| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 2 hr 30 min |
| Active: | 10 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 generous bundle broccolini, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces or 1 small head broccoli, trimmed and cut into small, thin stalks and florets
- Salt
- 2 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast, fat removed
- 1 medium onion
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- 1 pound extra-wide egg noodles
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 rounded tablespoons flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- A few sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed and chopped
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 cup white or whole wheat panko (Japanese) bread crumbs
- 1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- A handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- Place a large pot of water on to boil for egg noodles and broccolini. Salt the water and cook the broccolini until tender. Remove to a plate. When the broccolini is cool enough to handle chop it into bite-size pieces.
- Place the chicken in a few inches of water with a peeled quartered onion and a couple of bay leaves. Bring the water to a low boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and gently poach the chicken 10 to 12 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the extra-virgin olive oil in skillet over medium heat and saute the onions and garlic until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the broccolini to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat off pan.
- While the onions cook, heat the butter in a medium saucepot over medium heat, whisk in flour 1 minute then whisk in the milk and season with salt, pepper, freshly grated nutmeg, and thyme. Thicken 5 minutes then whisk in a little of the sauce to the egg yolks to combine, then add the egg yolks back to the sauce and whisk to combine, turn heat down to the lowest setting.
- Cook’s Note: If sauce becomes too thick, add a splash of chicken poaching liquid and turn off the heat.
- Shred the poached chicken with forks or dice poached chicken into small, bite-size pieces.
- Preheat the broiler.
- To the large pot of boiling water, add the egg noodles. Cook the noodles according to package directions for al dente. Drain the noodles very well and add them back to the hot pot. Stir in the broccolini, chicken, and sauce, and then transfer to a casserole dish. Place the casserole in the middle of the oven and broil 3 to 5 minutes until bubbly and brown. Cool and store for make-ahead meal.
- To serve the casserole, heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Mix together the panko, Gruyere, Parm, and parsley. Place the casserole on a baking sheet in upper half of the oven and bake 30 minutes, add the topping and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, or until brown and crispy on top.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 767 |
| Total Fat | 28 g |
| Saturated Fat | 13 g |
| Carbohydrates | 80 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Sugar | 9 g |
| Protein | 48 g |
| Cholesterol | 230 mg |
| Sodium | 880 mg |
Reviews
I think the recipe needs work so I was proactive after reading reviews which are very helpful. I poached chicken in chicken stock with garlic powder, the onion, paprika salt and pepper. I took it out and added broccolini to this to cook in flavor. I only used one bag of egg noodles and made my own bechemel. Melt butter in sauce pan whisk in 1/4 cup flour, with the 4tbs butter, heat gradually add 3 cups of whole milk, kosher salt and pepper plus 1/1/2 cups of shredded parm. This did away with dryness! I also added the seasoned chicken stock liquid left from chicken and broccoli to the casserole! It was about a 1/2 cup. Hope this helps! Thank you Rachel Ray for the very basics
Patricia Sullivan. ☮️
Patricia Sullivan. ☮️
This was delicious! Very hearty and filling. I made 1.5x the liquid mixture. I thought it needed some more moisture and I’m glad I did it. I loved this recipe. It tasted similar to chicken Alfredo with Broccoli but in a casserole form. Both my kids inhaled it, but I think the recipe itself needed more moisture for my liking. Yes, it uses quite a few pans, but I’ve made much more extensive dishes that use just as many pans. I’m sure with the next run, I can figure a way to lessen the dishes.
This was a good recipe – exactly what i was looking for. I did read the criticisms – too many pans, too dry, nothing special..etc. First, you can make this dish in one pan ..i did it First step is you boil noodles – i used papparadelle from Trader Joes – one package, cooked them al dente, drained and put in casserole. Then in same pan with new water, you poach the chicken, remove and cut /shred and save some liquid. Then you rinse pan and saute the onions – i added some mushroom & garlic – then you toss in broccolini. You put it all in the casserole dish, then make the sauce – like others suggested i made 2x sauce & omitted the egg yolks. The mistake Rachel made was to cook the dish beforehand…you cant do that since the pasta will soak up all the liquid. I cooled all the ingredients in fridge until ready to serve the dish and then assembled it all and cooked it. I liked not having a lot of salt which you might have if you used canned soup.
I love it!! Yes many pots and pans but worth it!!!! Had to read instructions a few times for each step to make sure i understood them but the end result was amazing. I loved that nothing came from a can. Flavor was wonderful! My husband and 16 month old had second and third helpings.. Will definitely make this again. Can’t believe this only got a three star rating. I have made other recipes that got 5 stars and this was by far the best.
Too dry
Ok so this is a classic from when i was a child. However this is way too many ingredients try this
egg noodles
cream of chicken and cream of celery
chicken sauteed with onion and garlic
broccoli
curry powder
cheese
saltines on top for a crunch
cook the pasta al dente steam broccoli half way cook chicken then pour sauce in pan heat up with water curry powder put chicken in pasta and broccoli then place in cooking dish with cheese on top with saltines cook on 350 for 45 min to 1 hour best thing you ever had. Not sure what rachels doing to this favorite recipe. Sometimes less is more.
egg noodles
cream of chicken and cream of celery
chicken sauteed with onion and garlic
broccoli
curry powder
cheese
saltines on top for a crunch
cook the pasta al dente steam broccoli half way cook chicken then pour sauce in pan heat up with water curry powder put chicken in pasta and broccoli then place in cooking dish with cheese on top with saltines cook on 350 for 45 min to 1 hour best thing you ever had. Not sure what rachels doing to this favorite recipe. Sometimes less is more.
I love this recipe! The first time I made it, it was too dry so I added more sauce and it was fantastic. Also, I normally substitute Cheddar cheese for the ones she suggests and it is very delicious! This is certainly a great dinner on a chilly night.
I have not yet tasted this casserole as it is still in the oven, however, some of the directions did not make sense to me and the prep time was way more than 10 min. Seriously, due to the prep time and the many pots and pans and bowls I had to use…..never again! This recipe doesn’t sound like Rachel to me…….did someone screw this recipe up?
What a waste of time and money! Way too many noodles, not nearly enough sauce. What a disappointment. At least the dogs will eat it.
The dish was too dry after baking. I followed the recipe exactly and I also used some of the chicken poaching liquid because I thought it was going to be too dry. It had great taste, but next time I would double the sauce. The panko didn’t really get brown. Next time I would use melted butter to top the dish to get more color on the top.