Chicken Broccoli Stuffing Casserole

This Chicken Broccoli Stuffing Casserole is the perfect recipe to make when you have leftover rotisserie chicken in your refrigerator. With just a few basic ingredients you can have delicious dinner in the oven in under 15 minutes!

Creamy shredded chicken is mixed with broccoli florets and covered with cooked stuffing. Throw it in the oven until it is hot and bubbly and your meal is ready to be served.

It is a true comfort food meal that takes little time to prepare. But don’t worry if you don’t have leftover rotisserie chicken on hand.

If you have raw chicken breasts in your refrigerator, you can still make this delicious dinner. Although it will take a little more time to do so.

All you have to do is cook and shred the chicken before adding it with other ingredients. Fortunately, there are a couple of ways that you can do this and get dinner on the table.

How To Make Chicken Broccoli Casserole With Raw Chicken Breasts

You are going to need 1 1/2 cups of cooked, shredded chicken for this recipe. One average size chicken breast will yield approximately 1 cup of shredded chicken.

Therefore, you will need 1 large chicken breast or 1 1/2 medium size chicken breasts. If you have a kitchen scale you will need approximately 3/4 pound of raw chicken breast to get the 1 1/2 cups of cooked and shredded chicken.

So what is the best method for cooking? That is going to depend on what you have in the kitchen.

Boil The Chicken

Place the chicken in a medium pot and cover it with water. Bring the water to a boil and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.

Then use tongs to remove the chicken from the water and place on a cutting board. Shred the meat with two forks.

Baking Chicken Breast

If you have extra time on your hands you can bake the chicken breast. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Then spray a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil spray or line it with a silicone baking mat.

Place the chicken breast on the prepared baking sheet and place in a preheated oven for 20 minutes. Be sure to check the internal temperature with an instant read digital thermometer.

The chicken is cooked through when it is 165°F at the thickest point. Remove the pan from the oven and shred the chicken with two forks.

Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Method

However, my favorite method for making shredded chicken for this Chicken Broccoli Stuffing Casserole is by pressure cooking it. It is a great hands off method for getting chicken cooked to perfection.

Start by adding 1 cup of water or chicken stock inside the Instant Pot. Then place the chicken breasts directly in the liquid.

Pressure cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. If your chicken breasts are thin, you can decrease the cook time to 7 minutes.

*As a reminder, all pressure cookers take time to come up to the programmed pressure before the cook time begins. Plan for an extra 3-5 minutes before this occurs.

Once the cook time is up, let the pot sit for 5 minutes. Then move the valve to venting and release the pressure.

Use tongs to remove the chicken from the pot and shred the meat with two forks.

Cook The Stuffing Per Package Instructions

This recipe calls for cooked stuffing. I am talking about the boxed kind that you find at the grocery store.

You will need 6 ounces, which is typically what is found in 1 standard box of stuffing. Although I prefer to use Chicken stuffing, you can use whatever flavor that you prefer.

You can choose between cornbread, turkey, garlic and herb and other varieties. They all will work well in this Chicken Broccoli Stuffing Casserole recipe.

Start by cooking the stuffing per the instructions on the box. For the store brand stuffing that I purchased I needed butter and chicken broth as the additional ingredients.

You can cook it on the stove top or make it in the microwave. Once it is cooked, fluff it with a fork and set it aside for the topping to the casserole.

Frozen or Fresh Broccoli

The ingredient list calls for frozen broccoli florets that have been thawed. If you have a bag of broccoli in your freezer you are good to go.

However, I will often times use fresh broccoli instead. Before adding fresh broccoli to the casserole, you will need to par boil or steam it so that it is tender enough to eat.

Boil it for a few minutes on the stove top or put it in a steamer until it is just fork tender, but not falling apart. Then you can add the fresh broccoli to the casserole as instructed.

Chicken Broccoli Stuffing Casserole Recipe

*A printable recipe card is located at the bottom of this article which contains the specific measurements, temperatures and cook times. However, continue reading below to learn about more helpful tips about this specific recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
• 1 cups frozen baby broccoli florets, thawed and drained
• 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 6 oz. package stuffing mix, plus additional ingredients called for in the cooking instructions

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350*F (177°C). Grease an 8 x 8 inch baking dish and set aside.

If you need to cook your chicken do so now. Then shred it and measure out 1 1/2 cups and set it aside.

Cook the stuffing according to package directions. My brand of stuffing mix required butter and chicken broth as the additional ingredients and I cooked it in the microwave to save time.

Fluff the stuffing with a fork and set aside.

Thaw and drain the frozen broccoli florets. Or if you are using fresh broccoli par boil or steam until just fork tender. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk the condensed cream of chicken soup and milk together until well incorporated. Stir in the cooked shredded chicken and thawed broccoli florets or fresh steamed broccoli.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and spread it out evenly. Place the stuffing on top of the chicken mixture and spread it out in an even layer.

Cover the dish with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for 5-10 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbly along the sides and the stuffing begins to brown.

Serve warm.

Be sure to check out another one of my favorite chicken and stuffing casserole recipes that is cooked in a slow cooker instead of the oven: Crock Pot Chicken & Stuffing Casserole.

Enjoy! Mary

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