This broccoli cheese chicken casserole with Ritz crackers is one of the easiest weeknight dinner recipes and one of my favorites! It’s one part creamy, one part crunch, and absolutely delicious!
Easy Chicken Casserole with Ritz Crackers
I have a confession to make. I have a terrible memory when it comes to my childhood. I seriously don’t remember anything that happened before I was in high school unless it’s associated with a song in some way, or I’ve seen pictures of something that happened.
It’s a terrible problem to have, especially when my family starts talking about, “oh remember this,” and I have no recollection of it whatsoever.
There are very few things that I remember my mom cooking when I was growing up, not because she didn’t cook, but because I just don’t remember them. One of those things is pizza loaf and still my favorite meal to this day. One of the others is this broccoli cheese chicken casserole that we had probably once a week.
I love it so much that I even made these broccoli cheese bites that are pretty much the same thing (minus the chicken) in small bite form.
The original that my mom made when we were growing up used Velveeta Cheese, but we’ve moved past that in our house so I changed it up and made a cheese sauce for it instead!
One of the things I love most about this casserole is that it’s everything you need in one meal – protein, veggies, and dairy. Plus the crunch of the Ritz crackers on top just makes it fun and yummy to eat!
Broccoli Cheese Ritz Chicken Casserole Ingredients
You really don’t need much for this recipe and honestly you probably have all of it at home already if your family is anything like mine! It’s perfect for a day when you’re trying to clear out your pantry/fridge and only have a few items left. Here’s everything you need!
- Butter – we prefer Kerrygold grass-fed butter but any real butter will work
- Flour – All-purpose flour
- Salt + pepper
- Paprika – you can use either regular or smoked paprika, really doesn’t matter
- Milk
- Shredded cheddar cheese – we typically shred our own from a block but you could totally buy pre-shredded as well
- Broccoli – frozen or fresh works – just chop it up and steam before adding it to the casserole
- Chicken breasts – cooked and diced. Make it even easier by buying this Perdue Farms diced chicken so you just need to cook it. Buy it using this link and get an extra 15% off your order + a pack of free diced chicken breasts!
- Ritz crackers – this is a Ritz chicken casserole after all. You could skip these but they’re kind of a big deal in this casserole.
How to Make Chicken Casserole with Ritz Crackers
Once you’ve prepped your ingredients, this casserole is super easy to make. Make sure to read the recipe card at the very end for precise ingredients, timings, etc.
1 – Make the cheese sauce.
Make a roux by melting the butter over low heat. Add the flour, salt, and pepper until well combined.
Then add in your milk and bring it to a boil.
Finally, add the shredded cheese and stir it all up until you get a good creamy cheese sauce.
P.s. this cheese sauce would also be really good on these
2 – Add half the chicken and broccoli in casserole dish.
Layer your cooked chicken and steamed broccoli in a non-stick 9×13 casserole dish. I prefer using glass but you could use whatever.
3 – Top with cheese sauce and crackers.
Top with half of your cheese sauce then half of your Ritz crackers.
4 – Repeat.
Kind of like a lasagna, repeat the same thing with the other half of your ingredients. Chicken + broccoli topped with cheese sauce and finally Ritz crackers.
5 – Finish with a layer of cheese and butter.
Top with a final layer of shredded cheese then some melted butter.
6 – Bake then serve.
Bake in the oven until everything is heated and melted together. Serve right out of the oven warm.
Broccoli Chicken Casserole with Ritz Crackers
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 ⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 1 ⁄8 teaspoon pepper
- Sprinkle paprika
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 cups chopped and steamed broccoli
- 16 oz cooked and chopped chicken
- One sleeve of Ritz crackers , crushed to large crumbs either in a ziploc bag or food processor
Instructions
Make Cheese Sauce
- Melt 1 TBs butter in saucepan over low heat. Once bubbly, add flour, salt, and pepper and stir until combined.
- Cook over low heat for one minute then add in milk and stir. Heat until mixture is boiling, stirring continually.
- Once milk boils, boil for another minute before adding 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese. S
- Stir until completely melted and remove from heat.
- Make Casserole
- Spray large casserole dish all over with non-stick spray.
- Once all of your ingredients have been prepped (steam broccoli, make cheese sauce, cook chicken, crush crackers), add half of your broccoli and half of your chicken into the prepared casserole dish.
- Mix the chicken and broccoli together into one single layer.
- Top chicken and broccoli layer with half of your cheese sauce, making sure to cover the entire chicken layer with cheese.
- Sprinkle half of your cracker crumbs over the cheese layer.
- Repeat so you have two "layers" of casserole.
- Top final layer with the other 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.
- Melt the other 1 tablespoon of butter in the microwave and pour over the top of the casserole.
- Bake casserole at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the top cheese is melted and the cracker crumbs are browned (but not burnt).
Nutrition Info
More Easy Chicken Recipes
- Sheet pan teriyaki chicken with vegetables
- Almond chicken
- Simple orange chicken recipe
- Teriyaki chicken bowl recipe
- Greek lemon chicken
- White chicken enchiladas
Don’t forget to pin this broccoli chicken casserole with Ritz crackers for later!
Reagan says
This was my favorite meal growing up as well! When I make it now (which isn’t very often, but don’t ask be why) I don’t even stream the broccoli beforehand. That way it doesn’t get too mushy-but don’t tell my mom I said her broccoli was overcooked!
Ebbap says
I made the cheese sauce in the microwave. Even easier!
BritniV says
Oh good, glad it worked!
April says
Yum! This is similar to a casserole I have made that used Velveeta and instead of adding the crackers on top, we mix it all together. I’ll have to try this version, it looks super tasty!
Stef says
It’s great that you finally learned how to make it. And, that now we can try your mom’s recipe too! It sounds wonderful!
BritniV says
It really is a wonderful recipe. Hope you enjoy
Patricia Melvin says
I really like that you can just make it in a bowl and not have a ton of leftovers.
BritniV says
Love this too! Its hard to get kids to eat leftovers.