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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Definitely appreciate the tip about “jump to recipe”…thank you!
Going to give this a try tonight. I sadly hate to cook (I’m a baker and it’s way different I feel) but this seems like something I should be able to handle……ha!
Loved it! Can I double the rice? If so do I double everything but the chicken ?
Hi Michelle, other readers have had great success doing just that! If doubling the rice they also double the remaining ingredients as well!
Followed recipe it was dry and some of the rice never even got cooked be cause it didn’t even have enough juice in it. I think recipe needs tweaked. Also very bland in flavor. Two thumbs down. Waste of dinner and time.
Oh no, I am sorry to hear this recipe didn’t work out for you Kathryn. It is usually such a great recipe for readers! Did you use long-grain white rice for this recipe?
I made this for the first time. Our grocery stores were running low on food so I wanted something that we could have for dinner and leftovers. This is now my family’s top favorite chicken dish! I do 8 boneless skinless chicken tenderloins, 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup, 1 1/2 cups of rice, and 2 1/2 cups of water mixed with 1/2 cup of whipping cream. It makes a lot and is super creamy and delicious!! Thanks !
That sounds so delicious Julie! Thanks for sharing.
Could I use long grain brown rice?
Hi Eileen, we haven’t tried it with brown rice but that may change the cooking time/water ratio!
Hi Eileen, you’re definitely going to need to increase the cooking time, and since more water will evaporate in that time, you’ll need more water. (Did you know the extra water needed for brown rice is because of evaporation over the extra cooking time, not because the rice absorbs more rice?)
I’ve made this recipe many times now and every time I’m still amazed at how yummy it is! Super tender and moist chicken, creamy perfectly cooked rice, and the easiest prep ever. What’s not to love?! The only minor adjustment I make is mixing the rice and cream of mushroom soup with the water separately before adding it all into the casserole dish around the chicken. I’ve shared this recipe and little tip with multiple friends and they’ve all loved it too!
Can I add frozen broccoli to this dish??
I haven’t tried personally, but other readers have with delicious results. Enjoy Eva!
Can I use minute rice in the 4 Ingredient Chicken & Rice Casserole?? Or does this recipe call for regular uncooked white rice?
You will want to use regular uncooked white rice as it bakes for too long for minute rice to be used, Paula.
You specify “uncooked” rice but not uncooked chicken. I assume the chicken is not precooked.
That is correct Judy, the chicken breasts are uncooked as well.
Has anyone tried adding sliced onions and mushrooms to up the veggie factor? If so, when do you add them and do you need to adjust the amount of liquid?
THANKS!
You can definitely toss those in Sheri. I would add them at the bottom of the pan under the chicken breasts.
Haven’t tried it yet, but it looks delicious!
This was so good and so easy. My husband who turns his nose up at casseroles gobbled up this one. I put some shredded cheddar on it when it was done and put it back in the oven for about three minutes. Delicious!
The only rice I have on hand is red box of 5 minute white rice..will that work for this?
No 5-minute rice will cook much quicker than the chicken in this recipe results in overcooked rice or undercooked chicken, sorry Dacia. For the best results, we recommend using long-grain white rice. You could cook the chicken with the remaining ingredients then add the rice at the end if you prefer.
Would you recommend the same cook time for the chicken and other ingredients without the rice? Thanks for the quick response!
Hi Dacia, I would check it a little sooner for the internal temperature of 165°F. It may need as long without the rice.
I love this recipe, but hate the website. It takes forever to load and there are 4-5 ads just in the recipe portion of the post. It takes FOREVER to make a simple recipe because of the the amount of clutter on this site. And I have to go back and forth to get the onion soup recipe which makes things take even longer. A link to the soup on the recipe portion would be great. And less clutter? Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Erin, you can always use the jump to recipe button at the top of the page to head straight to the recipe. I hope that helps! Glad you enjoyed the recipe though :)
I think all websites have a lot of ads.I always use the jump to recipe button as well. I love this recipe has identical to the one I have eaten my whole life. Thank you for sharing. Yum
I don’t have onion soup. Can I omit that part and add chicken broth in for the rice to cook?
You can definitely try that Jen! Or you could try making a homemade onion soup mix to help flavor it :)
I have chicken broth and all the other spices. So I may put all the spices in and us the broth in place of some of the water.
That sounds great Jen! Let us know how it turns out :)
This is a really good Dish, so tasty and filling. I’ve made this since way back in the 1970’s. Has a flavor that leaves you wanting more because it’s that delicious!!
I enjoy reading your recipes.
Great flavor! I just can’t get the rice to cook.
Sorry to hear that Amy, did you use long-grain white rice? Did you cover the top tightly with tin foil before baking? That helps to keep the moisture making it easier to cook the rice.
Made this tonight with your homemade onion soup mix. It was too salty and was not something I would make again
Hi I have a question about the chicken and rice casserole have you used any other cream soups some of my family don’t like mushrooms but I’d like to try this recipe could you suggest any other ones that I could use as a substitute Thank you love cooking your recipes
Cream of chicken would go well in this recipe too! Let us know how it works out for you!
This was delicious. I made it with instant brown rice and thin sliced chicken breasts (since that’s what I had on hand). My picky husband really liked it too! Good, easy recipe for work nights.