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Cheesy Broccoli, Chicken and Rice Bowls (Meal Prep)

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This Cheesy Broccoli, Chicken and Rice Bowls recipe is easy to make for lunch meal prep or weeknight dinners, it is tossed with a lightened-up cheddar cheese sauce, and it’s totally comforting and delicious! (This post contains affiliate links.)

These Cheesy Broccoli, Chicken and Rice Bowls are perfect for easy meal prep or weeknight dinner, they're tossed with a lightened-up garlicky cheddar cheese sauce, and they're totally savory and delicious! Feel free to serve with rice or quinoa. | gimmesomeoven.com

Happy Monday, guys!

First off, I just wanted to say thanks for sticking with me through all of last week’s posts (and approximately 1.2 million photos) about our wedding. I know that many of you guys have been following along here since my not-so-long-ago single days, and it meant so much to me to be able to share this new season of life with you as well. So for all of you who tuned in, and for all of you who left such awesome and kind comments, thank you.  I read every single one, and am so thankful — for the thousandth time — for how the internet has brought us all together, especially during times in life that mean so much. Your presence here means the world to me. ?

Also, can we just talk about the fact that summer has somehow flown by, and so many of your kiddos are heading back to school this month?! Even if you’re like me and don’t have young ones at home, it still feels like we’re reached that summer tipping point and a new season is officially beginning…which is wild. I feel like I was just unpacking my summer sundresses and flip-flops like a month ago. ?

Still, I have to admit that I’m already getting excited about fall baking and soup season and cozy warm food days ahead. And on a chilly day last week, I even found myself craving some old-school casserole loaded up with cheesy broccoli and chicken. It still seemed a little too summery out to heat up the oven. So instead, I decided to sauté up some juicy chicken and tender broccoli, toss them all with a (lighter!) garlicky cheddar cheese sauce, and then portion them up with rice (or quinoa) in single servings for meal prep throughout the week. And maybe I will just always be a casserole-loving-Midwesterner at heart, but I’ve gotta say…these delicious bowls absolutely hit the spot.

And if you’re looking for a quick stovetop dinner, or some meal prep ideas for the back-to-school season, I feel like you all just might love this one too.

These Cheesy Broccoli, Chicken and Rice Bowls are perfect for easy meal prep or weeknight dinner, they're tossed with a lightened-up garlicky cheddar cheese sauce, and they're totally savory and delicious! Feel free to serve with rice or quinoa. | gimmesomeoven.com

The two main ingredients for this retro recipe?

You guessed it. Chicken + broccoli.

These Cheesy Broccoli, Chicken and Rice Bowls are perfect for easy meal prep or weeknight dinner, they're tossed with a lightened-up garlicky cheddar cheese sauce, and they're totally savory and delicious! Feel free to serve with rice or quinoa. | gimmesomeoven.com

 

Feel free to cook them however you’d like. You could either roast them together in the oven. Or do what I did, and just sauté the chicken in a skillet until it is crispy and browned on the outside, and cooked through and juicy on the inside. Then follow that up with some fresh broccoli, cooking it until it is vivid and crisp-tender. (Meanwhile, cooking some rice or quinoa on the side. I made mine in a rice cooker.)

Then — either in the same skillet (if you want to only wash one pan) or in a separate saucepan (if you want to multi-task and save time) — whip up a quick garlicky cheddar cheese sauce per the directions below.

These Cheesy Broccoli, Chicken and Rice Bowls are perfect for easy meal prep or weeknight dinner, they're tossed with a lightened-up garlicky cheddar cheese sauce, and they're totally savory and delicious! Feel free to serve with rice or quinoa. | gimmesomeoven.com

Then toss the cooked chicken and broccoli with the cheese sauce, and serve it up immediately over your rice. OR, you can portion it out into 6 little individual food storage containers if you want an easy meal prep for the week ahead. I topped mine with some extra cheddar cheese while they were still warm, so that it added a nice melty cheesy layer on top. (And even still, that only yields you a little over 1/4 cup shredded cheese per serving thanks to that lighter cheese sauce!)

The result?

These Cheesy Broccoli, Chicken and Rice Bowls are perfect for easy meal prep or weeknight dinner, they're tossed with a lightened-up garlicky cheddar cheese sauce, and they're totally savory and delicious! Feel free to serve with rice or quinoa. | gimmesomeoven.com

The most flavorful, comforting, savory, creamy, cheesy, delicious meal bowls around. Perfect for this season, or anytime you’re craving some lightened-up comfort food.

