This curry chicken broccoli casserole has bite-sized pieces of chicken and broccoli layered and topped with a creamy, curry flavored sauce with a splash of lemon juice, then topped with extra-sharp cheddar cheese and then garnished with crunchy garlic flavored croutons. There are some many levels of flavor to this casserole, there is no doubt that you’ll love it as much as we do.
The History Behind This Recipe
“If I had my life to live over again,
I would want it the same,
I would just open my eyes a little wider”
~ Unknown
This quote was one I chose for my senior high school yearbook page, at 18 I didn’t even know what that really meant, but I do now. Sometimes when I look back on my life, I feel like there were times when I was inside someone else’s body and lived someone else’s life.
Have you ever felt like that?
Like everyone, I have made mistakes, but I have learned from them. I have no regrets. The past made me who I am today. I’m a little older, a little wiser and there is not one single thing that I would go back and do differently. If I were to change one thing, I would not be where I am today. I truly believe that everyone takes the path in their life for a reason. Reflecting on things that have happened in my life, I know that I have been and I am still on the path that I am supposed to follow.
It’s funny how hindsight works, isn’t it?
In another lifetime ago, I learned how to make the curry chicken broccoli casserole I am about to share with you. In that lifetime, I was about 23 years old. As a newlywed, just beginning to cook meals for myself and my ex-husband. I didn’t know a lot about cooking and I didn’t know the importance of good quality ingredients. I took a lot of shortcuts and ate lots of processed foods along the way.
Since those days, I have learned a lot about cooking. I decided to make this curry chicken broccoli casserole again with better ingredients. Instead of using canned cream of chicken soup, I made it from scratch and I bought a high-quality mayonnaise for the sauce which really added to the flavor. I also changed some of the measurements and did some fine-tuning. All of these tweaks transformed this old recipe from another lifetime ago into something I will make more often in this lifetime.
How To Make Curry Chicken Broccoli Casserole
Make the Cream of Chicken Soup:
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter is completely melted, add the flour. Cook, stirring rapidly until the mixture is thick. Grab a whisk, then add the chicken stock, whisking until smooth. Next, add the milk. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until thickened. Remove from the heat and add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature before adding the casserole. (cool completely)
Learn more about making creamed condensed soups HERE.
The Chicken:
Pre-cook the chicken and cut into bite-size pieces, about ½-1-inch pieces. You can either roast it in the oven or poach it on the stove top. I find that poaching works best for boneless skinless chicken breasts.
Blanch the Broccoli:
Chop broccoli into bite-sized florets, about 1-inch. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; carefully drop the broccoli florets into the boiling water. Cook until crisp-tender and bright green, about 2 minutes. Dump the broccoli into a strainer and then immediately into an ice bath.
Assemble the Casserole:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a 13×9 baking dish, layer the broccoli into the bottom of the dish, then top with chicken; set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, add the cooled cream of chicken soup, mayonnaise, curry, lemon juice. Mix well with a whisk, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
Pour the curry cream mixture over the chicken and broccoli; use a spoon to smooth out, ensuring to cover all of the chicken.
Top with cheddar cheese and croutons.
Bake 20 to 30 minutes, cheese has melted, warmed through and the croutons have started to brown.
If the croutons get too brown before the casserole is warmed through, tent with foil.
Remove from the oven. Cool about 10 minutes before serving.
It’s hard to believe that I got this recipe for this Curry Chicken Broccoli Casserole 15 to 20 years ago. Who knows what will happen in the next 15 to 20 years. I may look back at this blog post and think it was another lifetime ago.
