Chicken and Rice Casserole

I shared this recipe on December 10, 2018. I have improved the recipe to share it with you again today.

Why We Love This Chicken and Rice Casserole Recipe

If you are looking for a comfort food dinner that really satisfies then this is your winner-winner chicken dinner. The whole family will fall in love with the creamy cheesy chicken and rice casserole. And the best part of all is that it is made from scratch without any canned soup!

The layers of this casserole are made up of sauteed fresh veggies, chicken breast and brown rice with cheese on top! It is held together with an easy sauce made from broth and cream cheese.

It is a great meal to make for a Sunday supper and can be reheated for lunches. You can feel great about serving it as a one dish dinner or along with a salad because it is filled with veggies, whole grain brown rice and lean chicken breast.

This recipe has been updated and improved! We have listened to your feedback and reduced the amount of rice, and increased the veggies (yay) and chicken too! We love the way it came out. If you want the original formula, follow the measurements in the note section of the recipe card.

Ingredients For This Recipe

• Instant Brown Rice or Minute Brown Rice: The rice is Brown Minute Rice, which is par-cooked and dehydrated brown rice. So it is whole-grain but cooks quickly. Look for “minute” “quick” or “instant” on the packaging. Find it in the rice aisle in the grocery store. If you have extra make this recipe for One Pot Chicken and Rice with Spring Veggies recipe next!
• Chicken: We have used 1 1/2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breast. But you can also use boneless skinless chicken thigh meat instead. Follow the instructions in our FAQ section if you want to use rotisserie chicken or leftover cooked chicken.
• Veggies: I used a combo of onion, carrots and celery. If you prefer red bell peppers or broccoli they would work instead. To top the casserole, use frozen thawed peas.
• Butter: Why butter instead of oil? I used butter because I wanted the casserole to taste classic and buttery! I used two tablespoons, and it does add a subtle butter flavor. If you prefer to use extra-virgin olive oil it will work fine.
• Cream Cheese: To give the sauce a bit of body, without the cream of mushroom soup or cream of celery some recipes call for, I used whipped cream cheese. Just whisk it right into the broth and it will melt in. Regular cream cheese also works, but may be a bit trickier to whisk in. Sour cream is a good alternative if you have that on hand. Either will work well to give it a creamy, tangy old-fashioned chicken casserole vibe, without the additives found in most onion soup mix or cream soup.
• Cheddar Cheese: I used pre-shredded sharp cheddar cheese. I love using stronger flavored cheeses in healthier comfort food recipes because you can get away with using a little less, but they still add lots of cheesy flavors!
• Broth: You can use store bought or homemade chicken broth.
• Seasonings: I used dried thyme, salt and pepper as well as fresh garlic to season our chicken rice casserole. Feel free to jazz this up more to your liking. Add in fresh thyme, a little garlic powder, onion powder or dill weed if you like.

This recipe calls for raw chicken. It cooks through as the casserole bakes. If you want to use up leftover cooked chicken, that works well too! Follow the instructions as directed and omit the chicken. Cover and bake. Then add the cooked chicken on top of the peas in the last 10 minutes of baking. Then top with cheese to finish and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Yes. To do so, use two cups of regular brown rice and four cups broth. The rice will take longer to become tender and absorb the liquid, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. You’ll want to consider swapping in chicken thighs for the breast because they would dry out an hour of baking. The thigh meat will be fine.

You do not need to pre-cook the rice before making this casserole. I have accounted for the amount of moisture the veggies will let off and the amount of broth needed to perfectly cook the rice through.

Cover the creamy chicken rice bake with foil and refrigerate up to four days. You can also store individual servings in an airtight container. Keep refrigerated.

Reheat each portion on a microwave-safe plate for 4 minutes or until steaming hot all the way through. Alternatively, the casserole can be reheated in the oven set at 350 degrees F. Keep it covered. Cook until it is hot all the way through. For best results, pour a little broth into the casserole (let it sink to the bottom) to prevent it from browning too much and letting the rice dry out.