My southern-style cheesy chicken and broccoli casserole is decked out with scrumptious south Louisiana flavors, y'all. Chopped Cajun trinity veggies, browned, tossed with broccoli, and cooked down just a bit with garlic. Then, the cream of chicken soup, milk, and sour cream is stirred into the pot, along with pulled cooked chicken and two types of ooey gooey cheeses. Finally, the buttered Cajun crackers go on top before a quick oven bake transforms the whole skillet into nostalgic, can't-get-enough comfort food deliciousness. Yep and yay...
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It's Just the Right Comfort Food for All the Right Reasons...
Cheesy chicken and broccoli casserole is a creamy comfort food dish that features pulled cooked poultry, two types of cheeses, cream of chicken soup, milk, and sour cream. This easy comfort food dish starts on the stove and finishes in the oven, baking to browned, bubbly deliciousness in just minutes.
My version of this chicken and broccoli casserole has no rice but is topped with my very own crushed Cajun crackers instead. The result is a super creamy gluten free casserole with bits of crunchy cracker bits that take the whole thing over the top.
Super comforting and ultra-flavorful, this cheesy chicken and broccoli casserole is a year-round dish that's always a big potluck hit. This recipe serves four people as written. However, you can double, triple, or even quadruple the recipe for big events easily.
Best of all, this dish calls for pulled leftover chicken. So, you can pre-cook the chicken like I do the day before to inject really strong flavors into each prepared casserole bite. Or, you can pick up a store-bought rotisserie to make this an easy, breezy weeknight dish that'll get you rave reviews. Indeed.
Ingredient Essentials & Substitutions
- You can either use fresh or thawed frozen broccoli florets. Truth be told, there's not much difference in taste or texture between them in the finished casserole. If you use frozen, thaw them out in the bag they came in in the fridge overnight, and they should be good to go when you're ready to start cooking.
- Pulled cooked chicken steals the show in this recipe, y'all. I like to use the breast in my Cajun roasted chicken for this recipe. I've also used rotisserie chicken with great success. If you're 100% percent gluten free like I am, make sure that you ask the deli workers if the bird is gluten free. If they don't know, go to another store with employees that know for sure.
- The Cajun trinity veggies put a distinctive south Louisiana spin on this recipe. But, you can also just use onions if you don't have the celery or bell peppers on hand.
- I often use jarred minced garlic in my recipes. I honestly like the taste, texture, and convenience of it. You can also use fresh garlic, of course. And, in a pinch, go ahead and use about 2 teaspoons of granulated garlic or garlic powder if that's all you have on hand. Just get any type of garlic in this cheesy chicken and broccoli casserole, y'all, because it does stand out in the finished dish.
- I love and use Great Value's gluten free cream of chicken soup. It's awesome! You can also use cream of mushroom soup, too, and the casserole will come out just fine.
- The sour cream and two cheeses make this dish a true comfort food. I wouldn't skip them. But, if you only have one type of cheese on hand it's ok to double it for the recipe.
Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole Storage
Store the leftovers in a tightly covered dish in the fridge for up to three days. If you want to freeze the casserole, it's best to vacuum-seal it in individual portions. It should keep this way for up to three months.
Top Tip
Since I usually use breast pieces from my highly seasoned Cajun roasted chicken, there are tons of flavor in each bit of this casserole. However, if you are using store-bought chicken this might not be the case.
Taste the chicken first. If it's not seasoned well, then add about 1 teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley flakes, and paprika. Saturate the chicken pieces with the herbs. Then, once you stir all of the ingredients together, taste and re-adjust the seasonings, adding salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to your taste, as well.
How to Make Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
To start, crush the Cajun crackers or other type of crackers that you will be using. Then, stir the softened butter into the crushed crackers, and set aside.
Now, brown the Cajun trinity veggies in a 12-inch cast iron skillet.
When the veggies are browned, add the broccoli florets to the pan. Continue cooking for a couple more minutes.
Now, add the minced garlic to the pan. Stir it into the veggies, cooking them all together for about another minute.
Then, add the milk, sour cream, and cream of chicken soup to the skillet. Stir until combined.
Now, stir the cheese into the mixture.
And then stir the pulled chicken into the pan.
Finally, top the mixture with the softened butter and crushed cracker mixture.
Then, slide the skillet into the oven, and bake until done.
And that's it, y'all!
This cheesy chicken and broccoli casserole is the perfect pick-me-up comfort food meal for four. It's sooo creamy and cheesy, with pops of melt-in-your-mouth chicken and broccoli. And, the Cajun cracker crumb topping, y'all! It's simply incredible.
Share this chicken and broccoli skillet bake with those you want to food love all the way down to their bones. And see y'all on the yum side.
Other Popular Chicken Dishes on This Blog
- Cajun Smothered Chicken with Brown Gravy
- Cayenne Rosemary Orange Marmalade Chicken
- Creole Baked Chicken with Rice and Okra
- Grilled Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
- Cajun French Onion Chicken Skillet {Grain & Gluten Free}
- Spicy Cajun Chicken Dip
- Zesty Skillet Chicken Thighs With Mushrooms
- Cajun Chicken Noodle Soup
Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Ingredients
For the Gluten Free Chicken Divan
- 3 tablespoons butter or oil
- ½ cup chopped onion
- ½ cup chopped bell pepper
- ½ cup chopped celery
- 12 ounces frozen broccoli, thawed
- salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 10.5-ounce can gluten free cream of chicken soup I use Great Value gluten free
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese
- 4 cups pulled cooked chicken
For the Buttery GF Cracker Crumb Topping
- ½ cup Cajun crackers
or gluten free cracker crumbs - 2 tablespoons softened butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine the Cajun cracker crumbs and the softened butter together in a bowl. Set aside.
- Brown the Cajun trinity of chopped onion, bell pepper and celery in the butter or oil in a 12-inch cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat.
- When browned, add the thawed frozen broccoli and cook for an additional two minutes, stirring often.
- Add the minced garlic and cook for one additional minute, stirring constantly.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Stir the sour cream, milk, and gluten free cream of chicken soup into the pan mixture.
- Stir the cheddar and pepper Jack cheese into the casserole.
- Add the chicken, and stir until well combined.
- Sprinkle the cracker crumb mixture over the top of the casserole.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.
- Let the casserole rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
The information shown is an estimate provided by a third-party, online computer-generated nutrition calculator, not a registered dietitian or certified nutritionist. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods and individual portion sizes, along with other factors.
See our full nutrition disclaimer here.
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