This Easy Chicken Divan is a classic chicken casserole recipe. I updated this chicken and broccoli family favorite and there’s no condensed soup!
If you want to try a meatless version of this recipe give my Broccoli Cheese Casserole a try!
Chicken Divan Is An Easy and Family Friendly Dinner Idea!
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 it’s 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 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?
Options to sub in for broccoli are:
- Cauliflower
- Green Beans
- Brussels Sprouts
Looking for more Easy Chicken Recipes? Try these:
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Chicken Divan
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: serves 6
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Dinner
Description
Chicken divan is a classic casserole recipe brimming with juicy chicken pieces, tender broccoli, and rich cream sauce baked beneath a topping of crunchy breadcrumbs.
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.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 555
- Sugar: 3.7 g
- Sodium: 497.5 mg
- Fat: 37.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 17.1 g
- Protein: 37.9 g
- Cholesterol: 145.3 mg
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I improvised with frozen carrots, peas, green beans, and corn. Used left over rosemary bread grated and toasted in butter with a few crackers to fill it out. It was sensational. I look forward to following the recipe and using fresh blanched broccoli, but this will be a stable in my house.
This recipe is not a typical chicken divan recipe. It wasn’t bad but it was not very good either. Our family did not care for the mayonnaise / sour cream mixture and will not make this recipe again. We also used blanched broccoli and the bottom was watery which made the sour cream mixture clumpy, not smooth and blended. It really takes no time at all to make a classic cream sauce and add broth and sherry for the liquid. I will stick with a classic recipe and create Alfredo type variations instead.
Yum! Love that it didn’t have condensed soup in it. Used a bunch of fresh blanched broccoli. Upped the broth to 1/3 cup. Added some red pepper flakes.
Will mix in cheese next time. Didn’t like it just on top. And used seasoned Panko for the topping mixture.
Can your freeze this recipe? it makes so much!!
Sure!
Does your refrirefrigeration note refer to before or after baking?
After 🙂
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!
It says cooked chicken.
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.
Does it matter whether white or dark meat is used since it is uncooked? Any help would be great!!
nope!!