Creamy chicken broccoli rice bowls pretty much cover all the best foods rolled into one nutritious meal. Chicken provides the protein while we have dairy and vegetables heaped onto a mound of steamy, fluffy rice. Most Mom’s find it challenging to get their kids to eat well and I think this recipe really helps with that. Traditional meals have the vegetables served as a “side” and by serving them this way kids seem to really set their focus on them in a negative way.
In this meal, the vegetables are a “part of” the dish and are covered in the same flavor as the chicken. It’s easy to scoop up some rice with a forkful and suddenly you have a mix of yummy flavors that all seem to belong together.
How to Make Chicken and Rice Bowls
- Cut chicken into bite size pieces.
- Add oil to skillet and cook both sides of chicken until centers show no pink.
- Throw in your seasonings.
- Toss in cut up broccoli, cover and cook about 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium low and add heavy cream, stirring occasionally uncovered for 5 minutes.
- Stir in garlic and parmesan and allow to reduce and thicken another 5 minutes or so.
- Toss all ingredients and serve over rice.
Chicken and Broccoli Skillet Ingredients
- CHICKEN BREASTS: Chicken is the highlight of this recipe. Please be careful not to overcook the pieces, they should not get browned.
- GREEK OR ITALIAN SEASONING: I enjoy the extra flavoring that Greek or Italian seasoning brings to the dish over a plainer salt and pepper.
- PARMESAN CHEESE: Of all the cheeses that pair with these ingredients I believe you will enjoy parmesan the most, it tends to add an upscale flavor. Use freshly grated parmesan when cooking to avoid the added starch that doesn’t melt well on canned or bagged varieties.
- GARLIC CLOVES: Mince the garlic cloves before adding. This is where you can really alter the flavor by adding more or less garlic.
- HEAVY CREAM: Heavy cream gives that perfect thick and creamy consistency and helps pull all the flavors together evenly throughout this dish.
- BROCCOLI: Fresh broccoli cooked al dente is the best.
- RICE: Use minute rice or conventional rice.
Flavorful Variations
- Meat-Use cut up chicken tenderloin if you prefer or change it up to turkey
- Seasonings-Experiment with your favorite seasonings
- Nuts-Throw in some sliced almonds, pecans or sunflower nuts for extra crunch
- Cheese- a Mexican 4-cheese blend or a sharp cheddar cheese
- Garlic-leave out the garlic altogether or add herbs instead
- Broccoli-Use spinach, carrots, mushrooms, onions, peas, corn, cut beans, or zucchini
Reader Tips & Questions
Can I make this recipe ahead of time? Yes, this dish is perfect and so easy to make ahead of time, you can leave out the broccoli and add it during the final 5 minutes of heating it up in the skillet. That way you will retain the crispness of the vegetable.
Leftovers? Absolutely! Sometimes foods are better the next day and this one certainly won’t disappoint! Heat up in a skillet, toaster oven or microwave but watch out, the creaminess intertwined throughout will make this super-hot if you’re not careful. Leftovers are good for about 3 days.
Can I use frozen chicken? If using frozen chicken, be sure to defrost it first so it can cook evenly when cut into bite size pieces.
Creamy Chicken Broccoli Rice Bowls
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 chicken breasts cut into 2-inch chunks
- 2 tsp Greek or Italian seasoning
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 4 tbsp heavy cream
- 4 cup broccoli broken into very small pieces to cook quickly
- 8 oz rice I like butter garlic rice
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add chicken and cook for 5 minutes. Flip chicken.
- Flip chicken and cook for 5 minutes.
- Toss chicken. Scatter broccoli on top of chicken. Cover and cook; about 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Pour in cream and occasionally stir chicken; about 5 minutes.
- Stir in garlic and parmesan. Allow to slightly reduce and thicken; about 5 minutes.
- Toss skillet together. Serve with rice.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate and it’s accuracy is not guaranteed to be exact.
Save This Recipe To Your Favorites
Create an account on our website and save your favorite recipes. You’ll be able to access your favorite recipes on any device!
