This chicken broccoli casserole is a comfort food classic that comes straight from the rich traditions of Amish, stick-to-your ribs comfort food. Amish Chicken and Broccoli Casserole is the type of meal is especially enjoyed on cold, cold winter days. This is what I call a "pile meal", you can just enjoy a big pile of this casserole on your plate and get a hearty bit of chicken, rice, broccoli, cheese, and more in every bite. These are my favorite kinds of meals.
🥣 Making the Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
The recipe below has been adapted for non-Amish cooks. We've cut corners for you, so can use frozen broccoli florets, cream of mushroom soup and frozen chicken cubes. But the end result is still an amazing and hearty casserole. You can use fresh broccoli florets also.
This is the type of casserole that you easily mix and match ingredients. For instance, if you like a more "chicken-y" casserole, you can swap out the cream of mushroom for cream of chicken soup or chicken broth.
And, for instance, I think mild cheddar cheese works very well in this casserole, but you can easily swap it out for sharp cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, shredded colby, or a blend of cheeses. Either way, the cheese is indispensable in making this a protein-packed cheesy chicken casserole!
For the chicken, I love using pieces of rotisserie chicken in this. Otherwise, boneless skinless chicken breasts that have been chopped up. But you can also use frozen to make this a super easy chicken casserole recipe!
Other flavorings you can add include black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, sour cream (adds a nice, rich flavor) and if you prefer Ritz crackers over Club crackers, by all means, go that route! Swap out brown rice for white rice, too. Or purple rice!
The versatility of this recipe makes it one of my favorite chicken broccoli casserole recipe. You can even make it a veggie version but using veggie chicken strips!
❓ Casserole FAQ
Yes! This comes as a surprise to many who think of Amish cooking as simple and purely from scratch. You will run into variations among the Amish just like with anyone else, but the post WWII convenience food revolution touched the Amish also. Canned soups, boxed cake mixes, and bagged cereals caught on with the Amish too and are kept on hand for convenient "corner cutting."
Unfortunately, these convenience foods do come with a health cost. They are often higher in sodium, especially the soups. So watch out for that. You could just leave the canned soups out for a cheesy chicken broccoli meal, if you don't like canned soups. Or make your own creamy sauce.
The recipe calls for a glass baking dish, but you can use a 2-quart casserole dish too or, if in a pinch, bake it in a very large skillet.
🍲 Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups white minute rice prepare as directed
- 1-12 oz package frozen broccoli cuts steam as directed
- 1-22.6 oz can cream of mushroom soup
- 2- cups shredded sharp or mild cheddar
- 2 cups of cubed chicken or 1 package Morningstar farms veggie chicken strips heat as directed and cut into ½” pieces (optional), could also use any other chicken or chicken substitute you prefer
- Salt and pepper to taste)
- 1 sleeve club style crackers
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
📋 Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Grease a 9x13 baking dish.
- Prepare rice as directed in a large bowl.
- Steam broccoli as directed and add to rice.
- If using veggie chicken, heat as directed and cut into pieces, or just add regular chicken to broccoli and rice mixture. Add shredded cheese and can of cream of mushroom soup, as salt and pepper.
- Stir to combine and pour into prepared baking dish.
- With crackers in paper sleeve, crumble with your hands and top casserole.
- Pour melted butter over the top. Bake until golden brown, approximately 25-30 minutes.
🐔 More Amish Chicken Recipes
Amish Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups white minute rice prepare as directed
- 1-12 oz package frozen broccoli cuts steam as directed
- 1-22.6 oz can cream of mushroom soup
- 2- cups shredded sharp or mild cheddar
- 2 cups of cubed chicken or 1 package Morningstar farms veggie chicken strips heat as directed and cut into ½” pieces (optional), could also use any other chicken or chicken substitute you prefer
- Salt and pepper to taste)
- 1 sleeve club style crackers
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Grease a 9x13 baking dish.
- Prepare rice as directed in a large bowl.
- Steam broccoli as directed and add to rice.
- If using veggie chicken, heat as directed and cut into pieces, add to broccoli and rice mixture. Add shredded cheese and can of cream of mushroom soup, as salt and pepper.
- Stir to combine and pour into prepared baking dish.
- With crackers in paper sleeve, crumble with your hands and top casserole.
- Pour melted butter over the top. Bake until golden brown, approximately 25-30 minutes.
Monica
My daughter loves casseroles and she absolutely loved it I take the cream of mushroom soup and I mix it with any sauteed meat and onions and I put a taco seasoning in it and I mixed the mushroom soup with it and I put it over nacho chips tortilla chips plain nacho chips and then I put shredded cheese all over the top and I put it in the oven until the cheese melts I pull it out and I put it on the plates with sour cream and chopped tomato and black olives on top this is my homemade nacho
Kevin Williams
Wow, Monica, I love the nachos idea, sounds super, thanks for telling us!