Chicken, broccoli, rice and cheese combine for this comforting classic – this Chicken Divan recipe is a dinner that the whole family will love.
This Chicken Divan is the ultimate comfort food! If you love comforting casseroles, you can also try this Penne Pasta Bake, Tuna Casserole, or this Beef Enchilada Casserole.
Sometimes, you just need to throw it back to an old school comfort casserole. I’m definitely not too good for a good casserole, and this Chicken Divan has to be up there among those comfort food casseroles that I love. This one definitely wouldn’t be put in the healthy every night category, but this is just pure comfort food, through and through. This casserole recipe is super easy to throw together, so there’s not a ton of time spent prepping. And it’s always gobbled up by the family, which is a huge selling point!
I think that Chicken Divan is one of those dishes that most of us have had – or at least a version of it – at one time or another in our lives. I can tell why, because it is a delicious, family friendly meal. This is probably a great way to get your children to eat their veggies! (Even though I’m not claiming it’s a healthy meal overall!!)
What Is Chicken Divan?
Chicken Divan is a dish that was originally made in the early 1900s – created in a restaurant in New York City called the Divan Parisienne Restaurant. It was served as their signature dish, a chicken casserole served with broccoli and a mornay sauce.
Today, it is a comforting casserole dish, consisting of chicken, rice and broccoli in a creamy sauce. It is often made with condensed cream of chicken soup and mayonnaise (although this version has neither!)
Ingredients
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts: you’ll cut these into bite-sized pieces.
- Salt and Pepper: I always say the seasoning can make or break a dish!
- Heavy Cream: yeah, it’s not healthy. But it’s oh, so good. You can try to use half and half instead, or even milk, but the end result won’t be as creamy.
- Chicken Broth: I always get low-sodium.
- Dijon Mustard: I say don’t skip this because it brings in such a great flavor!
- Instant Rice: I’m not usually a lover of instant rice, but it works so perfectly in this recipe! If you want to use regular long-grain rice, you’ll most likely need to add in a bit more liquid.
- Frozen Broccoli: Thaw and chop it. You can sub in fresh broccoli, if desired. If you chop it small enough, you can add it as is, but if it’s not cut small, you’ll want to par-boil it first.
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese: I like to use sharp because it adds more flavor.
- Ritz Crackers: The cracker top is my favorite! Crush these into crumbs for the topping. It’s also delicious if you mix a couple tablespoons of melted butter into the crumbs, but it’s not required. If you don’t love the crackers, try panko breadcrumbs instead.
How to Make Chicken Divan
- Place the chicken in a casserole dish and season with salt and pepper.
- Combine the cream, chicken broth and mustard and bring to a boil.
- Add the rice to the boiling mixture.
- Pour this over the chicken, and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove the casserole dish from the oven.
- Add the broccoli and the cheese.
- Stir to combine everything. Your dish will be pretty full, so stir carefully.
- Crush the crackers into rough crumbs. I like to do this in a ziplock bag, then use my hands to turn them into crumbs.
- Pour the crumbs over the top, then bake the whole casserole for 5-10 more minutes.
Tips and Tricks
This freezes well. You can freeze the leftovers, or make an extra casserole dish and freeze the whole thing. If freezing the whole casserole, I suggest wrapping it and freezing it before the final bake, and wait to add the cracker crumbs on until you are ready to bake it. Thaw the whole casserole dish in the refrigerator overnight, then add the crackers and bake until it is heated through and bubbling on the sides.
Any leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days. Make sure they are in an airtight container. Reheat in the oven or in the microwave.
I think this is pretty perfect as is, but if you want to make it saucier, feel free to add in sour cream or cream of chicken soup when you add in the broccoli and cheese. These are common ingredients in chicken divan, but I love this version without either!
Both the chicken and the rice go into the casserole raw and will cook as the casserole bakes.
