Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Curry Casserole
Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Curry Casserole is an update of an earlier casserole recipe, and it’s great with leftover chicken or turkey! And this chicken broccoli casserole with curry flavors is low-carb, Keto, and gluten-free.
PIN Chicken Broccoli Curry Casserole to try it later!
The Friday Favorites recipe I’m featuring this week is this amazing Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Curry Casserole that’s been a hit with just about every one who’s ever tried it. And there’s a fun story too, about how this recipe morphed into the version you see here.
Years ago I came across a long-forgotten recipe for Chicken Broccoli Curry Casserole back in the archives. I remembered how much I used to like it, but it had canned soup which I’m not using so much these days, so I set out on a quest to make an updated version of the recipe without using soup.
It took several tries (involving both Jake and Kara) to come up with a new recipe that we considered a wow, but when Kara and I made the chicken broccoli casserole you see in these photos, we absolutely loved it!
We did make this into a recipe that’s more cheesy, and the updated version is also lower in carbs, and makes more servings than the old one. If you like the flavors here, I hope you’ll try this for a creamy cheesy dinner featuring chicken, broccoli, and curry flavors!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
- chicken breasts
- Poultry Seasoning (affiliate link)
- Dried Thyme (affiliate link)
- water or chicken stock, I used my homemade chicken stock
- broccoli
- mayo
- sour cream
- lemon juice, I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice
- Sweet Curry Powder (affiliate link)
- Hot Curry Powder (affiliate link)
- Three Cheese Blend
- Parmesan cheese
- salt and black pepper
Can you make the Chicken Broccoli Curry Casserole with leftover chicken?
This recipe calls for chicken breasts that you cook in water or stock with seasonings, but if you have leftover rotisserie chicken or leftover turkey you can use 4-5 cups of leftover chicken or turkey.
Do you have to use both sweet and hot curry powder?
I love making this with a blend of sweet and hot curry powder. Use any combination of sweet and hot curry powder you prefer, or only one type if that’s what you have. Any curry powder you like the flavor of will be good in this recipe, but I do love Penzey’s sweet and hot curry powders.
How can you adapt this recipe to your own taste?
We used a moderate amount of curry powder when we updated the recipe hoping that Kara’s kids would eat it, but if you’re a big curry fan, you can always use more. And if the indulgent amount of cheese we used seems like too much for you, this will definitely be good with less cheese.
Want more ideas for using leftover chicken or turkey?
Check out Low-Carb Recipes for Leftover Turkey if you’d like more ideas using cooked chicken or turkey. Or you can use Low-Carb and Keto Casseroles to see more tasty low-carb casseroles like this one.
How to Make Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Curry Casserole:
(Scroll down for complete printable recipe including nutritional information.)
- Poach chicken breasts in water or broth with some poultry seasoning and thyme, then shred the chicken apart. (You can also use 4-5 cups leftover rotisserie chicken or leftover turkey.)
- Cut broccoli into bite-sized pieces and cook in the microwave until it’s barely tender-crisp. (Drain it after cooking if it seems wet.)
- Whisk together mayo, sour cream, lemon juice, sweet curry powder, and hot curry powder.
- Then mix in the grated cheese and Parmesan.
- Preheat oven to 375F and spray a 9″ X 13″ casserole dish with non-stick spray.
- Put shredded chicken and barely cooked broccoli into the casserole dish, stir to combine, and season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.
- Use a rubber scraper to spread the cheesy curry topping over the chicken and broccoli and top with more grated cheese.
- Bake the Chicken Broccoli Curry Casserole at 375F for 35-40 minutes, or until it’s nicely browned and bubbling hot.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
You could certainly eat this as a one-dish meal like I did, but if you want more vegetables I’d eat it over The BEST Easy Cauliflower Rice or serve with something like Roasted Cauliflower Rice Medley with Pine Nuts, Roasted Cauliflower with Red Pepper, Green Olives, and Pine Nuts, or Spring Mix Salad with Mary’s Perfect Easy Dressing.
More Tasty Low-Carb Casseroles for Dinner:
- Cheesy Low-Carb Taco Casserole
- Low-Carb Deconstructed Stuffed Cabbage Casserole
- Cauliflower Rice Sausage Casserole
- Chile Rellenos Bake
- Chicken Alfredo Mock Lasagna Casserole
Weekend Food Prep:
This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Curry Casserole
This Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Curry Casserole is an updated version of a casserole I made years ago.
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into lengthwise strips
- 1 tsp. poultry season
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- water or chicken stock to cover the chicken while cooking. (see notes)
- 6 cups bite-sized broccoli pieces
- 1 cup mayo
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 T lemon juice (see notes)
- 2 tsp. sweet curry powder
- 1 tsp. hot curry powder (Use any combination of curry powders you prefer.)