Enjoy, everyone!

These Cheesy Broccoli, Chicken and Rice Bowls are perfect for easy meal prep or weeknight dinner, they're tossed with a lightened-up garlicky cheddar cheese sauce, and they're totally savory and delicious! Feel free to serve with rice or quinoa. | gimmesomeoven.com

How To Cut Broccoli | 1-Minute Video

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Cheesy Broccoli, Chicken and Rice Bowls (Meal Prep)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.6 from 17 reviews
  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 6 -8 servings 1x

Description

This Cheesy Broccoli, Chicken and Rice Bowls recipe is easy to make for lunch meal prep or weeknight dinners, it is tossed with a lightened-up cheddar cheese sauce, and it’s totally comforting and delicious!


Ingredients

Scale

Meal Prep Bowls Ingredients:

  • 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • Kosher salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 2 heads broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets
  • 1 batch cheddar cheese sauce (see below)
  • 3 cups cooked rice or quinoa
  • extra shredded cheddar cheese*, for topping

Cheddar Cheese Sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1/2 cup warmed milk
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese*

Instructions

To Make The Meal Prep Bowls:

  1. To Make The Chicken: Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper.  Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Cook chicken for 4-5 minutes per side, or until the chicken is no longer pink on the inside (and registers 165°F with a meat thermometer).  Transfer the chicken to a plate and let it rest for at least 5 minutes before dicing into bite-sized pieces.
  2. To Make The Broccoli: Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in the same sauté pan.  Add the broccoli and season with salt and pepper, tossing to combine.  Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli is cooked and tender, but still slightly crispy.  Transfer broccoli to a separate plate, and set aside.
  3. To Make The Cheddar Cheese Sauce: Heat the butter in the same sauté pan (or a separate saucepan) until melted.  Add garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant, stirring occasionally.  Whisk in the flour until evenly combined and sauté for 1 more minute, stirring occasionally.  Gradually add in the stock, whisking to combine.  Then add in the milk, pepper and salt, and whisk together until smooth.  Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a simmer and thickens.  Then stir in the shredded cheese, and stir until melted.  Remove from heat and use immediately.
  4. To Assemble: Toss the cooked chicken and broccoli with the cheese sauce until evenly combined.  Serve immediately over rice.  Or portion the mixture evenly into food storage containers along with the rice, garnishing with an extra sprinkle of shredded cheese and pepper.  Refrigerate in sealed containers for up to 4 days.

Notes

*I recommend purchasing a block of cheddar cheese and grating it yourself, rather than buying a pre-shredded bag of cheese.  The pre-shredded cheese usually contains a coating that prevents the cheese from melting quite as smoothly.

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39 comments on “Cheesy Broccoli, Chicken and Rice Bowls (Meal Prep)”

  1. I absolutely loved your marriage posts. Thank you for sharing such a profound and special day. Since I also got married this summer after my own “not-so-long-ago” single days (I’m also 34) I identified with the joy and excitement of celebrating such an amazing day. Much congrats for you two!!! Your day was gorgeous and the love was so apparent.

    Also, these look delicious!

  2. YUM! These look amazing and so simple. Perfect for office lunches. What could I use in place of the flour? My husband is gluten free. Thanks!

    • You could try a GF “all purpose flour” substitute. I know I have used a Bob’s Red Mill GF “flour” when cooking/baking for my friends that are GF. I don’t remember exactly what it’s comprised of, but it is a blend of GF flours.

  3. This is perfect for my kids to take to lunch in a thermos! however, my daughter doesn’t like cheddar cheese for sauce. Do you think replacing mozarella or monterey jack for cheddar in your recipe above would work ?

    • I used Colby jack tonight because I already had a giant block from Costco. It was absolutely delicious!

  4. I liked your pictures and the way you described your food. It actually made me feel like eating it right now. I will try this soon. thanks

  5. Where do you get your single portion size meal prep bowls/containers? They are the perfect size. Thank you. Loved the wedding posts! Also…I’m from WICHITA, KS!!!!! ?

    • I have the same glass containers. They are called snapware. You can buy single dishes at Target, but if you want a bunch of them, you can find them online at Amazon, or in the store at Bed Bath and Beyond!

  6. Is there a good way to freeze this and reheat as needed, since I live alone and don’t eat as much as a younger person (I will soon be 74).