More Favorite Chicken Recipes
Chicken a la King
Butter Chicken
Chicken Pot Pie
Poppy Seed Chicken
Chicken Tamale Casserole
Chicken Paprikash
Chicken Chimichanga Recipe
Skillet Chicken with Garlic and Herbs
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Chicken Divan
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 cups instant rice
- 2 (10 oz) packages each frozen broccoli thawed and chopped
- 2 cups (8 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 36 Ritz crackers crushed to coarse crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Spread the chicken pieces into the bottom of the prepared pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, salt and pepper
- Combine the cream, chicken broth and dijon in a large saucepan and cook over medium-high until boiling, about 8 minutes. Alternately, you can do this in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave.2 cups heavy cream, 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- Add the rice to the boiling mixture, then pour over the chicken in the baking dish. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes.2 cups instant rice
- Pat the broccoli dry, then add it and the cheddar cheese to the chicken mixture in the baking dish, stirring to combine. Sprinkle the Ritz crumbs over the top. Return the pan to the oven and continue to bake until the edges are bubbling and the crumbs are browned, about 5-10 minutes.2 (10 oz) packages each frozen broccoli, 2 cups (8 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, 36 Ritz crackers
Stewball says
I am originally British but have never heard of chicken divan.
is uncle Ben. instant rice? can I use uncooked rice or precooked rice?
Deborah says
Instant rice is a par-cooked rice, so uncle ben’s should work. You can use uncooked rice, you’ll just need to add more liquid and I haven’t tested the recipe to know exactly how much.
Rachel Ashworth says
This recipe is fine as is, but I have a few suggestions to anyone who has ever asked themselves myself “but what if I did this instead?”
To lighten things up or if you don’t have heavy cream on hand (I rarely do) either get a can of cream of chicken or cream of celery soup. I also didn’t have these, so I made my own version of cream of celery soup and it was perfect!
Regular rice (long-grain) will cook up just fine in the same amount of time as instant. Just make sure you rinse it properly so it doesn’t end up gummy and overly starchy. I used the above cream of celery homemade soup in combination with chicken stock to ensure there was enough liquid for the rice to soak up (about 1/2 cup chicken stock for 3/4 cup rice and around 3/4 cup of the cream of celery soup just to cover everything else)
I used fresh broccoli and added it at the beginning (I did not parboil it; I just chopped it small) and it was perfectly tender with the rest of the casserole.
I had mini cheese ritz crackers and crushed them up with panko that had some melted butter mixed in. Creamy, crunchy, and crispy all achieved!
As it turned out instead of making this in stages, I assembled the entire casserole at the beginning everything was perfectly cooked after 30 minutes. (Tent it with foil if your crumb topping is getting too brown though!)
Liisa says
Hi Deborah! I was wondering if you ever made this ahead of time then topped it with the the cracker crumbs and baked it before serving?
Deborah says
I haven’t tried, but I’m guessing it would work just fine!
Tammy Klingler says
Made this tonight for the first time. I needed to use up some chicken and needed something easy. My family loved it!
Deborah says
Yay!! I’m so glad they loved it! 🙂
Nancee says
Do you cook the rice beforehand? Or do you add it into the other ingredients uncooked??:?
I haven’t made Chicken Divan in years and am anxious to try your recipe.
Deborah says
Nope – you put the rice in dry. Just make sure you are using instant rice. 🙂 I hope you love it!
April says
oh YUM! <3
Angela says
Hi Deborah: This sounds very delicious, and also quick & E-Z. I plan to make it sometime this coming (very busy) week. Do you think it would turn out ok if I used Half & Half instead of Heavy Cream? I always try to cook healthy and ‘waist friendly’ whenever I can. I plan to use some other ‘topping’ for this casserole, since we’re NOT huge fans of Ritz Crackers. Perhaps “French’s” dry onions, but I’ll see.
Allyson Gurney says
How long do you cook the chicken? Do you turn it and cook on all sides?
Suellen says
Am I reading the recipe right? 450 degrees sounds so hot to me.
Deborah says
Yep – the temperature is correct. 🙂
Rebekah Briggs says
Does the chicken go in raw in this recipe ?
Deborah says
Yep – you put it in raw. 🙂
Sonya says
I just wanted to vouch that this recipe is delicious! Based on the ingredients, I really didn’t expect this to be very exciting. I’m glad that I tried it, because it is awesome! It’s definitely a “comfort” food type dish, but not in a bland way – in a creamy, flavorful, cheesy way. My husband thought it was “great” and “definitely” something to make again. I highly recommend it!
Deborah says
Yay – thanks for letting me know. So glad you loved it!