Chicken Divan – Chicken & Broccoli Casserole
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What is Chicken Divan?
Chicken Divan was popularized in the early 20th century. The dish was invented at a popular French restaurant in the Chatham Hotel in New York City by a chef named “Lagasi.” No relation to Emeril who spells his last name “Lagasse.” (I checked, sometimes names change through the generations…).
The original recipe remains a secret that died with the chef who invented it. So this recipe, like all the other Chicken Divan recipes in the world today, approximates the original.
Essentially, Chicken Divan comes down to just a few essentials, creamy Mornay sauce, chicken, wide egg noodles, and broccoli. In this case, to keep things super simple, I make the sauce with canned Campbell’s cream of chicken soup, lemon juice, mayonnaise, and curry. This is used in place of the Mornay sauce.
What Kind Of Noodles To Use in Chicken Divan
In this case, I use wide egg noodles, the kind you buy in the package in the pasta aisle, not the thicker homemade egg noodles like I make for my homemade chicken noodle soup. They provide such a silky texture to the dish and allow plenty of creamy sauce to coat for every bite. If you don’t have ribbon noodles handy, then you can certainly get away with using other types of pasta. Fettucine noodles are not as wide, but they certainly do the trick.
What Type Of Curry Powder Is Recommended?
While chicken divan picks up a bit of pizzazz from using curry, it isn’t like you want the curry to overwhelm the rest of the dish. Then it might as well be called chicken curry casserole, right? So, with that in mind, the more mild curry powders are best. Curry comes in so many styles and has endless regional variations.
There are mild to wildly spicy curry powders, but when I make this chicken broccoli divan with curry I opt for mild yellow curry powder. It won’t take over the dish, but it will make the color nicer and help fill out the flavor.
Ingredients in Chicken Divan
Chances are you might have everything you need to for this recipe right in your pantry?
- chicken breasts
- cream of chicken soup
- mayonnaise
- curry powder
- lemon juice
- salt
- fresh broccoli spears or broccolini
- butter
- wide egg noodles
Preheat the oven and prepare a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
In melted butter, in a frying pan, saute your chicken breasts for about 15 minutes.
Steam broccoli and boil and drain noodles. In a small bowl prepare the sauce: soup, mayo, curry, salt, and lemon juice. Combine.
*note – I have made with low fat and non-fat mayo with success, so feel free to cut the calories there if you wish. You can also cut the sodium using the Heart Healthy version of Campbell’s Cream Chicken Soup. I have used frozen broccoli with the recipe, but I prefer the fresh, as I like mine to be tender but not soft. Broccolini works really well, too.
Place noodles on the bottom of your baking dish. Cover with chicken breasts, then broccoli, then top with sauce.
Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Chicken needs to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees with a meat thermometer.
The curry sauce covers the broccoli, chicken, and noodles, baking all of the flavors together into one scrumptious meal that you will want to make again and again.
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Don’t fret when you can’t find this recipe when you want to make it – take care of that right now and pin it to your favorite Pinterest recipe board before you go!
Great One Dish Casserole Recipes
Casseroles might seem like an old fashioned dish, but let’s face it. Casseroles never get old! What is not to love about a meal that includes all the important food groups in every bite, cooks in one dish, and can be whipped together in minutes? We are talking pretty much the lifesavers of family mealtime when everyone is busy.
So, of course, I am a big fan of casserole dishes, from the ones I created, to those my mother and grandmother passed on to me, to the ones I just had to try. I love them all!
Here are a few I’d like to recommend:
- Teriyaki Chicken Casserole (pictured above)
- Sophisticated Green Bean Casserole
- Chicken and Doritos Casserole
- Spicy Tater Tot Casserole With Sausage And Mushrooms
- Five Bean and Ground Beef Casserole
- Mom’s Tuna Tetrazzini Casserole
- See ALL of my Casserole Recipes
What to serve with chicken divan?
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Chicken Divan - Chicken & Broccoli Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4-6 chicken breasts
- 2 cans cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup mayonnaise I use fat free and it’s just fine
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- fresh broccoli spears about one large bunch, more if desired, steamed
- margarine or butter
- 1 large package wide egg noodles cooked and drained
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- In melted butter or margarine, in a frying pan, saute your chicken breasts for about 15 minutes.
- Steam broccoli and boil and drain noodles.
- In a small bowl prepare the sauce: soup, mayo, curry, salt, and lemon juice. Combine.
- Place noodles on the bottom of your baking dish. Cover with chicken breasts, then broccoli, then top with sauce.
- Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted on May 24, 2013. It has been updated to improve user experience and was re-shared on February 10, 2021.
is there a decent sub for mayo? My household is picky..
I wonder if they could tell? I guess you could try Greek yogurt?
The entire plate of food looks wonderful. I really like the flavors in this.
This is total comfort food and perfect for this time of year! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Oh I love curry as well, and casseroles are such a great way to get dinner on the table easily for all five of us!
I’ve never heard of this dish until today but it sounds incredible! Plus I LIVE for a one-dish meal lol. I’ll have to see if I can find gluten-free egg noodles to give this a try!
WOW! Chicken Divan sounds fancy, but it is easy to make it in reality! I made it, and it turned out perfect!
That looks so creamy and delicious. Definitely my kind of comfort food.
This was the best chicken I have ever had. My family is begging me to make it for dinner again tonight.
So happy that you enjoyed!!
You can’t beat a good chicken casserole and this chicken divan sounds amazing! Total comfort food and so delicious.
What a delicious looking meal and I love that you’ve served it in a bowl. Bookmarking to make this weekend!