Chicken Divan (Chicken and Broccoli in Cheese Sauce)
A New York hotel restaurant's secret dish turned into a family casserole: poached chicken and broccoli under a cheddar and Parmesan cheese sauce made with the poaching broth, baked golden and served over rice.
Edited by JP Lambiase
Change the estimate
Swaps change the price only: cook any meat to its own safe temperature. Where these numbers come from
Chicken divan is chicken and broccoli under a cheese sauce, named after the Divan Parisien, a restaurant at the Chatham Hotel in New York City where it was the signature dish, created by a chef named Lagasi (Wikipedia:). The restaurant kept the recipe secret, so the many recipes in late-1950s and early-1960s cookbooks are guesses; Wikipedia's best guess, from hints by the restaurant's maître d'hôtel, is poached chicken breast, broccoli and a cheesy béchamel, or Mornay sauce, enriched with egg yolks.
Nobody agrees on much else. Yesterdish, a vintage-recipe site, places the restaurant just north of Grand Central Station, at 17 East 45th Street in old ephemera and in the Chatham Hotel at 33 East 48th Street elsewhere, dates the dish to the 1930s from Sue Dawson's cookbook *Unforgettable*, and notes that some sources say Mornay and others hollandaise, while the 1990 New York Times cookbook mixes the two. The Daily Meal (July 6, 2026) names the chef Anthony Lagasi, says it spread to kitchens across the country by the 1950s, and that Campbell's printed a chicken divan recipe on its soup cans. Tasting Table (October 1, 2025) says the date has been lost. The restaurant plate was broccoli spears, sliced chicken and sauce flashed under a broiler; the home version became a casserole of leftover chicken and canned soup. This one goes back to a real cheese sauce but keeps the home cook's 9x13.
🇺🇸 This one is American
A New York hotel restaurant's secret dish turned into a family casserole: poached chicken and broccoli under a cheddar and Parmesan cheese sauce made with the poaching broth, baked golden and served over rice.
🇸🇪 The original
Sweden's Flying Jacob bakes chicken in chili cream with bananas, bacon and peanuts. See the Swedish Flying Jacob (Chicken, Banana and Peanut Casserole) recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Poaching liquid as broth
The water the thighs simmer in becomes a light chicken broth, so the sauce tastes of chicken without buying broth or a can of soup.
Dry broccoli
Thawed frozen florets patted dry, and put under the chicken, stay tender without watering down the sauce the way wet broccoli on top would.
🧰 You'll need 7 items
Everything the steps call for. Tick off what you have before you start.
Appliances
Pans and pots
Tools
Step by step
- Step 1
Put the water, salt and pepper in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the chicken thighs, cover, lower the heat and simmer 20 to 25 minutes, until the thickest piece reads 165°F. Lift out the chicken, keep 2 cups of the liquid, and when cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes, shred or slice the meat. Start the rice now.
- Step 2
Heat the oven to 375°F and butter a 9x13-inch baking dish. Spread the broccoli in the dish and the chicken over it.
- Step 3
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk in the flour and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the 2 cups of poaching liquid, then the milk, and cook 5 to 6 minutes, whisking, until thick and smooth.
- Step 4
Take the sauce off the heat and stir in 1 cup of the cheddar, the nutmeg and the sherry or lemon juice. Taste for salt.
- Step 5
Pour the sauce evenly over the chicken and broccoli. Scatter the remaining cheddar and the Parmesan on top.
- Step 6
Bake uncovered 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and bubbling at the edges and the center reads 165°F. For a darker top, broil 2 minutes, watching closely. Rest 5 minutes and serve over the rice.
