Chicken Divan Curry Casserole Recipe

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This Creamy and cheesy Chicken Divan Curry Casserole recipe is a delicious and easy make-ahead family dinner! Served with rice, it truly doesn’t get much easier.

This Chicken Divan Casserole is comfort food at it’s finest! Browned chicken and tender broccoli are cooked in a creamy and cheesy sauce with onions, garlic, and warm curry flare. Then crispy panko breadcrumbs finish off this delicious dinner. I love to serve it over rice, but you could also serve it with noodles, potatoes, or poured over a huge chunk of crusty bread!

Do you meal plan your dinners?  It makes weeknights so much easier!  Check out my Meal Planning Theme Night Recipes and then add this one to Throwback Thursdays to use up leftover chicken.

Jump to:

• Mom’s Midwest Chicken Divan
• Simple Ingredients and Substitutes
• Simple Equipment
• Time Saving Prep-Ahead Steps
• Variations on this Chicken Casserole
• Chicken Divan Curry Casserole FAQs
• Want More Easy Dinner Casseroles?
• Chicken Divan Curry Casserole Recipe
• Comments

Mom’s Midwest Chicken Divan

I grew up in a suburb of Chicago, so we ate lots of hearty meat and potato dishes along with chicken casseroles. And Chicken Broccoli Divan was a classic in my house.  The original recipe came from a restaurant in New York City and was then popularized in the 50’s with home cooks.  My Mom’s version was chicken, broccoli, mixed with a can of condensed cream soup and some other ingredients. I loved it!

This version is just as easy, I promise!! But it doesn’t use canned soup. And I have added curry because my daughters now love the flavor of curry and I’m running with it! The curry spices give the cream sauce in this casserole so much warmth and depth, your family will love it too.

Simple Ingredients and Substitutes

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• Uncooked Long grain White rice – You can substitute with any rice that you have on hand, such as serving this over jasmine rice. You can also sub in quinoa, egg noodles, regular noodles, brown rice, or cauliflower rice.
• Fresh Broccoli Florets – Broccoli and chicken are the stars of this show, but you can certainly use cauliflower, zucchini, or carrots as well.
• Chicken breasts, boneless skinless – You can replace the raw chicken with precooked or leftover chicken or leftover turkey to save time. I always have raw chicken breasts in the freezer as they can last up to 12 months if in an airtight container or packaging. Check out all of my tips on Prepping and Storing Chicken for Easier Dinners.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil for cooking chicken and onions
• Onion, diced – I used yellow onion, but you can use white onion, red onion, shallots, or even scallions. If you don’t have fresh onion, you can also use a tablespoon of onion flakes or onion powder.
• Fresh Garlic cloves, minced – Fresh is best in this simple recipe, but you can buy the pre-minced garlic sold in a small jar or use dried garlic flakes or garlic powder.
• Salted Butter – Butter is used for making the roux in the gravy base. You can also use unsalted butter. You can substitute with another fat, but you do really need a fat to make the smooth thick roux. Substitutes for butter can be Ghee (clarified butter), olive oil, coconut oil, or other butter or oil product.
• All purpose white flour – This is the thickener to mix with the butter/fat.
• Milk – I used 1% milk, but any milk will work, including unsweetened soy, almond, or coconut milk. If you want even creamier, you can add half and half or heavy cream. You can also eliminate the milk and replace it with water or chicken stock.
• Chicken Broth or stock – You can also use, vegetable broth or stock or beef broth or stock. You can also use water mixed with a beef or chicken bouillon cube or beef base or chicken base.
• Curry Powder – Curry powder can be found in the spice aisle or in the International foods aisle. Use your favorite brand or blend.
• Shredded gruyere or white cheddar cheese – The cheese adds creaminess and thickness to the sauce, but it’s not absolutely necessary in this recipe. You want a nice melty white cheese like gruyere, white cheddar, monterey jack, or gouda.
• Fresh Italian Parsley, chopped – Fresh parsley is best, don’t even bother with dried parsley. You can substitute in other fresh herbs, such as basil or oregano.
• Panko Bread Crumbs – Panko gives such a nice crunchy topping. You can substitute with regular breadcrumbs, crushed ritz crackers, crushed potato chips, or cheese.

