Three Cheese Chicken Broccoli and Orzo Casserole!! Cheesy, flavorful and perfect comfort food for a weeknight dinner! Use shredded rotisserie chicken as a shortcut and get dinner on the table faster!
Last week I was participating in the Love Your Kitchen Challenge with The Kitchn and Every Day with Rachael Ray (check this out, it’s going on all month and you can win $2,500 for a kitchen upgrade!) and I got to clean out my pantry. This was a very big job because my pantry (actually I have two) is huge and I have a lot of stuff. I tend to pack things in the back and forget about them so cleaning out my pantry and organizing was very needed. During my clean-up, I discovered just how much pasta I have (because I rarely cook the entire package for one meal so I had a lot of pasta boxes half full) and that I am a chips and snacks hoarder. Yes, I admit this.
The big win in this clean-up was finding a package of orzo that I forgot about. Now, I love orzo. We have to stop and take a moment and acknowledge what orzo really is. The poor misunderstood short-cut pasta, which often is mistaken for rice.
Orzo is pasta.
And I’ll be the first to admit that this dish isn’t going to win any beauty contests. . I still have not found my groove when shooting casseroles .. but boy, let me tell you. . this Three Cheese Broccoli and Orzo casserole is freaking delicious.
The ingredients that make this casserole for me, or any casserole for that matter, is the cheese. And I used the good stuff today.
I love cheese so when I received this glorious package of cheese from Sartori, I couldn’t help myself .. I invited friends over and we enjoyed the Merlot BellaVitano, the Rosemary and Olive Oil Asiago and the Espresso BellaVitano right away. I was left with the utterly delicious and perfect SarVecchio Parmesan so I used this in my casserole and added some Wisconsin cheddar and mozzarella.
The cheese, the orzo and the chicken and broccoli make this casserole. This is comfort food. Good hearty food at it’s finest. You have to try this. . and the next time you’re at the grocery store, look for the Sartori Cheese (a Wisconsin cheese!). . they were all so good but I enjoyed the Merlot BellaVitano the most. So good!! Look for it!
- 2 cups chicken or mushroom broth
- ½ pound orzo pasta
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 2 to 3 cup broccoli florets, chopped
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup parmesan, freshly grated + more before baking
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, freshly grated or shredded
- 1 to 2 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken (can use breast, thigh meat or rotisserie chicken)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease or spray, using non-stick baking spray, a 9 x 13-inch baking casserole dish.
- Using a medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the broth to a boil. Add the orzo and cook until almost tender, for about 7 minutes, turning the heat down to medium-low once the orzo has been added and mixing occasionally so the orzo does not stick to your saucepan. Most, if not all, of the broth will be absorbed into the orzo. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Using a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil and add the onions and saute until tender, for about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and broccoli and continue to saute for about 5 to 6 minutes.
- Turn the heat to low and add in the cooked orzo and any remaining broth. Pour in the heavy cream and the parmesan, mozzarella, cheddar cheese and cooked chicken and mix well to combine everything. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking casserole dish.
- Sprinkle on a little more parmesan over the top if desired and bake until golden and the cheese has melted, for about 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before cutting and serving. Enjoy while hot.
Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. Sartori Cheese sent me the cheese as shown above. All opinions expressed here are 100% my own.
Love Sartori cheese! The merlot and espresso bellavitanos are the best because they’re so unique, but I really don’t think you can go wrong with any of them
Hi Kelsey, yup. . love all of them! 🙂
This orzo casserole looks right up my street! Love the flavours and the three cheeses sound amazing!
This looks so yummy! I love Orzo, especially in casseroles and soups.
Thanks so much, Jolena!
All that cheesy goodness! I love orzo but can only get the.boy to eat it if it’s in a casserole like this. There’s something about the texture of the short pasta that he doesn’t like (because he’s a weirdo) unless it’s smothered in cheese.
LOL! My husband is the same way . . 😛
OMG this is amazing!!!!!! I want this entire tray of chicken now!
This is one beautiful casserole, Alice, wow!! So comforting, added to my to-make list the minute it cools down here (105 today…yuck).
105?!!! oh my gawd, are you serious? It’s 54 and drizzling here in Wisconsin!
Here in France is the dinner’s hour and when I saw your dish I crave for eat a little bit! Looks so good !
