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Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

This light and creamy chicken and broccoli casserole is the perfect all-in-one meal. It’s made with tender chicken, broccoli, tasty quinoa, and melty cheeses, all baked in a creamy, flavorful sauce.

A serving spoon scooping out Chicken and broccoli from a casserole dish.

This sensational chicken and broccoli casserole combines the perfect medley of tastes and textures, from tender chunks of juicy chicken to crunchy, vitamin-rich broccoli to chewy, nutty quinoa to not one but two delectable cheeses! The best part is that this delicious hodge-podge of wonderful ingredients is combined with a smooth and flavorful creamy sauce. The whole meal is baked into a savory, cheesy casserole that is sure to have you coming back for seconds and thirds. Whether you’re looking for a comforting family dinner or a dish to impress your guests, this casserole will surely be a hit.

Why You’ll Love This Casserole

  • Nutritious. Packed with protein and minerals, this casserole is a wonderfully well-rounded meal.
  • Flavor Combo. Savor the combination of cheese, broccoli, and quinoa, enriched with a creamy garlic sauce and a touch of spice.
  • Textures. Enjoy quinoa’s chewiness, tender chicken, crunchy broccoli, and melted cheese for a delicious mix of textures.
  • Quick and Easy. With just about 20 minutes of active time and a few simple steps, you’ll soon pop this casserole in the oven.
Ingredients for chicken and broccoli casserole separated into bowls.

Ingredients for Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

  • Quinoa: Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer until the water runs clear to remove some bitterness.
  • Frozen broccoli florets: If using fresh broccoli, I suggest you first blanch them for a couple of minutes.
  • Olive oil
  • Boneless skinless chicken breasts: Boneless skinless thighs will work as well.
  • Chicken broth
  • All purpose flour
  • 1% milk: Feel free to use 2% or whole milk.
  • Seasonings & Spices: garlic powder, cayenne pepper, chili powder, salt, and pepper.
  • Reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese: Full-fat will do just fine if you’d like. You could also use shredded pepper jack or mozzarella instead.
  • Shredded parmesan cheese: If you want a slightly sharper flavor, try shredded pecorino cheese instead.

How To Make Chicken And Broccoli Casserole

  • Prep. Preheat oven to 375˚F and grease a casserole dish with cooking spray.
  • Start layering. Spread the quinoa in the bottom of the casserole dish and top with broccoli.
  • Brown the chicken. Saute the chicken in olive oil over medium-high heat until browned on all sides. Spread the chicken over the broccoli.
  • Make the sauce. Add the chicken stock to a saucepan over high heat, whisk in the flour, and cook until smooth. Whisk in the milk, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Cook until thickened.
  • Put it all together. Pour sauce into the casserole dish and mix to coat all of the ingredients. Sprinkle the cheeses.
  • Bake. Cover with foil and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
Overhead photo of chicken and broccoli casserole in a baking dish near a bowl of shredded cheese.

Recipe Tips

  • Quinoa Prep: Rinse quinoa under cold water in a fine-mesh strainer for 2 minutes to remove bitterness and ensure even cooking.
  • Brown the Chicken:  Cook the chicken before adding it to the casserole for enhanced flavor.
  • Sauce: Allow the sauce to thicken on the stovetop before adding it to the casserole to avoid a runny texture.
  • Continuous Whisking: Whisk the sauce constantly while cooking to prevent burning and ensure even thickening.
  • Broccoli Tip: Use frozen or steamed rather than fresh broccoli to ensure it cooks through in the oven.
  • Rice vs. Quinoa: Precook rice separately, as it absorbs liquid differently and has varying cooking times compared to quinoa.

