Chicken Divan

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword chicken-divan-recipe, southern-chicken-divan

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings servings

Calories 470kcal

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 13x9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Steam broccoli florets until fork tender. Drain well.
In a medium-size skillet sauté onion and celery in 3 Tbsp butter over medium-high heat. Cook just until tender and beginning to brown, around 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
To a large bowl add steamed broccoli, cooked onion and celery, chopped chicken, cream of chicken soup, half and half or heavy cream, sour cream, mayo, Dijon, granulated garlic, seasoned salt, black pepper and onion powder. Mix to combine.
To the bowl add 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese. Stir to evenly distribute. Spread evenly in baking dish. Sprinkle the top of the chicken mixture with the reserved 1 cup cheddar cheese.
Toss together Ritz crackers and 1 Tbsp melted butter in a medium bowl. Sprinkle over the cheddar cheese.
Transfer to oven and bake for 35-45 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.
Let stand for 5 minutes then serve with mashed potatoes or rice.
Store leftovers chilled in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

- Classic Chicken Divan often includes curry powder. While I don't include it in this recipe you could add one teaspoon curry powder and adjust the amount to your taste.

- Cream and half and half will give the sauce for this hot dish a creamy texture and flavor. You could use whole milk, instead.

- Substitutions: You can make this recipe with cooked chicken breasts, poached chicken, baked chicken or any leftover chicken. You could use cream of celery soup or cream of mushroom soup in place of cream of chicken soup.

- You can increase the sour cream to 2/3 cup and omit the mayonnaise, if you're not a fan.

- You could use dried bread crumbs (Italian seasoned crumbs would add flavor) or panko breadcrumbs in place of crushed crackers for the topping.

- This recipe is best using fresh broccoli florets and not broccoli cuts. You can use frozen broccoli florets steamed per the directions on the bag to save time. Undercook slightly and remove all excess liquid prior to adding it to the rest of the ingredients.