If you’re looking for a Chicken Divan Casserole that’s slightly elevated from more traditional (think: canned soup) recipes, but JUST as comforting, packed with incredible flavor, and will genuinely leave everyone at the table WOW-ing, buckle up, because you’re in the right place and will be making this over and over again.
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Chicken Divan has quite the history! Originally created at the Divan Parisien Restaurant located at the Chatham Hotel in NYC by a chef named Lagasi, this creamy chicken casserole was the classic, signature dish for MANY a years. The hallmark ingredients included in Chicken Divan Casserole are chicken, broccoli, a creamy sauce, and a crunchy (usually breadcrumb or crushed cracker) topping.
The Best Recipe for Chicken and Broccoli Casserole (Chicken Divan)
I have to be honest, this recipe took me several tries to get right. I wanted you give you a one-dish casserole and SO MANY of the other Chicken Divans out there call for: cooking the chicken, steaming the broccoli, making a soup, and THEN adding it all together for a final bake in the oven. As a very busy mom of 3 kids under 5, that just feels like way too much work for dinner. So, I worked on some hacks that also included a few whole-food ingredient upgrades.
I’m pretty proud of this final product and have to tell you, my husband (Austin, who’s the opposite of a foodie) WOW’ed his way through his bowl of this final version. He loved it, I loved it, even my girls (1, 2, and 4) loved it.
The neatest part about this version, is that the chicken bakes in the same casserole dish you’ll use for the final assembly. By pre-baking the chicken, you allow that moisture to release early so that your casserole stays nice and thick.
The broccoli goes in the dish raw, and will release some liquid, so if that bothers you, you can toss it into the ingredient mix already steamed.
The end result is so satisfying. You can serve it with mashed potatoes, rice, or just as-is (like I did).
Recipe Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds of chicken breast
- 9 ounces of broccoli florets
- 1 cup of sour cream
- 8 ounces of mushroom
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt, divided
- ½ teaspoon of black pepper
- ¾ cup of Panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 8 ounces of shredded cheese
Ingredient Variations and Modifications
- Use leftover chicken – use 3 cups of leftover cubed chicken breast instead of cooking your chicken from scratch here!
- Make it dairy-free – use dairy-free sour cream and omit the cheese for a dairy-free option.
How to Make
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Cook the chicken – sprinkle the chicken breast with a ½ teaspoon of salt and bake in your 9×13 casserole dish for 18 minutes (or until it has reached an internal temperature of 165°F at the thickest part). Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes, then chop into bite sized pieces.
- Reduce the oven to 350°F.
- Add the ingredients to a casserole dish – to the casserole dish, add the chopped chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, sour cream, and seasoning, and stir together.
- Bake – bake the Chicken Divan casserole uncovered for 25 minutes.
- Toast the breadcrumbs – while the casserole is baking, toast the breadcrumbs. Melt the butter in a saute pan, then add the bread crumbs and toast (stirring occasionally) until golden brown (about 5 minutes).
- Add the cheese and breadcrumbs to the casserole – add the cheese and breadcrumbs to the top of the casserole, and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.
- Serve and enjoy!
How to Serve
Chicken Divan can be served as is if you’re looking for a lower carb option or over rice (white or brown) if you want to add a starchy side. You can also add a nice green salad (like this easy Italian salad, a strawberry spinach salad, or this simple arugula salad) if you’re looking for an extra veggie.
How to Store
Store any leftover casserole in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Stored this way, it’ll last for up to 5 days.
Can you freeze this recipe?
You can absolutely freeze Chicken Divan! I’d actually recommend assembling the casserole (leaving off the breadcrumbs) and freezing it *before* it heads into the oven. If you’re going this route, these freezer-safe casserole dishes are great.
How do you reheat frozen chicken divan?
To reheat your frozen Chicken Divan casserole, simply pop it in a 350°F oven for 45 minutes to an hour, until heated through. While the casserole is baking, make the crispy breadcrumb topping – when there is about 10 minutes left on the timer, add the breadcrumbs to the casserole, and bake until finished.
Chicken Divan Casserole Recipe FAQ
“Divan” doesn’t seem to actually have much to do with the dish itself. It’s more about the location at which it was created – the Divan Parisien Restaurant in New York City.
Besides just plain delicious, Chicken Divan is a mix of broccoli, chicken, mushrooms (in this case), and a creamy sauce. So, it tastes just like those ingredients + a few spices and seasonings – it’s simple and so, so yummy.
