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.
Abbe says
I only have two cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup, how do I adjust for missing the third can of soup
Sara says
You’d want to use 10 ounces of some type of liquid such as chicken broth.
Terri says
If I double the recipe, do I have to adjust the cooking time?
Sara says
It should be the same if you’re splitting it between two pans! If you’re trying to put it all into one large deep pan you’d need to increase the cooking time.
Terri says
Would it be OK to put this casserole together the night before, stick it in the fridge overnight, and bake it the next day? If so, would that affect the cooking time, and/or would I need to add extra liquid given that the rice would absorb some of the liquid overnight?
Sara says
I think it would be fine, you would want to add another 1/2 cup of water.
Brittany says
Can you use brown rice instead of white rice?
Sara says
Yes but thee brown rice will take longer to cook!
Tami says
Can I add frozen veggies and cook them the full time with the rice and chicken?
Sara says
You can but they’ll likely be quite soft from the extended baking time!
Mom in Texas says
This is a spectacular recipe that I followed to a T! My family LOVED it. It made enough for dinner, lunch, and dinner for one again! Ha! We have a family of four and they just loved loved love it.
Tonight, wish me well.
I’ve tried artichokes, spinach, cheese, onion, the soups – subbed on cream of for a cream of poblano – oh mercy, hope it works!
Will let you know.
Thanks for the recipe!
Vern mcdonough says
how do I make a smaller amount?
Sara says
You can change the number of servings on the recipe and the ingredient amounts will automatically adjust!
Terri says
Any one tr this with cauliflower rice?
Wendy says
Absolutely delicious and so, so easy! Perfect for beginner cooks. Fantastic weeknight meal when you don’t have a lot of time. I used boneless chicken breast and it was great. Next time Ill add veggies. Thank you!
Barb says
Can I add frozen broccoli to this dish? If so, would I stir it in during the last 20-30 minutes when I remove foil?
Sara says
Yes that works!
lisa wiedecke says
Can I just use one can of cream of mushroom? My husband doesn’t like too creamy in his dishes. And I anticipate leftovers.
Thanks!
Sara says
One can of soup instead of three?
lisa wiedecke says
Yes it doesn’t have to be the mushroom one. But it’s the only one I have in the house. I just didn’t want to use three.
lisa wiedecke says
I just made this dish with one can of soup-the cream of mushroom. (Only one I had in the house). I used a third of the rice and water measurements. It came out good and just enough rice to go with four pieces of chicken, It’s a good amount for only two people. I browned the chicken first with S&P then only had to cook it for an hour. Next time I will try with the cream of chicken. This recipe is a keeper!
Andrew says
With being in quarantine we are limited to what we have on hand. I assume I could substitute any can of soup for equal parts chicken broth (have tons of cans). Won’t be as creamy, but I’m sure it will be just as tasty. I know my family, will probably need to double this recipe.
Sara says
The cans of soup are condensed, so they are not equivalent to a can of chicken broth. I would use 3 cups of chicken broth for a similar approximation to the soups, but that’s an estimate on my part as I haven’t tried it this way.
Brittany Dantzler says
We don’t have to cook the chicken before placing them on top of the rice? I want to make this tonight for a quick and easy dinner.
Sara says
The chicken cooks along with the rice.
Heather says
This was delicious! I am making again tonight because my husband and son requested it again. Followed your recipe exactly. Thanks for a yummy, comforting dish!
Charlene says
Can I use boneless, skinless chicken breast instead?
Sara says
You can but you’ll want to reduce the cook time so that the chicken doesn’t dry out.
Angie says
I’m trying to cut back some of the sodium for this recipe, can I use one can of cream of celery only? What else could I use instead of all the soup? One can and sour cream?
Sara says
They make low sodium versions of all the soups!
virginia says
how much water do I add for orzo instead of rice?
Sara says
The liquid would be the same!
Julie says
What kind of rice does this use? I only have original rice at the moment, not quick cook. Slim selection at the store!
Sara says
It does not use quick cook rice, any regular white rice is fine!
Linda K Smith says
Only found instant rice (items r limited in area) and boneless, skinless breast, but following ur recipe, minus the paprika, thought of using lemon pepper and cumin instead however, was just curious if I might need to add or eliminate anything else, if u should have any suggestions on the bake time or with the amount of liquid needed to be added or deleted using this method? Any suggestions from anyone that may have done the same would be greatly appreciated and thanks!
Sara says
I haven’t tried it with these substitutions, but you’ll definitely want to cook it for less time, probably 30-45 minutes total.
Kathryn says
Does it call for cooked or uncooked rice?
Sara says
Uncooked rice!
Joe says
Hi,
I need to drastically reduce the salt content. I am going to make my own cream of celery soup which includes chicken broth and I use potatoes for creaminess instead of flour and cream. I think a can is 10 ounces so I just need to replace 30 ounces of liquid?
Sara says
Yes that should be correct!
EJ says
I’ve made this three times and there’s never any leftover.