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
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I’ve always made it with the rice on the bottom and it doesn’t get dry. Been making it since 1968. Love this dish, a family fav.
This dish has certainly been time tested PJS!
Wondering if you could put rice on the bottom of the dish and the chicken on top??
We’ve only made it as written Terry. My worry is that it may dry out a little, but if you try it out let us know how it turns out!
I fix one that I line the pan with bacon, then seasoned chicken, a layer of sliced onion, rice, then add cream of chicken soup( and water) cok covered until done. The bacon and onion gives delicious flavor.
Wow wow WOW! In true frugal fashion, I used what I had rather than buying more ingredients. I used 2 lbs of boneless pork shoulder, and I made a cream soup from scratch. It smelled so incredible that my husband and I were watching the timer 15 minutes into the bake time! Thank you so much for this recipe, it has instantly become a family favorite.
So happy to hear that Meghan! So glad you are your husband loved it.
recipeis not telling how much rice
Hi Bynkxx, if you scroll down to the bottom or use the jump to recipe button at the top, it has a full listing of ingredients including quantities.
I have made this a go to recipe!!! I use cream of chicken and herb soup and chicken stock for more flavor. I mix my onion soup in with the wet ingredients and pour over chicken and rice. I use garlic and pepper on my chicken before I add the rice. It is a family hit, so much so that it was requested for the entire Easter dinner!! Love it
That sounds delicious! Great additions.
If you make home made onion soup mix how many teaspoons do you put in?
5 Tablespoons of my is equivalent to one packet Linda. Enjoy!
No stars. This is the third time I have attempted this recipe, making tweaks to cooking time, temperature. Nope. Rice is still uncooked, every time.
I’m sorry to hear that Kris. That is disappointing for sure. Thank you for trying.
Salty. Oniony. Dry. How is this mess-ipe so highly rated. I followed directions to a t, no substituting any ingredients. My chicken breasts were rather large and they were so dry I had to choke them down with water. I can’t even imagine if they were normal size gown it would have turned out. Don’t bother salting the breast’s before adding the other ingredients. Between the sodium in the onion soup and the canned soup, there is plenty of salt here. Threw away what was left (a lot). Waste of time and money.
So sorry to hear that Jennifer. We have made this recipe many times with great success. If you attempt it again, other readers have made it with chicken thighs and it turns out juicy and delicious.
If I cut the chicken breast into bite size pieces I should still be able to cook for the same time right?
We have only made this recipe as written Caitlin. If you cut the chicken into bite size pieces, keep an eye on the cooking time so that the chicken doesn’t overcook. It may not need to cook for as long.
What kind of modifications would I need to make if I use brown rice?
You might need to cook for a few additional minutes if using brown rice.I hope this helps Jennifer!
For brown rice use this ratio to measure out your ingredients:
• 1 cup rice
• 2 1/2 cups water or broth
Bring rice and water (or broth) to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until the rice is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, 40 to 50 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
This has been cooking for almost 1 hour and 1/2. And the rice is still not done. No where near ready. I can’t get the rice to cook fully. Not sure if I’d make this again.
Hi Alexandra, so sorry to hear it isn’t working out for you. Depending on your own variables it can take up to an additional 25 minutes to cook fully. Did you cover it tightly?
Your directions did not say to cover the dish
Hi Jeff, in step 5 it does say to cover and bake. Enjoy!
Looks good and easy!
Thanks Sonja!
Has anybody tried using Cauliflower Rice with this recipe. If so how much did you use in the recipe?
I haven’t tried using cauliflower rice, but if you do, I’d suggest eliminating most or all of the water. The rice soaks up the water and cauliflower may produce a little bit of liquid as well. I would think you may want to use approximately 3 cups of cauliflower rice. If you use cauliflower rice, please let us know how it works out for you!
Could you do this with out the chicken?
I am sure you could leave the chicken out if you wish Mona.
How about adding broccoli florets to this dish?
That sounds like a tasty idea Sandra!
This may be a very silly question but I have golden onion soup mix – will it that different from just onion soup mix?
It should be fine to use the golden variety Jackie. I hope you enjoy the casserole!
In my opinion there,s much more flavor when using the golden soups. My children enjoyed my Tuna casseroles, both the noodle and the potatoe chip casserole, when I used the Golden Cream of Mushroom soup.
I made this recipe last night and it was a big hit! Very savory and the chicken was so tender. The only thing I did differently was cut my half breasts in half long way so as to make large strips. I cooked it for about 1 hour and it turned out perfectly. I will definitely be making this recipe again!
I am so glad you enjoyed this casserole Loretta!
Yummy. Made this last night with 4 large chicken breasts and doubled everything else. Greased my pan with butter. Used same cooking temp and time. Came out perfect. Thanks.
Great additions Perry! Glad it turned out delicious for you!!
This recipe is excellent. It was so good a friend asked me for the recipe
I am so glad that this recipe was well received with your friends Elina!
Dry
Very little taste to the chicken
Will not make again
Sorry you didn’t enjoy it as much as we do Lizze!
Can you dice the chicken instead
I have only made this recipe as written. I think if you dice the chicken, you will want to keep an eye on the cooking time so that the chicken doesn’t overcook.