Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole
Nothing satisfies a comfort food craving like a hot and cheesy casserole. With cold days approaching, this Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole is going to be just the hot and hearty meal you want to come inside to after a long day. Chock full of filling chicken, brown rice and broccoli and smothered with a creamy homemade cheese sauce, you won’t believe a serving is only 327 calories or 9 Green, 9 Blue or 6 Purple Weight Watchers SmartPoints! To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
Not only is this the ultimate comfort dish, but a lot of it can be prepped in advance to make it a quick and easy weeknight dinner. I like to make the rice and shredded chicken ahead of time, or you can even skip part of that step with a rotisserie chicken. Don’t forget to check out my Easy Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken post- the perfect way to make shredded chicken for this recipe! If you cook a lot of it at once you can even freeze some so the next time you need shredded chicken for a recipe you only have to thaw it out.
Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons light butter, I used Land-O-Lakes
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups skim milk
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 oz 50% reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (I used Cabot)
- 4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (I used Cabot Seriously Sharp)
- 4 cups cooked brown rice
- 2 cups shredded or cubed cooked chicken
- 2 cups fresh broccoli florets
- ¼ cup seasoned bread crumbs
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350. Lightly mist a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Melt the light butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour to the butter one tablespoon at a time and stir to combine. Add the milk a little at a time and whisk the flour mixture into the milk until smooth. Add the salt and pepper and stir to combine. Turn the heat up to medium and add the cheddar cheese to the milk mixture. Whisk together for 5-6 minutes until smooth and thick.
- Combine the rice, chicken and broccoli florets in the prepared baking dish. Pour the cheese sauce over the top and stir the mixture together until well combined. Spread evenly across the casserole dish.
- Place the bread crumbs in a dry skillet over medium heat and brown bread crumbs for a few minutes, stirring frequently until golden. Sprinkle the toasted bread crumbs over top of the casserole and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until hot and bubbly.
Notes
8 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Looks amazing. Are you not going to be posting ZipList links anymore? I would love to save this as I’m sure I’ll make it more than once. =)
I would have loved to keep offering zip list but they just announced to us this week that they are shutting down :(. I removed references to them on my site because they will cease to exist December 10th I believe.
I can’t wait to try this. I used to make something very similar to this with Velveeta but have since discontinued making it since it was terribly high in calories and fat. Your version sounds heavenly!
I hope you love it!
This sounds yummy! Quick question… did you use instant brown rice or “regular” brown rice? I’m going to make this next Friday when my in-laws are here. And… one of the cupcake recipes. 🙂 Healthy AND delicious!!
I used regular since we have a rice cooker, but it probably doesn’t matter as long as you end up with 4 cups cooked! I hope it’s a hit, let me know! 🙂
I did not know that! What a bummer 🙁
I know! It was such an awesome tool :/
Made this last night for dinner and it was soo good! I enjoyed the leftovers today, too! 🙂 Thanks for all the great recipes!
Is this recipe something that can be stored in the freezer and then reheated later?
Yum!! Chicken and rice casserole has always been a favorite in our house but I haven’t made it since starting WW in Sept. This lightened up version was just the ticket. It’s so creamy and cheesy! I thought it was going to be impossible to stop at 1 serving and was surprised to find that it was quite filling and satisfying. My DH went bonkers over it…lucky guy gets 2 PP servings. I cut the recipe in half since it’s just the 2 of us and we almost came to blows over who got the last serving for lunch the next day! I did, of course! 🙂 Thank you so much for another delicious and easy recipe! You rock!!
P.S. We didn’t have seasoned breadcrumbs on hand so I made my own with toasted whole grain (light) bread, seasonings, and a quick pulse in the magic bullet…they were perfect! Imo, the breadcrumbs are a must..love that crunchy topping!
Cant wait to make this-I have a silly question that I always have a hard time with.
When there is 4oz of cheese. Do I measure that with a scale or in my measuring cup..DONT LAUGH!! On my bags of cheese, they say they are 8oz, but I also know there are 8oz in a cup…so it gets really confusing to me. So is it half of a cup? Or 4oz on my scale?
