What is Chicken Divan?
SAUCE: Chicken Divan gets its signature rich and creamy flavor from a mixture of cheddar cheese, milk, condensed mushroom soup, and sour cream. If you don’t have cream of mushroom soup handy, cream of chicken, cheddar or broccoli also taste amazing in this recipe! Some recipes do make Chicken Divan with mayo, however I prefer to use sour cream.
BROCCOLI: I always steam fresh broccoli for Chicken Divan but you can also add in cauliflower or asparagus (and we sometimes make it with a pinch of curry powder too)!
CHICKEN: The chicken is cooked before it goes into the recipe so if you have leftover chicken (or turkey) it’s perfect in this recipe. If not I usually make and shred poached chicken because it’s SO easy.
TOPPING: The butter and breadcrumb topping on this Chicken Divan casserole really gives it the perfect finishing touch. Just bake until the topping is golden and everything else is hot and bubbly!
Types of Chicken Divan
The dish is now commonly prepared with regular Parmesan cheese and remains one of the most classic American casserole dishes today. A “quick” version can be made with pre-cooked chicken breasts, prepared mayonnaise and canned soup. Some versions are topped with potato chips, in a manner similar to that of funeral potatoes.
Hart’s Turkey Farm in New Hampshire serves a version using turkey instead of chicken.
Chicken Divan Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds fresh broccoli cut into bite sized pieces
- 3 cups cooked chicken cubed
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
- ½ cup milk
- ⅔ cup sour cream
- 10 ½ ounces can condensed Cream of Mushroom or chicken soup
- ½ teaspoon each garlic powder onion powder, dry mustard and pepper
- ¼ teaspoon seasoning salt
Topping
- 3 tablespoons Panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
How To Make Chicken Divan
I always make Chicken Divan with fresh broccoli, it has the best flavor and doesn’t end up watery or mushy as frozen broccoli sometimes does.
- Steaming your broccoli for a few minutes to get it slightly tender-crisp (it as it’ll cook more in the oven). Drain it very well (to keep your sauce from getting watery)
- Combine the divan sauce ingredients.
- Add chicken and broccoli to a dish, top with the cheesy sauce and buttery breadcrumbs
Bake about 20 minutes or until browned and bubbly! Easy peasy.
If you don’t eat the whole casserole (which we usually do around here, it’s SO good), it reheats perfectly. Simply place the Chicken Divan in the microwave, or reheat it in the oven or on the stovetop. Before reheating, I usually add a splash of milk to keep it nice and creamy.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.