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This Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole is made with rice, chicken breasts, cheddar cheese, cream of chicken soup, water, and seasonings. You will love this easy and delicious comfort food meal.
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This Chicken and Rice Casserole has been in our family for years. Whenever I serve it to my family, I am reminded of my Grandma Edwards. She made this dish all the time. It was always a favorite of ours when we went to her home for dinner. Isn’t it interesting that food can take you back to a time and place? One bite of this casserole and I am a 7-year old girl sitting with my parents and siblings around my Grandma’s kitchen table eating delicious food, enjoying the conversation, and wondering what delightful dessert is awaiting us. I love food memories!
Not only does this chicken and rice casserole taste good, the aroma that fills the house while it is cooking will have everyone asking when dinner will be ready. This is definitely a dish I would label as comfort food. The rice mixture is warm and creamy, and the chicken always turns out perfectly moist, never dry.
How to Make Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole
Putting this chicken and rice casserole all together couldn’t be easier! Here’s how to layer all the ingredients before baking:
- Spray 9×13 pan with cooking spray.
- Layer uncooked rice, 1 cup shredded cheese, salt, and pepper in pan.
- Place chicken breasts on top. Drop rounded teaspoons of cream of chicken soup over the chicken breasts and rice.
- Pour water on top and sprinkle with onion soup mix.
That’s it! The casserole is ready to put in the oven! Simply bake at 350-degrees F for 1 hour, uncovered.
Recipe Tips and Variations
Choose the right chicken: You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs. If the chicken is more than 1″ thick, pound them flat or cut them in half lengthwise. You can also cut the chicken into smaller portioned pieces for easier eating. Before removing the chicken from the oven, use a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken breast to ensure the chicken reaches the USDA recommended safe internal temperature of 165 degrees (Fahrenheit).
Use the right rice: Long-grain white rice is a good choice for casseroles as it tends to absorb flavors well. You can also use Jasmine rice, basmati rice, or even wild rice. We have tried making this with brown rice and we can never get it to cook well enough without also drying out the chicken.
Add vegetables: Enhance the flavor and nutrition of your casserole by adding vegetables like carrots, peas, bell peppers, broccoli, or mushrooms.
Seasoning: Try using a mix of herbs and spices such as thyme, rosemary, garlic, onion powder, and paprika to season the dish. You can also add onion powder and garlic powder. Salt and pepper are essential for flavor.
Broth or stock: Instead of just water, use chicken broth or stock to cook the rice. This adds depth of flavor to the dish.
Try a different soup: You don’t necessarily need to stick to cream of chicken soup for the creamy sauce. Cream of mushroom soup, cheese soup, and cream of celery soup also taste great in this casserole.
Cream of chicken substitute: If you are not a fan of using “cream of” soups from a can, try our recipe for Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup Substitute. It is creamy and flavorful without the modified food starch and/or monosodium glutamate (MSG).
Save a little time: If you want to save a little time and also ensure you don’t get crunchy rice, boil the water/chicken broth or stock evenly over the casserole ingredients before baking. Cover with aluminum foil to trap in the heat and then bake– you can cut the time by 10-15 minutes by doing this trick.
Rest before serving: Allow the casserole to rest for a few minutes after removing it from the oven. This helps the flavors meld and makes it easier to serve.
Garnish: Garnish with fresh parsley or chopped green onion or chives to add a little color to the dish.
Shredding the Chicken Before Serving
If you have younger kids at home or just want to make this casserole easier to eat, try shredding the chicken before serving. Shredding the chicken after cooking makes the chicken have an even distribution throughout the dish. It also creates a tender texture and helps the chicken get more of the flavors from the creamy sauce. Shredded chicken blends seamlessly with the other ingredients, making it easier to serve and appealing to picky eaters, especially kids. Plus it helps you get all the flavors of the casserole in each bite!
5-Star Reviews
“I made this for a dinner party last night. It was DELICIOUS. I followed the recipe exactly but gave it 5-10 more minutes to bake. So very easy, I put it in the oven just before folks showed up and it was ready an hour later! YUM” – Nan
“I’ve been coming back to this recipe very often since I’ve found it! It’s delicious and really easy:)” – Lizzy P
“This was delicious and easy to make! I used chicken broth instead of water and added a little more cheese then recommended. I will definitely be making this again! Thank you for the recipe!” – Erica
Frequently Asked Questions
As you can see from the number of comments below, this has been a very popular and loved recipe by our readers. To save you some time going through the comments, here are some quick answers to some of the commonly asked questions about our Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole.
Yes, cream of mushroom and cream of celery both taste great in this recipe.
Yes, chicken broth will add even more flavor. You can also use a combination of water and chicken broth.
No. That is one of the great things about this recipe! The chicken cooks along with the rice.
Read Next: Spaghetti Casserole
What to Serve with this Casserole
I prefer to serve this Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole with cooked vegetables on the side in the winter months, and in the summer months, I serve it with a large garden salad. Try some of these delicious recipes that go perfectly with this casserole:
Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole
Video
Ingredients
- 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
- 2 cups uncooked rice not Minute Rice
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 (10.5 oz) cans cream of chicken soup undiluted
- 3 cups water
- 1 packet Lipton Onion Soup Mix
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Layer rice, 1 cup shredded cheese, salt, and pepper in pan.If your chicken breasts are thicker than 1", cut them in half lengthwise or pound them flat with a mallet so they cook thoroughly and evenly. Place chicken breasts on top. Daub rounded teaspoons of cream of chicken soup over the chicken breasts and rice.