Thanks so much, Eva!! 🙂
I do need to clean up my pasta stash too. The problem is it’s always less than half full and the man I married has serious issues about mixing your pasta striations so it’s impossible to finish a box lol! Anyhoo…this orzo looks like a perfect dinner!! I have some orzo in the pantry right now so trying this for sure 🙂
I ADORE Sartori cheese! They are one of my absolute favorites and the first to disappear off of any cheese plate I serve. This casserole looks divine!
I always forget about orzo, which is kind of sad because it can be used in about a million different ways. Of course as a good Wisconsinite, covered in cheese is a favorite way to eat it 🙂
I love orzo dishes! This is a total comfort food dish that I need to make soon. Pinning!
Ummm, when a dish looks THAT TASTY who cares if it’s winning a beauty contest or signing a modeling contract! I just want to eat it all. Right now. I love how easy it is, a fabulous weeknight meal idea!
Comfort food is da best!!! I might just have all the ingredients needed to make this casserole on hand, which means my hubby and I will be very happy and well fed this week. I just adore casseroles, especially when cooler weather is approaching. Can’t wait to dig in 😉
Beauty contests or not – this is certainly a winner. Looks delicious!
Ughhh, I totally need to clean out my pantry! I started making the whole bag of pasta in my dishes and freezing a serving or two for a quick lunch later…. no more 1/4 bags of pasta getting stale in the pantry 😉
We all love cheesy dinners, this is a winner!
Casseroles are SO difficult to shoot… But I can definitely see how delicious-looking this one is!
I always have at least 3 bags of orzo in my pantry and some of those are only half full. It is our families favorite pasta! This is comfort food to me between the orzo and the cheese; nothing makes me happier!
My pasta stash looks the exact same! This casserole looks delicious. I’m making a farro version this week!
This orzo looks fanastic, Alice! Yay, way to go on cleaning out your pantry – I have so many half opened pasta bags too and a cheesey casserole sounds perfect for using them up 🙂
Alice, this casserole is the thing my autumn dreams are made of! Cheesy and comforting–plus broccoli is, like, healthy…right?! 🙂 This looks like exactly what I need on a chilly night these coming months.
This looks amazing!!! I just moved into a new apartment so my pantry is pretty tidy, but when I moved out of my old one…oh my word, I had a stuffed pantry!
I just cleaned out my pantry for a dish too! It’s shocking how much can get lost in there isn’t it? The good/bad of being a food blogger I suppose.. 🙂 This dish looks fantastic and I love their cheese too! We just tried their Balsamic variety over the weekend. It was gorgeous.. I can only imagine how good it would taste in a casserole like this!
Yummyyy!! 3 different kind of chesses… I am sold girl!! This Casserole looks so delicious and cheesy.. it is totally calling my name!!! 😀
I am the same way with little bits of pasta (usually different brands of gluten-free pasta that are made from different ingredients, so it makes it hard to “marry” packages!}. It feels so good to do a full-on pantry cleanse, doesn’t it? I love comfort food casseroles like this one… seems like a good thing to make & freeze, in fact, so we have something to eat when baby comes along! Pinning. 🙂
Ok I just had a “duh” moment. Why have I never used orzo in a casserole before? This is irresistible, Alice!
OK, you’ve inspired me to clean my panty…I have a zillion boxes of pasta and I know there are at least two packages of orzo. SO I think it’s my cue to make your cheesy casserole. Bill would love it…as would I!
This might be a silly question- but you don’t drain the pasta right? The broth gets mixed in with everything too? I think I’ll make this tonight! 🙂
Hi Emily, not a silly question at all. . most, if not all, of the broth should get absorbed into the orzo. . and even if it doesn’t, yes just pour everything in! I’ve updated the recipe card with more specific instructions, thank you!!! and let me know if you make this! Happy Friday!
Am I missing something?? The recipe doesn’t say how much chicken to add…..trying this today and I took out two chicken breasts to use. I’m guessing that should be plenty.
Tammy, thank you for catching that typo!!! 2 chicken breasts should be plenty! going to edit the recipe card now to say 1 to 2 cups of shredded or chopped cooked chicken (can use breast, thigh meat or rotisserie chicken)!! Thank you and I hope you enjoy it!!!!
Thank you for the quick response:)