Healthy Chicken Divan – Classic Chicken & Broccoli Casserole
Have you noticed that I am really getting into a groove here with these comfort food makeovers? Today I made Chicken Divan with broccoli, (a little) sour cream and Parmesan- it’s a healthy version of the comfort food casserole made without canned soup and no mayo! It’s the creamy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole classic recipe we all love, but it’s made entirely from scratch.
This post contains affiliate links. I originally shared this recipe on November 18th, 2016. I have updated the text today.
What is Chicken Divan?
Chicken Divan is a broccoli and chicken casserole in creamy gravy that’s enriched with mayonnaise. It’s often made with cream of mushroom soup, whole milk, sour cream and/or mayonnaise, and a good amount of buttery breadcrumbs. It’s the type of dish your mom and grandma likely grew up eating, and you’ve probably eaten it at least once in your life (even if you didn’t realize it at the time!).
I’ve only made the original canned soup version once, and it had frozen broccoli, mushroom soup and a lot of mayonnaise in it. It was so rich and salty, I could see why it’s such a crowd-pleasing classic.
This version, though it tastes savory and rich, is much leaner, and there is no canned soup, no mayo, no frozen veggies… just delicious green fresh broccoli, lean chicken and a homemade gravy you’ll get raves about!
Ingredients For This Healthy Chicken and Broccoli Divan
Before we get into the details of how to make this chicken divan recipe, let’s talk about the specifics of the ingredients. A traditional Chicken Divan casserole is yummy but normally high in calories.
I had to play around with this healthier formula a bit because I wanted to make it without the added calories of mayonnaise, but I wanted it to seem rich and saucy like traditional Chicken Divan. Additionally, sometimes they are made with canned soup or high-fat dairy products, such as melted butter or heavy cream. For this healthier version I use the following ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound boneless-skinless chicken breast
- 1 large onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon dry thyme
- ¼ cup dry sherry
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 pieces medium crowns Broccoli
- ½ cup water
- 3 tablespoons panko
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Step By Step Instructions To Make This Chicken Casserole
Step 1: Preheat oven to 400ºF. Coat a 2 ½ quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
Step 2: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring once or twice, until browned on the outside and just cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil.
If you want to make this recipe with leftover chicken, turkey or rotisserie chicken, you can skip this step.
Step 3: Return the skillet to medium heat and add 2 teaspoons of oil. Add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme and cook, stirring often until the onion is softened and starting to brown slightly 3 to 4 minutes. Add sherry, increase heat to high and simmer, scraping up any browned bits (or until the sherry is almost completely evaporated), 1 to 3 minutes.
Step 4: Stir in 1 ½ cups broth and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Stir the remaining ½ cup broth and flour in a small bowl to make a slurry. Gradually whisk the slurry into the simmering vegetable mixture. Bring it to a simmer, stirring constantly. The sauce will thicken when it reaches the simmering point.
Step 5: Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in 1/3 cup parmesan and sour cream. Stir in the chicken and any accumulated juices. If you are making this recipe with leftover roasted turkey or rotisserie chicken, you can stir that in now.
Step 6: Meanwhile, place broccoli and ½ cup water in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover with a layer of parchment and then a layer of plastic wrap and microwave until the broccoli is bright green, about 2 minutes. Carefully remove the cover, drain broccoli.
Step 7: Add the broccoli to the chicken mixture. Mix thoroughly. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish.
Step 8: Top with the remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan. Mix the remaining 1 teaspoon oil with panko and paprika in a small dish. Sprinkle over the casserole. Bake until hot and bubbly and is heated all the way through. The top will be nice and golden. This takes about 15 to 22 minutes.
Expert Tips and FAQs For This Recipe
This chicken divan recipe is a perfect make-ahead meal. Prepare the casserole through step 7 and cover it with aluminum foil. Refrigerate for 1 day. Transfer covered to a 350 degrees oven and heat through, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove foil, then continue with adding topping etc with step 8.
To Reheat in a microwave: cover loosely with a paper towel or parchment. Heat on half power for four minutes. Test to see if it is hot through with an instant-read thermometer. If not, continue heating at half power for one minute at a time.
To Reheat in the oven: Cover loosely with foil. Heat at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes or until it is hot all the way through.
