One-Pan Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice
One-Pan Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice is a cheesy, easy dinner loaded with simple ingredients like chicken, rice, and broccoli. This dish is perfect for a busy weeknight when things are hectic. Only one dish to clean for this satisfying one-pan dinner recipe.
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ONE-PAN DINNERS
I’m a little late to the one-pot, one-pan party. I don’t know why I’ve been resistant but with food trends, I’m either really early or really late to try them.
For example, I think I was the last person in the world to eat quinoa.
And cookie butter…, just had my first taste ever yesterday.
Subconsciously I was trying to avoid it because it’s one of those things that I knew I would find myself elbow deep in before realizing the whole jar was gone.
Move over Nutella, cookie butter is the hot ticket in town now (thanks Heather for buying me a jar).
Anywhoooo, back to one-pan dishes. I feel no reason to ever make anything in more than one pan now.
Which is why I made this One-Pan Mexican Rice Chicken yesterday. I loathe dishes. This is a trend I plan on hanging on to for a while.
EASY DINNERS
To be honest, I wasn’t planning on sharing this dish, which is why there aren’t any step-by-step shots. But I have your back y’all. Easy dinners are hard to come by so I had to share. Especially chicken dinners (like these Baked Chicken Chimichangas).
I made it purely out of necessity trying to keep my house clean for 12 hours before I had to host Bunko so I looked up one-pan dishes so that I could keep my kitchen clean and still feed my family.
After I made it, it looked so pretty so I snapped a couple of pictures just in case. I found this recipe over at No. 2 Pencil. She has a ton of one-pot recipes that you guys should check out.
Broccoli is one of the few vegetables my whole family loves so I knew it would be a hit and it was. If broccoli isn’t a vegetable your family loves you can use spinach or asparagus.
This is the kind of chicken recipe that sits in your back pocket when it’s 5 pm and you don’t know what you’re making for dinner.
HOW TO MAKE ONE-PAN CHEESY CHICKEN, BROCCOLI, AND RICE:
- First, start by cooking your onions in a little olive oil in a 12-inch skillet. Once they’re soft you can add your seasoned chicken breast. If you’re using a rotisserie chicken you can add it later when you add the cheese.
- Next, you’ll saute your rice in a little olive oil. This gives the rice extra flavor by toasting it. Have your liquid on had because you’ll want it as soon as it’s done toasting.
- Add your chicken broth. I really like Better than Bouillon Chicken base in a can (you add water) which can be found right next to regular chicken broth.
- After the rice has been cooking for a while add your broccoli and let it steam.
- Finally, when all the liquid has been absorbed by the rice you’re ready to add the cheddar cheese. Stir 1/2 a cup in and sprinkle the rest on top to melt.
OTHER ONE-PAN DINNERS
- One-Pan Garlic Butter Chicken
- Skillet Greek Chicken Recipe
- One-Pot Chicken Spaghetti
- One-Pan Chicken Tortilla Bake
- Egg Roll in a Bowl
- One-Pan Chicken Fajita Rice
- One-Pan Teriyaki Chicken and Rice
- Italian Sausage and Peppers
- One-Pot Sausage Broccoli Pasta
- Cheater Korean Beef
- One-Pan Tomato Basil Chicken Quinoa
- Creamy Chicken Noodle Skillet
- One-Pan Chicken Spinach and Orzo
- Creamy Chicken and Spinach
- One-Pan Creamy Zucchini Pasta
- Chicken Salad recipe
- One-Pan Sausage Broccoli and Sun-dried Tomato Pasta
One-Pan Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced finely
- 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
- 2 1/2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth, (I like to use Better than Buillion Chicken base)
- 2 1/2 cups broccoli florets, cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large skillet or pan, sauté onions in two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
- Once onions soften, increase the heat to medium high and add chicken to the pan.
- Brown the chicken pieces and add the garlic. Cook for about 1 more minute.
- Push chicken to one side of the pan and add additional tablespoon of olive oil to other side.
- Add the uncooked rice in the olive oil and saute it for a couple of minutes.
- Add the chicken broth to the pan and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pan with a lid.
- Cook chicken and rice mixture covered for about 12 minutes.
- Sprinkle the broccoli evenly over the chicken and rice mixture and stir to combine.
- Continue to cook covered another 8 minutes on low, or until broccoli and rice are both tender.
- Remove from heat and stir in half a cup of cheese.
- Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and cover with a lid, letting it sit for 1-2 minutes or until cheese has melted.
