What is Chicken Divan?
Chicken Divan is a vintage casserole dish, with its origin dating back to the 1940’s. It was created in and named after the Divan Parisienne Restaurant of NYC’s Chatham Hotel. The chef, named Lagasi, won and award for it and it became the restaurant’s signature dish. Over the years, there have been thousands upon thousands of recreations of the dish. A quick google search will show you that. It is a rich and creamy casserole. I have recreated it myself and my family loves this version! It is great for a simple weeknight dinner or even for entertaining guests! It is wonderful served over rice, pasta or mashed potatoes. But is also great all on its own! I will show you how I make mine, but feel free to put your own spin on it! It is sure to be delicious no matter what!
And check out some other great recipes while you are here!
Chicken Spaghetti in the Slow Cooker
The Best Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas
What are the ingredients for Chicken Divan?
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- Fresh Broccoli
- Cheddar Cheese
- Cream of Chicken Soup
- Cream of Broccoli soup
- Milk
- Sour Cream
- Butter
- Olive Oil
- Onion
- Garlic
- Ritz Crackers
- Seasonings
Exact measurements will be on the recipe card below
How to make Chicken Divan
The first step in making Chicken Divan is preparing your chicken. I like to pan fry mine, but you can save some time and use a store bought rotisserie chicken. You can also boil it, cook it in the instant pot or bake it!
Here, you will cut it up into bite-sized pieces and transfer to a bowl. Add the seasonings and make sure each piece is well coated. (The spices I used will be listed on the recipe card below.)
To cook the chicken, heat 1 tbs of butter and 1 tbs of olive oil and cook until it has a nice dark brown color to it. This will take about 4-5 minutes. You don’t have to worry about cooking it all the way through here. It will finish in the oven. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add 1 tbs of butter to the pan. Saute the onion for five minutes then add the garlic. Cook just until the garlic is fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
You will then steam your broccoli for about 3 minutes. This step is optional, but I like my broccoli to soften up while cooking and this step will help.
(You can also use frozen broccoli. Just steam it in the bag and drain off as much excess water as you can.)
Time to assemble the casserole. Grease a 9×13 baking dish and add the soups, the milk and sour cream and the onions and garlic. Mix it up really well.
Add in the chicken, cheese and broccoli and mix it up really well again. Top with remaining cheese and bake at 400 for 15 minutes.
Finally, pour one sleeve of crushed up Ritz Crackers on top and bake for 5 more minutes.
And that’s all there is to it!
As I mentioned above, this is great to serve over rice! It is also great with Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes, cooked pasta or just as a stand alone dish. Some dinner rolls on the side are a nice touch too!
If you do make this recipe, please leave a comment and a rating. I love hearing from you and it helps so much! Thanks!
And if you would like to order a copy of my new digital cookbook called “Dinner is Done!”, click here!
Chicken Divan
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts of thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 tbs Salted Butter
- 1 tbs Olive Oil
- 1 Yellow Onion, Diced
- 5-6 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 lb Fresh Broccoli, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 10.5 oz Can of Cream of Chicken Soup
- 10.5 oz Can of Cream of Broccoli Soup
- 1/2 Cup Milk
- 1/2 Cup Sour Cream
- 3 Cups Grated Cheddar Cheese divided
- 1 Sleeve Ritz Crackers, crushed
Seasonings
- 1-2 tbs Garlic Powder
- 1-2 tbs Onion Powder
- 1 tbs Smoked Paprika
- 1-2 tbs Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Season the chicken with the spices listed above, making sure to coat each piece evenly.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1 tbs of olive oil and 1 tbs of butter. Cook the chicken just until all sides have a nice golden color to them. (It does not need to be cooked all the way through, it will finish in the oven.)
- Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Add 1 more tbs of butter to the skillet. Saute the diced onion for about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 1-2 more minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Steam the broccoli for about 3 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a greased 9×13 baking dish, mix together the soups, the milk and sour cream, and the onion and garlic. Mix well.
- Add in the chicken, broccoli and 2 cups of the cheddar cheese. Mix really well, then top with the remaining cup of cheese. Bake for 15 minutes
- Top with the crushed Ritz crackers and cook an additional 5 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes to thicken. Enjoy!
