I’m so excited to share a new one-pan recipe with you guys. Dinner recipes are some of my most popular posts, and I think it’s because new ideas for dinner are always welcome. New one-pot dinners are especially welcome because they are so easy. Today, I’m sharing this easy One-Pan Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli with Rice. It’s made with everyday ingredients, so you might just have them on hand already. To bump up the flavor in this dish, I used extra-sharp cheddar cheese, and it’s delicious combined with the broccoli! If you are looking for more one-pot dinners, all my one-pot recipes can be found here.
In this dish, I used the same technique for cooking the rice as my one-pan chicken burrito bowls. Once the chicken has browned, push it over to one side and sauté the rice in a little additional olive oil, all in the same pan. Sautéing the uncooked rice keeps the dish from being overly starchy, basically creating a rice pilaf. Once the rice starts to pick up a little color, add the chicken broth and cook the rice about half way.
Next, stir in the broccoli florets and continue cooking. Adding the broccoli midway through cooking keeps it from getting overly soft. I like a bit of bite in my broccoli, and to see a pretty bright green color.
Add more or less cheese to taste. In this recipe I used about 1 1/2 cups, stirring in 1/2 a cup directly into the rice once cooked, and sprinkling the top with the remaining cheese.
- 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 cup uncooked extra long grain white rice
- 1 large bunch of fresh broccoli
- 2 1/2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups of extra sharp cheddar cheese
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Start by sautéing onions in two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.
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Season chicken with salt and pepper.
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Once onions have started to soften, increase heat to medium high and add chicken breast to pan.
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Brown chicken breast pieces, then add minced garlic and cook for about 2 more minutes.
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Push chicken to one side of the pan and add additional tablespoon of olive oil to other side.
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Saute uncooked rice in olive oil until rice starts to take on a golden color, 2-3 minutes.
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Add chicken broth to pan, bring to a boil and stir to combine.
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Reduce heat to low and cover.
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Cook chicken and rice mixture covered for about 12 minutes.
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While chicken and rice is cooking, remove florets from broccoli, cutting into bite sized pieces. .
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Stir in broccoli and continue cooking covered another 8 minutes on low, or until broccoli and rice are both tender.
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Remove from heat and stir in half a cup of cheese.
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Sprinkle remaining cheese on top, place cover back on the pan and let cheese melt 2-3 minutes.
Find even more easy dinner ideas here!
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5 Easy Dinner Ideas for Busy Weeknights
My five FAVORITE recipes for busy families!
- Quick to make
- Light on your budget
- Easy to clean-up
- and...most important...absolutely DELICIOUS
Bridget Mc
August 11, 2014 at 3:17 pmDelicious! My daughter decided it was cheese-TASTIC! I only had frozen broccoli, but I threw it in while the chicken and rice cooked an it was great!!! Next time when usin frozen tho, I will reduce the broth by just a little. Thanks!
Melissa
August 13, 2014 at 5:36 pmI’m so glad! Thank you, Bridget!
Jessica
August 12, 2014 at 10:39 amOMG!! Broccoli and cheese casserole was one of my favorite meals as a kid and I just love this easy recipe to make it as an adult now 🙂 🙂 Can’t wait to try it
Melissa
August 13, 2014 at 5:34 pmThanks, Jessica!
Lisa
August 14, 2014 at 6:43 pmThis was really good. I have three children and two under two and I am looking for simple, one pot recipes.
I will add this to my weekly menu it is that perfect. Thank you so much
Amanda E.
August 19, 2014 at 3:20 pmI made this last night for our family of 5 and it was DELICIOUS! Thank you so much for posting – have already shared with friends and I’m making your one pot cheeseburger casserole as I write this 😀
Ruthie
September 3, 2014 at 2:00 pmThis is so good! And easy too!
Jenny P.
September 28, 2014 at 8:11 pmThis is such a simple recipe, but it was *so* good. I actually made it vegan for my boyfriend, and it was still great. Here are the things I changed to veganify it:
For chicken: one package frozen & thawed tofu, cut into 1 inch chunks + 2 tbsp more oil, since tofu soaks it up.
For broth: Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base
For cheese: You can use daiya, but I’m not a huge fan, so I mixed in about 1/4 cup vegan sour cream for added creaminess.
Melissa
September 29, 2014 at 8:41 amThanks for sharing, Jenny!
Ashley
November 10, 2014 at 1:24 pmAll I have on hand is minute rice. Can I use that? If so, do I use the same amount of broth or less since it takes 5 minutes to cook to the rice according to the package?
Melissa
November 10, 2014 at 1:37 pmDarn it, I haven’t tried it with minute rice. You would have to adjust the amount of rice and the liquid but I can’t say for sure by how much without testing it. I tried to check the website for minute rice but they just say you should not substitute. Here is their faq http://www.minuterice.com/en-us/faq/2/Cooking.aspx
Let me know if you do try it!
Tiffany
January 7, 2015 at 5:45 pmMy rice was still hard. I tried another one pan dish with pasta and the same thing happened. What am I doing wrong? 🙁
Melissa
January 17, 2015 at 4:39 pmHi Tiffany,
Are you using brown rice? If so, that would be the problem. White rice cooks in about 20 minutes while brown rice can take 45-60 minutes.
If you are using white rice, are you remembering to cover while it cooks? Let me know if I can help! You can email me at melissa.pencil@gmail.com
Marti Thompson
April 1, 2015 at 7:26 pmLove the one pot idea. I made this last night and it was a great weeknight meal. So simple but filling. Thanks
Melissa
April 2, 2015 at 10:59 amI’m so glad! Thank you for the lovely comment!
Melissa
April 21, 2015 at 8:27 pmThis was delicious. My very picky 2 1/2 year-old was shoveling it in! I’ll be making this again for sure. Thank you!
Andrea
July 14, 2015 at 4:05 pmMy kids (4 and 2) and my hubby both loved this! It was very easy and very cheesy. 😉 My oldest son has asked for me to make it again. Thanks for sharing it!!!
Erica
August 18, 2015 at 10:59 amI have made this a couple times its delicious! The rice turned out a little crunchy the first time i made it too so i inceased the cooking time and that did the trick. Thanks for the recipe!
Sophia Mc
December 28, 2016 at 9:40 amI made this for supper tonight and it was very good! I love one pot meals so I have less to clean up. I made it just as the recipe says and it was great! I used frozen broccoli and it was good. I would cook the broccoli first a little bit as it was a little crunchy. Thanks for the recipe!
Nita
June 12, 2018 at 6:48 pmI make this with riced cauliflower instead of broccoli so that my toddler can’t pick out the green stuff. It is a huge hit with kids and low carb which is great for my gestational diabetes!
Melissa
June 23, 2018 at 9:12 amGreat idea!
Lucy Beliveau
September 16, 2018 at 4:37 pmYours is the first recipe blog I’ve ever subscribed to and I’m so excited to get your first one in my inbox! The casserole looks fantastic and certainly one which I will use! We are tetired, no munchkins to feed, just us! We will love it!! Thanks so much for such a fun blog!! I love a good writer and you sure fit that bill!!!😊🍂