When my little boy was 4-years-old he made an “all about me” book in his preschool class. On one of the pages they wrote and drew a picture of their favorite food. Most of the kids wrote typical things like “pizza” or “chicken nuggets” but his teachers got a huge kick out of his, which was “chicken divan”! It’s his favorite food to this day, and every one of my kids shouts for joy when chicken divan is on the menu, which is just like me and my siblings when my mom would make it for us growing up.
Traditional chicken divan is loaded with cheese, sour cream and bread crumbs, but I far prefer this healthier version!. There’s so much flavor in the yummy sauce and this is a super easy dish for a weeknight meal. Creamy chicken curry sauce layered over rice, chicken and vegetables. It’s basically a healthier version of chicken and broccoli casserole. I love that you can make it first thing in the morning and pop it in the oven at dinner time.
What is chicken divan?
Chicken divan has been a popular American casserole for many years. Chicken divan is essentially a a rice casserole layered with chicken, broccoli, and a creamy curry-like sauce. Traditional chicken divan is topped with a layer of cheese and baked in the oven.
How to make easy Chicken Divan:
First prepare 3 cups of cooked rice, one head of streamed broccoli, and about 7 cooked chicken tenders. Next, make the sauce by mixing cream of chicken soup, mayonnaise or Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and curry powder. Finally, assemble the chicken divan casserole by layering the rice, chicken and broccoli and then sauce. Bake it in the oven at 350 for 25 minutes! It’s that easy!
Ingredients in chicken divan:
- cooked chicken
- cooked rice
- steamed broccoli
- cream of chicken soup
- lemon juice
- mayonnaise
- curry powder
Consider trying these popular family-friendly dinner recipes:
- Slow Cooker Pot Roast
- Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
- Honey-Lime Chicken Enchiladas
- Italian Grilled Cheese
- Gourmet Baked Mac N Cheese with Bacon
- Crispy BBQ Chicken Wraps
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This delicious Chicken Divan casserole is made with rice, broccoli, chicken and a creamy curry sauce. It's a healthier version of the traditional chicken divan and I'm confidant your family will LOVE it!
- 7 chicken tenders , cooked and cubed
- 2 cups long grain white rice or use brown rice, or wild grain)
- 2 cups fresh broccoli florets , steamed
- 2 cans cream of chicken soup (or double my homemade recipe)
- 1 cup mayonnaise (or plain Greek yogurt)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon curry powder , or more, to taste
Cook rice according to package instructions.
Meanwhile, season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and cook in a hot skillet until no longer pink, flipping once. Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before chopping into pieces.
Spoon the cooked rice into a 9x13'' pan or similar size casserole dish. Layer cook chicken and steamed broccoli on top of the rice, followed by steamed broccoli pieces.
Make the sauce by mixing the cream of chicken soup, mayonnaise or yogurt, lemon juice and curry powder.
Spoon sauce over the top of the chicken and rice.
Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.
Recipe Video
Make Ahead Instructions:
Prepare recipe up to step 5. Cover and refrigerate up to 1 day ahead. Remove from fridge while your oven preheats. Bake as directed.
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
*I originally shared this recipe March 2014. Updated November 2018.
Living the Scream says
March 14, 2014 at 2:34 pmThis looks so yum! I love cooking with broccoli. My kids actually love it too!
Pam from Over the Big Moon says
March 14, 2014 at 2:35 pmThis is one of our families favorite recipes (not the skinny version) – in fact I was just talking to my mom about it and she’s making it for family dinner on Sunday. I’m gonna have to pass this version of it on to her! Thanks lady!
Amber Brady says
March 14, 2014 at 2:38 pmI love chicken divan! But I use miracle whip and a little brown sugar.
Erica Brooks says
March 14, 2014 at 3:13 pmIt looks delicious. I’ve never had this dish. I think my kids will enjoy it.
jessandbryce says
March 14, 2014 at 4:32 pmIs this really Chris’s favorite?? My whole family makes fun of me because it is my favorite meal! (Not the skinny version though, haha)! Ours never had bread crumbs in it though. Its fun how there are so many different variations of a classic!
Kathleen says
March 15, 2014 at 2:12 amSounds good. I need some healthy stuff in my life. I’ve never had this before, although I have heard of it. Kathleen @ Fearlessly Creative Mammas
Sherri says
December 4, 2018 at 12:58 pmI made this last week for my family of boys and everyone absolutely loved it. The sauce is so good, and I love how easy it was. I used a box of wild rice and some cooked white rice that I had leftover in the fridge.
Kat says
March 13, 2019 at 3:05 pmThis was my favorite meal growing up! We called it chicken broccoli casserole and our recipe is basically identical to yours. I’ve never seen it outside my family.
H.L. says
May 1, 2019 at 4:48 amJust fabulous! I used your cream of chicken recipe with almond milk. It was so easy and it worked out great! I forgot to double the recipe for soup but it was still so tasty.
So wonderful to have healthy choices like greek yogurt and homemade soup, thank you!
Next time I will try it with homemade mayo just to see the difference.
So delicious, healthy comfort food! A-plus.
Lauren Allen says
May 1, 2019 at 9:20 amWonderful to hear! Thanks so much for the positive comment.