- 3 cups grated Three Cheese Blend (Use less cheese if you prefer of course.)
- 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F/190C. Spray a 9" x 13" glass or crockery casserole dish with non-stick spray.
- Trim chicken breasts and cut each breast into 3 or 4 lengthwise strips. Put chicken strips into a saucepan, add water or chicken stock to cover by an inch or so, add the poultry seasoning and dried thyme, and bring the chicken to a low boil.
- As soon as the water starts to boil, turn heat as low as it will go and cook the chicken for 12-15 minutes, or until it's firm.
- Drain chicken into a colander placed in the sink. When it’s cool enough to handle, use two forks to shred the chicken strips apart into bite-sized pieces. (If you have leftover rotisserie chicken you can use 4-5 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken instead of cooking your own chicken.)
- While the chicken cooks, cut up enough broccoli to make 6 cups of bite-sized broccoli pieces. Put the broccoli into a large glass bowl or large 8-cup glass measuring cup, cover with cling-wrap, and microwave on high about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. (You want the broccoli still quite crisp; it will cook in the oven.)
- Drain the broccoli into a colander if it seems very wet. (You can steam the broccoli if you prefer, but be sure it is drained well before you add it to the casserole.)
- Whisk together the mayo, sour cream, lemon juice, sweet curry powder, and hot curry powder in a small mixing bowl or 4 cup glass measuring cup. (If you're a curry fan, you might want to taste at this point and see if you want a little more curry powder.)
- Then mix in 1 1/2 cups of the grated cheese blend and the Parmesan cheese.
- Put the shredded chicken and barely-cooked broccoli into the casserole dish and gently stir so ingredients are evenly distributed. Use a rubber scraper to spread the cheesy creamy topping over the chicken/broccoli mixture. Top with the other 1 1/2 cups grated cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes, or until the casserole is bubbling hot and the cheese is nicely browned on top. Serve hot.
Notes
You can also use 4-5 cups shredded rotisserie chicken to make this recipe. I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice for this recipe.
This recipe first appeared on Kalyn's Kitchen as a Chicken Broccoli Curry Casserole made with canned soup.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 585Total Fat 43gSaturated Fat 15gUnsaturated Fat 25gCholesterol 133mgSodium 600mgCarbohydrates 6.8gFiber 4gSugar 4gProtein 37g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Curry Casserole is definitely great for low-carb or Keto diets. If you’re following a low-glycemic diet or the original South Beach Diet guidelines about fat, you may want to reduce the amount of cheese and use lower-fat mayo and sour cream to make this more suitable.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Casserole Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This favorite recipe was posted (without a single photo) in 2005! It was updated through the years with photos, better photos, and modified into a version without canned soup. The recipe was last updated with more information in 2022.
44 Comments on “Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Curry Casserole”
Is 3 Cheese Blend a cheddar blend or Italian? Thanks!
The one I used was called Three Cheese Mexican Blend, but I think either one will be great! It’s a blend that has Cheddar, Mozzarella, and Monterey Jack. But a blend of white cheeses would be delicious in this.
My hubby doesn’t like broccoli so I drained 3 cans of green beans and put them in the bottom. Yummy!
Karen I love that idea; very smart!
The original recipe was from the Dina Shore show in The 1970s. It was a favorite meal of Richard Nixon’s. My family has made this for years.
I didn’t know that but I had fun coming up with a low-carb version!
Finally done editing all my posts and starting nutritional info and just did this one! (11-2019)
This has been a family favorite for years, with the soup version, now that we are following low carb, thank you for the adjustments! Can’t wait to try it! I sometimes add cauliflower and a just a few carrot coins for colour. I usually double the recipe and freeze some in oven ready aluminum containers in dinner size portions. Take it out and thaw in the fridge for the next day easy dinner. Love your recipes!
Thanks Linda, glad you are enjoying the recipes! I love the idea of doubling and freezing!
Just made this last night and it was delicious! My 6 year old son loved it too.
We used a Costco rotisserie chicken and just one type of yellow curry (not too spicy for the kiddo). I made our own cheese blend with 1c mozzarella, 1c pecorino romano and 1c English cheddar. I prepped everything but the chicken and put it in the fridge. When my partner got home he cut up the chicken and finished the casserole. Beautiful crispy golden brown cheese topping, mmm!
So happy you enjoyed it! And I especially love hearing you were able to make it work for the kids!
My husband and I have been on the Keto Diet. I made this recipe tonight for dinner. My husband and I absolutely loved it.
So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Looking forward to making this recipe soon. One note… Don’t pour that poaching liquid down the drain! Use it as you would chicken broth.
Yes, that’s definitely an option.
