Hood Reunion Casserole–a creamy chicken, broccoli and cheddar Instant Pot or slow cooker casserole with a buttery Ritz cracker topping.
Hood Reunion Casserole
Today’s recipe is a creamy chicken and broccoli dish with a bit of cheddar and a crunchy Ritz cracker topping. It’s comfort food to the max. You’ll love that you can make this all in one pot, your Instant Pot (or slow cooker). This recipe is adapted from Hood Reunion Casserole on Food.com. The author states, “Got this from my great aunt after eating it at a family reunion. Every time I’ve served it the recipe was requested by someone.” My version is made without any cream soups. It was quite tasty! Enjoy!
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon chicken base
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs–I used frozen
- Poultry seasoning
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Ritz crackers
- Butter
- Frozen broccoli–or another type of vegetable like peas, cauliflower, green beans
- Cornstarch
- Sour cream
- Sharp cheddar cheese–or another type of cheese like colby or monterey jack
Steps
Pour broth into Instant Pot. Add in the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken with poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.
Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 15 minutes on low pressure for frozen chicken or 12 minutes for fresh chicken.
While the chicken is cooking, crush up the Ritz crackers and stir it together with the melted butter. Set aside for later.
Once the time is up on the Instant Pot let pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid. Place the chicken on a cutting board.
Turn Instant Pot to saute setting and stir in the broccoli. Let the broccoli simmer in the broth until cooked through.
While broccoli is cooking shred, chop or cube the chicken.
In a small bowl stir the cornstarch together with 3 Tbsp of cold water until smooth. Stir the mixture into the pot until sauce has thickened. Turn off Instant Pot.
Stir in the chicken and sour cream.
Sprinkle the cheddar and then the Ritz crackers over the top.
If you have an air fryer lid place the lid on top and bake for 3 minutes at 350° F. If you don’t have an air fryer you can place the Instant Pot liner under your oven’s broiler for 2-3 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!
Notes/Tips
- Serve with crusty bread or dinner rolls, green salad with vinaigrette or you can serve it over egg noodles, rice or mashed potatoes to stretch it further.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
- Can I add rice or pasta to make this a one-pot meal? Yes, but it takes some tweaking. Rice and pasta cook much faster than chicken in the Instant Pot, so you’d need to cook the rice or pasta separately, then stir it in at the end with the sour cream and chicken.
- Why low pressure instead of high pressure for the chicken? Low pressure gives a gentler cook, which helps prevent the chicken from getting rubbery or dry and makes shredding or cubing easier and more tender, especially for boneless chicken breasts.
- Can I add more veggies like mushrooms? Sure. Sauté first for best flavor, then stir in with the broccoli. You could also add peas, spinach, or zucchini at the end for extra greens.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with Ritz crackers are Air Fryer Heavenly Chicken and Instant Pot Ritz Chicken.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
Hood Reunion Casserole
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
A creamy chicken, broccoli and cheddar Instant Pot casserole with a buttery Ritz cracker topping.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs (frozen is okay)
- 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 20 Ritz crackers
- 3 Tbsp melted butter
- 1 (12 oz) package frozen broccoli
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Pour broth into Instant Pot. Add in the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken with poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 15 minutes on low pressure for frozen chicken or 12 minutes for fresh chicken.
- While the chicken is cooking, crush up the Ritz crackers and stir it together with the melted butter. Set aside for later.
- Once the time is up on the Instant Pot let pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid. Place the chicken on a cutting board.
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting and stir in the broccoli. Let the broccoli simmer in the broth until cooked through.
- While broccoli is cooking shred, chop or cube the chicken.
- In a small bowl stir the cornstarch together with 3 Tbsp of cold water until smooth. Stir the mixture into the pot until sauce has thickened. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Stir in the chicken and sour cream.
- Sprinkle the cheddar and the Ritz crackers over the top. If you have an air fryer lid place the lid on top and bake for 3 minutes at 350° F. If you don’t have an air fryer you can place the Instant Pot liner under your oven’s broiler for 2-3 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Pour the chicken broth into the bottom of your slow cooker. Add the chicken (fresh or frozen). Sprinkle with poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 5–6 hours or HIGH for 3–4 hours, until the chicken is fully cooked and easy to shred.
- While the chicken cooks, crush the Ritz crackers and mix with melted butter. Set aside for topping.
- Once the chicken is cooked, remove it to shred or cube. Stir the frozen broccoli into the slow cooker (no need to thaw). Add the chicken back in.
- In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and 3 Tbsp cold water until smooth. Stir it into the slow cooker, cover, and let cook on HIGH for 30 minutes, or until the sauce thickens and broccoli is tender.
- Stir in the sour cream and sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top. Then add the Ritz cracker mixture.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot/Air fryer lid
More Instant Pot recipes with broccoli…
Instant Pot 5-Ingredient Broccoli Pesto Tortellini
With just a few ingredients and a 1-minute pressure cook time you can have an amazing pesto pasta one-pot dinner!
Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli
Tender pieces of beef are served alongside broccoli and a savory and slightly sweet Asian sauce for a homemade version of your favorite Chinese takeout dish.
Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Reminiscent of Panera Bread’s broccoli cheddar soup this pressure cooker version has chopped broccoli, shredded carrots and celery simmered in a velvety smooth cheese sauce. I believe this version is just as good or better than you could order at any restaurant! Try it for dinner this week.
I Don’t Feel Like Cooking Tonight Casserole
A quick Instant Pot pasta dish with tender broccoli, cheesy goodness, and simple seasonings for a comforting, no-fuss meal on the nights you don’t want to cook!
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
What size dish would you use to “broil” the top? I’m going to transfer it to my air fryer to brown the top.
Call I cook this using pot in pot so it’ll be elevated fit for my air fryer. I’m only making 1/2 of the Recipe
Yes you can cook this pot-in-pot (PIP) in your Instant Pot. Since you’re making only half the recipe, PIP actually makes even more sense because the smaller portion won’t get lost in the big stainless steel insert. I always have to increase the cooking time a bit when I do PIP. So I’d increase the cooking time by 25%.
Thank you so much. ‘Ll have to try it!
I am also interested in slow cooker instructions, pretty please. This looks yummy!
Sorry, that was my mistake. I thought I had added them. Just put them in the recipe card!
Slow cooker instructions please!
Sorry, that was my mistake. I thought I had added them. Just put them in the recipe card!
Also looking for slow cooker instructions please
Sorry, that was my mistake. I thought I had added them. Just put them in the recipe card!
I need the instructions for this recipe using the crockpot. Thank you!!
Sorry, that was my mistake. I thought I had added them. Just put them in the recipe card!
Where are the slow-cooker instructions? Thank you.
Sorry, that was my mistake. I thought I had added them. Just put them in the recipe card!