Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice combines chicken sausage, roasted broccoli, onions, rice, and melted Cheddar on one sheet pan for an easy, tasty meal.
Pair this family-friendly meal with a quick salad like Cucumber salad or Fruit salad recipe.
Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice
It doesn’t get much easier than this recipe and it’s a total hit with the whole family! And that’s a combo that makes everybody happy.
I know broccoli isn’t typically associated with being popular among kids, but have they tried Roasted Broccoli? My kids actually request it! So combining that roasted broccoli with rice, lots of melty Cheddar, and chicken sausage? Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice is a huge dinner-time win!
And after enjoying a delicious meal, everyone’s even happier to find out there is just one pan to clean!
Can You Cook Rice On A Sheet Pan?
Yes! With a store-bought shortcut, you can have perfectly cooked rice in minutes.
Use Ready Rice or microwaveable rice, which is already cooked and only needs to be heated. Instead of microwaving, add it to the sheet pan with the veggies and sausage to roast—super easy! Just knead the packet before opening to break up any clumps. Or, use 2 cups of leftover cooked rice.
Quick Tip
Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice won’t work with regular white rice or any other variety of uncooked rice. That said, if you have leftover cooked white rice, it will warm up nicely on the sheet pan just like the microwaveable rice.
Sheet Pan Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice Ingredients
- Sausage: Use smoked chicken sausage (like Aidell’s® Italian Style).
- Broccoli: Use fresh broccoli—avoid frozen because it won’t brown or cook well.
- Yellow onion: Long strips are best, but cut into 1-inch pieces if preferred.
- Seasonings: Don’t skip the bouillon!
- Olive oil: Adds flavor and stops burning.
- Cheddar cheese: Sharp or extra-sharp Cheddar is best, or mix with Parmesan.
Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice Tips
- Wait for the oven to heat up. If you put it in too early, the cooking time will be wrong, and the veggies won’t cook evenly.
- Taste. A little more salt and pepper might help the flavors.
- Use fresh-grated cheese. Pre-grated cheese can be greasy and clumpy.
- Serve right away! Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice is best fresh out of the oven.
My Top Tip For This Recipe
Use a large sheet pan to give vegetables and sausage plenty of space to roast. Crowding them leads to steaming, which affects taste and texture and increases cooking time.
I recommend this 15×21-inch sheet pan or using two pans to cook this meal.
More Easy One-Pan Meals
- One Pan Italian Sausage and Veggies with a delicious seasoning blend
- Mini Meatloaf with green beans and potatoes
- Baked Fish and Chips with a simple tartar sauce
- Creamy Pesto Orzo prepped in 30 mins in one pot!
- One-Skillet Sweet Potato Burrito Bowl with black beans and veggies
Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice
Equipment
- Large sheet pan (15″ x 21″) 15 x 21-inch
Ingredients
- 5-1/2 cups chopped broccoli
- 1 large yellow onion thinly sliced
- 1 (12-ounce) package smoked Italian chicken sausage see note 1
- 2 (8.5-ounce) packages Ready Rice or 2 cups cooked white rice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
- 1 (3-ounce) cup sharp Cheddar cheese or extra-sharp
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- Fresh parsley optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Set out a 15×21-inch sheet pan or 2 smaller sheet pans. Cut the broccoli into bite-size pieces, thinly slice the onion, and coin the chicken sausage. Combine the garlic powder, Italian seasoning, onion powder, chicken bouillon powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir the seasonings together, then remove 2 teaspoons of the seasoning and set aside.
- Add the broccoli, onion, and chicken sausage to the sheet pan. Drizzle on olive oil and add all the seasonings except the 2 teaspoons you set aside. With your hands, toss to generously coat everything and spread in an even layer, leaving plenty of space for the veggies to roast. If they’re overlapping, they will steam instead of roast and take a lot longer to cook. Add the tray to the fully heated oven and roast for 13–15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, without opening the 2 rice packets, knead and break up the rice with your hands to remove any clumps. No need to microwave or prepare the rice in any other way! Alternatively, use 2 cups cooked rice. Remove sheet pan from the oven and add the rice and reserved 2 teaspoons seasoning mix right on top. Toss everything together with a large spatula, spread in 1 even layer, and return to the oven for 2 minutes. Shred the cheese.
- Remove from oven, toss everything once more, and taste for any additional seasoning, adding extra salt and pepper if desired. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over everything. Return to the oven for 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Remove from the oven, garnish with fresh parsley if desired, and serve.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is one of my go to recipes when I want something healthy AND delicious! It’s in my regular meal rotation. Thanks for a great recipe!
So thrilled to hear this! Thanks Jenna! 🙂
Great dish! First time trying chicken sausage and ready rice. Love them both. Also enjoyed the seasoning mix of this recipe. This meal stays on rotation!!
I am so happy to hear this! Thank you Amber! 🙂
Super easy and delicious!! Made this for work lunches. I look forward to my lunches! Nothing like knowing you have something ready to eat also!! So glad I was introduced to meal prepping. Thank you for sharing!
Excellent dish as always. My kiddo wouldn’t dig the sausage so I used a rotisserie chicken cubed, and added after 10 minutes of the broccoli roasting. Had some left over cherry tomatoes from the garden, which I roasted with the broccoli. Enjoyed by all, quick prep and easy cleanup!
What great ideas! Thanks for sharing Jim! Appreciate the comment 🙂