  7. I just want to say you have the best photography I have seen on any food blog and I follow about 50. I love putting your recipes on Pinterest – the photographs are so beautiful and inviting. And so far the recipes you have posted that I have tried have turned out great. You are in my top 3
    food bloggers – when I get a new recipe in my inbox I immediately go to your website to check it out, print it and pin it!
    And thank you for sharing your wedding posts – I enjoyed them a lot.

  8. I make something rather like this that includes pasta. That recipe has more seasoning to it, but I’ve not been real happy with it. Guess I’ll have to make this one and compare the two, especially compare my husband’s reaction. I like that the chicken breasts are cooked whole, because it’s much easier to cut up cooked chicken and to keep the pieces separate. I am wondering how many servings this is: 4 or 6? And I’m sure you know from my comments on them that I loved your wedding posts (I think I still have to read the reception one, but I’m certain I’ll also enjoy that one).

  9. OMG I’m excited about fall foods too but that doesn’t mean I don’t need a healthy lunch now! I’ve been into chicken broccoli and oatmeal I know it sounds weird but it is oh so good!

  10. Oh my, this looks soo good! Definitely takes me back to when my dad would cook this comfort meal during fall/winter. You’re totally right though, it feels like this summer has gone by way too fast, but this is a perfect transition into Fall {if I’ll ever be ready for it!} :)

  11. So yummy! And easy to make. I had hubby throw chicken breasts in the oven on my way home from work to save time. Also worked perfectly! I also used Colby jack cheese, very delicious!






  12. I am loving these lunch prep ideas! Keep them coming please:)

  13. Ali, what a great recipe! It’s definitely a hit at our house. I used a cast iron skillet to cook everything in, and when it came time to cook the sauce, the color was a little darker than is displayed in your gorgeous photos! The color didn’t deter us one bit! Love this recipe and I’m sure I’ll be coming back to it again and again.






  14. How many adult dinner servings would this make, approximately? I may have over looked that, sorry if I missed that.

  15. This is comfort food to the max. Cheesy broccoli is one of my childhood faves! I’m savoring the last days of summer but also looking forward to the cozy foods of fall!

  16. Oh my goodness that Cheese Sauce. It was perfection. I love this recipe!






  17. my mouth is watering while seeing this..
    simple and tasty.. thanks for sharing mam :)






  18. These look delicious and super easy to make! I’m always looking for new lunch ideas, so thanks for sharing! Congrats on your beautiful wedding!

  19. Huge hit! My kids devoured it! My daughter has been begging for cheesy broccoli forever and I refused to buy the processed stuff–this was perfect!






  20. We eat HFLC daily but I can see this recipe work perfectly in our meal plan by substituting cauliflower rice for the rice. Perfect weekday meal. Thanks Ali!

  21. love make-ahead option here, thank you fro the inspiration! Also as a bonus for me, have been looking for more broccoli recipes, so thank you!






  22. Yum! Loved the flavors and the fact that there’s so much broccoli in this recipe. I’ll definitely be making this again!






  23. This was pretty yummy and a good lunch option. I was going for something low-carb, so I left out the rice and upped the veggies (added Brussels sprouts, which I recommend and carrots, which I don’t recommend bc they didn’t go great with the cheese sauce).
    The cheese sauce is sooo yummy. I want to put it in everything!






  24. Perfect family dinner, a hit! I have cross country runner kids coming home hungry and they devoured it.
    I must say I doubled the yummy cheese sauce and broccoli and plates were licked clean.






  25. This recipe is simply AMAZING! Juicy chicken and crispy broccoli paired with a creamy cheddar cheese sauce over rice is comfort food at its finest! I’ve made this several times exactly as written and love it more each time! Thank you so much for a truly fantastic recipe that will remain in regular rotation in my house :)






  26. I also doubled the sauce recipe to give everything a better coating. I felt like it needed a zip of something, so I added some onion powder…hmmm….maybe it needs sauteed onions?






  27. Are there nutrition facts for this recipe?






  28. This was BOMB.






  29. Do you have the calories per serving for this recipe?

  30. Is there a place where the calories are posted?

  31. This recipe was absolutely banging. Could eat it everyday for at least a month.






  32. One of my all-time favorite meal preps – I make it all the time. And it tastes so much heavier in calories than it actually is. Love it! :)






  33. This sounds good. Can it be frozen in individual portions?

  34. I was so sad to give this two stars :( the chicken hardly reached 90° after 12 minutes on the pan, so we ended up trying to cook it for over an hour on the pan to get it up to temp. And the broccoli was hardly tender at all, maybe it just wasn’t for me!