Chicken Broccoli & Rice Casserole Freezer Meal
I always love a good freezer meal, and this chicken broccoli rice casserole is one of the easiest I have ever made! I came across this recipe as I was trying to make a few things to give a friend while she goes through a rough patch in her life, and I knew right away that it was perfect. Good old comfort food. And it is easy to whip up, store, and cook!
This chicken broccoli and rice casserole recipe makes 4 bags, and each bag fills an 8×8 pan and serves about 5 people.
Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole Ingredients
The ingredients for this recipe are all very common – you’ll probably already have some of them on hand. All very affordable too! They’re even cheaper if you use some grocery store money saving tactics.
Here are some substitutions you can make for your chicken broccoli rice casserole:
- Use either white rice or brown rice
- You can use frozen or fresh broccoli (feel free to use more if you’d like to make it a bit more healthy)
- Substitute cream of chicken soup for cream of celery, cream of mushroom, or a different cream soup. Or use homemade cream of chicken soup!
Shredding the Cheese
Since you do have to shred quite a bit of cheese for this recipe, doing it all by hand can be a bit time-consuming. I like to use a rotary cheese shredder to speed up the process. Or you can just buy it pre-shredded from the store. Note that pre-shredded cheese does not melt as readily, but still works well.
After you’ve got all of your ingredients prepared this recipe gets really easy. You just need to add all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix everything up nicely. That’s it!
Can you freeze chicken and rice?
In this recipe, yes! Once everything is mixed up, simply divide the mixture into 4 separate gallon-size freezer bags, and place them all in the freezer for later. Now you’ve got 4 easy dinners prepared for whenever you need them. When you’re ready to cook one of the frozen chicken broccoli rice casseroles, just make sure to thaw it for at least 8 hours, then bake. Enjoy!
You might also like these recipes:
- Easy Cream Cheese Chicken Freezer Meal
- Slow Cooker Beef and Mushrooms Freezer Meal
- Chicken Pillows Freezer Meal
- Skillet Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
- 50+ Healthy Make Ahead Freezer Meals
Learn More About Freezer Meal Cooking:
- Top 5 Benefits of Freezer Meal Cooking
- Freezer Meal Cooking: Is It Better In a Group?
- 24 Freezer Meal Tips to Make Your Life Easier
- Foods You Shouldn’t Freeze
- Freezer Meal eBook
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Chicken Broccoli & Rice Casserole Freezer Meal
Equipment
- Large bowl
- 8x8 inch pan
Ingredients
- 10 cups cooked rice white or brown
- 4 cups cooked chicken chopped
- 4 cups chopped broccoli lightly steamed (can use frozen or fresh)
- 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
- 2 cans cream of chicken soup
- 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
To Freeze:
- Divide into four resealable freezer bags and seal tightly. Freeze flat.
To Serve:
- Thaw overnight (or for 8 hours) in the refrigerator.
- Dump into a greased casserole dish (each bag will fill an 8x8-inch pan; two bags will fill a 9x13-inch pan).
- Sprinkle with additional shredded cheese, if desired.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, or until heated through and bubbly.
I halved the recipe as stirring together this quantity of ingredients would be very difficult. I used frozen broccoli and did not precook it from the bag, and it was still tender. I also added some frozen onions to my recipe. ( I bet you can put in just about any frozen vegetables you choose.) I used packaged grated cheese as it saves time and my hands. This recipe is also a good idea for us retired boomers, and I bet it can be frozen in smaller portions in quart bags. I expect it’s also great to have on hand for pot luck bake and take. I has a good comfy food taste, and I bet is good with a shake or two of hot sauce.
Thank you for the great ideas.
Thank you for sharing all of your great ideas, Kathy! Wonderful!
When I defrost it, I add fresh mushrooms and turns out like a risotto. Yummy! Thanks
Excellent! Thank you for sharing that tip with us, Kate!
Can we freeze in disposable aluminum pans instead of bags?
Yes, I think that would work fine. 🙂
can I use cream of mushroom soup instead of one of the cans of cream of chicken?