See recipe card for quantities.

Simple Equipment

For this recipe, to start, you need a large skillet/frying pan for browning the chicken, then making the sauce. I used my 12″ Ceramic Pan, because food really does slide right off with minimal oil and I don’t have to worry about food sticking and burning. 

For cooking in the oven, you need a medium to large casserole dish that’s approximately 10×10, 10×12, 11×11, or similar. You also need something to cover it while it cooks, such as an oven-safe lid or aluminum foil.

I also used a small-medium pot with lid for the rice and mincing garlic is made super easy with a Garlic Press.

Time Saving Prep-Ahead Steps

We are all extremely busy and making dinner during the week can be overwhelming. Here are steps you can prepare ahead to save time on busy nights! (See the full recipe below) 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cook the Rice.

Dice the onion, mince the garlic, and chop the parsley. Set these aside for the sauce. Cut off the broccoli florets and place in the casserole dish.

Cut the raw chicken into 2-3 inch pieces so that you can get a few bites out of each one. After cutting the chicken, season it with salt and pepper on all sides.

Preheat a large pan over medium heat.  

To the same pan with all of the browned bits still in the pan, add another teaspoon of olive oil and the onions and garlic. Cook the onions until soft and translucent.

Pour the creamy sauce all over the chicken and the broccoli florets and stir to combine. Cover and cook in oven for 30 minutes.

Remove cover and sprinkle with panko bread crumbs. Put back in the oven for another 5-8 minutes until the top is lightly golden brown. Let the casserole rest for 5-10 minutes, then serve with rice or noodles and enjoy!!

Variations on this Chicken Casserole

You can change up this recipe in so many different ways by changing the seasonings the vegetables, the proteins, or the toppings. Here are just a few ideas.

• Divan Classic Recipe (non-curry) – If you want to go with the more traditional flavors, simply eliminate the Curry powder. You can replace with dried oregano or thyme or even Italian seasoning for more herby flavor.
• Mexican – Instead of Curry powder, try adding Taco Seasoning! Then replace the breadcrumbs with crushed tortilla chips.
• Vegetarian – Replace the chicken with browned Chickpeas and add in more veggies, such as carrots and mushrooms.

Chicken Divan Curry Casserole FAQs

Can I Use Canned Soup Instead Of Making The Sauce?

To save time, you can use cream of chicken soup or cream of mushroom soup or other similar condensed canned soups. To use it, you will use the entire can in its condensed form to replace the flour and milk. You will still need to combine it with a small amount of broth, but reduce the broth from 1 ½ cups to only ½ cup. Add the condensed soup and the broth to the onions in Cooking Step #3.

Can I Make This Chicken Casserole Ahead?

You can make this Chicken casserole ahead, making it great for meal prep! Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.  Reheat it in a microwave safe container and warm it for 1-2 minutes. In the oven, cover it and warm it for 15-20 minutes at 350 F degrees.

Can This Casserole Be Frozen?

You can freeze this cooked recipe by first cooling it in the refrigerator. Then transfer it to a freezer safe airtight container. You can even freeze it in individual portions. It will keep in the freezer for up to 9 months. To reheat, thaw it in the fridge 24 hours before cooking. Then place in either the oven at 350 F for 20 minutes or in the microwave oven for 5 minutes and then another minute at a time until fully warmed through.

Want More Easy Dinner Casseroles?

If you like this delicious and easy family casserole, then you will love these recipes too!

Have you tried this recipe? If so, please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe below! I love to hear your feedback and your rating helps others to find this recipe. Thanks so much!