Chicken Divan (Chicken and Broccoli in Cheese Sauce)
Serves 8 · one 9x13-inch pan plus a pot of rice · 1 hr 25 min total
Chicken
- 2 lb (907 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 5 cups water
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Vegetables
- 1 1/2 lb (680 g) frozen broccoli florets, thawed and patted dry
Cheese sauce (replaces 2 cans of condensed cream of chicken soup)
- 4 tbsp (56 g) butter, plus more for the dish
- 1/3 cup (42 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups reserved chicken poaching liquid
- 1 1/2 cups (366 g) whole milk
- 6 oz (170 g) sharp cheddar, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups), divided
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 tbsp dry sherry or 1 tbsp lemon juice, optional
- 1/4 cup (25 g) grated Parmesan
To serve
- 2 cups (370 g) long-grain white rice, cooked by the package directions
Equipment: Oven, 9x13-inch baking dish, Large saucepan, Instant-read thermometer, Chef's knife and cutting board, Measuring cups and spoons, Whisk
Method
- Put the water, salt and pepper in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the chicken thighs, cover, lower the heat and simmer 20 to 25 minutes, until the thickest piece reads 165°F. Lift out the chicken, keep 2 cups of the liquid, and when cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes, shred or slice the meat. Start the rice now.
- Heat the oven to 375°F and butter a 9x13-inch baking dish. Spread the broccoli in the dish and the chicken over it.
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk in the flour and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the 2 cups of poaching liquid, then the milk, and cook 5 to 6 minutes, whisking, until thick and smooth.
- Take the sauce off the heat and stir in 1 cup of the cheddar, the nutmeg and the sherry or lemon juice. Taste for salt.
- Pour the sauce evenly over the chicken and broccoli. Scatter the remaining cheddar and the Parmesan on top.
- Bake uncovered 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and bubbling at the edges and the center reads 165°F. For a darker top, broil 2 minutes, watching closely. Rest 5 minutes and serve over the rice.
Adapted from Violet Englert's "Easy Chicken Divan", Taste of Home (4 to 6 servings, 375°F for 20 to 25 minutes). We keep its layout (seasoned chicken in the dish, broccoli over it, a cheesy sauce poured on, more cheese on top) and its 375°F bake, scaled to a 9x13 for 8. Our changes: chicken thighs poached in salted water instead of leftover cooked chicken, and a from-scratch white sauce made with that poaching broth, milk, cheddar and Parmesan instead of 2 cans of condensed cream of chicken soup, mayonnaise and milk (the canned version is in the Tips); rice to serve. The poaching time and the 165°F checks are ours. Estimated cost: about $17.31 for the pan and the rice, about $2.16 a serving (frozen broccoli priced at the table's fresh broccoli rate). Taste of Home. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Canned shortcut (the Taste of Home way): mix 2 cans (10.75 oz each) condensed cream of chicken soup, 1/3 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup milk and 1 1/2 cups cheddar, pour over the chicken and broccoli and top with 1/2 cup more cheese.
- Leftover chicken: use 5 to 6 cups cooked chicken and 2 cups store-bought broth, and skip step 1.
- Make ahead: assemble through step 5, cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours (house rule) and bake 35 to 40 minutes, to 165°F. Cooked poultry casseroles keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and 4 to 6 months frozen (FSIS chart).
- Fresh broccoli works too: blanch 2 lb florets 2 minutes and drain well. It costs a little more.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- The original sauce was Mornay. Disputed: Wikipedia gives a cheesy béchamel, or Mornay, with egg yolks; Yesterdish finds sources saying hollandaise, and the 1990 New York Times cookbook uses both.
- It was invented in the 1930s. Disputed: Sue Dawson (via Yesterdish) and The Daily Meal say the 1930s; Wikipedia says it was the signature dish "in the early twentieth century"; Tasting Table says the date is lost.
- The chef was Anthony Lagasi. Disputed in part: Wikipedia names only "a chef named Lagasi"; The Daily Meal gives the first name Anthony; Yesterdish names no chef.
- Chicken divan made Americans eat broccoli. Folklore: The Daily Meal credits it with bringing broccoli to American diners and Yesterdish suggests it helped, after commercial broccoli harvesting began in the late 1920s, but neither has numbers.
- Campbell's put a divan recipe on its cans. Documented as reported by The Daily Meal and Tasting Table.
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