Name: Chicken Divan Casserole with Homemade Sauce
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon butter; 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup milk; 1/2 cup chicken broth; 2 cups freshly grated cheddar cheese, white or yellow; Salt and pepper to taste; 3 cups precooked chicken, cubed or shredded (about 2 breasts); 2 cups frozen broccoli florets, thawed and chopped bite-sized; 12 ounces baby bella mushrooms, chopped; 1 clove, minced garlic; 1 tablespoon butter; Plus more cheese for topping; 1 tbsp of butter, melted; 1/2 cup Pepperidge Farm Stuffing Mix

This Chicken Divan Casserole is made with tender chicken and broccoli in a rich and creamy sauce. This is our go-to for weeknight dinners, served over rice or noodles. Makes great leftovers and NO “cream of…” soup!

There’s something about the goopy “cream of…” canned soup that just irks me. BUT! I’ve included a simple tutorial to make your own condensed cream of mushroom soup, instead.

This recipe isn’t exactly for the calorie counters: It does include cheese, butter and milk to make the sauce, but it’s worth the extra calories for sure!

Pouring cheese sauce over mushrooms, broccoli and chicken

Ingredients for Chicken Divan:

Chicken: You can use leftover chicken from my oven roasted chicken recipe, pick up a pre-made rotisserie chicken from the deli, or poached chicken. You can use chopped or shredded. It’s a matter of preference.
Broccoli: This recipe uses steamed, frozen broccoli. Make sure to drain well and allow to dry after steaming. Frozen broccoli does release some water, but the casserole will not be watery or affect the taste. If preferred, you can use fresh, steamed broccoli.
Sauce: It’s basically a Mornay sauce, which is a roux, with milk, broth and white cheddar cheese. It’s thick, rich and is the base for many casseroles.
Mushrooms: Since the traditional recipes call for cream of mushroom soup, I chop up fresh mushrooms and add them in separately from the sauce. It all gets mixed in anyway!
Cheese: You can use yellow cheddar or white cheddar. The taste is about the same. This recipe uses white cheddar, with a mix sprinkled of yellow and white cheddar sprinkled on top.
Topping: I use Pepperidge Farm Stuffing mix for the breadcrumbs. While we don’t use this product for making stuffing or dressing, this is great for breadcrumbs! If you have homemade breadcrumbs, you can use those too.

How to Make Chicken Divan Casserole

First, shred or chop your precooked chicken and place in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.
Top the chicken with broccoli and sauteed mushrooms.
Make the roux, add in cheese and simmer until it becomes a thick cheese sauce.
Pour over the chicken, broccoli and mushrooms.
Top with cheese, then breadcrumbs.
Bake and enjoy!

Make Ahead Instructions:

This is a great recipe to make ahead of time. Just assemble all the way up to the breadcrumb topping, then cover and refrigerate.

About 30 minutes before you are ready to bake, set the casserole out to come to room temperature. Add the breadcrumbs, then bake per the recipe.

What does Chicken Divan mean?

This recipe was named after the Divan Parisien Restaurant in the New York City Chatham Hotel where it was the signature dish almost 100 years ago!

How do you reheat Chicken Divan?

I love a good recipe that reheats easily! The topping won’t be as crisp, but all of the flavors will still be just as delicious!

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees and bake the leftovers in the casserole dish, uncovered, for about 30 minutes or until warmed through.

This is also great stuffed inside a crispy baked potato, or served over mashed potatoes.

Yield: 8 servings