Chicken Divan from Scratch

This is my daughter's favorite comfort food. We started out making this recipe with a canned cream soup and transitioned over the years to a from-scratch cream sauce. The result is a to-die-for broccoli-chicken casserole, which is soooo good as leftovers! Serve with rice.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 60 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins
• Calories: 371 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cube chicken bouillon
• 3 tablespoons cooking sherry
• 4 slices bread, cubed
• 1 (12 ounce) bag broccoli florets
• 1 ½ pounds chicken breasts, cubed
• 6 tablespoons salted butter, divided
• 1 tablespoon steak seasoning (such as McCormick®)
• 1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese, divided

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish.

Step 2

Place a steamer insert into a saucepan and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Bring water to a boil. Add broccoli, cover, and steam until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and pour into the prepared dish.

Step 3

Warm oil in a large frying pan. Add chicken; sprinkle with steak seasoning. Saute until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Pour over broccoli in the casserole dish.

Step 4

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan. Stir in flour to make a thick paste, then pour in chicken broth. Continue stirring to dissolve the paste. Pour in heavy cream and sherry. Crumble in bouillon cube. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring to ensure no lumps form.

Step 5

Add 1/2 cup Colby Jack cheese to the cream sauce; stir until completely melted. Pour cream sauce over the chicken and broccoli in the casserole dish.

Step 6

Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter and pour over bread cubes. Toss until all bread cubes are coated with butter. Arrange bread cubes evenly on top of the casserole. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese on top. Cover casserole tightly with foil.

Step 7

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake until cheese and bread are browned, about 10 minutes more.