Video
Notes
I usually don’t comment on these things but this is an amazing recipe – my son just loves it! And such a great way to get some broccoli into the menu. I love the easy, one skillet thing… I’m so on board with that! I like to cut and marinate the chicken in the morning so at dinnertime it’s so quick and simple – and after a long day, too much thinking can be challenging, lol. Super tasty with garlic and whatever else you care to add, maybe a squeeze of lemon? Definitely a “regular” in our meal planning, thanks Christy!
I’m befuddled by comments that say this was lacking in flavor. I thought it was excellent: tasty, creamy, filling, and very easy to make. I used sushi rice because it’s the only type of rice I can make without burning or undercooking. I actually bookmarked this recipe, and for me, that’s pretty rare. Thank you!
Thank you for this really easy and delicious dinner! I used frozen steamed broccoli and long grain rice so I only used 1 cup and a half chicken broth and extra salt and pepper! And it came out so good!
Easy to make, but lacking in flavor. Nothing a little hot sauce can’t fix! Thanks for the recipe!
Just made broccoli chicken and rice. Easy dinner very good.
This was fantastic. It was really easy, but bland so I added a little bit of Olive Garden bottled italian dressing and broiled it in the oven to brown after cooking.
Great addition!
Made this for my boyfriend and he said it was the best dish I ever made. Had to throw some extra cheese and hot sauce in. It was a little too bland for me. But 10/10!!! Super Delish. Thanks for the recipe. Definitely making this again.
Thanks Allison!
I only have instant rice. Is there a way to use instant rice or would it be easier to go out and buy regular rice? Thanks.
I would just make the instant rice as instructed and stir it in towards the end. The amount of the liquid in the recipe is to cook the rice so you would have to lessen that considerably. I can’t say to be sure but I would probably only use 1 cup.
I made this recipe today. Came out well but a little lacking in flavor. I added an extra 1/2 cup of cheese and Frank’s Red Hot sauce for acid to balance out the blandness of the rice. Delicious!
Yes, it is a very base recipe and you can spice it up however you want.
Delicious! Very easy and satisfying. Super similar flavor to the classic casserole, but with a more creamy texture.
Thank you!!
You’re welcome!
I made this recipe today and me and the hubbie really enjoyed it. I just added some extra garlic and onion powder and it came out perfect. I just noticed people were complaining about it being Bland but anywho great recipe!
Thank you Keonna! We just made it too!
In terms of ease this recipe was great. There just wasn’t any flavor. I loved the one pot less mess though!
Did you add enough garlic and salt? If you season it well it’s great!
This was a winner in our family! I used basmati and only 2 cups of broth. I also only added probably 1 cup of cheese. It turned out great! Thank you!
You are welcome!
Accidentally added too much chicken broth, so hopefully it still turns out okay! Any advice to make it a little less wet??
Just keep simmering until the liquid cooks off.
Made this meal for my family last night and they all went back for seconds. Wish I made more! My husband requested that I make this meal again… soon. I added a few extra ingredients like using a whole onion, leeks and cauilflower as well as substituting chicken broth with unsalted butter and chicken stock as mentioned in the recipe, used basmati rice as we’re out of long grain, used diced chicken thighs and did not use any salt or pepper as this meal was also going to be feed to my 22 month old child. It surprised us all how tasty it was. Reminds me of risotto which is also a big hit with my family.
Glad your family liked it!
you can also make this with riced cauliflower instead of the rice, for low carb keto friendly
Yes, totally!
How do you cook this with brown rice? Cook it before hand and add it before it finishes cooking? I wasn’t thinking, and my pregnant brain thought brown rice would work with just a little more broth but it turned out crunchy
You need longer cooking time so I would just cook longer.
So tasty! Everyone had seconds…even the kiddo! We will definitely be making this again. Thank you!!
Alright for once I didn’t mess anything up!
I just took a little taste tester and I’m so excited to share this with my hubby, he’s a picky eater so lets hope he likes it!!!!
I sure do!!! Thank you!!!!
So…..rice definitely takes more than 12+8 minutes…..😩 more like 25-30 on the simmer b4 adding broccoli….I think….not there yet….but it’s been as good 20 and it’s still working….not sure how it tastes, bit I’m a pretty good cook, so….I’m sure it will be good. Oh, I also added a can of cream of ckn soup…I wanted it creamier.
Great Recipe! My Mom used to make something like this with “Rice-a-Roni” mix and I was able to recreate a loved comfort food that is gluten free. Harris Teeter has a roasted chicken breast for $5 on Tuesdays. It was perfect in this. I would add the broccoli earlier next time but we are unique in that we like our broccoli a bit over cooked instead of a slight crunch in casseroles. The toasted rice was extra flavorful. I added 2 cloves of garlic to the onion. I only used 1 cup of cheese, and added some Lawry’s seasoned salt on top. Fantastic recipe. Bazmati rice was perfectly done.
