Chicken Rice Casserole makes for a crowd-pleasing dinner that comes together in under 5 minutes of prep time.
Made with only 4 ingredients, this dish has juicy chicken breasts and tender rice in a deliciously creamy sauce. This is a casserole that meal packs a lot of flavor in a filling one dish dinner and a meal that everyone will love!
Enjoy!
There is nothing like Chicken Rice Casserole for dinner. This dish is deliciously easy, creamy and totally satisfying and you’ll never believe it needs just 4 ingredients!
This is a special dish because the recipe comes from my BFF, Penny and she’s been making this for years. It’s her go-to, must have, favorite easy weeknight meal that I just had to try.
I have to admit, when I first made it I knew it would be tasty but… I had NO idea what I was in for and it’d definitely become a regular in our rotation!
This easy dish comes together in under 5 minutes, it’s one of the quickest dinner preps on my whole site (along with One Pot Pizza Tortellini Bake).
This dish is belly warming and comforting while being simple and easy to make, it’s like serving a nice warm hug from your Mom!
The chicken comes out incredibly tender and juicy, the rice is perfectly cooked in a rich and creamy sauce and the whole thing is loaded with flavor!
This easy Chicken Rice Casserole takes about an hour to bake (depending on your oven, you may need a few extra minutes but for me it’s about an hour), but that is one of the things that make it kind of the perfect dish.
We’ve made this just as written over and over but I’ve also added a little bit of onion to the bottom of the pan or a couple of handfuls of fresh mushrooms.
With very little minimal prep time, you can slide this casserole into the oven and relax, or maybe help with homework without feeling the usual dinner time rush!
5 minutes of work, and then perhaps a glass of wine or read your book for an hour? I feel like that’s a good idea for ALL weeknights!
I use homemade onion soup mix in this recipe, but you can use the kind in the envelope if you haven’t had a chance to mix up a batch yet. The flavor will be amazing either way!
My friend Penny also said she sometimes replaces the onion soup mix with a packet of gravy mix depending on what she has on hand!
If you are lucky enough to have leftovers, this makes for a delicious lunch the following day.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup long grain white rice uncooked
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 ounce dry onion soup mix 1 packet or use homemade
- 10.5 ounces condensed cream of mushroom soup 1 can
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Spray a 9×13-inch casserole dish or glass baking pan with cooking spray (the rice doesn't cook well in a metal pan). Add chicken breasts and season with salt & pepper.
- Pour uncooked rice over chicken. Sprinkle with onion soup mix.
- Combine mushrooms soup and 1 ½ cups of water. Pour over chicken.
- Cover and bake 1 hour 15 minutes or until rice is tender.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Casserole, Main Course
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
I added French onions to it and sprinkled on top toward the end of cook time. Delicious! Thank you!
Those sound like great additions, so glad you loved it Tisha!
forgot to mention I used cream of CHICKEN soup. I just don’t like cream of mushroom and thought the chicken flavor would go better with the…chicken. Delicious.
made this for supper last night. everyone loved it! even my 8 y.o. granddaughter who is a very picky eater. I cut the chicken into bite sized chunks and added frozen peas. YUMMY!
So glad your family loved it Dolly!
Did you cook the peas separately & then add them at the end?
Can you make this with brown rice instead? would you adjust the liquid??
I have not tried this recipe with brown rice. The cooking time will likely be longer. Other readers have mentioned that they needed to add some liquid to the rice as well. Please let us know how it turns out if you try it.
Turned out fantastic!!! I went with brown rice, added a little liquid as I would normally use more with brown than white rice and was perfect. Going to add some peas in and make again tonight. Thanks for sharing
I am so glad you loved it Julie! Peas sound like a great addition. Enjoy!
How much extra did you add ?
Holly, do you rinse your rice before you pour it over the chicken?
No I don’t rinse the rice. Enjoy Jann!
I have made this recipe for years. It came from an old church cookbook and it is called “Forgotten Chicken”. I’ve used different cream of soups. The recipe I have is for a double batch do I mix different soups together. My favorite is broccoli. Works in a slow cooker, too. It called for a whole cut up chicken but I love it with thighs and drumsticks. Can’t go wrong with this recipe. I love it.
An oldie but goodie for sure Kristi!
Can this be made in an instant pot?
It sure can, here is the Instant Pot Chicken and Rice recipe!
Here is the Instant Pot Chicken and Rice recipe!
Can this be made with medium grain white rice? What would be the cook time? Thanks. I look forward to making this.
I have not tried this recipe with medium grain rice, so can’t say for sure. Please let us know how it turns out if you try it.
I tried it with medium grain rice and of course, the rice is a bit more sticky as i would have expected. It’s what i had on hand and i wasn’t disappointed.
That’s great Monica :)
What could you use in place of the onion soup mix? Please send me a copy of the reply to my email. Thank you.
I use homemade onion soup mix in this recipe. My friend Penny also said she sometimes replaces the onion soup mix with a packet of gravy mix depending on what she has on hand!
Super easy, fast meal! I used 2 lbs boneless chicken thighs because that’s what we prefer. I also doubled the amounts of water, cream of mushroom, onion soup mix, and rice, so that each of us could have a full side of rice. It didn’t require longer cooking time. Will definitely make this again!!! YUM!
So glad it worked out well for you Sandi! Chicken thighs would be great in this recipe!
i made this using boneless thin cut pork chops yum thanks for the recipe
Great idea Donna!
Thanks for the recipe, turned out great. I’m always looking for easy recipes this was perfect and is a keeper.
So glad you enjoyed it Susan!
I used the wrong cream of mushroom, I used the ‘un’condensed… it’s already in the oven… did I ruin the entire thing? It’s so watery… I’ve made this before and it was delicious! I’m so upset
Darn! You could try to thicken it with a cornstarch slurry. I’m sure it’ll still taste delicious!
How can I convert the chicken and rice recipe for an instant pot?
It sure can, here is the Instant Pot Chicken and Rice recipe!
So I didn’t read the cover part and it’s cooked for a hour. How long do you think it’ll take for the rice to get tender if I covered it now?
I can’t say for sure as I don’t know how long it’s been in the oven. Hope it worked out for you.
Hi there! Looking forward to making this tonight. Can you assemble ahead and refrigerate until time to bake?
Hi Jana, I don’t see why not. Just make sure you cover it in the fridge!
I loved this recipe! My toddler and husband both liked it as well. Definitely will make this again.
Happy to hear your family enjoyed the easy casserole CC!
Can you make this with wild rice? If so, leave uncooked as you do the white rice?
I have never made this with wild rice. You may need to adjust the cooking time to make sure that the wild rice is cooked through in this recipe, or cook the wild rice separately. Enjoy Lisa!
I make this with bone in, skin on chicken leg quarters. They’re always very cheap so I buy the bulk bag. Takes about 15-20 min longer but it’s delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for sharing Nik, bone in chicken adds so much flavor too!
Thank yu
I bought brown basmati rice from Trader Joe’s. Has anyone tried this as a substitute?
People often cook rice separately from other dishes and this chicken rice casserole, in my opinion, is a huge advance combining these ingredients! Yummy!!
– Natalie
Thank you Natalie! I agree, it’s convenient to be able to make them all at once.
I started serving this when my son was in grade school. He fell in love with it and wanted it every nite. He is now 45 years old and asks for it every time he comes to visit. His family is also hooked on it. So simple, so GOOOOOOD and so economical:)
Nita