You all have been loving the one-skillet lasagna shared on the blog a couple of weeks ago. If you haven’t tried that recipe yet, you should. It’s easy, fast, and only requires one single skillet ??. And, of course, it tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen, laboring over your favorite lasagna. Who knew homemade lasagna could be so simple?
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Today’s recipe is another one-pot/skillet meal that I’m so excited to share with you. It’s actually been sitting in the recipe files on my computer for some time.
Before we talk about this recipe, I want to note that while this meal is made in one pot, you will need to dirty a couple of extra dishes. Why? Because this recipe includes a homemade alfredo sauce, along with an optional crispy topping. I think that’s worth dirtying an extra pan, right?
This recipe is a good ol’ comfort meal. The kind of meal that reminds of the boxed casserole meals I grew up eating at home. Anyone else grow up on tuna noodle casserole and Hamburger Helper?
This particular comfort meal isn’t just some processed boxed meal. Oh no, it’s so much better in terms of ingredients and taste. This casserole is made from simple, real ingredients. No boxes, sauce packets, or fake ingredients needed.
The casserole is built on a homemade alfredo sauce, which is then combined with chicken, rice, and broccoli (frozen or fresh) and baked in the oven. The end result is a creamed casserole with a hearty filling.
If you’re looking to save time and money on this casserole, I recommend going with pre-chopped frozen broccoli florets versus fresh broccoli crowns. Going this route will save you from having to wash and chop the broccoli.
If you want to make a gluten-free casserole (there isn’t a way to go dairy-free, but gluten-free is possible) I recommend skipping the panko topping or using gluten-free breadcrumbs. The topping does add extra pizazz to the casserole, but you can also get away with leaving it out, if desired. If you’re not going to include the topping, simply follow the instructions and uncover the dish for the last 10 minutes of cooking time.
Chicken Alfredo Rice Casserole (with Homemade Alfredo Sauce)
Ingredients
Alfredo Sauce:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 6 TB unsalted butter
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese 3 ounces
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Casserole:
- 1 cup long grain white rice 200g, uncooked
- 1 cup chicken broth no salt added
- 3-4 cups fresh or frozen broccoli florets
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts about 2 breasts*, uncooked
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp paprika
Topping:
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 3 TB unsalted butter
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup shredded parmesan 1.75 ounces
Special Equipment:
- large bowl
- medium saucepan
- casserole dish 9x13 or 2 ½-3 quart casserole dish**
- foil if using a casserole dish without a lid
Instructions
Prepare the Alfredo Sauce:
- Add the cream, milk, and butter to a medium-size saucepan. Warm over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until melted.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients (cheese, garlic, salt, pepper), and whisk until the cheese is melted.
- Let the sauce thicken slightly over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Do not boil.
Assemble the Casserole:
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a casserole dish.
- Chop the broccoli florets no larger than 1” pieces (or use pre-chopped frozen broccoli). Set aside in a large mixing bowl.
- Dice the chicken in 1” cubes; season with salt, pepper, and paprika and add to the bowl.
- Add the uncooked rice and chicken broth to the bowl. Pour the prepared alfredo sauce into the bowl as well. Stir to combine.
- Pour the mixture into the greased pan and cover tightly with foil or a lid. It must be sealed tightly for the rice to cook through.
- Bake, covered, for 45 minutes.
- While baking, prepare the topping (if using). Add the panko, butter, and seasoning (oregano, paprika, salt) to a medium-size skillet (use the same skillet from making the sauce, just rinse it off). Saute over medium heat, stirring, until nicely browned. Do not burn.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and uncover. Top with the prepared panko and shredded parmesan. Return to the oven, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
- Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
I felt like the flavor overall was lacking. The rice cooked perfectly for me. I’m going to try some cheddar cheese melted over it for my leftovers tomorrow.
Hey Rob, Sorry to hear the flavor the lacking. Glad the rice cooked well for you. Good idea to add some cheese as well.
what about precooked jazmine rice and chicken??
You’d need to adjust the cooking times as the pre-cooked rice and chicken don’t need so much time.
It’s currently in the oven right now. It want clear to me, regarding the topping. I wasn’t sure if I added the Parmesan to the Panko mix snd browned them in the butter together or should I have topped the casserole with the crumbs and then sprinkled the Parmesan on top of that…or, for that matter. Which went first, Parmesan or crumbs? I used canned Parmesan and browned them together. We’ll see how it turns out. Oh, I was in a hurry and didn’t have all ingredients to make the Alfredo sauce, so I used bottled Alfredo sauce. We shall see!
Hey Danna, Sorry I missed your message this weekend. Hope it turned out well. The panko and parm are browned together, then topped on the casserole.
