Broccoli & Chicken Casserole

Sometimes you just need a good old “dump-style” casserole for a really busy night. Throwing together some classic flavor combos makes for a wonderful bite of food in this Broccoli & Chicken Casserole. You get cheese – you get bacon – you get dill – you get broccoli – it really is a delicious combo.

It’s okay to cheat a little and use rotisserie chicken from the deli (mine actually sells it already stripped from the bones). You could also certainly make your own shredded chicken by putting chicken breast into a sauce pan and covering it with chicken broth or water (or a combo of the two) and letting it boil for between 15 and 20 minutes. Then shred it up and add it to the casserole. It won’t even add any extra time as it can cook as the same time as the rice.

You should always pre-cook the rice but just shy of done. When you put uncooked rice into a casserole you run the risk of it either being too mushy or to too crunchy – or worse BOTH! Rice tends to cook unevenly when its within a casserole. You also have to make sure that there is enough liquid in it for the rice to absorb and cook through, as well as for the rest of the dish to come together. Make it easy on yourself and cook the rice before.

I like to use Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream whenever possible. My family is not big on eating yogurt on it’s own, but yogurt is very important for gut health. So I try to get it in there whenever I can. Some people shy away from Greek yogurt because it does have a rather sharp tang – but once you combine it with other flavors and spices, you really don’t notice it all that much.

Now Let’s Get Cookin’!

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Broccoli & Chicken Casserole

A simple "dump-style" casserole for those super busy night

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword bacon, broccoli, casseroles, cheddar, Cheesy Chicken, Chicken

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 2 lb Rotisserie Chicken
• 1 qt Chicken Broth
• 2 cups Long Grain Rice
• 2 cups Broccoli chopped
• 1 lb Bacon cut into ½-inch pieces
• 2 cups Cheddar Cheese shredded, divided
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• ½ cup Greek Yogurt
• 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp Pepper
• 1 tsp Garlic Salt
• 1 tsp Minced Onion
• 1 tsp Dill
• 2 tsp Parsley divided

Instructions

• Prepare all of the ingredients. Preheat oven to 400deg.
• In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add rice and chicken broth. Cover with lid and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat but do not remove from lid until ready to combine.
• In a frying pan over medium-high heat, add bacon. Cook until crispy then remove to paper towel covered plate.
• In a small bowl, combine 1½ cup cheese, 1 tsp parsley, dill, lemon juice, minced onion, garlic salt, pepper, heavy cream and yogurt.
• In a 13×9 baking dish, add chicken, broccoli, ¾ of bacon, and yogurt mixture. Fold in cooked rice. Flatten out in baking dish and top with remaining cheese, remaining bacon and then remaining parsley. Place in oven to bake for 25 minutes.