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.
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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
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Pretty tasty meal. However just like a few other people have said it has come out very wet.
My broccoli was defrosted, and I did triple the recipe for a family of 10. I cut my 4 BIG chicken breasts in half and sliced them up… At 45 minutes @350 degrees, the chicken is perfect.
I slice them in half like what you would do if you were making Cordon Bleu or something like that where you stuff your chicken. And then sliced it up into smaller pieces. Right now I just hey moved everything around in the pan with a spoon and it’s just way too wet so it’s going back into the oven for another 15 minutes and we’ll see how that works. Hopefully it’ll take some of that fluid out. At cracker barrel this meal is very hearty and thick. That’s not what I have as of right now. It’s very soupy?
I’d love to hear what the person who placed this recipe here from the spicy southern kitchen I would have to say about fixing that very soupy problem?
Mine was soupy too and too cheesy tasting. Not at all like Cracker Barrel’s. Will try again but use c of c soup and cut back on the milk.
I use cream of chicken and just 1/4 cup of milk. Too much milk makes it soupy
Having worked at Cracker Barrel and having made this numerous times…they DON’T use milk…it’s straight cheese sauce. And, it bakes for over an hour, not 45 minutes.
My mom never ever used milk just a home made white sauce that was turned to cheese sauce. But a can of soup would not need to have milk only in my opinion and mine alone.
Need to dry the broccoli and the chicken. They r adding water thats nit needed. Just a suggestion.
I work at CB and this taste nothing like theirs. It is watery and bland.
Worked there for years, made this numerous times…this is absolutely nothing like theirs. Copycat? Not in any way, shape or form. I’ve seen the copycat versions of CB’s Hash brown Casserole, too. Not even close.
Don’t add all the other crap. Just get some Ragu cheese sauce, that is All you need. I worked as the cook at cb all the extra is unnecessary. No shredded cheese on top. Use some of the same sauce to drizzle on top.
I made this for lunch today and we really enjoyed it. I used rotisserie chicken.
Looks really good and I want to try making this tomorrow. Can I make this in the crockpot? Would it be done the same way? Can I use Velveeta cheese instead of the can cheese? Someone please let me know
Has anyone used Broccoli Cheddar Soup rather than Cheddar Soup? Curious if this would make a big difference. Suspecting not, but never know.
I accidentally bought condensed cheddar soup instead of regular. Wilk I need to add extra milk or water?
That is the one you want to use Shyanne.
Do you think you could dice the chicken instead of using whole breasts. I have a big family so I feel like it would make a bigger dish vs having to double everything.
Thanks.
Being diabetic, my doctor has me on a strict low carb diet. I am really craving comfort food today, so I’m modifying this a little to make it diabetic/low carb friendly. Instead of using cheese soup I’m making a low carb cheese sauce by taking 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, 1 cup heavy cream & 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard (combine all 3 and heat over med high heat until the cheese is melted; makes about 1 1/2 c sauce). I’m going to also substitute the Ritz crackers with ground pork rinds. I’m still going to mix it with a little butter just to make them taste a little richer. I’m using chicken thighs that I plan to cook ahead in my instant pot and will steam the broccoli and drain well before baking this. Thinking that will cut the bake time and eliminate some of the water from the frozen broccoli. Can’t wait to try this out. Most casseroles are filled with processed carbs.
Jennifer, it’s not totally different, but try Chicken Divan (an old recipe from the 50’s for a very carb-friendly casserole.
This is great. Even my picky husband loves it.
I used three chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise. I used a 11×13 pan and was only able to fit three chicken breasts, not sure how the recipe manages 4 in a 9×13. I made my own cheddar cheese soup using cheddar and pepper jack cheese instead of store bought. I sprinkled the crackers on top after coating them in 1 T of melted butter because I wanted them crunchy. I didn’t feel like 1-1/2 cups was enough (I did use a bigger pan) so I used about 2 cups.