- Pour water on top and sprinkle with onion soup mix.
- Bake uncovered for 1 hour.
- Remove from oven, and stir excess sauce into the rice. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup cheese.
Notes
- If using brown rice, add 15 minutes to baking time.
- In a hurry? Boil the water before pouring over the top. Quickly cover with foil to trap in the heat and bake as directed. This can save you up to 15 minutes of cooking time.
- The USDA recommends keeping leftover cooked chicken for a maximum of four days.
- After cooking and consuming your tender chicken, take your leftovers from your baking dish or your casserole dish and place in an airtight container where it can remain safely for up to four days in the fridge. Enjoy!
Followed the full recipe and my chicken also came out raw.
They definitely should not be raw after an hour of cooking. Were your chicken breasts particularly thick? If so I would definitely recommend pounding them flatter or cutting them in half lengthwise so you have 2 thinner halves. I will add this to the recipe to make it more clear. Hopefully this helps!
Made a few of these chicken,rice and soup casserole recipes, but this is the best one! The only thing that I did different was bake it at 400°. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, its a keeper!
I wanted to make something for lunch from the stuff I already had in my pantry. This recipe popped up. Very easy to follow instructions, simple ingredients… all caught my eye.
I decided to half the recipe since it was for just me and my husband. I followed all the instructions completely. This would have been great if the chicken had been cooked. I used 3 chicken thighs and all three were still raw after an hour. I ended up taking the chicken out and cutting it up. I put it back in the casserole and cooked another 20 minutes. It tasted good but, it took too long.
I am sorry this recipe didn’t turn out for you. Some recipes don’t work scaled down like that.
I really liked this meal. Chicken was a little bland by itself, but I used a can of low sodium chicken broth (2 cups) and a cup of water to make up the 3 cups total… which I think was a good idea. I also added a can of corn (drained) on top the chicken and used 1 1/3 small bag of the shredded chedder. Turned out soo delicious! Rice and chicken was all cooked through- I used chicken tenders since they’re easier to cut toddler size bites, and I broiled on high just until the top layer of cheese was melty.
Now I just need to learn how to make this as a Low FODMAP meal without losing the flavor and be suited for my IBS diet.
I made this exactly per the recipe (except using chicken broth instead of water). I thought it was tasty, but the rice was not close to being done. I let it go for another 1/2 hour and it was closer, but still had crunchy rice. I wonder if I had covered it and sealed in the moisture if that would have helped? Thoughts or suggestions?
What kind of rice did you use? Instead of covering the pan we would just add a little more chicken broth and give it a stir before cooking the extra time.
Can I make it ahead of time and put in the fridge so I can bake it when I get home.
You can, but I would wait to add the water until right before baking. If you let the chicken and rice soak in water all day it will affect the texture.
I have made similar versions of this and the ones that work are the ones that you cover with foil for an hour or hour + and then take out, sprinkle cheese and brown the top for another 10 or so minutes. I’m not sure how cooking this recipe would work without covering it with foil. I also usually take out and stir the rice a bit and cover with foil again near the end.
Not a fan it’s pretty bland so I wouldn’t make this one again
Is there an explanation of what the excess sause could be? Is it the soup?
Sometimes chicken can release a lot of water during the cooking process – it could be from that.
What would the time difference be if you used pre-cooked chicken? Thank you so excited to try this recipe I’ve been creaming it!!
Pre-cooked chicken would be tough because the rice still takes the full hour to cook so I would be worried that the chicken would become dry in that time.
I meant to add to my comment that I used good chicken broth instead of the water. YUM
Thank you for letting us know! I will try that next time I make it!
I made this for a dinner party last night. It was DELICIOUS. I followed the recipe exactly but gave it 5-10 more minutes to bake. So very easy, I put it in the oven just before folks showed up and it was ready an hour later! YUM
I did this but with 1 can of cream of chicken and 1 can cream of mushroom (just what I had in my pantry already) and it turned out delicious! Toddler approved too
I like this recipe but 350 for 1 hour doesn’t cook it all the way. After an hour I just had to bump it up to 400.
The rice is barely cooked, tons of liquid still left.
Maybe it should be 375 for an hour?
Everyone’s oven is a little different, but it sounds like 375 would work for you if you make this again.
Do I cook the chicken breasts before putting them in the oven or not?
No, the chicken cooks with the casserole in the oven. Thanks for asking!
Can this be made in crock pot with shredded cooked chicken?
We haven’t tried that, but let us know how it turns out if you do!
I only have 1 can of the soup. Should I just use less rice and/or chicken? Also, I only have drumsticks available but planned on trying to use them in this recipe anyway.
We’ve only tested this recipe with the ingredients listed, so I can’t say how that will turn out.
I love this recipe, but the rice doesn’t always cook thoroughly. What can I do?
You can add a little extra water or chicken broth to the pan before baking.
I’ve been coming back to this recipe very often since I’ve found it! It’s delicious and really easy:)