I was at the grocery store earlier this week and saw a can of organic cream of mushroom soup in a display at the checkout. The moment saw the cream of mushroom soup, I got the biggest craving for an old school chicken and rice casserole. I don’t cook casseroles often but I sure do like them a lot!
I thew the can in my cart and came home to create my version of an old favorite. I jazzed it up with the addition of broccoli, sundried tomatoes, some herbs and cheese.
I didn’t have time to precook the chicken and the rice, and those steps just kind of seemed unnecessary, so I cooked everything together in one skillet and it worked out perfectly. I browned onions, chicken and garlic and then added the rice, broccoli, sundried tomatoes, spices and cooking liquid and let it cook with the lid on.
This chicken and rice skillet is (around) a 30 minute meal that cooks on the stovetop. I appreciated that I didn’t have to bake it like a traditional casserole and that the overall prep and cooking time was much shorter.
Note, there is an optional step to stick the skillet under the broiler to brown the cheese.
Another note, many of the recipes that I consulted called for frozen broccoli florets. I do not love the taste of frozen broccoli + I had two crowns of fresh broccoli on hand so I used fresh broccoli and it cooked up perfectly in the skillet with everything else.
I used white rice in this dish but I know I’m going to get questions about brown rice. I’m sure you could do it but you’d have to increase the cooking time quite a bit. I made no guarantees that your chicken might not be overcooked or your broccoli pretty mushy. If you try it, let me know!
This chicken and rice skillet is everything I wanted it to be and more! Creamy, comforting, flavorful and much lighter than a traditional casserole. I can’t wait to eat the leftovers tonight!
And just as I expected, Finn loved it too. I put it in bowl for him and he was scooping handfuls of it into his mouth. So sweet.
I hope you guys love this simple and delicious chicken and rice skillet with broccoli and sundried tomatoes as much as we did!
CHICKEN AND RICE SKILLET WITH BROCCOLI AND SUNDRIED TOMATOES
Do you like casseroles? If so, what are your favorites?
