Comfort food at it’s best with this Chicken Cheddar Broccoli Pasta dish. Tender pieces of chicken with broccoli wrapped up in a cheese sauce with pasta. Then it’s baked until bubbly, crisp and golden.

Who has settled into comfort food? Honestly, it’s still a million degrees where we live but I have starting testing a few comfort recipes while the end of summer is still hanging on. And if you are ready to dive into comforting dishes, this Chicken Cheddar Broccoli Pasta dish is a great place to start. I made it just recently and it’s a great take on my classic Macaroni and Cheese.

What Is This Pasta Dish Like

• Difficulty – The only slightly more difficult part is making the cheese sauce. Just follow the instructions in the recipe card and you should find it pretty straight forward. Also, this dish does not require many ingredients!
• Taste – This is creamy, cheesy and decadent!
• Serving – This easily makes about six servings. If you would like to make a bigger serving, you can adjust the serving size in the recipe card at the end of the post. Just remember to use a larger casserole dish.

Ingredients

• Pasta – This recipe uses rigatoni pasta.
• Broccoli – I used fresh broccoli florets. It was approximately 1/2 head of fresh broccoli.
• Butter – I used unsalted butter to make the roux sauce for the sauce.
• Flour – Regular wheat flour is used as a base with the butter to make the cheese sauce.
• Milk – I used regular whole dairy milk to make the sauce. It’s gives a rich texture.
• Cheddar cheese – I opted for sharp cheddar the the cheese sauce. It melts well, has a great flavour and makes the sauce creamy.
• Seasonings – This sauce uses garlic powder, salt and black pepper.
• Bread crumbs – For the topping, I added Panko bread crumbs to a little cheddar to give the macaroni and cheese a nice crust when baked.
• Chicken – To keep this recipe a little quicker, I opted for already cooked chicken. You can either use a rotisserie chicken, precooked chicken (from leftovers in your fridge), or store brought cooked chicken.

NOTE, The full recipe and ingredient list can be found at the end of the post in the recipe card.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven – Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC and have ready a 8 inch oval/round/square deep sided baking dish. An equivalent size will do.
2. Cook pasta – Cook pasta according to package, drain and set aside.
3. Blanche broccoli – Place the broccoli in a colander over a bowl or the sink. Blanche the broccoli by pouring over boiling water and then pouring over cold water. Shake the colander to remove any excess water and set aside.
4. Make sauce – In a medium sized saucepan set over medium to high heat, melt butter until sizzling. Whisk in flour until you have a paste and it has an aroma. This will take about 2 minutes. Gradually start whisking in your milk. Continue doing this until you have added all the milk and you have a slightly thickened sauce. Reduce heat to medium low and add most of the cheese, reserving about 1/2 cup for the top. Stir really well until all the cheese has melted into the sauce. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir and remove from heat.
5. Make topping – In a bowl combine the bread crumbs with the remaining cheese and set aside.
6. Assemble and bake – Pour the pasta into the prepared dish and add the cooked chicken and broccoli. Evenly pour over the sauce. Stir and cover with the bread crumb topping. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
7. Serve – Remove from oven and leave few minutes before serving.

Recipe Tips

• Prep ahead – This entire dish can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to bake. Just add 5 minutes to the baking time if keeping it in the fridge beforehand.
• Making the sauce – See full step-by-step recipe for Roux Sauce if you have never made a sauce this way before. It’s really easy.

Substitutions

• Chicken – I used precooked chicken for this recipe. You could use a Rotisserie Chicken and shred it up. Also the Roasted Spatchcock Chicken would also work really well for this recipe.
• Cheese – I used cheddar cheese for this dish. You can easily use Gouda, Havarti, Pepper Jack, Swiss or Mozzarella.
• Broccoli – You can leave out the broccoli if you like. Other vegetables that will work would be asparagus spears or green beans.

Serving

Serve it up with some Honey Garlic Butter Drizzled Carrots and some Crispy Roasted Potatoes if you are looking for a bigger dinner. A fresh salad like the Bacon Tomato Salad on the side would also go really great.

Old Fashioned Baked Macaroni and Cheese

This Old Fashioned Baked Macaroni and Cheese is an all time family favourite and a must make dinner. This recipe is kept pretty simple with just the pasta, cheese sauce and a bread crumb mixed with extra cheese for a topping. Great for dinners and potlucks!

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Broccoli & Cheddar Casserole

This Broccoli and Cheddar Casserole is basic & easy comfort foodnings. A dish for the whole family to enjoy as a side or even a main course.

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Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Let's dive into this classic Chicken Broccoli Casserole dish for a little bit of comfort. Tender pieces of chicken with broccoli wrapped up in a cheese sauce and baked until bubbly. A great dish to serve on busy days with a side of rice or pasta.

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US CustomaryMetric

Chicken Cheddar Broccoli Pasta

Comfort food at it's best with this Chicken Cheddar Broccoli Pasta dish. Tender pieces of chicken with broccoli wrapped up in a cheese sauce with pasta. Then it's baked until bubbly, crisp and golden.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: North American

Keyword: back to school dinners, baked pasta, macaroni and cheese, weeknight dinners

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 424kcal

Author: Julia Pinney

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb Rigatoni pasta
• 2 cups broccoli florettes cut small
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cup Cheddar cheese grated
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1 lb cooked chicken breast shredded or diced small

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC and have ready a 8 inch oval/round/square deep sided baking dish. An equivalent size will do.
• Cook pasta according to package, drain and set aside.
• Place the broccoli in a colander over a bowl or the sink. Blanche the broccoli by pouring over boiling water and then pouring over cold water. Shake the colander to remove any excess water and set aside.
• In a medium sized saucepan set over medium to high heat, melt butter until sizzling. Whisk in flour until you have a paste and it has an aroma. This will take about 2 minutes. Gradually start whisking in your milk. Continue doing this until you have added all the milk and you have a slightly thickened sauce. Reduce heat to medium low and add most of the cheese, reserving about 1/2 cup for the top. Stir really well until all the cheese has melted into the sauce. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir and remove from heat.
• In a bowl combine the bread crumbs with the remaining cheese and set aside.
• Pour the pasta into the prepared dish and add the cooked chicken and broccoli. Evenly pour over the sauce. Stir and cover with the bread crumb topping. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
• Remove from oven and leave few minutes before serving.

*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.

Nutrition Facts

Chicken Cheddar Broccoli Pasta

Amount Per Serving (1 serving)

Calories 424 Calories from Fat 252

% Daily Value*

Fat 28g43%

Saturated Fat 14g88%

Trans Fat 0.2g

Polyunsaturated Fat 2g

Monounsaturated Fat 9g

Cholesterol 111mg37%

Sodium 1409mg61%

Potassium 565mg16%

Carbohydrates 13g4%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 6g7%

Protein 29g58%

Vitamin A 870IU17%

Vitamin C 4mg5%

Calcium 389mg39%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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