What to Serve with Chicken Broccoli Casserole

This casserole is a complete meal, but that doesn’t mean you can’t serve it with a Green Goddess Salad or a Very Berry Avocado Salad. Crusty bread is the perfect match for this, so make my Rosemary and Garlic No-Knead Skillet Bread or my Low Carb Keto Garlic Breadsticks. I also love this casserole with Easy Oven Roasted Vegetables, these Garlic Brown Butter Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Carrots, and our Air Fryer Carrots. These Crispy Smashed Potatoes in the Air Fryer or my Air Fryer Baked Potatoes would make a delicious and hearty addition to this flavorful dinner.

Close-up image of a serving spoon scooping out chicken and broccoli from a baking dish.

How to Store & Reheat Leftovers

  • Cool the casserole completely before placing it in an airtight container, and storing it in the fridge for 3 to 4 days or freezing it up for up to 3 months. Allow the casserole to thaw in the fridge before reheating.
  • To reheat, transfer the casserole to an oven-safe dish, cover it with aluminum foil, and bake for 20 minutes at 350˚F or until heated through.

More Easy Casserole Recipes

A serving spoon scooping out Chicken and broccoli from a casserole dish.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Katerina | Diethood
Tender chicken, broccoli, quinoa, & two kinds of cheese all smothered in a creamy, flavorful sauce and baked to bubbly to make this nourishing chicken and broccoli casserole. Delish!
4.48 from 17 votes
Servings : 4 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
  • 16 ounces frozen broccoli florets
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 to 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • ½ cup all purpose flour
  • 2 cups 1% milk
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon chili powder, or to taste
  • salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
  • ½ cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
  • ¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • freshly chopped parsley, for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375˚F.
  • Grease a casserole dish with cooking spray and layer the quinoa on the bottom of the casserole dish. Top with the frozen broccoli and set aside.
  • Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and cook for 2 minutes or until browned on all sides. Transfer the browned chicken to the casserole dish. Set aside.
  • Place a saucepan over high heat; add chicken broth and flour and whisk and cook until smooth, about 1 minute.
  • Whisk in the milk, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, chili powder, salt, and pepper; continue to cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until thickened.
  • Pour the sauce over the chicken mixture in the casserole dish; mix and stir to combine.
  • Sprinkle the shredded cheeses over the top and cover the casserole dish with foil.
  • Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the casserole is bubbly and the quinoa is thoroughly cooked.
  • Remove from oven and let stand for 7 to 8 minutes.
  • Garnish with parsley and serve.

Notes

  • Wash the quinoa under cold water for 2 minutes in a fine mesh strainer. It gets rid of any bitterness and helps it cook evenly.
  • Brown the chicken first. It makes the casserole taste better, so don’t miss this part.
  • Broccoli: Frozen broccoli works like a charm here. If you have to use fresh broccoli, I suggest blanching them for about 2 minutes before adding them to the casserole.
  • Rice vs. Quinoa: Rice will absorb different amounts of liquid than quinoa, and the cooking time will be different, so best to cook the rice and drain it before using it in this casserole.
  • Cheese choices: I suggest using reduced-fat shredded cheddar, but full-fat works too. You can also use shredded pepper jack cheese or mozzarella or whatever shredded cheeses you have on hand.
  • Be patient with the sauce. Let it thicken on the stovetop, or you might have a watery mess. Keep whisking that sauce while it cooks; it’ll stop it from burning, and make sure it thickens up just right.
  • Storing Leftovers: Transfer leftovers to a sealed container and keep them in the fridge for about 3 days. To freeze it, place the casserole in a freezer-safe container, and keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Calories: 410 kcal | Carbohydrates: 46 g | Protein: 29 g | Fat: 11 g | Saturated Fat: 3 g | Cholesterol: 50 mg | Sodium: 322 mg | Potassium: 702 mg | Fiber: 3 g | Sugar: 6 g | Vitamin A: 430 IU | Vitamin C: 0.7 mg | Calcium: 298 mg | Iron: 3.1 mg

Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.

Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken and broccoli casserole, chicken broccoli quinoa casserole, quinoa casserole
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47 comments on “Chicken and Broccoli Casserole”

  1. I am obsessed with this casserole. I’m not a great cook so even when I follow my favorite recipes they come out different every time, but this one is always 10/10. My husband requests it weekly! Thank you so so much, as a newlywed I’m so happy I can impress him with this super easy recipe haha.

  2. Hi! I am making this one evening & bringing to a friend the next day. Should I leave the sauce in a separate container for them to pour & bake? What’s the easier and best way to go about this for them? Don’t want to make extra work….?!

    Thanks!

    1. Katerina - Diethood
      Katerina Petrovska

      Hi!

      Just prepare it all ahead of time – don’t bake – cover with foil and store in the fridge. When ready to bake, let casserole sit in room temperature for 20 minutes, or while the oven preheats. Then pop it in and continue as directed.

  3. Loved this! Could you edit the recipe to tell folks to rinse the quinoa in the instructions (instead Of the notes at the end?) I didn’t see that until after everything had already gone in the oven and had to delay dinner for a longer cook time. Might help other readers out in the long run! Delicious! Thank you.

    1. Katerina - Diethood
      Katerina Petrovska

      Hi! I don’t know how the nutritional facts went missing, but thanks for letting me know! 🙂 It’s there now.

  4. yes makes sense as grown up mac an cheese, thank you for this! And for lightening it up! Wonderful flavors thank you

  5. Great recipe! I came up with a solution for the quinoa not getting cooked all the way. Instead of adding the broth to the sauce, I put it directly into the pan with the quinoa before adding the broccoli. I made the sauce using only the milk. I can see where the sauce may be too thick to get into the nooks and crannies of the quinoa. I also added shallots and nutritional yeast to the sauce for my flavor preferences. Turned out awesome with perfectly cooked quinoa!

  6. Loved the recipe! I added hot sauce and it turned out great. i also used coconut flour instead of all purpose, after reading the reviews i did rinse the quinoa before adding because i too had never baked it raw.

    Thanks for the recipe!!!!

  7. Hi! This looks amazing…I want to make a few freezer meals and have this on my list. Have you made this ahead and froze it?

  8. I just made this and it turned out well. I subbed out the milk and used a can of cream of celery and used two cups of chicken stock instead. I put pepper in it and didn’t mess with any other spices, mainly because I forgot, haha. My quinoa wasn’t cooked in the middle and I cooked in for another 25 minutes. It was good! I used a large 9×13 pan. I didn’t soak/wash since the quinoa I bought was pre-washed. I will make this again!

  9. Delicious! Thank you. I made a few substitutions. I used fresh broccoli,clean chx broth, whole wheat flour, left out the parm cheese and chili powder (personal preference) and only 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk.
    Do you know approx sodium?

  10. Made this and it came out great. Only exception is that I forgot to defrost the chicken so I ended up picking up some shrimp and used Gruyere instead of cheddar.

  11. I made this casserole and followed the directions exactly and it came out great! All the quinoa cooked with the exception of some on the edges of the dish which ended up getting toasted. This was my first ever casserole attempt and I found it easy and successful. My boyfriend loved it as well, he added some hot sauce on top. Thank you for sharing!

    1. I’m having issues with the flour clumping. I tried taking my time and gradually add in the water and milk but did not help. It’s just a hot clump mess. Don’t have this issue when I do it with butter.

      1. Katerina - Diethood
        Katerina Petrovska

        Hi!
        Can you add more liquid? 1/2 cup of flour and 3 cups of liquid shouldn’t make the sauce clump up. It should thicken the sauce, but it should also be pourable.

        1. Well I stuck to the recipe 100%. Once it became clumpy I could not get the clumps out so I tossed it out. I will try adding butter first with the flour and hope that helps next time. Thanks though!

  12. I just made this for dinner tonight and it tastes great! I, too, had the same problem others did. My quinoa wasn’t cooked when I took it out of the oven at 40 minutes. I ended up stirring it and then baking it for ten more minutes and it was done! Thanks for the recipe!

