Traditional Chicken Divan

"No mayonnaise, no "cream of whatever" soups - just an old fashioned chicken divan recipe that is definitely worth the extra effort. You can substitute chicken thighs for the breasts and use any combination of shredded cheese that you happen to have on hand. You can also substitute any dairy product (i.e. cream) for the milk depending on how decadent you would like to be. The recipe can be doubled or tripled easily and it freezes beautifully. Serve over rice."
 
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photo by breezermom photo by breezermom
photo by breezermom
photo by breezermom photo by breezermom
Ready In:
1hr 15mins
Ingredients:
11
Serves:
4
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ingredients

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directions

  • Preheat oven to 325.
  • Steam broccoli for 5 minutes until crisp-tender. Alternatively, place broccoli in a shallow bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 2-5 minutes (depending on the strength of your microwave) until crisp-tender. Drain in colander.
  • In a medium frying pan, saute chicken breasts in olive oil until lightly browned, about 4-5 minutes per side. Remove from heat and drain on paper towls.
  • In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes to eliminate the taste of raw flour. Then gradually whisk in chicken broth, sherry and milk or half and half, until incorporated. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer until the sauce is the consistency you desire. Add just a dash of nutmeg. Add 3/4 of the cheese blend and whisk until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • In a 9x13 dish arrange chicken breasts (either whole or sliced) and broccoli. Pour sauce over top and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with aluminum foil. Make several slits in the aluminum foil to allow the steam to escape.
  • Note: At this point, the dish can be frozen or refrigerated.
  • Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes, taking off the aluminum foil for the last 10.

Questions & Replies

  1. Years ago I made Chicken Divan using the cream soup recipe - my family really loved it. One of the things we liked about it was the addition of curry. I'd like to make this recipe and add curry instead of the sherry and nutmeg. Has anyone tried that?
     
  2. I want to make this recipe for 12 so I guess I need to triple it, but I'd like to have some extra sauce. Also...can I use cooking sherry....instead of the alcohol one...I do have Pinot white wine....is that better? Plus I making it the day before....but want to wait to put it together the day of the gathering....Will putting the sauce in the fridge..... turn the sauce thin? I've had that happen with other sauces. My dinner gathering is 3/ 16....Thank you!
     
  3. How can I print this recipe?
     
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Reviews

  1. What extra effort? It was a very easy and fast dish to prepare. It's nice to see a recipe for Chicken Divan that doesn't contain canned soup. Basically, when you cook melted butter and flour in equal parts, you are making a roux. I would only add that it is not necessary to use a separate pan to make the sauce. I browned the chicken breasts in a stainless steel frying pan and used the same pan to make the sauce. The added bonus to this method is that you are getting all of the flavor from the chicken that is left in the crispy bits at the bottom of the pan. Less dishes to wash as well.
     
  2. Fabulous! This recipe was exactly what I was looking for! Had 3 very large chicken breasts that I had boiled the night before and needed to find a recipe to use them in. Didn't have the exact ingredients but it didn't matter! Here's how I did it: used boiled shredded chicken breasts, a bag of frozen broccoli cooked on the stove top and drained, used vegetable broth because it was all I had, used half milk and half heavy cream (needed to use it up), used cooking white wine instead of sherry (thought I had sherry but it was the wine, oh well), and used colby/monterey jack cheese in the sauce and sharp cheese on top. Made in 2 8x8 pans like another reviewer suggested. I was worried I wouldn't have enough sauce since I had a lot of chicken so I used extra milk and extra cheese and it turned out great! The point is this recipe is forgiving when you don't have the right ingredients on hand. I can't wait to make it with the sherry. Thank you so much for this recipe!
     
  3. Simple and delicious - what more can one ask for? I hate all that canned soupery that goes on around here - does anyone ever read the ingredients? YUCK, I'm not feeding my family chemicals and for an extra five minutes it takes to do this, there's really no excuse. YUM! :)
     
  4. I cut this recipe down for one, and it is definitely comfort food. I will thicken up the sauce a bit more next time, because the sauce really thinned while in the oven. But the flavors are all there, and this was a very enjoyable dinner. I used "real" sherry, not cooking sherry and that reduced the sodium content and really increased the flavor. Easy enough to make on a weeknight too. Thanks for sharing! Made for the Naked Recipe Event in the Photo Forum.
     
  5. This was pretty good and simple to make. I have to admit I strayed from the original recipe a bit. I did add some curry powder and omitted the sherry and nutmeg since I didn't have any. I was scared of not having enough sauce, and I think I ended up with too MUCH sauce. Husband and son really enjoyed this.
     
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Tweaks

  1. Make the bechamel in the skillet so you get all the nice fond......tons of flavors are left in your sauté pan.
     
  2. Not a cheese person.. leave it out add some heavy cream..
     
  3. Ham instead of chicken. My mom used Swiss cheese, so I used a Jarlsberg instead of cheddar
     
  4. This is a good recipe but I needed a more savory white sauce. I used my go-to flavor boosters: onion powder and garlic powder. I also added lightly sautéed sliced fresh mushrooms. Lastly, I prefer Parmesan cheese in this dish. Really like the sherry in this recipe!
     
  5. Substitute cheese, top w/sliced almonds, dust w/paprika. Killer dish.
     

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