This chicken broccoli bake is a tasty, simple, and healthy dinner. Flavourful chicken, broccoli and carrot, coated in a light and cheesy alfredo sauce. This is sure to be a new family favourite.
I decided to develop this recipe whilst trying to eat healthier. But let’s be real, standard healthy food can kinda suck… so I set out to look for food that not only tastes good, but leaves you feeling good too! I love a good cheesy alfredo, but dishes like this often leave me feeling heavy and a bit bleh. But fear not, this recipe is far from ‘bleh feeling’.
Key Ingredients
- Broccoli is the superfood of this chicken broccoli bake! A versatile vegetable, and very good for you. In this dish I cut the head of the broccoli into small pieces, so it’s easier to get a piece of everything in each bite.
- Chicken is going to be of the breast variety for this recipe. Typically, I am a chicken thigh girly at heart, but chicken breast is the healthier choice.
- Carrot is a great vegetable to hide in there, it’s not a noticeable ingredient but it does help get those extra healthy vitamins in.
- Garlic whilst subtle in this chicken broccoli bake, it is important to include as it helps to create the flavour base for the dish, and pairs well with the other ingredients.
- Alfredo Sauce is a simple store bought one. We’re going for easy here, I chose to go for a good quality store bought alfredo sauce. If you have a homemade alfredo sauce you’d like to use, then you’re welcome to make that as well.
- Parmesan Cheese brings a slight nuttiness to the dish. If you’ve had a look through any other recipe on A Home Cook’s Diary you’ll see I am a parmesan girly at heart. It is my favourite to add to almost anything cheesy.
- Coconut milk is used to lighten the alfredo sauce. On its own, the alfredo sauce can be quite heavy – mixing in some coconut milk lightens the dish and adds a healthier twist. Don’t worry, it doesn’t impact the taste!
- Seasonings in this chicken broccoli bake simply consist of garlic powder, paprika, chicken powder, and onion powder. The alfredo is the key flavour of the dish, these seasonings just give the sauce an extra boost!
How to make this dreamy chicken broccoli bake
First off…
You will need to preheat the oven to 180℃.
Season and cook the chicken.
Start by prepping the chicken. Cut the breast into small bite size pieces, then place in a pan with olive oil on medium-high heat. Season the chicken with onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and chicken powder. Also grate in the garlic to cook as well. Toss to coat and leave to brown.
Prepare the vegetables.
Whilst the chicken is browning, prepare the vegetables. Cut the stalk off the broccoli, and chop the head into small pieces. Peel then grate the carrot and the garlic.
Time to get saucy.
Combine the alfredo sauce and coconut milk, as well as the seasonings that went on the chicken. This will create a lighter sauce. Also add ¼ cup of parmesan to the sauce as well.
Assemble the chicken broccoli bake.
In a non-stick oven safe dish, place the broccoli and carrot across the bottom. Add a thin layer of the sauce on top. Then place the cooked chicken on top of the veggies as well. Pour the remaining sauce over the chicken and broccoli mix, then sprinkle the leftover ½ cup of parmesan.
Let’s get cooking!
Place the chicken broccoli dish into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. The cheese should have a nice golden colour on top at the end. Serve on its own or with pasta, and enjoy!
What to serve with the chicken broccoli bake?
This chicken broccoli bake is designed to be eaten on its own. However… if you’re looking to bulk this dish up it is amazing served over pasta! We’ve had it over shells, but it could go well with penne or spirals. This could be good if you wanted to have it with rice too.
Storage
This chicken broccoli bake could be a perfect meal prep if you wanted to make it a few days in advance. After cooking, let the dish cool to a lukewarm temperature, place into an airtight container. Store in the fridge and it should stay fresh for 2-3 days. I would not recommend freezing this chicken broccoli bake.
More chicken recipes:
- Mediterranean Chicken Bake
- Garlic Parmesan Chicken
- Caesar Salad
- Caramelised Onion Chicken
- Chicken & Quinoa
- Chicken Bake Pasta Bake
- Camembert Bacon Wedges Bake
So there you have it! A simple and healthy dinner, packed with protein and a superfood. You should definitely try this chicken broccoli bake for your next dinner, it’s sure to be a family favourite – do not miss out on this!
Chicken Broccoli Bake
Ingredients
- 1 head of broccoli
- 1 carrot
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 chicken breasts
- ¾ c parmesan
- 1 c alfredo sauce
- 150 ml coconut milk
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp chicken powder
- 1 tbsp paprika
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180℃.
- Start by prepping the chicken. Cut the breast into small bite size pieces, then place in a pan with olive oil on medium-high heat.
- Season the chicken with onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and chicken powder. Also grate in the garlic to cook as well. Toss to coat and leave to brown.
- Whilst the chicken is browning, prepare the vegetables. Cut the stalk off the broccoli, and chop the head into small pieces. Peel then grate the carrot and the garlic.
- Combine the alfredo sauce and coconut milk, as well as the seasonings that went on the chicken. This will create a lighter sauce. Also add ¼ cup of parmesan to the sauce as well.
- In a non-stick oven safe dish, place the broccoli and carrot across the bottom. Add a thin layer of the sauce on top. Then place the cooked chicken on top of the veggies as well.
- Pour the remaining sauce over the chicken and broccoli mix, then sprinkle the leftover ½ cup of parmesan.
- Place the chicken broccoli dish into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. The cheese should have a nice golden colour on top at the end.
- Serve on its own or with pasta, and enjoy!
