This Easy Chicken Divan is a classic chicken casserole recipe. I updated this chicken and broccoli family favorite and there’s no condensed soup!
I am always looking for an easy chicken recipe for our weeknight dinners. And really, what’s better than a chicken casserole? This Easy Chicken Divan recipe can be prepped in minutes and using a rotisserie chicken makes everything easier! This dish is a family favorite that my kids devour.
What is Chicken Divan?
Chicken Divan was a chicken casserole that I grew up eating. My mom was a casserole queen, and this one was in regular rotation. Essentially Chicken Divan is a creamy chicken and broccoli casserole recipe, topped with cheese and breadcrumbs. It is kid-friendly and is sure to be an instant favorite if you’ve never had it!
I updated my mom’s recipe a little bit. I left out the condensed soup in my recipe, and added a LOT more broccoli. We are big broccoli people, so this was an easy variation.
My mom always served this over white rice, but you can certainly serve it over brown rice, pasta, or even stuffed in a baked potato!
How Do You Make Chicken Divan?
The beauty of this Easy Chicken Divan Recipe is that is is ULTRA easy! Like I said before, you can even use rotisserie chicken in this and save the step of cooking the chicken!
All you do is place chicken and broccoli in a baking dish and cover it all with an easy cream sauce mixture!
Can You Use Fresh Broccoli Instead of Frozen in Chicken Divan?
The answer is yes! You can use fresh broccoli in place of frozen (and thawed) broccoli in this chicken casserole recipe. BUT you will need to lightly blanche the fresh broccoli in boiling water to cook it slightly before mixing it with the chicken. If you skip this step, the broccoli will remain very crunchy in the casserole.
What Could I Use in Place of Broccoli in Chicken Divan?
Options to sub in for broccoli are:
- Cauliflower
- Green Beans
- Brussels Sprouts
Looking for more Easy Chicken Recipes? Try these:
PrintEasy Chicken Divan
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Prep Time: 15 minutes - Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: serves 6 1x
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Dinner
Prep Time:
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Print Recipe
PinDescription:
This Easy Chicken Divan Recipe is a classic casserole updated! No condensed soup in this recipe!
Ingredients:
- 4 cups cubed, or shredded chicken, cooked
- 24–32 ounces frozen broccoli florets, thawed
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon, I prefer ‘Better Than Bouillon’ or use 2 bouillon cubes
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl combine the chicken and broccoli evenly. Place the mixture into the prepared pan.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, heavy cream, chicken broth, bouillon, and pepper. Pour the sour cream mixture evenly on top of the chicken and broccoli.
- Sprinkle the cheese evenly on top.
- In a medium bowl combine the butter, salt, and breadcrumbs. Evenly sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top of the cheese layer.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until warmed through and toasted on top.
- Serve warm.
Notes:
You can serve this Chicken Divan over rice, pasta, or on its own. You can even stuff the mixture into a baked potato!
Store airtight in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Keywords:: cookies and cups, chicken recipe, chicken, casserole, easy
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You say you use ‘raw’ chicken in the recipe, but in your pictures showing the prep your chicken is definitely cooked. The recipe says ‘diced or shredded’ and as someone said you can’t shred raw chicken. I question if 25-30 minutes would be a long enough cooking time if you’re using raw chicken, especially if you’re using thighs. I make chicken divan often but never with raw chicken.
The chicken needs to be cooked for this recipe. I will clarify that in the recipe card!
I just made this recipe last night. I cooked and added 2 cups brown rice to the casserole because I love one dish meals. The rice was an awesome addition. The broccoli (I used fresh from the refrigerator) was still raw and crunchy. You should definitely at least par-cook the broccoli first. I also didn’t do the breadcrumb topping. I just doubled the cheese from one cup to 2 cups and put 1 cup in the sauce and sprinkled 1 cup on top. YUM.
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Does it matter whether white or dark meat is used since it is uncooked? Any help would be great!!
nope!!
I assume you cook the chicken first? And the 30 min is really just to get all the ingredients to play nice together? Or, do you dice raw chicken and the 30 min is enough to cook it through?
– Dad Trying to Cook too.
Yes, it’s cooked chicken. Sorry, I saw there was a response to this question from me that was meant for another question.
Amazing recipe. Cheese and mayonnaise taste delicious with this crunchy chicken.
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Loved the base and crunchy layer. Makes it delicious. Thanks.
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Just dropping by to tell you I love this recipe and I linked to it in one of my recipes for chicken. (publishing soon)
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Thank you!
I made this last night for dinner. It turned out really good! I loved the crunchy topping, that sent it over the top for me! 🙂
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I just loved it, I’m not only going to give it 5 stars. But, I’m going to share it with all my website’s followers on the social media. Thank you for giving me something useful to share it today!
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Oh thank you!!! SO glad you liked it!!
I made this last night and it was pretty good. The only thing was the bottom was watery. I think it’s from the thawed broccoli. Next time I will par cook the broccoli and drain it well before adding it to the chicken.
I made this tonight and the same thing happened for me but I used fresh broccoli and blanched it. Did you ever come up with a solution to the watery bottom?? Great recipe otherwise!
If the broccoli was holding moisture from being blanched that would definitely do it!
Do you need to remove the bone from the chicken thighs
yes, the chicken in the casserole needs to be shredded or cubed.
This recipe looks wonderful and don’t judge me, but I like using canned soup in casseroles :-0 If I use a can of soup, would I still use the other ingredients or maybe scale them back a bit? Thank you!
I made this last night and it was soooo gooodddd!! Love that it doesn’t have cream soup as an ingredient. Thank you for the recipe!
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SO happy you liked it!!
This looks great! I grew up with my mom serving chicken divan over egg noodles. All of us are from-scratch cooks in our 30s now, but we all go crazy over it when we go home to visit. Especially if she’s made strawberry jello salad to go alongside (sounds gross, but don’t knock it til you try it).
That’s all a very long way of saying that i’m excited to try your soup-free version.
LOve this!! I make Pretzel Jello for my oldest… it’s his favorite! haha!