My 2 cents on the uncooked rice issue for some: Kristin used an enameled cast iron casserole dish (shallow). Cast iron cookware has even and steady heat distribution and I think this helps the rice to get cooked all the way. I don’t have a cast iron casserole dish and have never been successful in getting raw rice to cook in recipes I’ve tried in a shallow casserole dish with either a lid or foil wrapped tight. So, I suggest pre-cooking the rice and then maybe lower the total amount of liquid used in the recipe. I’m going to make this tonight using cooked rice. I’ll add an additional comment on how it turned out. The ingredients sound so yummy!
Great thoughts, Barbara! Thank you for sharing.
Follow up on my using pre-cooked rice. It works!
That’s great to hear, Barbara! Thanks for sharing!
Hello! This looks absolutely DELISH! Could you make it with shredded chicken? Would the cooking time need to be adjusted?
I wouldn’t change a thing! Many casseroles cook for this long with already cooked ingredients so your cooked chicken shouldn’t dry out. You’ll need this cook time to make sure the rice is done.
I made this exactly like the recipe said and it was sealed tight, but the rice was crunchy after an hour. The next day, I added more Alfredo sauce and baked it for another hour, and the rice was still crunchy.
Hey Emmie, This definitely isn’t what should happen (as evidenced by the photos and all the comments). I’m so sorry that happened to you. It sounds like there wasn’t enough liquid for the rice to cook. You used the sauce recipe provided or jarred Alfredo sauce? And added the broth as well? And it was white rice?
I will be making this tonight! One thing that I think I will use instead of the breadcrumbs however, is crushed Cheese-Its. They make an awesome topping!
Also, I love your baking dish! What brand is that? The blue is beautiful.
Hey Danielle, Here’s the pan I have: https://amzn.to/2Tvjfoz I love it!
If i dont use chicken are the cooking times the same?
Hey Linda, Yes, the cooking times (other than the times needed to cook the chicken) will be the same so the liquid is absorbed by the rice.
I have four boys under 12 and we ALL loved this recipe! Thank you!!
Yay, Melissa! That’s AWESOME!!
I tried this recipe a few weeks ago and my husband LOVED it! So delicious! My only issue was that the rice did not cook fully. I followed the recipe to a T and cooked the casserole with the lid on. Is there something I can try to make sure the rice cooks fully next time? Thank you!
My rice ended up crunchy too even though I followed the recipe. I think it was because I used too small of a casserole dish, so the lid could not close properly. I wish the recipe said that you really need a 3 quart casserole dish for it to fit.
Thanks for the feedback. We can make sure the 3 qt is very clearly noted. Anytime you bake rice, it’s important to have a lid that closes, if not the liquid will evaporate too quickly and you’ll end up with crunchy and undercooked rice.
LS Team
Can you Prep this a day in advance fully assembled and bake off the next day?
Hey Sarah, This is such a good question. Someone else was curious about this too. I need to test this out. I think it should be fine, but I’m not 100% sure.
Do you think it would work out to prep this in the morning and leave in the fridge ready to pop in the oven when I get home from work in the evening? Would sitting in the liquid affect the rice?
Hey Sarah, I think that will work!
what about the night before?
Hey Heather, Possibly. I haven’t tried
This is cooking right now! My 7 yr old son helped make it! I will let you know how it turns out! So far smells really good!
That’s awesome, Christy! Yes, I would love to hear what you all think.
This turned out delicious the kids all loved it! Will definitely add to favorites!
I’m so happy to hear that, Christy!
Do I have to use chicken broth? & can I use the chicken broth cubes?
You’ll need liquid of some sort, so if you can turn the broth cubes into liquid then yes.
This looks and sounds delicious! We found an alfredo sauce recipe that is made with cauliflower that we absolutely love. I wonder if that would work with this recipe?
Hey Theresa, That’s awesome. If you want to go dairy-free with this recipe, it’s worth a shot if the liquid to solid ingredient ratio is the same (the rice is the important one for that). Let me know if you try it.
Is the chicken precooked or raw? The top pic of the chicken in the mixing bowl looks browned, however, in the pic where you are pouring the ingredients from the bowl to the pan it looks raw. Does it even matter?
Also, is unthaw even a word? Lol.
Hey Katie, It’s uncooked chicken. It looks colorful in the picture because the seasonings are sprinkled on top of it before adding to the mixture. The chicken will need to be unthawed ;), but not cooked (raw). Very good question–I’ll update the recipe to say “uncooked chicken.”
Ah, it’s the paprika I’m seeing! Thanks!
Or, defrosted