I made this again tonight; pure comfort food! I used a large bag of frozen broccoli defrosted in microwave and cut pieces smaller with scissors. I cut up chicken breast and cooked it in same pan after onion & garlic were close to done. My chicken was not browned, but it didn’t matter. I rinsed pan w hot water before browning rice. I mixed all but cheese and simmered for an extra 8 min. I used, “Better Than Bouillon” chicken broth base and it was perfect. I over cooked it tonight, but it was still really good. This will be a weekly recipe in my home. My kids ate platefuls.:)
Yay! So glad you enjoyed this!
Could I use penne instead of rice? And if so would I just omit the chicken broth?
Yes, could use pasta, but still need to broth to cook pasta..
I made this dish tonight. It was delicious! My husband and I both had seconds. I followed the recipe as written and it was even better than I thought it would be.
Aww thank you!
you actually have to pay attention to them occasionally and give them water and all. I think I’ve killed every houseplant I’ve ever owned. So I’ve been loving all the paper flowers I’ve seen cropping up across the internet – I can’t believe how gorgeous and realistic many of them look. Plus I gotta say I really like the idea of beautiful blooms that will stay pretty for months with no extra effort required.
Actually, it sucked. By the time I got some of the rice tender, half of it was crunchy, half was mush. Took about an hour, by the way, maybe more. Measured everything to a T, even had a food scale out for the chicken.
I’ve made this several times now, and it’s one of my favorite dishes! I love preparing the food, but hate using so many pots and pans! This is a favorite- and my hubby normally hates rice dishes. Thank you!
I’m planning the meals for the week and will be attempting this recipe. I’ve been reading the comments eft by all of you. These are so useful – thank you! I’m by no means a Cordon Bleu chef but, re: the rice-related challenges some have experienced, I think the solution is to adapt the rice’s cooking time to the type of rice being used. Some rices need less cooking time (like basmati) while others need more (like brown rice). It’s just a timing thing.
The best recipe I found in a long time!!! I love it! I’ll try it with other vegetables, too. Thank you!
Great idea!
Great recipe. De-lish!
I love hearing that.
This was sooooo yummy!
It’s great!! Another one added to the meal plan!! Thank you!
Awesome to hear!
This was great. Would definitely make it again. It worked really well for leftovers for lunch the next day also!
We never have leftovers but if you did they would be great!
I bet this would be amazing with bacon added to it! 😉
Funny you say that, we just had this wednesday and added bacon!
HAs anyone tried this without rice? How did u do it and how did it turn out?
I’m making this tonight! Any pointers on using cauliflower rice instead of regular rice? Thanks! 😁
Shoot. Sorry. Too late. Cauliflower rice is a little wetter. So less liquid?
Made this for dinner last night and it was a hit! Easy to put together……Will make again!
So glad to hear that!
Lol I did this meal for the first time two nights ago after finding it on Pinterest, and immediately signed up to get your emails. It’s amazing for the tiny effort that goes into it!
Yay! Thanks for signing up. Guess you got it twice in your email!
This was a very good meal. For my taste buds, I added a little more salt and pepper. I used minute rice instead of the one called for by the recipe. Will definitely make this again.
Yes, you can definitely adjust the seasonings and should.
So tonight is the first time I actually followed the recipe. Before if cook the rice on it’s own and not add broth to the dish. Well I didn’t want to clean my pot to make rice so I followed the directions. It turned out awesome. This is a staple in our house hold.
Yay! That makes me happy.
Could I use water instead of chicken Broth?
Yes. It just wont have as strong of a chicken flavor.
I use Bazmati rice in my kitchen. A few other recipes have come out as the lady stated above, with the rice mushy and crunchy. Anyone else tried this with Bazmati rice?
Hubby & I love this easy recipe! In the future I think I’ll add a little less cheese but definitely will be making again!
IF you’re trying to eat healthy you can definitely cut down the cheese.
I only have basmati rice do I need to do anything different to make it with this. Trying to avoid going to the store for long grain rice since we prefer basmati 😊
Basmati shouldn’t make a difference at all. Good luck!
Just saw this! Disregard my question:)
Look delicious delicious! I love broccoli I will try to cook this dish with pieces of tomato cover on the surface of the dish for my husband
Sounds great!
We LOVE this recipe and I make it often. I’ve even converted it for the Instant Pot, so now it’s even quicker and easier than ever before. Gotta love a one-pan plan! 🙂
I’ve made this meal a couple times now. Sometimes I will cut this recipe in half since I’m only cooking for one other person and myself. This meal is so easy and yet so satisfying. I’ve added this meal to my rotation and it’s a keeper!