  13. This looks delicious! I was wondering if it can be prepared the night before and then put into the oven the next day?

    1. Katerina - Diethood
      Katerina Petrovska

      Hi Nikki! You can definitely prep it the night before, but I would advise not to pour the sauce over the chicken and quinoa until you are ready to bake it. Also, right before you want to bake the casserole, reheat and stir the sauce just a bit so to thin in it out, add it the casserole dish, sprinkle with cheese, and bake. Hope that helps. Have a great week ahead!

    2. Perfect! This was the question I was going to ask. I get home so late from work..that this recipe would be a struge to get through and cook in one night! Excited it can be a two day process!

  14. Hello! I made this recipe last night and it turned out great – lots of flavor. I used uncooked quinoa from Costco and it cooked well. This makes me think maybe the reason it didn’t work for other readers is because they may not of a) soaked the quinoa (which I did while making everything else) b) rinsed the quinoa (which I also did).

    Hope that is helpful!

    1. Katerina - Diethood
      Katerina Petrovska

      HI Melissa!!
      I think you figured it out! THANK YOU!! I truly appreciate your input, and I will make a note in the recipe. I completely forgot to mention rinsing the quinoa!

  15. I made this tonight-Amazing! Somehow I had forgotten to get broccoli while shopping today, subed it with a zucchini and summer squash from my garden….worked well! No one will mind eating the leftovers from this one. Thanks for sharing your recipe 🙂

    1. Katerina - Diethood
      Katerina Petrovska

      Hi Katie!! Yes, it should be fully cooked. When it’s cut into little cubes, it shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes to be done.
      Have a great weekend!

  16. I made this last night & I was really hoping for a better turnout 🙁 my quinoa didn’t cook either (I don’t know what kind it is, I believe I got it at Costco) but the crunchiness of it wasn’t unbearable so it’s going to get eaten. It was SUPER runny though too… Not sure what happened but I will have to re-make this again but with pre-cooking the quinoa & maybe not as much chicken broth.

    Thanks for the recipe!!

    1. Katerina - Diethood
      Katerina Petrovska

      Hi Chelsea! Thanks so much for weighing in. I will make a note in the recipe box to precook the quinoa. I’ve made this a few times and the quinoa was cooked, but maybe it’s in the brand… who knows!
      In as far as the sauce, that should be cooked until it has thickened. Do you think maybe it wasn’t thick enough when you removed it from the heat?

  17. Avatar photo
    Keisha Dawson

    I made this tonight, and it ended up in the trash. I’m so sad, because the flavor was delicious, but the quinoa didn’t even begin to cook. It looked exactly like it did in the bag. I will definitely make this again, but I will pre-cook the quinoa. Thanks so much for sharing this easy recipe!

    1. Katerina - Diethood
      Katerina Petrovska

      He Keisha!! So it didn’t cook? Did you try it? Was it crunchy?? I wonder why it didn’t cook… 🙁 Let me know if you can, was it red qinuoa? I’ve made this many times, at least 5 times in the past 2 months, and it always works out, but I didn’t try it with red quinoa, only with regular. Just wondering if something like that might be an issue. Let me know if you have a chance. Thank YOU for chiming in!

  18. Um, THANK YOU!! This worked beautifully, hubby said it’s one of the best dinners I ever made! Love that you don’t need to pre-cook the quinoa, and I used rotisserie chicken from the store so it was ridiculously easy (I am really lazy!) This one goes into regular rotation – thanks for sharing!

    1. Katerina - Diethood
      Katerina Petrovska

      Hi Rebecca! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! THANK YOU! AND? YAY for rotisserie chicken! I loooove me a shortcut! 😀

  19. Avatar photo
    amanda @ fake ginger

    My husband had all the doors and windows off the Jeep this weekend – it barely got over 40 degrees. We’re SO ready for summer. Also, I have a huge bag of quinoa that needs to be used before we move so I’m definitely making this. Like, tomorrow.

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