Following the Keto diet and this recipe was perfect! I’ve never cooked with curry before but this was amazing. Husband loved it too! So easy and quick to make. I did put the chicken in the kitchenaid which made shredding the chicken quicken and easy.
So glad you liked it. I have to try that KitchenAid trick for shredding chicken!
Fun hearing how you were able to adapt it! I’m happy to hear everyone enjoyed it.
Did you use frozen or fresh broccoli?
FRESH broccoli, always for me. I know some people are fans of frozen broccoli but I haven’t tried it with that.
There is a printable recipe. Just click the green link that says “Print”.
Oooo. You had me a cheesy…and broccoli…and again at curry. I'm new to your site, but one of my favorite recipes for years has been the stuffed cabbage casserole you guest posted on Skinnytaste, so I'm confident I will enjoy your other stuff! I'm new to low-carb, so I very much appreciate all of the ideas as I muddle through not being able to use any of my usual go-to recipes!
Welcome Caitlin, hope you enjoy the recipes. Not all my recipes are low in carbs, but a good percentage of them are.
Love this updated version and can't wait to try it (with ALL of the cheese!). It's fun to revisit recipes from the early days of our blogs.
Thanks Lydia!
Awesome! Thank you for the re-engineering of this recipe. I cannot eat canned soups due the gluten in them. LOVE THIS!
Thanks Regina; so glad you like it!
Blair, glad you liked it.
Wow, this was yummy!
I just tried the recipe, we felt that 3 tsp of curry was too much. I will make it again with less curry.
klothingme, glad you have been enjoying it.
My mom used to make a variation (pretty much the same-minor differences) of this dish all the time when I was young. I have started making it again for my boyfriend and I (we are doing S.Beach) and we both love it so much that we find ourselves eating it quite a bit as well. As you noted we are still losing weight even if the fat content may be a little high. It is so delicous and satisfying that I think it's so worth it.
And, just a quick thank you–since discovering your blog I have fallen in "Love" with you and your recipes. Thank you so much for all your hard work, it is so appreciated!!!
Tracey, I'm not sure if South Beach would recommend a recipe that has canned soup, but I did eat this regularly when I first did phase one, many years ago! Glad you liked it!
This recipe is absolutely awesome. At first I wasn’t sure that the broccoli and curry would go together but it totally works. My entire family loved it too! Simple recipe with common affordable ingredients! Thanks Kalyn :o)
Cheryl, I would cook the casserole first and then freeze. I might undercook it a little if I’m making it ahead to freeze, but I’d never freeze it with the vegetables raw.
Anything that has some liquid (like soup or stew) can be frozen successfully. You can also freeze pasta dishes or bean dishes. If there’s a recipe you have questions, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll tell you if I’ve ever frozen it.
I am looking for flavorful, family-friendly recipes I can prepare ahead of time and freeze. With a two-career family (both educators!) and two young children, we need all the help we can get on weekedays. When you freeze Chicken Broccoli Curry Casserole, do you fully cook it or would you, for instance, freeze the broccoli raw?
Also, could you recommend other recipes that freeze well? I find a save a lot of time and $$$ by preparing as much I can ahead of time.
Anonymous, good catch. You’re right about the mayo; I must have been in a hurry when I answered that. This might be more than four servings though, what do you think? I would still eat it if the mayo had olive oil or soybean oil.
I ate this quite a bit when I was first starting to eat the South Beach Diet way and it didn’t seem to stop me from losing weight, but it’s probably more fat than the diet would recommend. You could certainly substitute light sour cream. Don’t use fat free sour cream or mayo because they contain sugar.
Is the large amount of fat from the mayonnaise and cream of chicken ok for South Beach? Could you substitute half of the mayo for low fat sour cream?
Stacey, cooking instinct is a good quality to develop! Sounds like yours is coming along nicely. Very glad to hear you liked the Thai chicken soup, it’s definitely one of my favorites!
Thanks for the quick reply Kalyn! I anticipated that to be the response..but, I am still acquiring my “cooking instinct”. So, I continue to rely on external validation. laughing…
On another note, I just tried your Thai Chicken Soup recipe and it is SUPER YUMMY!
Stacey, I’d throw away the stock you cook the chicken in because when you cook chicken in liquid it gets that coagulated protein “scum” that doesn’t look very appealing. You could also strain the stock to remove that, but if you have fresh stock I think it would be better.
this recipe looks yummy! I plan to try it this afternoon. I have one question — do I use the same chicken stock that i cook the chicken breasts in (with the spices) to then add the curry powders to? or do i discard the chicken stock (that i cook the chicken in) and start with fresh?
There is a variation of this recipe in every neighborhood cookbook in the state of Utah. And with good reason too, it’s delicious. Kalyn gives very good directions on how to make it and it was a great idea to leave out the traditional rice and make it low carb. Thanks for the suggestion.