This one pan creamy chicken and broccoli rice is simple weeknight dinner success in just under 30 minutes!
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Summer wind down, and back to school meals!
I’m not quite ready to say good-bye to the amazing Michigan summer weather! But, we sure did have a fun summer, and we are ready for school rhythms to resume. With each of the 3 girls in after school sports and activities, and myself wrapping up a new cookbook writing project this fall, I’ve been working on a select few weeknight dinner menu items that will help our family ease back into more of a scheduled day. I really hope you’ll love this recipe as much as we have been!
Made for a weeknight!
One pot and one pan meals are just the ticket for a busy weeknight. All the protein, fat, and carb macros in one vessel means just one pan to clean, and this busy momma is all about that! We have been finding this one pot meal to feed our family of 2 adults, 2 teenagers, and 1 tween for one sitting. If I want to have more for lunchbox packing, I will do a recipe and a half or double it. And trust me, I’m making that extra every time with a recipe that the girls inhale this easily!
Step 1 :: Prep the chicken
I use 4 medium sized chicken breasts to make this meal. Just cube them up and toss in a simple season blend and the chicken is ready to go. The first 2 recipe instructions can be prepared in minutes, or days in advance too. If you like to have a food prep day, take that opportunity to cut up the chicken, which will make the dinner making process even shorter.
Step 2 :: Whisk the creamy sauce
Just 3 ingredients makes up this weeknight cream sauce, and it is so full of flavor. Just whisk up some coconut milk or milk with broth and nutritional yeast or cheese. That’s it! I use the meat stock or bone broth from my weekly whole chicken, but store bought bone broth is fine too for flavor. I just love having that rice soak up all of the powerhouse nutrients and gelatin in the meat stock! Keep in mind that if your broth is not seasoned, or you use water, you’ll want to season the sauce with salt and pepper at minimum.
Step 3 :: Cook the chicken
One pot meals can taste super bland if you just dump everything in and cook. Get some depth of flavor by layering each ingredient and getting some caramelization out of aromatics and the chicken. Start with cooking diced onion in flavorful butter. Once golden, you’ll add the chicken and garlic and just sear the chicken to get some color and flavor. We aren’t going for fully cooked here. Just getting some color. The chicken will cook all the way through once the rice is in the pot cooking.
Step 4 :: Add the creamy sauce, rice, and finish with the broccoli
Once the chicken has some color and flavor, pour the creamy sauce and dry rice in. You’ll stir this around to bring it to a simmer, and the cook on low with the lid on until the rice is tender, about 15 minutes. I like to put the broccoli in for the last 5 minutes to cook until crisp-tender. If you like a softer texture on the broccoli, you can add it in sooner!
Swaps and switches
You can change things up based on what you have on hand in your veggie bin for this recipe too! Swap the broccoli for chopped baby spinach for a super flavor free and texture free veggie. Finely chopped cauliflower (or riced cauliflower) blend in super good too. You could use asparagus in the spring as well!
Let’s talk about leftover one pan creamy chicken, broccoli rice!
“Cook once, eat twice” makes a busy week feel so much more manageable! If you have a bigger family, double the recipe and pack it up. If you have little ones at home and this feels like a big pan of food, just imagine not having to cook lunch or dinner tomorrow! I like to pack a big thermos of dinner leftovers with a side of in season fruit, for a super filling school lunch. Temper the thermos in the morning with some hot water while you warm up the leftovers with a splash of water or broth over the stovetop. The leftovers will keep for a few days in the fridge, so utilize it on your busiest day!
One Pan Creamy Chicken & Broccoli Rice
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- 4 medium chicken breasts pat dry and cut into 1-2 inch cubes
- 1 ½ cups full fat coconut milk or whole milk
- 1 ½ cups bone broth meat stock, or water
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast or ½ cup shredded cheese of choice
- 2 tbsp friendly fat to cook in such as butter olive oil, coconut oil, tallow, lard (I like using half butter and half olive oil)
- 1 small onion diced
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- 4 cups broccoli florets
- Sea salt and pepper to taste. If your broth was seasoned taste it first to see if you need seasoning.
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk the salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika, and toss this with the cubed chicken to coat. Set this aside.
- Measure the coconut milk, broth, and nutritional yeast into a 4 cup liquid measuring cup, and whisk to combine. Set this aside.
- Melt the friend fat for cooking in a large skillet or braiser over medium high heat. Add the onion with a small pinch of sea salt and cook for a few minutes until soft and sweet, and starting to get some color.
- Add the seasoned chicken cubes and the garlic, stir to combine, and cook to brown the outside of the chicken cubes. The goal here is not to cook the chicken all the way through. It should still be pink in the middle so it doesn’t over cook while the rice is cooking later. This browning should take less than 5 minutes.
- Once the chicken looks seared, but still pink in the middle, stir in the liquid mixture of milk/broth/nutritional yeast and the rice. Bring this to a simmer, stirring here and there so the rice doesn’t stick.
- Bring the heat down to low, add a lid to the skillet or braiser, and cook about 15 minutes, stirring every so often to ensure the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom. When the rice is about done cooking, add the broccoli florets, stir to combine, and put the lid back on for a few minutes for the broccoli to gently cook. We like our broccoli to have a “bite” to it, more of a crisp-tender texture. If your crew likes it softer, add it earlier and cook it longer. If you need to add a little more liquid, you can add splashes of water or broth to help the broccoli steam more.
- Taste the skillet for seasoning, and serve immediately. Leftovers can be served in a thermos for school or work, or warmed through stovetop for a quick lunch or dinner!
Notes
- Change up the broccoli! You can swap for chopped baby spinach for a super flavor free and texture free veggie. Finely chopped cauliflower (or riced cauliflower) blend in super good too. You could use asparagus in the spring as well!
Absolutely fantastic recipe – So flavorful and excited to add this to my rotation of meals! Thanks Renee!
So great! Glad you could add it to your menu rotation Shea!