Broccoli rice casserole with chicken and cheese. This easy casserole is great with leftover turkey or rotisserie chicken, and it doesn't rely on condensed soup!
Broccoli Rice Casserole with Chicken:
If you've got leftover turkey or leftover rotisserie chicken, I've got the best creamy, comforting casserole for you. This broccoli rice casserole with chicken comes together with just fridge ingredients, plus it lacks condensed soup!
It's not that I'm fundamentally against condensed cream-of-something soups--it's just that I hardly ever keep them in my house. And you know I'm not heading to the store just for one ingredient to make a meal come together! However, I always have eggs and sour cream in my fridge, so this casserole is within reach!
Another chicken casserole you might like is my warm chicken salad bake!
My creamy casserole technique comes from my friend Heidi Swanson, who has a recipe for wild rice casserole full of mushrooms and fresh thyme in her cookbook that has become our favorite. Her casserole relies on plenty of eggs and cottage cheese for creaminess and fluff; here, I'm using eggs and sour cream.
I also love that this recipe doesn't require you to make a roux. If I'm repurposing leftovers, it's because I don't want to cook again, you know what I mean? I'm almost positive that you know exactly what I mean--dinnertime should be easy! I want to toss everything together in one big bowl, and then bake it to make an easy dinner.
Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole:
This is a real dump and stir casserole recipe. Everything comes together in one bowl, and you just pour it in a greased 8x8" casserole dish.
The last time I made this cheesy chicken broccoli rice casserole, my husband was using the oven to bake a loaf of bread. So, I slid the 8" square pan into the toaster oven, and while it barely fit, I was so happy with the results! The cheese on top become just shy of crispy, and it was the perfect lid on top of the casserole.
As you can see from the photos, I used a mix of brown rice and wild rice because I had it in the pantry, but this recipe is great with 100% brown rice. If you're going for a mix of both, either use a packaged mix or ¾ cup of brown rice with ¼ cup of wild rice.
This is a great way to use up leftover Turkey after Thanksgiving, or leftover shredded rotisserie chicken! It would be a great meal to bake and freeze, too. Check out my freezer meals for two here.
The final reason I love this casserole is because it uses broccoli florets, straight from the freezer! When broccoli hits the oven frozen, it maintains a crispness in the final dish that can't be beat. No more soggy casseroles! You would also like my Cajun Rice Crab Casserole.
Broccoli Rice Casserole with Chicken
Broccoli rice casserole with chicken and cheese.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup brown rice*
- ¼ cup wild rice
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cup grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 cups leftover rotisserie chicken or turkey
- 10-ounce bag of frozen broccoli
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°, and spray an 8x8" square dish with cooking spray.
- First, cook the brown rice and wild rice by combining it with 2 cups of water in a 2-quart sauce pan. Bring it up to a boil, then turn the heat to LOW. Cover and cook for 50 minutes, until the rice is done. After the timer is up on the rice, remove it from the heat and place a clean kitchen towel over the pan. Place the lid back on the pan. The rice is ready whenver you are.
- Next, in a large bowl, combine the cooked rice, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Stir very well.
- Stir in the eggs, sour cream and 1 ½ cups of the grated cheese, and the chicken. Stir very well. Finally, stir in the frozen broccoli (no need to defrost it first).
- Pour the mixture into a greased 8x8" casserole pan, and top with the remaining ½ cup of grated cheese.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the cheese on top of the casserole is lightly golden brown.
- Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
*If you want to use all brown rice, use 1 cup of brown rice and omit the wild rice. Only use 1 cup of uncooked rice total.
Be sure to measure the cheese after grating.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 634Total Fat: 42gSaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 253mgSodium: 986mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 50g
Teresa says
Made this tonight and it turned out scrumptious! Your recipes are such an inspiration. Thank you for taking the time to scale so many delicious dishes down to servings for two. After raising a family it has been hard to learn to cook for only two people but your recipes help SO much! I plan on trying several more!
Christina Lane says
Aw thanks so much, Teresa! I'm so glad you're here :)