Today I’m sharing a fabulous spin on a classic, comforting casserole – Healthy Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli-Rice Casserole!Â
Watch How to Make It
Light Chicken and Rice Casserole
Sauteed chicken, steamed broccoli, and fluffy brown rice are mixed with a homemade cheese sauce then quickly broiled for a fabulous, comforting meal. It’s kind of an “un-casserole” as you don’t have to let the dish bake in the oven, rather, everything is made right on the stovetop then tossed together in a casserole dish and quickly broiled.
I also tweaked a few of the ingredients from the standard Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli-Rice Casserole to make it a bit healthier. More broccoli, brown rice instead of white, plus the luscious homemade cheese sauce that brings everything together has less cheese, light sour cream, and skim milk. BOOM. This casserole ROCKS!
How to Make this Recipe
Start by cooking long-grain brown rice in chicken broth. Cooking rice in chicken broth gives it tons of flavor with minimal added calories. You could use white rice in here, but I love the hearty chew brown rice has, plus you get the whole grain benefits.
When the rice has 5 minutes left to cook, add fresh broccoli florets and chopped green onions to the pot, place the lid back on top, then let them steam until tender.
Meanwhile, cook chopped chicken breasts seasoned with garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a splash of extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat until cooked through. Remove the chicken to a plate then very carefully wipe out the skillet with a dry paper towel and turn the heat down to medium.
To the wiped-out skillet add gluten-free flour (or all-purpose flour if you don’t need to eat GF) whisked with milk (I used skim,) then pour in additional milk.
Stir the milk and flour mixture continuously until thickened and bubbly, 7-10 minutes, then remove the skillet from the heat and add shredded cheddar cheese, light sour cream, plus salt, pepper, and garlic powder.Â
Add the cooked rice and broccoli mixture plus the chicken then stir to combine and scoop into a 9×13 baking dish. Top with a wee bit more shredded cheese then broil until melted and bubbly.
Let the casserole rest for 5 minutes, then scoop, plate, and devour!
More Cheesy Chicken Recipes
- Cheesy Ham and Broccoli Rice Skillet
- Cheesy Salsa Verde Chicken and Rice
- Cheesy Vegetable, Turkey Sausage and Rice Casserole
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Spaghetti Squash Casserole
- Easy Cheddar Cheese Sauce for Vegetables
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Healthy Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli-Rice Casserole
Description
Ingredients
- 2 cups long grain brown rice
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 4 cups broccoli florets (about 1 small head)
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1lb chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- salt, pepper, garlic powder
- 5 teaspoons gluten-free or all-purpose flour (dish will not be GF if using AP flour)
- 2 cups milk, divided (I use skim)
- 1/3 cup light sour cream
- 8oz shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Directions
- Add chicken broth to a large pot then bring to a boil and add rice. Cover then turn heat down to medium-low and cook according to package directions. When rice has 5 minutes left to cook add broccoli and green onions then replace lid and continue cooking until rice and vegetables are tender.
- Meanwhile, heat extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, then saute until cooked through. Remove to a plate then set aside. Turn heat down to medium then very carefully wipe skillet out with a dry paper towel.
- In a small dish, whisk together flour and 1/2 cup milk then pour mixture into skillet. Add remaining 1-1/2 cups milk then cook mixture while stirring constantly until thickened, 7-10 minutes. Remove skillet from heat then add 3/4 of the shredded cheese, sour cream, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and then stir until smooth.
- Preheat broiler. Combine cooked rice and broccoli mixture with the cheese sauce and cooked chicken then scoop mixture into a nonstick sprayed 9x13 baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Broil until cheese is melted then let casserole rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- Leave a comment and star rating if you loved the recipe! Thank you for considering!
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Lynn 02.13.2014
Made this for dinner today and it was delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Wendy 01.23.2014
What is the amount of calories per serving?
Stephanie 01.20.2014
Found you via Yummly.com. I was looking for a recipe for a picky husband and 14 month old – this recipe delivered! Will be bookmarking your blog and referencing it often! Thanks for this post!
Nina 01.20.2014
I love this recipe! Today I tried it with Quinoa and unfortunately didn’t have chicken stock available. I think the quinoa works but definitely need the chicken stock. Thanks so much for sharing. It’s becoming a family favorite fast. :)
Diane 01.19.2014
This was delicious. I made it though I altered it slightly because using the broiler still makes me nervous. So I finished it in the oven at 350. Thanks for sharing.
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Danabee 01.14.2014
Hello from Petaluma, CA! This looks great! I found my way here via a search for homemade bath bombs and I haven’t left yet. So many delicious looking recipes! Really enjoying your blog, your recipes, your writing style and looking forward to reading and cooking along with you.
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Amanda 01.07.2014
Can I use instant rice for this or will it be too mushy with that much liquid?
Kristin 01.13.2014
Hey Amanda! I’ve never used Minute Rice so I’m not 100% sure – it could work if you undercook the rice just a tad before baking!
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Jeanny 12.31.2013
Hi there,
I have a question that might sound silly……how long do I cook the rice for???
Iowa Girl Eats 12.31.2013
It’s not a silly question! :) Check on the rice package to know for sure, but usually 20-30 minutes. When all the broth has been absorbed and the rice is tender, it’s done.
kathy 12.14.2013
very gummy and very dry. I did not care for this recipe. I made it because of the beautiful photo. looked like it would be delicious. gummy and dry.
Judy 12.10.2013
Thankyou! Got home from work bout and hour ago-hubby worked overtime, we had chicken and broccoli…a search took me here. Just waiting on the broil…prelim taste testing scores a 10!
Amy 12.06.2013
Thank you sooooooo much! I needed something to make last night for dinner and I stumbled upon this recipe. We all LOVED it and we will definitely add this to the dinner rotation! Thanks again for the delicious recipe!
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Jennifer 11.23.2013
SO glad I saw this recipe!! I’m going to make this for a Thanksgiving side sans chicken, as I have been searching for a healthier version of the 70s classic Cheesy Broccoli & Rice Casserole that doesn’t involve canned soup & cheese whiz!! Thanks for this & all the great recipes!!
Erin 11.19.2013
I made this recipe tonight but added sliced fresh mushrooms and frozen spinach in addition to the broccoli and cut back a little on the rice used to beef up the veggies to carb ratio. I baked it for about 25 minutes at 350 instead of broiling it and it was absolutely delicious! I served it with a little homemade cranberry sauce I had on hand which added a nice sweetness to this savory comfort dish. Thanks so much for the recipe. I’ll definitely make this again.
Candace johnson 11.18.2013
Freaking delicious! Family loved it, thanks for sharing. I just added cumin to the chicken, otherwise I followed the recipe.