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.
For this recipe, is the 2 cups measured brown rice as Uncooked? I.e. we are cooking 2 cups? Or are we cooking enough to make 2 cups once cooked?
Thanks!
2 cups measured uncooked brown rice! :)
What is the serving size?
Recipe is perfect for college students. I didn’t have sour cream and still worked perfect.
This was really good. My kids ate (couple rice haters!) and my hubby asked me to save in the regular dinner rotation! Win! Plus love that is is GF and clean! Thanks.
My family isn’t overly fond of a casserole like this. I’ve always said it was because I hadn’t found the right recipe. My husband has faced my ongoing quest with a copious amount of hot sauce. This time he ate two helpings- without adding a thing- and declared it a winner. It’s going in the monthly rotation. The picky seven year old ate 2 helpings and had leftovers for lunch (excellent the next day as well). Even the two year old was happy. Thanks for sharing this!
The cheese sauce for this recipe was alright. The chicken was fine (effectively sauteed chicken… Not specific to this recipe). The rest I would not recommend at all. The ratios were off. 2 cups of rice makes way too much rice for a pound of chicken and 4 cups of broccoli. Furthermore, this recipe was a ton of work for something that is supposed to be a simple casserole. Perhaps if all the cooking elevated a simple casserole or would be worth it. In this case, it did not.
You’re in the minority here, Audrey
Do you have the nutritional values for this recipe?
So many ads you can’t get the recipe!
Fantastic!
Calculated out the calories with 1% milk and as close to everything else as I could and it came out to roughly 440 calories per serving (8 servings). It hasn’t finished cooking yet, so I can’t say how much a serving is, but that’s *roughly* the calorie count!! Super excited to try it! :)
There is a “non-skinny” version and I like that one so much better because, cheese. But this is a great base, just add the extra cheese ?
Haha, I totally get it. ;) LOVE me some cheese, too!
Hi! For the broccoli chicken rice casserole, I think you forgot to say what to do with the chicken at the end of the recipe. It says to set aside but then doesn’t address what to do with it.
Thanks!
How long are you supposed to be cooking the rice??? It says what to do when you have 5 minutes left but how long are you supposed to be cooking it to begin with?? Should I be following the directions on the package of rice because that says 45 minutes but says to simmer on low where’s the recipes says medium-low. Help please??
You should follow the directions on the package of rice that you are using.