I was going through my Recipe Index one chilly night last week, looking for something comforting and easy to make for dinner with leftover chicken. I had forgotten all about this recipe! I thought perhaps you had too, so I thought I’d republish it. I’ve updated a few things but it is still every bit as delish.
Also, the salad I picture with it (that was mentioned in the comments) is simply spring greens, goat cheese, cranberries, red onion and balsamic vinaigrette. It is SO good.
originally posted 1/24/12
This recipe is reminiscent of the casseroles I used to eat as a kid. It’s the ultimate comfort food for me, but I wanted to find a chicken and broccoli casserole that didn’t use Cream of Chemical Soup. It takes a bit longer because you have to make a roux but it’s so much better for you! (And tastes better too.)
You start by making a roux. I used a half a stick of butter and 1/4 cup brown rice flour. If you aren’t gluten-free, then you can use any flour you have on hand.
First melt the butter and then dump the flour in.
Whisk it up.
A typical roux just uses milk as the liquid, but I wanted to recreate that Cream of Chicken flavor, so I used a half cup chicken stock and a cup of milk. Considering all the other dairy in this meal, next time I’ll probably reverse that.
Homemade chicken stock is so nutritious, but canned will work fine too.
Whisk it till it’s nice and thick and bubbly — about 10 minutes. Then cover and set aside. That is your “Cream of Chicken Soup”.
I had a couple cups of shredded chicken left over from a roast chicken. How yummy does that look!?
And I boiled up a 10-oz bag of broccoli.
Meanwhile I shredded 8 oz cheddar and folded most of it into the “Cream of Chicken Soup”. I saved out some for the topping. I also added sour cream and mayonaise, some dry sherry and also Worcestershire. Yeah, it isn’t exactly what you might call a low-cal meal.
Here you can also add salt and pepper to taste.
Then I put it all together in a casserole dish and spread the leftover cheese on top.
After about 30 minutes in a 400-degree oven, it was bubbly and yummy and lightly brown on top.
Served with a side salad, it was quite delicious. It WAS very creamy and rich, so if that’s not your thing, you’ll want to bypass this one. I, on the other hand, LIVE for creamy and rich so I enjoyed it quite a lot!
I think it could have used more broccoli and chicken, or less sauce, so I adjusted my measurements below to work for a bigger pan, as in the original recipe.
This recipe was inspired by this Chicken and Broccoli Casserole that I found on Divine Caroline.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup)
- 1/4 cup brown rice flour (or all purpose if you aren't gluten free)
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 10-oz packages broccoli pieces
- 3 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup dry sherry
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 8 ounces shredded cheddar, divided
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, melt 1/2 a stick of butter.
- Add the flour and whisk till smooth.
- Add the chicken stock and milk and salt and pepper, and stir until it thickens nicely (about 5-10 minutes).
- Remove it from the heat and set aside.
- Boil broccoli for 5 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain.
- Meanwhile, stir together cream sauce, mayonnaise, sour cream, sherry and Worcestershire sauce until well blended.
- Add the chicken and broccoli. Add about half the cheese, and fold it all together carefully.
- Spread the chicken mixture into a 11x8 casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
- Bake at 400 for 40-45 minutes, until lightly brown on top.
- Allow to sit for about 5 minutes before serving.
What’s your favorite comfort food meal???
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this recipe sounds delicious, but the salad you served next to it looks divine!!!
It is. i got it from Heather. http://www.home-ec101.com/
I love creamy, I might just have to try this!
I think you have too many steps in the recipe, LOL. It looks like steps 12 and 13 probably came from the recipe yours was based on?
just tried looking at that recipe to see and the link doesn’t work
ACK!!! I do. Oh jeez. Would you believe I edit my posts to death but somehow I missed that?? GADS. Fixed. And fixed the link! Thank you for telling me.
I am going to give this a try. I love the combination and will be glad to try the alternative to “cream of chemical soup!”
This looks delish! I am a follower! Can you please post this at my Taste This Thursday party!?
http://www.bellmiracle.blogspot.com
I recipe tested something very similar last weekend! Except mine is a one dish meal. It needs another go to check the amounts, but it was really good for a first trial.
There is just something so comforting about creamy cheesy casseroles this time of year.
I made this last night…. YUM!!! I used Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour blend rather than just rice flour. Great flavor, great texture! Creamy goodness!! My son had THIRDS! Thanks for the great recipe!!!
YAY!! I love hearing that!
Have you tried to freeze this, Jo-Lynne? I am pretty adventurous with my freezing but I wonder if the sauce would separate.
I haven’t. Let me know how it turns out!
This looks so good! I wish that I wasn’t the only one that ate broccoli, this would be a great meal!
Yum! This looks so delicious. I want to try it tonight with my leftover chicken breast and lactaid milk. I will let you know how it works out!
Kate
How was it??
Good! I also used mixed veggies instead of broccoli (my insides can’t handle broccoli). It was delicious!
Kate