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.
Do you use regular or thin cut chicken breasts? This looks so super yummy. Thanks for posting this.
I use regular chicken breasts (boneless) as they do cook quite a while.
Do you use thick or thin chicken breasts? Sounds delicious! Thanks!
Hi Tammy, I used a thicker chicken breast.
for 5 people how many tweaks should I make in this recipe?
I would suggest adding an extra chicken breast so there are 5.
I have a similar recipe, which calls for (also) adding in a small can of sliced mushroom stems & pieces (drained), and a small jar of diced pimentos (drained). My mom has been making this since she was a young bride in the 70’s. I grew up eating this perhaps once a month, and I now make it for my family. We all look forward to this dish. BTW, I’ve also made it with BROWN “Minute Rice”, and it worked out well. As always, thanx for your fabulous recipes! :-)))
I love the idea of adding mushrooms and pimentos to this dish Angelina! That sounds so yummy!
I wonder what this would be like with brown rice. I guess that I would have to cook it a little bit longer. I’ll have to give it a try.
While I have only made this as written Mabel, other commenters have had success with brown rice. I hope you love it!
Has anyone made this using the individual flash frozen chicken breasts and does it change the cooking time. Thanks
Love all the recipies
The chicken casserole it was delicious
I am so glad you enjoyed this casserole Criatina!
I use Cream of Celery soup in place of the cream of mushroom and it is fantastic.
Creamy of Celery would be great, glad you loved it Susan!
I LOVE all of your recipes!
Thank you so much for your kind words Lisa!
this looks good and easy…however i help cook for a friday night recovery meeting and foods need to be in crockpots bc there is no kitchen….could this be adapted to cooking in a crockpot somehow?
I have never tried this recipe in the slow cooker. Some readers have tried it in the slow cooker with success. I’d think 8 hours should work. Let us know if you try it Debra!
So excited to try this! Do you think I could prep ahead of time and leave it in the fridge to cook for dinner? Or will it mess up the rice? Thanks!
I haven’t tried making it ahead. Let us know how it works for you if you do make it ahead, Kaitlyn.
Did you make this ahead of time? Want to do the same…
Can you use minute rice not cooked also?
I’ve only tried this as written Joanne. If you do try it with Minute Rice, you may need to reduce the cooking time. Let us know how it goes!
I love this dish! However I make it even easier by seasoning chicken placing in pan, then mixing remaining ingredients in a bowl. Pour over chicken and bake!
So happy to hear that you love this chicken casserole! Great tip Di!
Your recipe doesn’t say if the chicken breasts are boneless/skinless, or whole bone-in breasts. The photo’s appear to show the boneless kind. My preference is for whole bone-in breasts because I think the flavor is better. If using these should I bake the casserole a little longer or at a higher temperature? Thanks!
I use boneless skinless breasts although I do agree that bone in adds great flavor! I would suggest about 90 minutes total (but I haven’t tried, so you may need to adjust). You’ll want to ensure your chicken reaches 165°F. If you leave the skin on maybe broiling a minute or two at the end would help crisp it up. Enjoy and please let us know how it works out for you!
Could I make chicken and rice in slow cooker instead of the oven. If so how long would it need to cook please?
I have never tried this recipe in the slow cooker. Some readers have tried it in the slow cooker with success. I’d think 8 hours should work. Let us know if you try it!
Next time, I will mix the onion mix into the water and cream of mushroom, and then mix with the rice. And lay the seasoned chicken on top. Delicious!
I am glad you enjoyed the recipe Kristel!
I used brown rice but other than using a convection microwave in my Motorhome, everything came out delicious! Cooked for 1hour & 15
Min.
Paired with the Italian Salad. Which was also delicious!
Thank you Holly.
That sounds like a perfect dinner to me Laura! So happy you enjoyed it!
How would you adjust the measurements with using a 26oz can of the cream of mushroom soup
I would suggest using just half of the can (there will be a little bit extra but it will work just fine) and saving the rest for another recipe or freezing it for next time.
Can you use jasmine rice with this recipe?
I haven’t tried this recipe with Jasmine rice, let us know how it goes if you try it!
It was delicious! I used chicken broth instead of water, it made the casserole too salty for my taste. Maybe I put too much salt on the chicken? Next time I wont season the chicken and use chicken broth or use water and season the chicken. Overall I still give this recipe 5 stars.
So glad you loved it!