Servings: 8 1x
Scale
Ingredients
For the Cheese Sauce:
- ¼ cup butter (½ stick)
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (use gluten-free, if needed)
- 2 ½ cups milk of choice (I use 2%)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard or dry mustard
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese (~2 ½ cups), divided
For the Casserole:
- 3 cups cooked shredded or cubed chicken breast (may use raw chicken – see Notes below)*
- 3 to 3 ½ cups cooked brown or white rice**
- 1 (12-16-ounce) bag frozen California blend vegetables (mix of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉.
- Mist a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. When the butter is melted, sprinkle the flour over the butter while whisking. Whisk until it’s well combined, about 1 minute.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the milk, 1 cup at a time, whisking slowly and continuously after each addition until all of the milk has been added. Stir in the garlic powder, salt, mustard, onion powder, paprika, and pepper. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to simmer. Simmer until thickened, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Add 1 ½ cups of the cheese to the sauce and stir until melted and smooth.
- Pour the cheese sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Add the cooked rice, cooked chicken, and frozen vegetables. Stir until well combined. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove the foil. Stir, then sprinkle remaining 1 cup cheese over top. Return the dish to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
For gluten free, use a gluten-free flour blend, such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Flour.
* If using raw cubed chicken, bake the casserole for 40 minutes instead of 20 minutes.
** For quick cooked rice, use 2 (8 to 9-ounce) bags of 90-second microwaveable rice.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1/8 of the recipe ~ 1 1/2 cups
- Calories: 402
- Fat: 18 g
- (Sat Fat: 11 g)
- Sodium: 650 mg
- Carbohydrate: 32 g
- (Fiber: 2 g
- Sugar: 7 g)
- Protein: 28 g
- Cholesterol: 92 mg