Healthy chicken broccoli casserole recipe that tastes as good as it is for you… and best part, topped with biscuits. If you’re doing low carb, gluten-free, or keto, rest assured my friends, you can still eat this bad boy.
If you’re not worried about low carb, never fear, this is delicious topped with my regular flaky buttermilk biscuits because this recipe, this one, she swings both ways to cover everybody. I got you.
Let’s face it, we all need a recipe that can work any which way we need it to. This has long been one of my favorite casseroles and comfort foods. But often you’ll see this is a chicken casserole without ceam soup because using condensed can of cream soups contain GMO ingredients, hydrogenated oils, and other ingredients I refuse to serve my family. But more importantly, it’s way cheaper to make your own sauce at home in just a few minutes. I’ve timed it, less than 4 minutes, score!
Plus, this cheesy chicken broccoli bake was just too good to not make over real food style. And really can we have too many good recipes using chicken and broccoli? Naw, I didn’t think so either.
Does Healthy Chicken Broccoli Casserole Taste As Good?
I was determined to still have my favorite foods, even while I’m doing Keto (low carb, high fat) to help heal my gut. Want to learn more about it, check out the details here on How to Find Your Trigger Foods & if Keto is Right For You but I needed it to taste just as good as the old version I used to make because I’m not about to cook two meals for my family. Never fear, this might be a healthy version but it tastes just as flavorful, if not more. The richness of the cheese and cream come together making this a comfort food you’ll want to serve every night.
Tips for Making Healthy Chicken Broccoli Casserole
- Don’t have any cooked chicken on hand? Leftover oven-roasted chicken is delicious. (Here’s how to cook a whole chicken in the Instant Pot in less than an hour, even if it’s frozen solid)
- Cook your fresh broccoli using the steamer function in your Instant Pot for 1 minute (remember it’s cooking as it builds up to pressure) then do a manual release and place broccoli straight into your baking dish.
- Change up the flavors by using different cheeses, smoked gouda gives it a whole different flavor profile or spice it up with a jalapeno jack cheese
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Chicken and Broccoli Casserole Ingredients
- Cream of chicken soup. There’s no need to ever buy a can of condensed soup again. This Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup Substitute whips up in 4 minutes with just 5 real food ingredients. For low carb, use the recipe as written. Or try Gluten-free Cream of Chicken Soup, Cream of Potato Soup, or Cream of Celery Soup for other variations.
- Biscuits. The recipe in the below printed version is a keto low carb and gluten-free biscuit but if you don’t have any diet restrictions, try old-fashioned buttermilk biscuits from my biscuit mix recipe or sour cream biscuits. They are an absolute favorite for thousands of people who make it.
- Yogurt. You can use unflavored yogurt just like you would sourcream and I always have yogurt on hand. Yogurt is simple to make at home and doesn’t require any special equipment, here’s how to make homemade yogurt at home
- Cheese. While I usually use Colby jack because it’s my husband’s favorite, smoked gouda, a sharp cheddar, or even a mozzarella all lend a new flavor profile to this recipe. Use whatever you hand.
How to Make It
In 9×13 pan layer chicken and broccoli. Sprinkle with pepper and salt, I just shake a light amount on top from the shaker without measuring.
In a large saucepan or skillet, melt butter and pour in chicken broth. Bring to a simmer. Whisk in onion and garlic powder and ½ teaspoon Xanthan Gum. Let it simmer for a minute and add additional ½ teaspoon Xanthan Gum if needed to reach thickness of a sauce (it will thicken slightly upon cooling).
Once sauce is thickened, stir in mayonnaise (try homemade mayo) and curry powder. Pour over top of chicken and broccoli.
Sprinkle an even layer of grated cheese over top.
Top with biscuit dough and bake until golden, about 30 to 35 minutes.
Biscuit Topping adapted from Bacon & Butter The Ultimate Ketogenic Diet Cookbook by Celby Richoux (if you’re not doing low carb use this flaky biscuit recipe)
Healthy Chicken Broccoli Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chicken diced (need it fast, here’s how to cook a whole chicken in the Instant Pot in less than an hour, even if its frozen solid)
- 1 bunch cooked broccoli
- 3 cups chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon onion and garlic powder
- 2 Tablepoons butter
- ½ to 1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum <– I only use this brand as they are verified with the NON-GMO project this is for my low carb and gluten free peeps, if using regular biscuits you can use 2 Tablespoons of flour
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- Biscuit Topping adapted from Bacon & Butter The Ultimate Ketogenic Diet Cookbook by Celby Richoux if you’re not doing low carb use this flaky biscuit recipe
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ½ cup almond flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup shredded Colby Jack cheese you can use any type of cheese you like
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 4 eggs
- ¾ cup sour cream or unsweetened yogurt how to make homemade yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- In 9×13 pan layer chicken and broccoli. Sprinkle with pepper and salt, I just shake a light amount on top from the shaker without measuring.
- In a large saucepan or skillet, melt butter and pour in chicken broth. Bring to a simmer. Whisk in onion and garlic powder and ½ teaspoon Xanthan Gum. Let it simmer for a minute and add additional ½ teaspoon Xanthan Gum if needed to reach thickness of a sauce (it will thicken slightly upon cooling).
- Once sauce is thickened, stir in mayonnaise and curry powder. Pour over top of chicken and broccoli.
- Sprinkle an even layer of grated cheese over top.
- To make biscuit topping, in a large bowl combine the dry ingredients. With a fork combine the cheese a few Tablespoons at a time.
- Add the rest of the ingredients (your wet ingredients) and fold together until it forms a dough. You’ll want to fold it over and stir pretty well to get all of the flours incorporated.
- Take a large spoon and drop dough by the spoonful on top of the casserole dish, you can take the back of the spoon to smooth is out if needed to cover the top.
- Bake the whole casserole in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until biscuit tops are golden.
There you have it, my favorite take to add to your healthy chicken and broccoli recipes. Will you be making this version of healthy chicken broccoli casserole with the keto biscuits or the old-fashioned flaky buttermilk biscuits?
I too would like the broccoli amount clarified. Weight would be the most helpful, as “cups” of chopped broccoli can be hard to determine. The recipe sounds wonderful.
There’s not really a specific amount of broccoli, I make this by how much broccoli I have on hand and how much is in the pan with the chicken to our family’s flavor preference. This recipe is very forgiving.
What is one bunch of broccoli is this one head of broccoli like you buy in the grocery store or is this two heads rubber banded together like they sell it in the grocery store. It would help me if you give approximate cups of chopped up broccoli or explanations a city person like me comprehends.
Either or depending on how much broccoli you want in the casserole.
Can’t wait to try it out. We love making homemade chicken broccoli casserole but have use dressing/stuffing to top it and we’ve used a mixture of cheddar and mozzarella. We also add cream of celery
This chicken broccoli casserole looks yummy. Any idea what would be the outcome if the mayo was omitted?
Love your blog!
You’d be missing a good portion of the sauce, you can sub the mayo for plain yogurt, it’s good that way too.