Chicken Divan was first created in the 1930s or 40s (the exact date isn’t clear) by a chef named Legasi at the Divan Parisien Restaurant located at the Chatham Hotel in New York City.
Each serving of this creamy Chicken Divan (there are 6 altogether) is about 454 calories.
There are about 19 carbohydrates per serving (there are 6 servings in all!) of this Chicken Divan recipe.
Funny you should ask! We (Team Fed & Fit) actually didn’t know how to pronounce “divan” until quite recently! The correct pronunciation of the word “divan” is: duh-van (van like the vehicle).
Chicken Divan was first made sometime in the 1930s-40s – the exact date isn’t documented.
More Favorite Casserole Recipes
Chicken Divan Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds chicken breast
- 9 ounces broccoli florets
- 1 cup sour cream
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt divided
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 8 ounces shredded cheese
- 1 tablespoon curly parsley chopped, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Sprinkle the chicken breast with ½ of a teaspoon of salt and bake in your 9×13 casserole dish for 18 minutes (or until it has reached an internal temperature of 165°F at the thickest part). Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes, then chop into bite sized pieces.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.
- To the casserole dish, add the chopped chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, sour cream, and seasoning, and stir together.
- Bake the Chicken Divan casserole uncovered for 25 minutes.
- While the casserole is baking, toast the breadcrumbs. Melt the butter in a saute pan, then add the bread crumbs and toast (stirring occasionally) until golden brown (about 5 minutes).
- Add the cheese and breadcrumbs to the top of the casserole, and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.
- Serve, garnish with the optional parsley, and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Use leftover chicken – use 3 cups of leftover cubed chicken breast instead of cooking your chicken from scratch here!
- Make it dairy-free – use dairy-free sour cream and omit the cheese for a dairy-free option.
- Make it gluten-free – use gluten-free breadcrumbs (like we did!) to make your Chicken Divan casserole gluten-free.
Nutrition
oh my gosh, this is SO good! We love all the recipes we’ve made from Fed & Fit (and we’ve made a lot) but this may be my favorite, we are definitely adding this to the regular rotation!
What a compliment, Samantha! We are so glad to hear that this recipe was such a hit! Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us. We really appreciate it. -Team FF
Made this last night and the flavor is delicious! Like another commenter, I’m used to seeing curry in a divan recipe, but my husband was happy to see it out. Made it exactly as described. Even microwaved the broccoli for about 1.5 mins to precook a bit (and drained water out of that) which made them the perfect doneness, I think. The only thing I ran into was a lot of water in the bottom of the pan. May tweak things a bit next time to try to keep that in the sauce. But other than that, it was loved by all!
We are so glad that you enjoyed this dish, Karen! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience and feedback with us. We really appreciate it! -Team FF
Just made this tonight for my family and it was loved by all!! I used what I had on hand…subbed chicken thighs instead of breasts, and plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Also didn’t have any fresh veggies but I used some frozen peas and broccoli. Other than being a little extra watery from the frozen veggies I didn’t thaw in advance, it was awesome! It didn’t take long to complete start to finish. I’ll be making this again! Thank you!
We are so glad to hear that you and your family loved this recipe, Heather! Thank you for taking the time to share your experience (and thoughtful substitutions) with us! We really appreciate it. -Team FF
This looks delicious and a dish I’ve never heard of before, so interested to try! We aren’t big on mushrooms, so is there a good replacement for them or would you just omit them entirely? Usually I would just omit, but it looks like they are used pretty heavily in this dish and thought omitting would make the ratios off.
Hi Kendall! You can omit them, and the casserole will still be delicious (and maybe even a little extra creamy!), or you can replace them with more broccoli. Hope you enjoy! We would love to hear when you try. -Team FF
Can we freeze this to bake later? How would you suggest making this for a future meal? Thanks!
Hi Deb! You can absolutely freeze this casserole to enjoy later. You can prepare and then freeze prior to the final bake (leaving off the breadcrumbs and cheese to add when you plan to eat it) or you can prepare and assemble to casserole and freeze it (after cooking the chicken, but prior to baking with the broccoli and mushrooms), then allow everything to come together when you defrost and bake it. Let us know if you have additional questions! -Team FF
Can’t wait to try this but this is the first chicken Divan recipe I have seen without curry powder. Any reason y’all didn’t include that?
Interesting, Caroline! When we were formulating this recipe, we found the hallmark ingredients to include chicken, broccoli, a creamy sauce, and a crunchy topping of some kind, so that’s what we stayed true to with our own twist. -Team FF