Healthy Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli-Rice Casserole is soul-satisfying comfort food that's a little easier on your waistline!
Today I’m sharing a fabulous spin on a classic, comforting casserole – Healthy Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli-Rice Casserole!
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.
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
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups long grain brown rice
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 4 cups finely chopped broccoli florets, ~1 small head
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- salt, pepper, garlic powder
- 5 teaspoons gluten free flour, or AP flour if not GF
- 2 cups milk, divided, any kind
- 1/3 cup light sour cream
- 8 oz 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 low and cook according to package directions. When rice has 5 minutes left to cook, add broccoli and green onions (no need to stir) 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.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Hi Kristin!! I’m making this for a freezer meal. How should I bake this once it’s thawed??
THanks!
Hey Katie! I haven’t tried this as a freezer meal so I can’t be sure. Maybe thaw in the fridge overnight than bake at 350 for 15-20 mins?
This looks delicious! I am going to try it tonight…I don’t see where we add the chicken back in after being sauted – maybe I missed it?
Oh you’re right – I wrote about it in the post but not in the recipe! Add it with the cheese sauce and rice before broiling. I hope you enjoy!
Can I use regular onion if I don’t have green onion on hand?
I think that’d be fine. I’dd saute it with the chicken instead of steaming it with the broccoli otherwise it’d still be raw.
Thank you for this recipe. I’ll be making it later this week. I hate using canned soups, processed fake cheese etc. This is the homemade recipe I was looking for.
I made this tonight with a few tweaks. I made a vegetarian version, using water to cook the rice, and seasoned pan-fried extra firm tofu instead of chicken. I used a combination of brown basmati and wild rice. I halved the recipe (adding a little more broccoli because I love it so) and put it in a 9″ square pan. It turned out terrifically. Thanks for the inspiration.
I made this with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream (it’s what we had on hand) and my picky 7 year old had thirds!! Great recipe!
We tried this tonight as our second IGE recipe (in 2 days!). Loved it, love having the leftovers, and gonna make it again and again for years. Thanks!!
A friend of mine brought this dish to me a few days ago while I am recovering from major surgery. Timing was perfect since my adult son and his girlfriend had stopped by and were staying for dinner. This? Perfect! We all loved it so much that I asked my friend for the recipe and have now discoverered your fabulous blog! I, too, enjoy healthy eating and discovering new recipes (as well as running and travel) so this is right up my alley. I have already identified several recipes on this site that I am excited to try once my recovery is complete and I can get back to the kitchen. The hardest part is deciding what to try first! Thank you!
Made this for dinner today and it was delicious! Thanks for sharing.
What is the amount of calories per serving?
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!
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. :)
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.