Thank you! I’m glad you love it.
This was amazing. I was stuck not knowing what to make for dinner when I found this on Pinterest. BRILLIANT!!
I didn’t have broth, but instead made a batch of couscous (that and quinoa are my favorites, since I don’t eat rice very often). So skipped the one step and just added the couscous before the broccoli. It was soooooo good and I’m excited to have leftovers for lunch tomorrow!!
One other note that makes this recipe even quicker – my local store sells already cooked shredded chicken and turkey, so that’s what I used.
This is a new staple and I’ll definitely be making it again! Thanks so much for a wonderful, easy recipe!!
We honestly make this at least once a week.
Just moved this to the Keepers board. We like it with the addition of a healthy sprinkle of paprika and 1/2 cup sour cream. I may also add mushrooms the next time we have this dish for dinner. Thank you for the original recipe.
Ooh sour cream sounds like a great addition!
YUM!! Great flavor…I sprinkled bacon bits on top of the cheese and it was really good.
Ooh that sounds delicious!
Wow, that sounds amazing. I’ll have to try that next time. Thanks for the tip!!
21 hours and 29 minutes! What? Burnt to a crisp and nearly burnt the house down.recipe sucks! Looks nothing like the picture.
Sorry the recipe card has a bug in it.
Love one pan recipes and this was really good and easy to make. I used 2 breasts from a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. I added the chicken along with the broccoli. I left out the garlic (dislike garlic). But the dish still came out delicious. Thank you!
You’re welcome!
I loved this meal! My 2 year old ate it up! My slightly more opinionated 8 & 9 year old just wished the chicken was made separate. Next time to appease them I will have to use a second dish to finish cooking the chicken, but all in all great kid friendly dish!
Thanks! It’s one of our faves!
I liked it but the chicken got so tough being cooked for that long…does most of the world just accept tough chewy chicken as normal? Or am I doing something wrong? I was certain it would be chewy after reading the directions but I thought maybe there was some magic. Bite size chicken is already cooked through once you brown it… boiling it for 20 more minutes just makes it gross- no matter how much cheese you put on it. I would make this again, but do the chicken first; remove it after browning and toss it back in at the end.
Great point!
I used Chicken tenders rather than breasts and it did not turn out chewy at all.
I made this tonight. It was delish! I used some cooked chicken I already had. I also used basmati rice. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome!
How should I adjust the recipe if I want to make it with brown rice?
Brown rice does take about twice as long to cook unless you’re using the minute brown rice. You may have to add more liquid to continue cooking it longer.
I made this for the first time last night, and it turned out really good. I used frozen broccoli (shhh…don’t tell my husband 😉 and mild cheddar cheese, instead of sharp, because that’s all I could find at Sprouts. It was a great meal for a rainy day, and very easy to warm up when my husband got off work.
Hello Christy,
I just love you, your recipes, your cute comments….so consider me a fan as I love making your recipes.
However, today I want to make the Cheesy broccoli and chicken one pan meal.
I just discovered that I do not have enough chicken broth., do you think Cream of mushroom soup with a bit of milk would suffice? I have seen Campbell’s chicken and broccoli that are similar but do not look as easy or good.
Ooh shoot. i’m probably too late. Yes, anything wet should work. We just need moisture for the rice.
Honestly I tried making this my way I followed the same steps but did some things differently as I progressed and it came out so amazing!!!!
Awesome hearing this!
Salt and pepper are all you use to season chicken? Lol are you white?
Haha. You’re free to add whatever you want!
I want to make this, but if I boil the rice separate will it still taste as good without the broth?
I only have Minute Maid white rice and I don’t want it to get soggy
Yes, you can do that!
The ratio of rice to chicken broth did not work well for me, I used 1 cup of long grain white rice and 2 1/2 cups of chicken broth and I ended up with a soggy mix. Any recommendations would be appreciated! 🙂
It sounds like you didn’t cook it long enough? It should soak up that liquid.
A solid simple recipe. Started by making the recipe as is; but I needed a few extra table spoons of broth to carry it through the 3 extra minutes the broccoli needed (maybe my pieces were larger). A bit bland, but after we topped it with Frank’s red hot sauce we couldn’t stop eating it!
Very Good! Boyfriend looked up at me and said “good recipe”! Thanks for sharing!
Ha. Good to hear!
Would an electric skillet work? I have an electric skillet but not a large one for the stovetop. I’m asking because I don’t know if there’s a cook temperature difference.