4 chicken breasts fit just fine in a
9 x 13 pan and the breasts were big so I don’t understand why they didn’t fit
Can you double this recipe? Can you use a rotisserie chicken?
I used rotisserie chicken! So easy! Less baking time. Otherwise followed recipe exactly and it’s so delicious
*TIP* when I cook large chicken breast like this I use a mallet to pound & flatten them then cut them in half! Works like a charm everytime 😍 also I wasn’t sure what cheese soup I was suppose to use so I bought velveeta instead & used that & the shredded cheese! Came out awesome! Also steamed the broccoli for 6 minutes before because I was worried it would melt & make everything watery!
Use the garlic butter Ritz. So good!
I give this recipe an A- because it satisfies my expectations for a good casserole – easy to make and good comfort food taste. I bought two large chicken breasts (1 1/2 lbs), sliced them into 1 inch strips and sprinkled course salt to tenderize. I also used two crowns of fresh broccoli which I blanched for 5 minutes, drained, soaked in ice water for a couple minutes, drained and then gave a quick whirl in my salad spinner. I used white cheddar cheese. I wanted the crackers on top so I mixed in 2 T of butter. I pulsed the crackers a little too fine so next time I will just crush with my hands so I get more of a crunch than a mushy texture. I also might try 3/4 cup of milk for a thicker sauce. Baked for 50 minutes and it was cooked thoroughly.
I liked it a lot; people went back for seconds…served with rice and a caesar salad.
If you cook the chicken ahead of time, what temp/time would you bake it at? Thanks!!
then don’t be looking for pinterest recipes,, honestly, i found this as rude for someone to post this. I found the recipe, pinned it and cooked it, EXCELLENT!
I have made this several times as it has become a household favorite. I did make one change that I found worked easier for me. I boiled the chicken breasts/thighs first in some onion and garlic power. Then shredded up the chicken. More flavor, cheese gets into all the chicken and bake time is substantially shorter.
No RAW chicken! Curious if anyone has done this…
That is a great idea Holly! I can’t wait to try it!
Why do you not offer an email option? Not everyone cares to take part in social media. I couldn’t email this recipe to myself, so I was kinda ‘ticked’! Sorry, but for this reason – I will not sign up to receive your blog in my inbox.
Like many others have said, it’s way too runny and more like a soup. Even with reducing the milk by a whole cup (I tripled the recipe), adding extra shredded cheese, fresh broccoli instead of frozen, and baking it an extra 20min, it was still too runny. Luckily, I made some rice to put this over so dinner wasn’t ruined. Also for people that want more flavor, I add onion powder and extra salt/pepper to the cheese mixture. Plus from what I remember, the cracker barrel one had a bit of onion in it. Hope this helps! Next time I’ll probably forego adding any milk
This was amazing- I made a mistake and bought garlic butter ritz instead of plain and I’m soooo glad I did! The added garlic/butter flavor really made this a hit so definitely recommend trying that! I also sliced my chicken breasts in half length wise to make thin breasts and I baked for 55 min. (Only bc I’m paranoid about things being done) and it came out perfect. This will be added into our dinner rotation so thanks!! 🙂
Do you cook covered or uncovered
Uncovered.
The recipe looks wonderful but I do have 1 question ??? What size casserole dish ???
13 x 9, if you click on the casserole dish link, on the recipe, it shows you
I’m making a double batch for the first time I’m trying it so I can give one batch to my daughter with a newborn. I’m going to use Costcos chicken tenders … add some garlic bread and either fruit or green salad sounds perfect to me. Do you think I should bake my daughters portion and they can microwave on a plate for dinner or give it to her uncooked so she can put the whole batch in the oven? It would remain uncooked overnite so I’m a little hesitant to do that.
This recipe sounds delicious! What side dish would make a great pair with it? Rice, potatoes, pasta.. ??
Thanks Mona! I like it best with rice but it would go well with potatoes or pasta too.
I thought it was too ‘wet’so would add rice to the soup or delete the milk. I know that would totally change the recipe but the soup was just too soupy like water. Flavour was def delish!