I like to serve this with pasta, egg noodles or crusty bread because all the sauce needs some sort of starch to go with it. If you are watching your carbs, you can also use Cauliflower Rice as your side dish.
You can serve this Roasted Butternut Squash as a side dish too.
For a menu where you’ll be serving vegetarians too, you could also serve a more substantial starch side dish that could stand in as a vegetarian main course, like this Vegetarian Thanksgiving Pilaf with Pumpkin.
Using Fresh Broccoli For Chicken Divan
One of the hallmarks of a traditional Chicken Divan recipe, which is typically made with frozen broccoli, is the soft, soaked in gravy texture of the broccoli. But when I was making this version from scratch with FRESH broccoli, the broccoli was coming out crunchy.
After a couple of recipe tests, I ended up finding that if I partially cooked the broccoli it in the microwave first, it could soften ever so slightly. That way it cooked more quickly in the sauce but didn’t get mushy.
Now, it cooks a little more in the oven as the breadcrumb topping browns, and the end result is that classic tender broccoli texture everyone knows and loves about chicken divan. It is now a family favorite and far healthier!
More Healthy Comfort Foods:
- This Chicken and Rice Casserole is one of my most popular casserole recipes.
- I have been obsessing over these Oven Baked Meatballs with Parmesan this fall.
- Slow Cooker Beef Chuck with Pasta – one of my all time “near and dear” recipes.
- Healthy 30-Minute Chicken Parmesan– for chicken lovers, this is a much healthier way of enjoying Chicken Parm.
- Healthy Mac and Cheese with Kale, this is a simple stove-top mac and cheese. Super fast for a weeknight.
- Healthy Chicken Paprika Skillet– if you love creamy chicken recipes, you have to make this one!
- Spicy Caramelized Pasta from The Original Dish- so creamy!!!
- Italian Baked Chicken Meatballs from Modern Proper
- 30 Minute Gnocchi all’Amatriciana from Plays Well With Butter
Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!
Happy Cooking! ~Katie
PrintChicken Divan Recipe
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
This Chicken Divan is a healthy comfort food make over made with no mayonnaise. The chicken and tons of broccoli are cooked in a creamy sauce in one pot. Ready in under 1 hour it’s the perfect cozy Winter dinner!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 pound boneless-skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized chunks
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dry thyme
- 1/4 cup dry sherry
- 2 cups chicken broth, divided
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 pieces medium crowns Broccoli chopped into small pieces (about 6 cups)
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 tablespoons panko
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Coat a 2 ½ quart baking dish with cooking spray.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring once or twice, until browned on the outside and just cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil.
- Return the skillet to medium heat and add 2 teaspoons oil. Add onion, garlic, salt, pepper and thyme and cook, stirring often until the onion is softened and starting to brown slightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Add sherry, increase heat to high and simmer, scraping up any browned bits (or until the sherry is almost completely evaporated), 1 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in 1 ½ cups broth and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Stir the remaining ½ cup broth and flour in a small bowl to make a slurry. Gradually whisk the slurry into the simmering vegetable mixture. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. The sauce will thicken when it reaches the simmering point.
- Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in 1/3 cup parmesan and sour cream. Stir in the chicken and any accumulated juices.
- Meanwhile, place broccoli and ½ cup water in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover with a layer of parchment and then a layer of plastic wrap and microwave until the broccoli is bright green, about 2 minutes. Carefully remove cover, drain broccoli.
- Add the broccoli to the chicken mixture. Mix thoroughly. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish.
- Top with the remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan. Mix the remaining 1 teaspoon oil with panko and paprika in a small dish. Sprinkle over the casserole. Bake until hot all the way through and the top is golden, 15 to 22 minutes.
Notes
Reheating Instructions
This casserole can be reheated in the microwave or in the oven.
To Reheat in a microwave: cover loosely with paper towel or parchment. Heat on half power for four minutes. Test to see if it is hot through with an instant read thermometer. If not, continue heating at half power for one minute at a time.
To Reheat in the oven: Cover loosely with foil. Heat at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes or until it is hot all the way through.
