Tender and juicy white meat chicken topped with broccoli and a cheesy sauce with Ritz crackers. This Cracker Barrel copycat is easy to make and will become a family favorite.
Every time a craving for comfort food hits me and I don’t feel like cooking, we head to Cracker Barrel. And next to the Chicken Fried Chicken, the Broccoli Cheddar Chicken is my favorite thing on the menu.
I decided this needed to be something I could make at home. For those cold winter nights when I don’t dare leave the house. I searched the internet for recipes and found them to all be pretty much the same with slight variations.
This casserole can be assembled in just minutes and popped in the oven to bake for 45 minutes. I love that you don’t need to precook anything. I used frozen broccoli that I had defrosted overnight in my refrigerator. There’s no need to cook it or even warm it before adding it to the dish. You could use fresh broccoli instead, but you should at least partially cook it or it will most likely not get soft enough.
Instead of putting the Ritz Cracker crumbs on top, I put a thin layer of the cheese sauce on top of them. The crackers blend into the sauce and thicken and flavor it. But if you want a crunchy topping, mix them with a tablespoon or two of melted butter and sprinkle them on top of all the cheese sauce.
Buttery crackers, broccoli, and cheese are a hard to resist combination. Your kids are going to ask for this Broccoli Cheddar Chicken again and again.
Never miss a recipe. Follow Spicy Southern Kitchen on Pinterest and Facebook.
Broccoli Cheddar Chicken (Cracker Barrel Copycat)
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup milk
- 1 can cheddar cheese soup
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 6 ounces cheddar cheese,, shredded
- 8 ounces frozen chopped broccoli,, defrosted
- 1 1/2 cups crushed Ritz crackers
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a casserole dish.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper and place in prepared dish.
- In a medium bowl, mix together milk, soup, paprika, and cheddar cheese.
- Pour half of cheese mixture over chicken.
- Scatter broccoli pieces over cheese mixture.
- Top with Ritz cracker pieces and remaining cheese mixture.
- Place in oven and bake for 45 minutes. (I look for small chicken breasts for this recipe. Larger ones I cut in half horizontally. You will need to increase cooking time by at least 10 minutes if your chicken breasts are larger and you do not cut them into 2 thinner pieces.)
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Sharing with The Weekend Potluck
More Copycat Recipes
Fuji Apple Chicken Salad (Panera Bread copycat)
Thai Chicken Pizza – CPK copycat
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Really good, used thighs. I put some crackers in the mix to thicken and on top for the crunch.
This was amazing, and easier than throwing together a pot of chili. Delicious!
I followed the recipe exactly. It was rather bland. If I make it again I’ll add some onion powder and garlic powder.
Simple DELICIOUS! I believe it’s better than Cracker Barrel!
Thanks for the yummy recipe!
I gave this recipe 5 stars because I did use all the ingreadients but I also added 2 more and changed things around a bit, I used thighs instead because I like dark meat and it doesn’t dry out as fast as breasts will, because it has the bone and has more flavor, I also wanted chunks of chicken and NOT a whole piece of chicken, so I seasoned the thighs with S&P and a little powered chicken bouillon, I baked the chicken for 15 minutes a side, then I removed the chicken and let it rest and cool then pulled the meat off in chunks, then I seasoned the broccoli with S&P and sautéd it in garlic for 8 minutes, putting the garlic in at the last 3 minutes, then I assembled it as per the recipe and topped it with just a little extra cheese and let it bake for 15 minutes, this is all at 350, I took it out and let it rest for 7 minutes, my family loved it and said it was better then Cracker Barrel which shouldn’t be hard? I know the steps I took made the recipe a little more work but I think it was totall worth it in the end, Thsnk you for the recipe
I love this dish and this is as good as cracker barrell. Easy to make
I love this recipe! I have made it 3x and it always turns out SOOO good. I don’t have to wait until wednesdays now to eat it! So exciting
Delicious! I did put the crackers on top so they stayed crunchy! Would make this for a potluck!
The family loved this!!!! The only thing I think I would do different is put all the cheeses mixture down and then top with 2 sleeves of ritz crackers. This was absolutely delicious though!
Easy and delicious recipe! It is a staple at our house!
I believe it’s better than Cracker Barrel’s!
Thanks so much for sharing!