This healthy Broccoli Chicken Casserole recipe is made with your choice of pasta, tender broccoli and chicken, and the most delicious creamy cheddar mushroom sauce.
Raise your hand in the event that you grew up eating broccoli chicken casserole! Make that two palms if yours always included a can of cream of mushroom soup! Ah, what do we say? It is what all of the cool kids were doing back in the 80s. ♡ For those of you who still crave a great throwback chicken casserole now and then today, I have a modern variant now I think you will adore.
Meet my 100 percent -from-scratch, lightened-up, still-ultra-creamy-and-cheesy, comforting chicken and broccoli casserole recipe!
It’s made with all of the classic components from the broccoli chicken casserole recipes of my youth, just freshened up a bit to bring us into 2019. We’re talking lots and lots of broccoli (you can use fresh or frozen), tender poultry (feel free to use a rotisserie for a dictionary ), your choice of pasta (I used whole-wheat, but any type will do), and lots of sharp cheddar cheese (get the fantastic stuff!) . Then instead of canned cream of mushroom soup, then this broccoli chicken casserole recipe features a smooth homemade creamy mushroom sauce rather, made with a great deal of fresh mushrooms and zesty seasonings to ensure that this casserole is anything but bland.
It’s modern, creamy, cosy comfort food at its very best.
Let’s create a few chicken casserole!
Chicken Broccoli Casserole Ingredients:
Ok! Before we reach the full recipe below, let’s talk about our shopping list. To make this broccoli chicken casserole recipe, you may need:
- Steak: Any pasta which you love best will do the job here — traditional (semolina), whole-wheat, gluten-free, egg, or some other kinds of alternative-grain sorts of pasta which you like.
- Broccoli: You can either use fresh broccoli (about one big head, cut into florets) or frozen broccoli (about 1 pound) for this recipe.
- Mushrooms: I really like the flavour of infant Bella (cremini) mushrooms in this broccoli casserole recipe. However, any of your favorite mushrooms will do.
- Creamy sauce items: Butter (or olive oil), onion, garlic, flour, stock (chicken or veggie), milk (any kind), Dijon, salt and pepper.
- Sharp cheddar cheese: I suggest buying a block of high quality aged sharp cheddar for this recipe, then gearing it yourself.
- Chicken: Any cooked chicken will work for this recipe! It’s possible to use my favorite baked chicken breasts recipe or sauté 2 breasts in olive oil in a skillet until cooked through. Or for a shortcut, feel free to shred a rotisserie chicken.
How To Make This Casserole:
To make this broccoli chicken casserole recipe :
- Cook the broccoli and pasta. Cook the pasta in a big pot of boiling water (do not forget to salt generously!) Until it is al dente. However, — storyline twist! — toss the broccoli florets into the water about 1 minute until the pasta is done cooking to give it a quick cook too. Drain both.
- Create the mushroom sauce. Meanwhile, we will work on the sauce. Sauté the onion, followed by the mushrooms and garlic in butter (or oil) until softened. Then add in the stock, milk, Dijon, salt and pepper, and cook until the sauce reaches a simmer. Stir in half of the shredded cheese, taste, and fix any seasonings as necessary.
- Put everything together. In a large 9 x 13-inch baking dish, then give everything a good toss — the cooked pasta, broccoli, mushroom sauce and chicken — till combined.
- Bake. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes.
- Appreciate! Serve nice and warm, garnished with extra black pepper and fresh herbs, if desired.
Want to customize this chicken broccoli casserole recipe? Feel free to…
- Utilize another protein: Cooked sausage, steak, pork, or shrimp would be delicious in this casserole in place of chicken.
- Use rice instead of pasta: To make classic chicken and rice casserole, cook 1 cup of (uncooked) rice according to package directions. Then stir it into the pan as you would like the pasta.
- Utilize a different type of cheese: If cheddar is not your thing, this casserole would also be delicious with a mixture of good-quality mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Or some kind of spicy pepper jack would be pleasant too!
- Add new herbs: Feel free to add in some fresh Italian herbs (such as parsley, rosemary, rosemary or lavender ) if wanted.
- Help it become vegetarian: We made a vegetarian version to check this recipe by simply omitting the chicken, and the broccoli was great by itself. Or, obviously, you’re welcome to add some extra veggies to the mix too.
- Make it fermented: Use gluten-free pasta, then thicken the sauce using an all-purpose fermented flour blend. (or you may stir several tbsp of gluten-free cornstarch into the cold milk before adding it into the sauce)
I hope you enjoy and thanks a lot for reading. Want to browse all of my recipe posts? Follow my Pinterest.
Try these other Delicious Recipes options:
- Bacon Avocado Chicken Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
- Crispy Honey Chilli Potato | Honey Chilli Potato Recipe
- Keto Chicken Cheese Bake
- Steaks With Mushroom Gravy
- Southern Chili Recipe – Best Family Recipes
Healthier Broccoli Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked pasta
- 1 large head of broccoli*, cut into bite-sized florets (about 1 pound of florets)
- 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
- 1 small white onion, thinly sliced
- 8 ounces baby bella (cremini) mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
- 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- 2 cups diced (or shredded) cooked chicken
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400°F.
- Cook pasta in a large stockpot of generously-salted boiling water until it is al dente. However, about 1 minute before the pasta is done, add the broccoli to the boiling pasta water and stir until combined. Drain both the pasta and broccoli, and set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat the butter (or oil) in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms and garlic and sauté for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the mushrooms are cooked through.
- Sprinkle the flour evenly over the onion mixture and stir until combined. Cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Add in the stock, and stir everything together until most of the clumps are gone. Add in the milk, Dijon, salt and pepper and stir until combined. Continue cooking the sauce until it reaches a simmer. Then remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of the shredded cheese until it is combined. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed.
- In a large 9 x 13-inch baking dish, combine the cooked pasta, broccoli, mushroom sauce and chicken. Toss until combined. Smooth the casserole out into an even layer.
- Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Then remove pan from the oven, sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese evenly on top of the casserole, and bake for 10 more minutes or until the cheese is nice and melty.
- Serve warm, garnished with extra black pepper and/or fresh herbs, if desired.
Notes
- *Pasta: Any type of pasta will work here – traditional (semolina), whole-wheat, egg, gluten-free, or alternative-grain pasta.
- *Broccoli: Feel free to use 1 pound of frozen broccoli florets (thawed) in place of fresh broccoli if you prefer.
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