This 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.
Casserole recipes always hit the spot, and my family enjoys favorites such as pierogi casserole, King Ranch chicken, chicken enchilada casserole, beef noodle casserole and this creamy chicken and rice dish.
This easy 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 rice in creamy sauce?
Table of Contents
Chicken And Rice Casserole Ingredients
This dish is made with simple ingredients that are easy to find in any grocery store.
- Chicken Pieces: I find this recipe works best with bone-in, skin-on chicken such as drumsticks and/or chicken thighs. You can also use bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts. Boneless chicken does not work as well, as it may dry out before the rice is done cooking.
- Rice: This recipe calls for long grain white rice. It will not set properly with minute rice. If you choose to use brown rice, you’ll need to add more water and possibly increase the cooking time.
- Cream Soup: I use cream of chicken, cream of celery and cream of mushroom soups for maximum flavor. It is ok to use low sodium or light versions of the cream soups. You can also just use one or two types of soup if that’s what you have on hand, so long as it still amounts to three cans.
- Water: This ingredient is to hydrate the rice. I do not recommend substituting chicken broth because you could end up with an overly salty casserole.
- Butter: I add butter to this dish to give it a little richness, it also helps to ensure the chicken will brown nicely.
- Seasonings: The chicken is seasoned with a blend of salt, pepper and paprika.
- Parsley: A little fresh chopped parsley adds extra flavor and a bright color to this dish.
How Do You Make Chicken And Rice Casserole?
Place the rice, water and cans of soup in a casserole dish and stir to combine. Add the chicken pieces on top of the rice, and season the chicken with butter, salt, pepper and paprika. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Uncover and bake a little longer until the rice is tender and the chicken is browned. If you prefer chicken with a crispy skin, you can broil the casserole for a few more minutes. Add a sprinkle of parsley, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Dish
- It’s important to use bone-in, skin-on chicken for the best results. Boneless skinless chicken can get dry during the longer cooking time.
- This dish can be assembled up to 4 hours before you plan to bake it. Store it covered in the refrigerator until you are ready to put it in the oven.
- Leftovers will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. I do not recommend freezing this dish as the rice will change texture when it’s thawed.
- Serve your casserole with a veggie or a salad on the side. Some of my favorites include mandarin orange salad, asparagus salad, mustard greens, sautéed mushrooms and onions and fennel salad.
Quick Tip
Cream soups contain plenty of sodium, so add extra salt to this dish sparingly!
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can cook raw chicken and rice together. This is best achieved in casserole form, so that the two can cook together in the even heat of the oven, and be done at approximately the same time.
Generally speaking, a chicken casserole will bake at 350 degrees F. For this particular recipe, after the initial baking time, the temperature is increased to 400 degrees F to give the chicken a chance to brown.
In this casserole, the cream soups add all the flavor to the rice. Generally speaking, when making rice, you can amp up the flavor with additions such as broth, sauteed onions, fresh herbs or minced garlic.
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Chicken And Rice Casserole Flavor 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, green beans, carrots or broccoli to the dish before it goes into the oven.
- Cheese: Sprinkle 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese over the top during the last 10 minutes of the baking time.
- Herbs: Add extra flavor with additional varieties of herbs such as thyme, dill, green onions or fresh basil.
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!
More Great Chicken Recipes
Roasted Chicken with Garlic and Herbs
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Cajun Chicken Pasta
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Bacon Wrapped Chicken
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Honey Mustard Chicken
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Chicken Santa Fe
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Chicken And rice casserole video
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Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
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.
Notes
- It’s important to use bone-in, skin-on chicken for the best results. Boneless skinless chicken can get dry during the longer cooking time.
- This dish can be assembled up to 4 hours before you plan to bake it. Store it covered in the refrigerator until you are ready to put it in the oven.
- Leftovers will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Delicious! So easy, served with steamed brocolli. Easy and a keeper!
I only have two cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup, how do I adjust for missing the third can of soup
You’d want to use 10 ounces of some type of liquid such as chicken broth.
If I double the recipe, do I have to adjust the cooking time?
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.
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?
I think it would be fine, you would want to add another 1/2 cup of water.
Can you use brown rice instead of white rice?
Yes but thee brown rice will take longer to cook!
Can I add frozen veggies and cook them the full time with the rice and chicken?
You can but they’ll likely be quite soft from the extended baking time!
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!
how do I make a smaller amount?
You can change the number of servings on the recipe and the ingredient amounts will automatically adjust!
Any one tr this with cauliflower rice?
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!
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?
Yes that works!
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!
One can of soup instead of three?
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
The chicken cooks along with the rice.
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!
Can I use boneless, skinless chicken breast instead?
You can but you’ll want to reduce the cook time so that the chicken doesn’t dry out.
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?
They make low sodium versions of all the soups!
how much water do I add for orzo instead of rice?
The liquid would be the same!
What kind of rice does this use? I only have original rice at the moment, not quick cook. Slim selection at the store!
It does not use quick cook rice, any regular white rice is fine!
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!
I haven’t tried it with these substitutions, but you’ll definitely want to cook it for less time, probably 30-45 minutes total.
Does it call for cooked or uncooked rice?
Uncooked rice!
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?
Yes that should be correct!
I’ve made this three times and there’s never any leftover.