I sound crazy I know.
Not crazy! It can be confusing. Measuring cups are a volume measurement, but when the bag of cheese says 8 ounces, that’s a weight measurement. The 4 ounces of cheese in this recipe is a weight measurement, so you can weight it out on a food scale. For future reference, 4 ounces of shredded cheese is about a cup, volume-wise. Hope you love the recipe!
This was delicious!! Even the hubs likes it! Which is never an issue when I’m making something off here 🙂 I’m freezing the leftovers for lunches next week!!
So glad to hear it was a hit! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Tried this tonight – it was fabulous!!! Thanks so much!
Do you cook the broccoli before combining all ingredients?
Nope, just combine them in fresh!
what is the serving….? 1 cup
I just cut it into 8 servings
So how much uncooked chicken is 2 cups of diced/cubed cooked chicken? Is there any rule of thim here?
I’m not sure, but if you cook a pound of raw chicken breasts and then measure out 2 cups you should be fine. I always just make a ton so I have some leftover for salads, etc.
Made this last night and it was so good! I ended up using 8 oz. of the cabot 50% because that was what I had. It was still very good! Next time I will divide that with regular cheese as you suggested since I would think it would be richer–and who doesn’t like “richer”? Thanks for keeping these awesome recipes coming!!
I’ve made this several times and it’s one of my family’s favorite recipes. Children and hubby included. Excellent.
Can u use frozen broccoli
I par cooked frozen broccoli so it was thawed and also cut into more bite size pieces. Worked great
I just found your site yesterday and made this recipe. It was so delicious! I’m going to make the bubble up enchilada casserole tonight! Excellent site!
I’m so glad you found me and that this was a hit! Hope you love the bubble up casserole as well. Thanks for letting me know!
Can I just use jarred cheese sauce from the store? Like one of the alfredo sauces? I know it will be higher in points but I’m just afraid to make the cheese sauce I’m afraid it might break considering how I’ve never made a cheese sauce before haha
I think you should try making the sauce! If you’re settled on not making it then sure you can use jarred sauce, it will just taste different and have different nutrition info.
so i took your advice and decided to make the sauce and it came out absolutely delish!! i was eating if off the spoon hahah now the casserole is cooking in the oven and i can’t wait for it to be done! 🙂 thank you so much for sharing your recipes everything i’ve made so far has come out so great!!
Was searching for something to use up the massive amounts of broccoli I had in the fridge! My husband and I LOVED it! Super easy to make, I even pre add the chicken in the crockpot (that was juicy and delish too)
I have been on Weight Watchers for 8 days and I have made this twice!! My husband loves it too! So good!! The slow cooker chicken idea has been a life saver!
I must have done something wrong because this came out dry and tasteless.
Hi emily! I’m loving all your recipes!!
One question. Can I make this using frozen broccoli?
This sounds delicious. What brand and where do you find seasoned bread crumbs in the store? Would this be something like Panko?
I usually just use my store brand but every grocery store I’ve been to has both plain and seasoned bread crumbs, sometimes Italian seasoned. It’s not panko, just traditional bread crumbs but with seasoning. Found by the other bread crumbs! 🙂
Am I cooking this uncovered???
Hi! I just made this recipe tonight with a few changes and it was delicious! I chose your recipe because it does not have condensed soup (which I don’t have in my pantry) and seemed pretty simple. I didn’t have rice made so I used pasta instead (because it was quicker to make than rice). I cooked some onion with the butter before making the roux and added a little lemon juice and soy sauce to the sauce. I only had plain breadcrumbs so I added some salt & pepper and chopped up parsley. Believe it or not, I’ve never made a casserole and this was so so yummy! The cooking time is perfect for the broccoli to be just cooked through without being mushy at all. Thanks for a fun recipe that I’ll be sure to repeat in the future!
Can you use cauliflower rice instead if brown rice?
Assuming I could put this all together in the afternoon and then bake later??? Thanks!
Hi! Do you think I could make this in the afternoon & leave it in fridge and bake later? Do you bake it uncovered?
Thanks!