The ultimate comfort food recipe: Chicken Broccoli Rice Ritz Casserole a super easy to make dish topped with crushed Ritz Crackers. Cheesy and satisfying, this family favorite casserole is so simple to make ahead for busy weeknight dinner prep.
If you are craving something cheesy and satisfying, this recipe is it! Creamy and cheesy with a buttery crunch, it doesn’t get more comfort food delicious than this recipe.
Let’s just get something straight, this dish is all about comfort. No, this is not gourmet fine dining. It is about taking simple shortcut ingredients and creating something warming that the whole family will love.
So open up a good ole fashioned can of Campbell’s Cream of Chicken soup and some sleeves of Ritz Crackers and behold the magic that happens when you take a helping hand from these classic pantry staples. For another quick and easy dinner, try this Chicken with Polenta recipe!
How to Make Chicken Broccoli Rice Ritz Cracker Casserole
There are a lot of components to the name of this dish, but that’s because it includes nearly every ingredient that’s in it! This is a simple one dish dinner that has a veggie, grain, protein, and dairy in it, so you’re good to go. Plus this recipe is very forgiving, so use what you have and make substitutions as you like.
Firstly, you need your chicken. You have a couple of options here:
- Rotisserie Chicken is great because you can just dice and add it right in.
- You can boil your chicken breasts until just cooked through.
- Baked chicken or sautéed on the stove would be delicious too.
You will need about three cups of diced chicken so two breasts usually work. The measurement doesn’t have to be exact either.
Next, place the diced chicken in a large bowl and sprinkle on the seasonings. Add in the raw broccoli, rice, soup, sour cream, and cheese. Stir all together and add to casserole dish. (Note that if you don’t have sour cream or would prefer to save some calories, nonfat greek yogurt is an excellent substitute.)
With the rice, you can use brown rice, white rice, quinoa, or any cooked grain you like. I used white because that’s what I had on hand. If you need to make from scratch, just boil two cups of water and add one cup of grain and cook to al dente. This should yield you about three cups total of rice.
Sprinkle with Crushed Ritz Crackers
Lastly, lightly crush two sleeves of Ritz Crackers and sprinkle them overtop of the casserole. You can even get your little ones to help with this step!
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To really put this dish over the top, drizzle melted butter over the Ritz crackers before sending this in the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes until bubbly and golden.
So warming and tasty, I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
For another delicious and comforting make-ahead casserole, be sure to try Baked Chicken Broccoli Alfredo or Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas.
Chicken Broccoli Rice Ritz Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked chicken breast, cubed* (from about 2 breasts)
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups fresh broccoli florets
- 3 cups cooked white rice (from about 1 cup uncooked)
- 1 10.5 ounce can Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (like Cambell’s)
- 1 cup sour cream (can substitute greek yogurt)
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 sleeves Ritz Crackers, lightly crushed
- ½ cup butter, melted (one stick)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a casserole dish or 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, toss together the cooked chicken, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt. Mix in the broccoli, white rice, soup, sour cream, and cheddar cheese. Pour the mixture into the baking dish.
- Sprinkle the crushed Ritz Crackers overtop of the chicken mixture. Pour the melted butter over the crackers. Bake, uncovered, for 35-40 minutes, until casserole is bubbly. If it starts to brown too quickly, place foil overtop. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
I love this recipe so much! I make it with pappardelle noodles (instead of rice) and add an extra can of mushroom, 1/2cup sour cream 1/2cup whole milk, mozerella and cheddar shredded rustic style, 1/2 cup fried frenchs onion. My favorite casserole of all time!
Can you use frozen broccoli? If so, cooked first?
Defrost the broccoli and add it in at towards the end of cooking.
Delicious, but it was a little dry and I even added 1/2 can more of another cream of soup. Next time I will add in two full cans. It was still delicious thought!
This was The best chicken, rice and broccoli. Ritz casserole I’ve ever had. I will definitely make this again and again!
Yay! Thanks so much, Diane! I’m so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Absolutely delicious. I make this all the time for my family and they love it. Question- would this freeze well?
Thanks! Yes, this would freeze well. Just make sure it is cooled before freezing and store in an airtight container.
Easy and fun and very yummy 10/10
Made this and wowza WOW delicious!! All the most splendid ingredients, tysm! ♥
I tried this and loved it
I replaced whitericewith knorrs cheesey rice broccoli still used broccoli also now my family begs for it
Sounds like a great tip! I’ll have to try that. So happy you all loved it!
Great casserole easy to make!
So happy you liked it!
Delicious!! I made it with brown rice. Will definitely make again.
Sometimes you just need some comfort food that’s easy to get on the table… And involves Ritz crackers. But still some veggies, too! This is wonderful!!
The recipe sounds so easy to make, shall try it tonight. Thanks,
Such a classic and comforting dish! Perfect for the rainy weather we’ve been having lately!
This was so good – my family loved it – thank you!!
Does the rice have to be cooked before combining? This info would be helpful
yes. I note this in the ingredients list.
Looks comforting and very filling, what a tasty recipe, can’t wait to make it!