chicken broccoli casserole ritz cracker topping

So, today, I’m bringing chicken broccoli cheese rice casserole back to the glory days of unprocessed ingredients, to a casserole that’s not overly heavy, bland, and laden with cream soup, but is still delightfully creamy, adeptly seasoned and that celebrates the textures of the ingredients without disguising them. These cream of soup versions were a far cry from the 1930’s original chicken and broccoli casseroles made with a Mornay Sauce – a béchamel sauce with shredded or grated Gruyere.

The first chicken broccoli and rice casserole recipes (and unfortunately many recipes today) were made by combining cooked chicken, steamed broccoli, condensed cream of chicken soup, mayonnaise, and cheddar cheese together in a bowl, spreading in a baking dish, topping with more cheese followed by corn flakes, crushed potato chips or crushed Ritz crackers. In fact, as my husband continued to devour the casserole, he repeatedly, emphatically stated, “it’s just so much better with the rice in it the rice adds so much.” And I couldn’t agree more.Ĭhicken broccoli rice casserole became extremely popular in America in the 1950s, the era of “cream of soups” and casseroles galore. This translates into juicy, succulent chicken, tender crisp broccoli, chewy, fluffy rice blanketed in a creamy sauce with crispy buttery panko in every bite AKA intoxicating, satisfying and outrageously delicious. PIN THIS RECIPE TO SAVE FOR LATER What is Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole?ĭid you grow up on chicken broccoli rice casserole?! It’s the cousin of my favorite chicken divan casserole but it includes the chicken, broccoli and rice altogether along with carrots and bell peppers.

Chicken broccoli casserole ritz cracker topping