Chicken Broccoli Divan

A throwback to church potlucks and Sunday suppers, chicken divan is the easy casseroles move when you have cooked chicken to use up. Broccoli lines the dish, cubed chicken goes on top, and a quick sauce of cream of broccoli soup loosened with milk blankets it all.

Because the chicken is already cooked, this comes together in a flash. A short blast in a hot oven is just enough to melt the cheddar, heat everything through, and crisp the buttered bread crumb topping into a golden crust. That crunchy top is the signature touch that earns the dish its name.

Two small things keep it from turning gummy. Thin the soup with milk so the sauce stays pourable and saucy rather than pasty. And start with tender broccoli, either fresh florets blanched briefly or thawed frozen ones, since fifteen minutes in the oven will not fully soften raw stalks. Rotisserie chicken makes it faster still.

Kitchen Tips

• Use already-cooked chicken, like rotisserie or leftovers, so the casserole assembles in minutes.
• Thin the soup with milk so the sauce coats everything instead of sitting in pasty clumps.
• Blanch fresh broccoli briefly first. The short, hot bake will not fully tenderize raw florets.

Variations

• Add a layer of cooked rice on the bottom to turn it into a full one-dish meal.
• Use cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup if that is what you have.
• Stir a squeeze of lemon or a spoonful of curry powder into the sauce for brightness.