Your family will love this easy Chicken Casserole recipe. It's the epitome of comfort food, made with minute rice, chicken, celery, a creamy sauce to hold it together, plus buttered cornflakes crushed on top.
Looking for more kid-friendly recipes? Try Calzones, Cottage Cheese Pancakes, Spaghetti Pie, Meatloaf, or Crispy Bean and Cheese Burritos!
My husband's favorite meal from his childhood was this Chicken and rice casserole recipe. My Mother-in-law is well know for her recipe, and my kids love it just as much as my husband. You can make it ahead of time, so it's great for a quick weeknight, or bringing dinner to someone in need.
How to Make Chicken Casserole:
Combine Ingredients: Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl except for the cornflakes and butter then pour mixture into a greased casserole dish.
Make Topping: Mix crushed cornflakes and melted butter together then sprinkle over casserole mixture.
Bake the chicken casserole with rice at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes then serve with Burrata Salad and Artisan No Knead Bread!
Make Ahead Instructions:
Make the chicken/rice mixture, spread it in the pan, cover and refrigerate. When you're ready to bake this traditional Chicken Casserole, sprinkle the buttered cornflakes on top and bake as directed.
More Budget Friendly Meals:
- Lettuce Wraps
- Tuna Noodle Casserole
- Jerk Chicken Bowls
- Chicken Tetrazzini
- Pink Sauce Pasta
- Mini Meatloaf
- Tamale Pie
- Chicken Tinga
- Orzo Salad
- Chicken Street Tacos
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Recipe
Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chicken , diced
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup celery , diced
- 1 cup minute rice , uncooked*
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 large eggs , hard boiled, sliced
- 10.5 ounce can cream of chicken soup (or homemade)
- 1 Tablespoon onion , grated
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup corn flakes cereal , crushed
- 1 Tablespoon butter , melted
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl except for the cornflakes and butter. Pour mixture into a greased casserole dish.
- Mix crushed cornflakes and melted butter together. Sprinkle over casserole mixture.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe November 2014. Updated February 2018 and September 2023.
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I assume it would be okay to make it the night before and keep it in a bowl in the refrigerator and then the next day pour it into your glass pan? I don’t want to leave it in my glass pan as I’m afraid it would break when I put it in the oven.
Yes, that’s fine 🙂
My husband and I really enjoyed this casserole. We followed the recipe exactly, except that we didn’t have cereal, so we substituted panko. We also incorporated pre-cooked wild rice. This perfectly satisfies our craving for a creamy, comforting casserole, so much so that my husband put this on our short list of favorites.
I’m so happy you and your husband enjoyed it! Thanks for your comment <3
Just wondering if you actually put sliced hard boiled eggs in this. I didn’t add this and tasted great.
Yes, I do, glad you liked it without.
I just made this and followed the recipe to a “T”. It looked so good and appetizing in the picture but it was flat tasting and we had 3 for dinner and none liked it. It just need something to spice up the taste.
I also add a can o water chestnuts. It gives a really nice crunch.
To cut carbs, I’m using cauliflower rice in place of minute rice and crushed pork rinds in place of corn flakes. It’s in the oven now, and I’m excited to see how it turns out!
Thanks for sharing! I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Made this over the weekend. Easy and delicious, even my picky eater loved it.
From at least the 1950’s this was always our family’s go to recipe for wedding showers, baby showers and welcome-home-from-the-hospital meals. Brings back a lot of good memories and still a favorite!
I’m not sure how you can use either minute rice, uncooked with already cooked rice which has had water added and been rehydrated. Am I understanding this correctly. Even minute rice requires reconstitution. Thanks!
Hi Mary, I just pick one—I either use minute rice, or I use rice that has been cooked just until barely tender. Both will work fine, the cooked rice will not be mushy. Minute rice is just a quicker option, and it cooks perfectly in this recipe.
I don’t know about the three hard boiled eggs in the recipe…that just seems so random. Is that common to use? How does that add to the taste? Seems like it would be very out of place. I do like boiled eggs I just can’t seem to imagine what that would taste like. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Hi Lena, my family loves it this way! Feel free to leave them out, but I think it adds a fun flavor and texture that is not overpowering! I would love to know what you think!