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It's creamy, dreamy and oh-so simple.
Key Points
- This Chicken Divan recipe uses fresh, wholesome ingredients like béchamel, broccoli and roasted chicken.
- The dish is versatile, allowing for substitutions like mushrooms or fresh herbs to suit your preferences.
- It’s a comforting, veggie-packed casserole perfect for easy weeknight dinners with minimal prep.
Ina Garten is always teaching us something new, from the best way to prepare a roast chicken to the trick to giving canned cranberry sauce an upgrade. It’s no wonder so many food bloggers and recipe creators cite the Barefoot Contessa as their recipe inspiration, especially when it comes to comforting dinners made with simple ingredients that'll please a crowd.
An independent fan site, Ina Garten Cooks, developed a recipe inspired by the Barefoot Contessa’s cooking style: Barefoot Contessa Chicken Divan. Chicken Divan is a comfort food casserole that’s usually made with leftover chicken (rotisserie chicken works particularly well), broccoli, a cheesy sauce and a crunchy topping, and the site’s tasty version stays loyal to the true origins of the dish.
"This Barefoot Contessa–inspired version keeps things elegant and elevated, using real ingredients like homemade béchamel, fresh broccoli and roasted chicken, true to Ina Garten’s style," blogger Annabelle McLean writes.
The casserole sounds pretty fantastic to us. To make it, gather ingredients like cubed, shredded or rotisserie chicken breast, fresh broccoli florets, panko bread crumbs, shredded cheddar, Parmesan cheese and butter. Another perk to the ingredients list: It leaves lots of room for substitutions, which means you could even add in some savory mushrooms or freshly chopped herbs.
The fresh broccoli in this dish gets blanched for a few minutes in salted, boiling water until soft. Then you make a classic, creamy béchamel sauce before adding cheese and seasonings and finishing the casserole with a breaded topping. The casserole bakes at 375° F for about 30 minutes, rests for a few minutes and is ready to serve.
Sure, the dish is comforting and cheesy, but there are some other perks, too. The nutritious broccoli in this recipe can help you get your veggies for the day, and since you can use leftover chicken or a grocery store rotisserie chicken as the protein in your casserole, this easy recipe is perfect for a weeknight.
Mixing these simple ingredients with delicious cheese and creamy sauce sounds like a pretty appealing weeknight dinner to us. To bulk up the dish even more, serve it with a tasty side dish like cauliflower rice or roasted potatoes.
Looking for more Ina Garten favorites? Try Jennifer Garner’s favorite Ina Garten side dish, or a fan-favorite dessert from the Barefoot Contessa, like her chocolate chip cookies. Or take inspiration from Garten’s simple-but-elegant cooking style and whip up something unique in your kitchen. As long as it’s made with love, it’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser.
Read the original article on EatingWell
