Curried Chicken Divan

This easy curry chicken recipe, Curried Chicken Divan, is a chicken breast rolled around fresh broccolini, served over brown rice. It’s a chicken casserole served with broccoli and “Mornay” type sauce. We love this recipe for a great weeknight meal.

I love an easy chicken recipe! This Curried Chicken Divan is a true comfort dish any time of year. With a creamy, cheesy saiuce, this 9×13 dish is made with juicy chicken breasts, tender broccolini, and the homemade sauce. It’s topped with panko bread crumbs, and is light and tasty served over brown rice. It’s a family favorite, and I’m sure your family will love it, too.

The history of this dish originated from the Divan Parisien Restaurant at Chatham Hotel in New York City, where it was served as the signature dish in the early twentieth century. So it’s been around for a long time. My mom used to make this dish back in the 70s for us girls.

Curried Chicken Divan

My version of easy Chicken Divan uses broccolini in the filling and the panko gives a light crunch on top. If you can’t find broccoli in the grocerty store, you can use small broccoli florets. Either way, it’s a great chicken recipe!

Why we love this recipe

• The sauce is homemade (this recipe does not use canned soup or may or sour cream).
• It’s easy to make for company.
• If you have any leftovers, they are amazing!

Gather these ingredients

• Broccolini, I buy it at Trader Joe’s
• Boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Butter
• Flour
• Chicken broth
• Milk or half-and-half
• Sherry cooking wine
• Curry powder
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Salt and pepper
• Panko crumbs

How do you make Curried Chicken Divan?

Start with these easy steps …. and simple ingredients you can get at any grocery store! PRINT full recipe below!

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Steam broccoli until crisp-tender. More or less time may be needed, depending on thickness of broccolini. Drain in colander.
3. Slice the chicken lengthwise in half. Salt and pepper each side.
4. In a medium frying pan, melt the butter; whisk in the flour and cook (until no longer lumpy).
5. Gradually whisk in chicken broth, sherry cooking wine and milk or half and half, until mixed well. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer until the sauce is thickened.
6. Add curry powder. Add cheese; blend and whisk until combined. Salt and pepper to taste.
7. Add curry sauce to the bottom of a prepared (sprayed) 9×13 pan.
8. Roll a few sprigs of broccolini in each chicken breast; place seam side down in the pan. Continue until pan is full. Heavily salt and pepper both sides.
9. Pour sauce over top and sprinkle with Panko crumbs. Cover with aluminum foil. Make several slits in aluminum foil for steam to escape.
10. Bake; remove foil and bake more to allow the Panko crumbs to get golden brown.

How do you serve Curried Chicken Divan?

We love this Rolled Broccolini Curried Chicken Divan served with a Winter Green Salad recipe!

Also, we love this dish served over brown rice, but you can also serve over pasta, potatoes, or just enjoy it alone.

Tips and substitutions:

• This recipe does not use mayo or sour cream or canned soups (like cream of chicken or cream of mushroom). Instead make an easy homemade curry sauce (you can adjust the spice), that is cheesy good!
• Add more curry if you want to take it up a notch.
• This is a simple make-ahead recipe that you can pop in the oven right before your guests arrive.
• TIP: Buy the premade brown rice at Trader Joes (in the freezer section), that only takes minutes to heat up in the microwave. We love keeping this rice in our freezer.
• Optional to use a meat tenderizer for the chicken (to flatten and make it tender).

The chicken divan is an elegant dish for a weeknight meal, or it’s good enough for company!

Try these one-pot chicken dishes:

• Chicken Paprika Thighs
• One Pot Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta
• One-Pot Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes

5 stars (3 reviews)

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Curried Chicken Divan

This easy chicken recipe is a Curried Chicken Divan (a chicken breast rolled around fresh broccolini), baked and served with brown rice.

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 40 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr

Yield: 8

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Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• 2 bunches broccolini, about 1 pound
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced lengthwise in half
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• 3 Tbsp. flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup milk, or 1 cup half-and-half
• ½ cup sherry cooking wine
• 3 Tbsp. curry powder
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, or more to taste
• Salt and pepper
• Panko crumbs
• 4 cups cooked brown rice

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 325.
• Steam broccoli for 5 minutes until crisp-tender. (I steam in the microwave covered with plastic wrap for 4-5 minutes.) More or less time may be needed, depending on thickness of broccolini. Drain in colander.
• Slice the chicken lengthwise in half. Salt and pepper each side.
• In a medium frying pan, melt the butter; whisk in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes (until no longer lumpy).
• Gradually whisk in chicken broth, sherry cooking wine and milk or half and half, until mixed well. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer until the sauce is thickened.
• Add curry powder. Add 2 cups of the cheese; blend and whisk until combined. Salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare the dish:

• Add 1 cup of curry sauce to the bottom of a prepared (sprayed) 9×13 pan.
• Roll a few sprigs of broccolini in each chicken breast; place seam side down in the pan. Continue until pan is full. Heavily salt and pepper both sides.
• Pour sauce over top and sprinkle with Panko crumbs. Cover with aluminum foil. Make several slits in aluminum foil for steam to escape.
• Bake for 30 minutes; remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes to allow the Panko crumbs to get golden.
• Serve hot over cooked brown rice.

Notes

Reposted from March 2018.

Cuisine: American

Course: Main Course

Author: Sandy / Reluctant Entertainer

Calories: 432kcal, Carbohydrates: 36g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 85mg, Sodium: 545mg, Potassium: 468mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 1340IU, Vitamin C: 40mg, Calcium: 313mg, Iron: 3mg

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