This classic chicken and rice casserole recipe is a one pan meal that’s full of tender chicken and creamy rice, all baked together to golden brown perfection. A classic dinner that the whole family will enjoy.
Casseroles always hit the spot, my family enjoys chicken enchilada casserole, beef noodle casserole and this creamy chicken and rice dish.
This chicken and rice casserole is actually a family recipe that comes from my mother-in-law. It was my husband’s favorite dish growing up, and his mom always made it for company. It’s pretty old school with the canned soups, but sometimes you just need a little classic comfort food, and this casserole definitely fits the bill. How can you go wrong with tender chicken and ultra creamy rice?
How do you make chicken and rice casserole?
The other thing I love about this dish is that it can be made in one pan. The rice and soup mixture gets stirred together in the pan, then the chicken goes on top and gets drizzled with butter and seasonings. You may be wondering why this dish includes butter since it also has creamy soup. The butter helps the chicken brown during the last part of the baking process, and it adds such great flavor to the rice! I season my chicken with salt, pepper and a little smoked paprika. If you have a favorite seasoning blend that would also be great on the chicken.
This chicken and rice casserole works best with bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces. If you use something like boneless skinless chicken breasts, they’ll dry out during the long bake time. I prefer to use dark meat chicken, like chicken thighs, drumsticks or legs. Here I’ve used a combination of thighs and drumsticks so that there’s something for everyone!
Chicken and rice casserole variations
You can add other flavors into this dish to make it your own, I often add other ingredients that I have on hand to spice things up a bit.
- Vegetables: Add 1 cup of vegetables such as sliced mushrooms, carrots or broccoli to the dish before it goes into the oven.
- Cheese: Sprinkle 3/4 cup of shredded cheese over the top during the last 10 minutes of the baking time.
My husband is thrilled that our kids love this casserole as much as he does. Add a green veggie on the side and you’ve got an easy dinner for those times when nothing will do except comfort food!
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More great chicken recipes
- Garlic & Herb Roasted Chicken
- Cajun Chicken Pasta
- Bacon Wrapped Chicken
- Honey Mustard Chicken
- Chicken Santa Fe
Chicken and rice casserole video
Chicken and Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in skin-on chicken pieces such as legs, thighs or drumsticks
- 2 cups white rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 1 can cream of celery soup
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon paprika regular or smoked paprika
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9"x13" baking pan with cooking spray.
- Add the rice, water, and 3 cans of soup to the pan. Stir to combine.
- Place the chicken pieces on top of the rice mixture. Drizzle the butter over the chicken and rice.
- Season the chicken with salt, pepper and paprika.
- Cover with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Uncover and bake for an additional 20-30 minutes until all of the liquid is absorbed and chicken is browned. If you like extra crispy chicken skin, broil the casserole for 3-5 minutes after it's done baking.
- Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Katherine Kelley says
Have made this at least once a month since your recipe was first posted, with the addition of Tarragon, which for me took it from 5 to 10 stars. This is my favorite chicken & rice recipe! Going to experiment tonight as I have a lot of leftover rotisserie chicken in the freezer, thinking to stir the shredded chicken in the last couple minutes to warm it up. Not usually so brave, will let y’all know how it goes!
anna says
could I use brown rice?
Sara says
That should work but the cook time could change since brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice!
Charlene Weatherbee says
I think everyone should know that this recipe makes a lot. Really a lot! But I think it will freeze well ( yes?) so yay for quick delicious, warming dinner another day too!
Elizabeth says
My mom made this while we were growing up, so I was thrilled to find it here, thank you! Her trick was to turn the breasts upside down to start, then right side up during the uncovered last bit – the meat was incredibly juicy with a fabulously crisp skin. I’m making it tonight!
Ellen says
Can I use chicken wings for this recipe?
Sara says
I don’t think that would be a good choice since they’re so small, they’d be more likely to dry out before the rice is cooked.