To Make Ahead: Prepare through step 6 and cover with aluminum foil. Refrigerate for 1 day. Transfer covered to a 350 degrees oven and heat through, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove foil, then continue with adding topping etc with step 7.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 1/3 cup
- Calories: 292
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 61 mg
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 14 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 24 g
I love how you lightened up this classic (and favorite) chicken casserole! Delish!
I plugged this into recipe creator on WW’s website for the Freestyle points and I’m so excited to say if using fat free sour cream, 1 serving is only 4 Freestyle points. Eeeeeee!!!! I’m so excited to make this for the week!
That’s great to hear! Hope you enjoy it Stephanie.
I made this tonight. It was delicious. Thank you.
Lynn
I made this for my family tonight and we loved it! Super delicious and I absolutely love that it doesn’t contain “cream of something” soup! This also works well with Weight Watchers. I calculated it at 8 Smart Points per serving.
You are so awesome for coming back to report! I really appreciate that. And also thank you for the information about the WW points. I know other readers will find that useful!
My husband and I loved this dish and didn’t miss the mayo at all. This was still rich and satisfying and I’ll certainly make it over and over. Thanks for the recipe!!!
I am so glad to hear it. Thank you for coming back with your feedback. I really appreciate that!
OMG….just watching a show of TV, where they are serving Chicken Divan…I remember eating this as a kid all the time, and I always loved it, so of course when it came up on TV, I got a craving, so I googled recipes, and got all the typical mayonaise recipes….and then i found yours. I AM DEFINITELY making this recipe…..it sounds so good, my mouth is watering. I will post another comment with a picture if possible of my attempt. Thank you….This sounds delicious!
I am so happy to hear it!
I saw this on your Instagram and went YUM!!! Gonna try it very soon with gluten free ingridents. It’ll be perfect for a cold day. I must add that I’ve had a very similar shopping experience recently. I usually shop at Whole Foods and once in a while at Nob Hill (Raleys) and one time I was making a “test cake” that was only gonna get tasted by one person then given away if anyone wanted it. I decided to just use conventional ingridents instead of what I usually buy. Going to Nob Hill and looking in the middle isles was like getting lost in a maze of products. Organic = 2-3 options, while conventional = 10+ Options with low fat, no fat, calcium added, sugar free, omega 3, 2% 1% and a hundred of other options. My shopping took so much more longer because all I wanted was a simple product. It took me 8 minutes to find plain peanut butter with no fixings, and even after I paid and got home, I realized I picked up a “1/3 sugar less” peanut butter. Jeez!
Yes the reading of labels! Takes for ever, and then getting the wrong thing by mistake. That’s the worst. I came home with Jasmine tea by mistake recently because it looked so much like the rooibos I normally buy. I was so mad at myself. Ha ha. What the heck is 1/3 less sugar peanut butter anyway? Shouldn’t all peanut butter be sugar free? Ha ha. Thanks so much for coming by Auzeen. Hope you have a great day.
Looks deliciously hearty!!
I’m a broccoli lover, so guess what went right into my to cook list? Thanks for another wonderful healthy recipe 😉
That’s awesome Claudia! Thank you so much, and please let me know if you try it.
What a wonderful dinner for winter. I love chicken divan but follow the mayo addition in recipes. This dish sounds healthier and just as delicious. Love how you keep the broccoli from turning into mush. Yum.
Thank you so much Ali and I’m glad you stopped by.
Oh my gosh, I totally wouldn’t have guessed this was healthy from looking at it!! It looks utterly divine; I’ll definitely be making this some time after Christmas when we have over indulged!
Ha ha, love the idea of this fooling the eye. Have a great holiday season Annie and let me know if you do try it.
Oooh, I love Chicken Divan but usually avoid it because of how fattening it is. This recipe sounds so fresh and delicious – can’t wait to give it a try. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks so much Tara. Hope you do, and please let me know if you like it!
You put a lot of work in developing this healthy version of chicken divan. It sounds delicious and so much more healthy then the standard version.
Thank you so much. Have a great day!
Awesome healthy recipe! Brings me back to childhood:)
Thanks so much Maria.
It looks really really good. I love how you skipped mayonnaise and used healthier ingredients. The addition of sherry is really interesting. Saving this recipe to try 😉 Sharing this! Have a great weekend Katie 🙂
Thank you for sharing, and so glad you stopped by. Please come back and let us know if you do try this recipe Natalie. Have a great day.