Curry Chicken Broccoli Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 whole boneless-skinless chicken breasts cooked and cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 broccoli large heads, cut into bite-size florets
- 8 ounces cream chicken soup recipe to follow,
- ½ cup mayonnaise good quality
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice fresh squeezed
- 2 cups extra-sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 cup croutons
Cream of Chicken Soup Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- ½ cup chicken stock
- ½ cup milk
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Make the Cream of Chicken Soup
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter is completely melted, add the flour. Cook, stirring rapidly until the mixture is thick. Grab a whisk, then add the chicken stock, whisking until smooth. Next, add the milk. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until thickened. Remove from the heat and add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature before adding the casserole. (cool completely)
Cook the Chicken
- Pre-cook the chicken and cut into bite-size pieces, about ½ to 1-inch pieces. You can either roast it in the oven or poach it on the stove top. I find that poaching works best for boneless skinless chicken breasts.
Blanche the Broccoli
- Chop broccoli into bite-sized florets, about 1-inch. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; carefully drop the broccoli florets into the boiling water. Cook until crisp-tender and bright green, about 2 minutes. Dump the broccoli into a strainer and then immediately into an ice bath.
The Casserole
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a 13x9 baking dish, layer the broccoli into the bottom of the dish, then top with chicken; set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, add the cooled cream of chicken soup, mayonnaise, curry, lemon juice. Mix well with a whisk, then season with salt & pepper to taste.
- Pour the curry cream mixture over the chicken and broccoli; use a spoon to smooth out, ensuring to cover all of the chicken.
- Top with cheddar cheese and croutons.
- Bake 20 to 30 minutes, cheese has melted, warmed through and the croutons have started to brown.
- If the croutons get too brown before the casserole is warmed through, tent with foil.
- Remove from the oven. Cool about 10 minutes before serving.
Julie is Hostess At Heart says
This recipe looks delicious! My cooking life has changed a lot like yours. I’ve always loved cooking, but time and knowledge have changed my dishes too.
The Mountain Kitchen says
Amazing what quality ingredients will do to recipes!
Cheryl "Cheffie Cooks" Wiser says
Hey Debbie, sounds delicious and I am sure each one of us have worked on better alternatives to our cooking style and the freshest ingredients we can find! Cheryl
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thanks Cheryl!
Annie @ Give Me Meatloaf says
YUM! Love curry – and this is similar to a casserole I grew up on (only crumbled Ruffles chips on top – LOL!) 🙂
The Mountain Kitchen says
Tater chips??? Yum!! ?
Dana @ IveGotCake says
Love the animation you’ve got going on here, this looks sooo good!!
I’ve been considering making old recipes from many moons ago too and given your success rate, I’m pretty inspired 😀
Love this post, thank you!
The Mountain Kitchen says
No, thank you, Dana! It is pretty therapeutic and I highly recommend it. Love those surprise animations I receive… ? This casserole was made new again and I cannot tell you how much better it was… Though it may be the company I shared it with… Lmao!
Jenny says
This casserole looks so delicious! I think my family would enjoy it very much. I love looking back to “old times” and seeing how much my cooking has evolved too, and how I have changed too. The path is what makes us who we are. Glad you are happy with how your path is unfolding. 🙂
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thanks, Jenny! You and your family will love this casserole, I’m sure of it!
Julie Grabeel says
My mom used to call this dish Tricia Nixon Casserole! Dated for sure but so yummy!!
The Mountain Kitchen says
Hi Julie! Thanks for the great feedback. I didn’t know that it was this was called, but it is an old recipe. Thanks for commenting!
Linda D. says
This was a big hit with my husband! I had to make a few minor tweaks to make this gluten free and I mixed the cheese in instead of putting it on the top. Great recipe!
The Mountain Kitchen says
Great! So happy you enjoyed this recipe and made it your own!
Maureen says
Have been making original and changing here and there. Love this version. Homemade cream of chicken soup a gem. Just the two of us, so I cut everything in 1/2 and used a two quart square glass baking dish. (8X8X2). Outstanding meal. The ,emon juice and curry proportion is perfect.
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thanks for your feedback, Maureen. We’re glad you like this recipe. It’s one of our favorites!
Sydney says
Just like my mom used to make. This is nearly identical to our own family recipe for Chicken Divan! Thanks for sharing!