Yes, would work!
This recipe popped up on Pinterest and it fit exactly what I needed. This was AMAZING! I was even able to get my picky eater to nearly clean the plate! This will replace a version of a recipe like this that uses a prepackaged mix. Not fond of the sodium intake with those things. Thank you so much for this recipe!
You are so welcome Nicolle!
I’ve made this a few times and my family loves it! I made it tonight again but too late in the cooking process realized I didn’t have broccoli- it was spinach I had🤦🏻♀️ It came out delicious!!!
Good for you for improvising.
So I only had one cup of cheddar in my fridge, I added one cup of mozzarella along with it and OMG killer!!!! Sooo delicious!!!
Ooh yummy!
I am going to use rice that you microwave in a pouch.. should I omit chicken broth all together?
You might still need a little to get the broccoli steamed.
Hi, can you make this without the onion?
Sure! You can.
Made this tonight and its wonderful! Toasted some Townhouse crackers on the top and it added a fantastic crunch and color to the dish!
Thanks!
I bet crackers would be great!
Just made this tonight! Ohmylanta! Everyone loved it! I have a picky 3 year old with Cystic Fibrosis. This dish was such a hit with her! I love how easy this recipe is!
Will definitely be sharing with friends!
Thank you!
Could i use rotisserie chicken instead?
Has anyone calculated the calories for this dish? Which, btw, is amazing!
The nutrition button below the recipe shows the calories for this dish.
It was fine, but i probably wont make it again.
Will be a go to for me. I’ve pinned a couple of one pan broccoli rice snd chicken recipes. I like this one because you don’t have the added flour and sour cream (more calorie and more steps).
Now i want to add sour cream to mine. Haha.
LOVED this! My husband did too! Thank you for sharing!
Currently making this and my house smells fantastic from the onion and garlic! I can’t wait for it to be done and we can eat! Thank you so much for the recipe!
You’re welcome!
This was so good. I have the worlds pickiest eater, I made this and he ate the whole damn plate. Definitely making this again!
Haha. Success!!! Thanks for sharing.
Delicious! 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!
So happy to hear that!
The family loved this! I had to make more for my hearty eaters so I increased all of the ingredients and added a large diced carrot for color. I seasoned the chicken with seasoned salt, pepper and paprika. We like our veggies very tender so I sautéed all of the veggies together first, until they softened. Then, I added the chicken. I had to cook the rice separately because I did not have enough room in the pan otherwise. I decreased the broth to 1 cup since the rice was cooked separately. I also reduced the cheese because I did not have 2 cups on hand. It was still superb! Even my 4 year old liked it! I will probably make this recipe every week. I was interested in this recipe because I love one-pan recipes. It makes clean-up so easy. Next time, I may have to pull out my large dutch oven so that all of the ingredients will fit. Or, hmmmmm, maybe I will try it in a crock pot – veggies on the bottom, cooked on high for 4 hours and add the cheese before serving. That’s even easier.
Great idea! I’m glad it worked out for you!
I made this tonight, and it smells and tastes delicious! Waiting for the official verdict from the hubby and teen, but I’m expecting them to love it, too. I made it with Kielbasa because that is what I had defrosted, added thyme, and some cayenne, then and added a tablespoon of sour cream when I mixed in the cheese to make it creamier, and offset a bit of the spice, went overboard with the cayenne. Oops! I didn’t add any salt, but did add the black pepper, because Kielbasa is really salty already. I tasted it and am in love! Next time I will make it with chicken, but now I know that the Kielbasa works, too!
I bet it’s great with Kielbasa.
Love love love this dish… so easy and doesn’t make a mess! I’m on my second batch of the day… first one went to my parents and I didn’t leave any for myself! I don’t have any more sharp cheddar so I’m trying mozzarella.
It’s good right?
I tried this recipe as I needed to use up some old roast chicken and broccoli. Also, I used used shallots instead of onion and 1.5 cups of Parmesan (didn’t have any cheddar). My broccoli was a little crunchy. Overall though, it turned out nicely, albeit not as cheesy looking as in the picture. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I meant 1/2 to 3/4 a cup of Parmesan.
You’re welcome! You’re right. I think you could add the broccoli a little sooner depending on the size of your florets. bigger – longer
I had a problem with the broccoli not cooking all the way. My rice turned to mush because I was trying to let the broccoli cook. Next time I think I will add broccoli in a little earlier and leave it all on top for five mi Utes to let it steam through before stirring in. Hope this helps those who had the same problem I did.
Thanks for your feedback. The size of your florets will definitely play into how long you need to cook it.