Barefoot Contessa's Chicken Divan Recipe: One Bite and You'll Be Hooked - Blend of Bites (2024)

This is a delicious and easy recipe for barefoot contessa chicken divan that can be made in under an hour. The dish is perfect for a weeknight meal or for entertaining guests. The recipe is simple to follow and can be easily doubled or tripled to feed a larger crowd.

The chicken divan recipe is made with chicken breasts, broccoli, and a creamy sauce. The dish is baked in the oven until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is bubbly and golden brown.

This recipe is a great way to use up leftover chicken or to cook chicken breasts from scratch. The chicken divan can be served with rice, potatoes, or bread. It can also be served as a main course or as a side dish.

Ingredients

• Butter — 5 tbsp., unsalted.
• Broccoli — 5 cups.
• All-purpose flour — ⅓ cup.
• Sage — 1 tbsp., chopped.
• Parmesan cheese — ½ cup.
• Milk — 1 cup.
• Heavy cream — 1 cup.
• Chicken broth — 1 cup.
• Chicken — 3 ½ pounds, cooked, sliced, deboned, and skinned.
• Almonds — ½ cup, sliced and toasted.
• Dry sherry — 3 tbsp.
• Breadcrumbs — ¼ cup.
• Nutmeg — 1 pinch, grated.
• Scallions — a bunch, chopped.
• Gruyere cheese — 1 ½ cups.
• Salt and pepper — to taste.

Instructions

1. Wash and clean the vegetables.

2. Lightly grease the baking dish with baking spray.

3. Fill a pot with water, add a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil.

4. Add the broccoli, and cook until tender. Remove from the heat and rinse. Set it aside.

5. Melt butter in a saucepan.

6. Add sage and flour. Whisk for a few minutes and add sherry.

7. Add the chicken broth, milk, nutmeg, heavy cream, salt, and pepper.

8. Stir well until there are no lumps, and lower to a simmer.

9. Add the chopped scallions and the Gruyere cheese. Cook until melted.

10. Remove the sauce from the heat.

11. Combine the almonds, chicken, and broccoli in a mixing bowl. Then, add the sauce.

12. Mix well and transfer to the greased baking dish.

13. Combine butter, parmesan cheese, and breadcrumbs in another mixing bowl.

14. Mix well and pour over the ingredients in the baking dish.

15. Bake for half an hour at 400 degrees F.

Substitutions

• Chicken broth — The chicken broth is a crucial ingredient in this Barefoot Contessa chicken divan recipe, as it provides a fine flavor, with a creamy and smooth texture. If you’re okay with cutting back on the flavor side, feel free to use water instead. If not, vegetable broth is more than ideal, with a similar flavor. White wine could work, but we’ll be using sherry already. Chicken bouillon cubes would be another fine option though.

• Breadcrumbs — If you do not have store-bought breadcrumbs, you could make these at home. Just find dry bread, work your food processor, and there you go. If not, Panko is the ideal substitute. On the creative side, you could crush some potato chips or corn tortillas and use those instead of breadcrumbs.

• All-purpose flour — This Barefoot Contessa chicken divan recipe uses just a tiny amount of all-purpose flour, so even if you’re low on this one, you could also opt for bread flour or wheat flour.

• Heavy cream — Using heavy milk will give you a smooth, creamy mixture. But that doesn’t mean that it’s irreplaceable. You could combine a cup of half-and-half with ¼ cup of melted butter.

• Gruyere cheese — Gruyere cheese is a unique cheese with a rich and creamy flavor. The cheese is an aged one, and it has a low melting point that makes it perfect for this Barefoot Contessa chicken divan recipe. It’s to come by, and it’s expensive. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t recommend going with simpler alternatives like cheddar cheese and American cheese. Hence, you’ll have to rely on some marginal and expensive ingredients. Jarlsberg could be found in the US, and the same goes for Raclette and Emmental.

• Sage — If you’re short on sage or just don’t like it; rosemary or thyme would be ideal substitutes.

• Scallions — If you have no scallions, just replace them with green onions. Fresh chives would work too.

Variations

• Chicken divan with rice — Steamy, soft, and delicious rice; topped with the sauce, the chicken, and the cheesy breadcrumbs. Besides the original ingredients, you’ll also need 2 cups of cooked rice, and you’re all set. The rest is just layering, which could be done however you want. Top with the rice, or place the rice in the middle, or on the bottom. The sauce will still take the rice to a whole other level.

• Pairings — Along with rice, chicken divan also pairs well with potato and pasta. And let’s not forget about the fresh salad.

Equipment

• Oven.

• Measuring cups and spoons.

• Saucepan.

• Cooking pot.

• 9 x 13” casserole dish.

• 2 mixing bowls.

• Baking spray.

Storage and reheating

• Transfer the leftover chicken to an airtight container.

• Store it in your fridge, where it will last for up to a week at most.

• You can also opt for freezing the leftover chicken divan, which would increase its shelf life by three months.

• Reheat using an oven, at 350 degrees.

Tips

• When to stop — Although the original Barefoot Contessa chicken divan recipe recommends baking for half an hour, you can also check that it’s done by seeing if it is golden brown and bubbling. If it is not, give it some time.

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