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Dinner doesn't get easier or more delicious than this cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole, made in just one pan, with a few simple ingredients.
Here's what a nerd I am when it comes to cooking: for my 14th birthday a friend gave me a cookbook, and it was one of my favorite gifts! It was a compilation of favorite recipes from close friends, and one of the recipes was this cheesy chicken and rice casserole.
What I love about Chicken and Rice Casserole:
- One pan: throw everything together in a casserole dish and bake. This makes for low prep and easy clean-up! I love recipes where the oven does all of the work. Check out my other one-pan recipes!
- Kid friendly: The end result is another kid-friendly recipe that's delicious and flavorful. The perfect comfort food for a fast weeknight meal or Sunday dinner that requires hardly any prep.
- Adaptable: Like most casserole dishes, there are plenty of variations you can make to this recipe. See more ideas below in the post.
How to Make Chicken and Rice Casserole:
1. Prep rice mixture: Add rice, cream of soups, milk, water and onion soup seasoning to a bowl and stir to combine. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of the shredded cheddar cheese.
2. Add chicken: nestle chicken breasts into the rice mixture.
3. Bake: Cover the dish with aluminum foil (the pan will be very full!) and bake for 1 hour 30 min to 2 hours , or until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through. (Mine usually bakes in 1.5 hours, but time may vary depending on oven, altitude and other variables).
4. Top with cheese and serve. Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes before serving. Serve with fresh roasted veggies or a green salad.
Recipe Variations:
Cheese: leave it out, or substitute Colby jack, mozzarella or Swiss.
Rice: Minute rice will not work with this recipe. Brown rice would require additional liquid (at least ½ cup) and longer cooking time, so if using brown rice, I suggest using chicken thighs, instead of breasts, so the chicken doesn't overcook/dry out.
Herbs: if you'd like to add additional flavor, consider adding fresh thyme, parsley, freshly minced garlic or garnish with fresh basil.
Broccoli Chicken and Rice: add 2 cups chopped broccoli florets to the casserole before baking.
Veggies: Feel free to add chopped mushrooms, onions, green peppers, green beans, broccoli, etc.
Cream of soup: My homemade version is so easy and delicious but you can use any type of cream of soup for this recipes including chicken, mushroom, or celery.
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice: Reduce water to ½ cup and milk to 1 cup. Only use 1 can of cream of soup. Cook on high pressure/manual setting for 8-10 minutes (depending on thickness of the chicken breasts). Allow to naturally release for 10 minutes.
Make Ahead And Freezing Instructions:
To make ahead: This is a great make-ahead recipe. Prepare the dish but do not bake. Cover it well and store in the refrigerator for 1-2 days before baking.
To freeze: Prepare the dish but do not bake. Cover it well with plastic wrap and tinfoil and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking, uncovered.
Consider trying these popular one-pan meals:
- One pan baked salmon and vegetables
- One pan creamy lemon chicken tortellini
- One pan chicken fajita pasta
- One pan skillet lasagna
You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST for more great recipes!
Chicken and Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
- 2 cans cream of chicken soup or cream of mushroom soup, (or homemade)
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups milk
- 1 batch homemade onion soup mix, , or one envelope Lipton onion soup mix
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, , divided
- 3 thick boneless skinless chicken breasts, , or thighs
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13'' pan (or similar size casserole dish) with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Add rice, cream of soups, milk, water and onion soup seasoning to a bowl and stir to combine. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of the shredded cheddar cheese.
- Nestle chicken breasts into the rice mixture. Cover the dish with aluminum foil (the pan will be very full!) and bake for 1 hour 30 min to 2 hours , or until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through. (Mine usually bakes in 1.5 hours, but time may vary depending on oven, altitude and other variables).
- Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes before serving.
- Serve with fresh steamed veggies or a green salad.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
I originally shared this recipe March 2017. Updated September 2020.
My family loves this recipe! I cook the rice first in chicken broth and cut the chicken up then mix everything with cheese on top It’s perfection
I cut up the chicken as well but I feel like when I cooked this it was so bland and I had to cook it for over 2 hrs but that’s probably because my oven isn’t very good.
What rice ? The article said don’t use Instant white rice . I may have said their name wrong .
In this recipe, it calls for long-grain white rice.
I use shredded chicken! I have found it is much more flavorful when I have shredded chicken, rather than chicken breasts or big chunks of chicken.
This was a wonderful recipe for a Chicken and Rice casserole. No, it was a fantastic recipe!
I tested after 1 hour and the chicken was overcooked and the rice undercooked. I took the chicken out and cooked the rice more. It just turned into mush. I have to admit I’ve been having a hard time with casseroles though so it just might be me!
I will be cooking this after freezing it first. Just wanted to confirm if it should be baked uncovered as your instructions state. Thank you.
Yes, if you’ve frozen the chicken and rice casserole ahead of time, you’ll want to bake it uncovered after thawing, just like the original instructions say. That helps the top get bubbly and golden. Just be sure it’s fully thawed first, or you may need to tack on a bit of extra baking time. Enjoy!
_Stacy
This can NOT be made in an instant pot. The rice just burns and it will never reach pressure. Ruined the rice, chicken, etc.
Do not try to make it this way.
I agree. My instant pot never got to pressure. The only thing I got was a burn message. After 1 3/4 hours in the instant pot I was able to salvage part of the rice and the chicken. Most of the rice is suck to the bottom of the instant pot.
I made this last night with some minor tweaks.
– I omitted the cheese in the rice & soup mix
– I used low sodium chicken stock instead of water
– I tucked a few bay leaves into the rice mixture before laying on the chicken
– I seasoned each chicken breast with a pinch of salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic powder, and a garam masala blend that was basically paprika with some garlic, cinnamon, coriander and cumin before laying them on top of the rice
– I cooked it for an hour and then topped with some grated Colby Jack cheese
The rice was amazing and even better the next day for leftovers lunch. I would switch to chicken thighs next time, and omit cheese altogether, but that’s just personal preference.
This will be in the rotation again.
Can I use tenderloins instead? How long should I cook them, if so?
Yes you can! Chicken tenderloins are smaller so they don’t take as long to cook. You can cook it all together but watch the chicken and remove the chicken tenders to a covered plate early if they are done before the rice. Enjoy!
Turned out great. Although I substituted 1 can of cream of chicken for cheese and broccoli soup!
Nutritious delicious and simple to make – will be loved by all
Made this tonight for the first time, I added thyme on the chicken. I don’t know what the negative people are complaining about. I fiquire they don’t know how to cook. I checked it after about 50 minutes and stired it. Other than that followed the recipe as is. Turned out great!
I have made this for years,it is great,I dont use the lipton, I try keep sodium down..
Usually your recipes are sure things, but I saw the instant pot directions and thought “awesome, that’ll save some time”. I should have listened to the little voice that said “milk and soup in an ip?” and made it another way because I got the dreaded burn notice after not even 10 minutes. 😣 It’ll go into the oven for tomorrow and I’m making something else for tonight.
Im sure it’ll taste good, but I have to make sure I listen to my instant pot intuition in the future.