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.
Oh, my! I am SO going to make this…..I might add some curry powder to the cheese sauce ! Thank you for sharing!
Hope you enjoy it Dolly! I think some curry powder would be delicious in it. 🙂
Now you have me wanting to go to Cracker Barrel! They have the best food!! Then I’ll need to try this. Pinning it!!
They really do have good food and I love that they serve breakfast all day!
Can I make this in a crock pot
Yes, but I find it tastes better when made in the oven. Instead of getting crispy, the crackers get mushy in the crockpot.
Holy moly does this sound delicious and decadent. I’ve only been to Cracker Barrel once and only for breakfast, so I’ve never had this there, but I would definitely love to try it at home!!
It’s been so cold here this week and hearty comforting dishes like this are just what we need to stay warm! This looks absolutely mouthwatering! Mmm, I am drooling over all that cheesy goodness!
We don’t have Cracker Barrel here, but I’ve been once and I have to say — it’s incredible! Love this copycat recipe!
My mouth is seriously watering at midnight! This looks heavenly, Christin! I haven’t eaten at Cracker Barrel in forever but now I don’t need to…I’ll just make something from your site…it’s better anyways 🙂 Pinned!
I love cracker barrel, all of the dishes there are like total comfort food. This looks delicious and perfect for these cold winter nights!
I buy broccoli in bulk from Costco – so thank you for the tip to partially cook it before adding it to this recipe, also love the tip to put the cheese on top of the ritz crackers – this casserole sounds so comforting and perfect for this crazy cold weather!
Perfect comfort food for these chilly evenings!
I’ve never had this chicken from Cracker Barrel, but I’m sure it’s even better! Broccoli and cheese were meant to be together, and I love the chicken added in. Yum!