker topping and bake uncovered for 10 additional minutes.
- Let the casserole sit for 5 minutes prior to serving.
1 cup uncooked rice + 2 cups liquid = 3 cups cooked rice. You may choose to use all 3 cups but I prefer 2.
⭐Pro Tip⭐: Add more flavor to the rice by adding chicken bouillon to the simmering water or by cooking it in chicken broth.
Tip: Using a 16oz. bag of frozen broccoli (and/or cauliflower) is a perfect alternative to fresh broccoli. Just be sure you thaw and pat it dry!
Additional seasoning options include:
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
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Anyone tried this recipe with something other than plain rice?
🙂 I’ve got an 8 year old I’m gonna cook this for so the more flavor the better.
I haven’t, but I will tell you there is a LOT of flavor, especially if you add chicken bouillon to the water when you cook the rice! 🙂
I just whipped this up & put it in the oven. Can’t wait to try it 😋 I love finding recipes with ingredients I don’t have to make a special trip for mid week.
Awesome Julie! I think you’re going to love it! It’s one of my favorites. I’m with you. I absolutely hate going to the store, (which is unfortunate for a food blogger, lol), but I often reply on this one because I always have everything on hand! 🙂 Enjoy!!! -Stephanie
Let me just say, as a broke college kid, this meal is quick, cheap, and delicious! I probably spent around $15 on ingredients and it will feed me for a week! Thank you so much for the recipe! I substituted the broccoli for cauliflower and it was excellent! Definitely will be making this again 🙂
(forgot to give it five stars
Jess! You totally made my day! I remember those college days, and a good budget friendly meal is hard to get! I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to comment and rate, you’re the best! ❤️
I made this for dinner and we love it! My daughter, who hates casseroles, had seconds.
So easy to make. I cooked the chicken in my Instapot, the rice in a rice cooker, and the broccoli in the microwave.
That’s so great to hear Shannon, thank you so much for taking the time to comment and rate! I have a similar recipe with ham instead of chicken, the instructions allow you to cook the rice in some chicken broth, add in the broccoli, and then add in the rest of the ingredients in the same pot. Would that have made the recipe easier for you? I’m debating changing this one to match that “one pot” method.
Wow! I have made MANY casseroles and this one is so delicious! Between my husband and I we finished the whole thing (lunch & dinner). It’s so easy to make and I had all the ingredients in my kitchen! We just got back from a long vacation and I wasn’t too excited to cook BUT it was so unreal how simple and delicious this is! I added a little bit more chicken & Cream of Chicken and the topping with the butter/cracker crust made it that much better! I will definitely be making this again!
Hey Rachel!!! You TOTALLY made my day. I am obsessed with this casserole too! I love to make it in bulk and freeze it right away because we never have any leftovers either! In fact I just made some this weekend, I have another version with ham. I’m so happy you had something like this to make after vacation, no one wants to cook after vacay! 🙂 Thank you soooo much for taking the time to rate and comment, you’re the best! -Stephanie
I made this tonight , it was a hit !! I used cream of mushroom soup, and used Fried onion rings for the top.I made this ahead so I baked for 35 minutes with the cheese on top then added the Fried onions( the French’s Fried onions you use on the green bean casserole ) Will be making this again !!!!!!! Thank you !
Hey Renee! Oh my goshhh Frech’s Fried Onions on top sounds AMAZING, what a great idea! I make this recipe alllll the time so I’ll be sure to do that next! Yum, thanks for sharing! -Stephanie
Hi, love this recipe. I’m currently making it for a sick family member to freeze and bake when they’re ready. I’m confused about the baking directions when de-thawed after frozen. In one place the directions say to dethaw in fridge over night/or microwave defrost and then bake for 20 or so min at 350. But in another place it says to bake, covered, for 45 min at 350 ff it was frozen. Which one should I tell them to do?
Hi Chandra! I’m sorry for the delay on this. So baking it for 45 minutes is what you’d want to do if you’re baking it for the first time. If you already baked the casserole and want to reheat it, that’s where I suggest doing so in the oven for 20 minutes. I hope that helps! -Stephanie
Thank you for the awesome recipe. I have to tell you I am not a big fan of broccoli but had some leftover from NYE and I am glad I found this easy recipe. I barely had any leftovers for a family of 4. It was delicious.
The only think I could not find was to I keep the oven on 350F like from the chicken? I did and it turned out great.
Hey Jessica! I’m so happy that you enjoyed this recipe! I actually made this yesterday, it’s one of my all-time favorites for the freezer! (I made it with ham yesterday if you ever want to try it that way too!) And you were correct, you bake it in the same 350 degree oven that you cooked the chicken in, I just made that clearer in the recipe! 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to comment! -Stephanie