Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

I did it! I made this completely gluten and dairy free and completely delicious!  The past few times that I have made this, I've cheated and used cream of chicken soup for the sauce and it was not good for the gluten/dairy allergies in our house.  But, this is {one of} my husband's favorites and is so yummy that I figured I would search for a gluten free sauce recipe and give it a go considering we have all the gluten free ingredients at home anyway.  It ended up being really easy!  I think next time I can make it even more flavorful, but I needed it done fairly quickly for our lunches this week. 

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole:

For casserole:
3 Chicken Breasts cooked for 1 hour on 350 shredded
2-3 cups white rice (or brown rice or quinoa)
2-3 crowns of broccoli cut finely
Corn flakes for topping (didn't have any so I thought about using rice chex, probably would have been good but I ended up not having any topping this time)

For sauce:
4 tablespoons of dairy free butter
2 tablespoons of gluten free flour
1 1/2 c. original almond milk
Salt and pepper
{the more flavorful recipe I have in mind will contain more spices and also chicken broth but again, for a later date}

I like to make this casserole in two parts.  I have the chicken, rice, and broccoli all cooking or steaming in the morning then put them in the fridge for later.  Then, when I'm ready to actually make the casserole closer to dinner or just for lunches/dinners for the week, I start later in the day on the sauce.

For the sauce: Melt the butter, pour in milk on medium heat.  Add in flour and mix until it becomes a thick sauce.  Add in spices.  {Disclaimer: I'm becoming quite the cook and not really using exact measurements all the time.  If you sauce is too runny, add a LITTLE bit more gf flour.  If it's too thick, add a LITTLE bit more butter or milk.  I'll admit that I didn't use any measuring cups this time around!}

Once the sauce is finished you can very simply combine all of your ingredients into a large baking dish.  Grease the pan with dairy free butter or spray with olive oil/baking spray.  Mix in rice, chicken, broccoli, and stir in sauce.  Make sure the sauce coats all of it.

I don't have corn flakes at the moment so I'm skipping this step, but it is the icing on the cake to this already delicious casserole.  Crush corn flakes and completely coat the top of your casserole.  If there is any left over sauce, drizzle over the top as well.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and enjoy!