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 am cooking this recipe now and it is still very runny and my rice is not cooking… I have had it in an additional 25 mins I’m concerned my chicken will be over cooked now.
How much water do you use???
Hi Nicole,
Combine mushroom soup and 1½ cups of water.
Hope that helps.
What about using long grain and wild rice?!
I think it would work, however I have not tried it. You may need to adjust the cooking time slightly.
In have had this recipe in the oven at 325 for 2 hours now. The rice is not cooking and it is still really watery. Hopefully it tastes good when it finally gets done cooking. I don’t think I will try this again. Thank you anyways.
Oh no, that is disappointing. I have made this several times and it always works out, so I cannot say for sure why. Did you cover it tightly? Hope it you enjoyed it once it was finished cooking.
Trying tonight. Could not find onion soup mix but found a French onion soup mix. So hoping it turns out okay with the substitution.
It sounds great to us!
I made the chicken and rice casserole for dinner. I add cheese on the top and my family rated it 1 being bad and 10 being the highest they gave it and 11.
That’s awesome! So glad your family loved it. Cheese would be great on this!
What kind of cheese did you use? That sounds great!
I am not a cook at all but this looked so easy, I thought I would try it. It literally took 5 minutes to throw together and it is absolutely delicious! Thanks so much!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Kathy!
The taste of the chicken/rice casserole is great but the oven temp. of 325 is way to low that the rice had barely cooked after the 1 hr & 15 min. of specified cooking time. Anyone making this dish should cook it at 375 degrees in a regular oven or at 350 degrees if using a convection oven.
I’ve made this several times and it works perfectly at 325 degrees. If your rice isn’t cooked through, I would suggest increasing the cooking time by 20-30 minutes (or as needed).
Just made this did the whole recipe to a T in a gas oven… set at 325 for 1 hour 15 minutes, covered with foil… everything is done BUT the chicken breasts, they are still raw.
I have to use 6 pieces of chicken instead of 4 should I use more ingredients?!!
Can you use 4 pieces of chicken and save the other 2 for something else?
Do you need to change the amount of water or cooking time when using brown rice?
I have not tried this recipe with brown rice. The cooking time will likely be longer. Please let us know how it turns out if you try it.
Hi, can chicken thighs be used in this recipe?
Can you use a different soup other than mushroom as household not keen on mushies?
Cream of chicken or cream of celery would be yummy additions!
Can this chicken recipe be prepared and refrigerated overnight, then cooked the next day?
I didn’t have onion soup so I used some Frenchs fried onions and it was awesome. I did have issues with the rice cooking through. What brand of rice are you using?
On no, that is disappointing. Any long grain rice should work though.
HELP!! Do you really only use one cup of rice? In the picture it looks like a ton more than one cup. I want to be sure as I am making this now!!!
It was just one cup. :)
Yes, i was a bit hesitant about one cup of rice too. I have a box of Uncle Ben’s…so just pour one cup of that and not the entire box?
Just one cup. One cup of cooked rice equates to about 3 cups of cooked rice.
I normally go on the theory of 1 cup of rice is enough for 2 people
This reminds me of something I ate as a kid. I love the addition of onion soup. Making it today! Can’t wait! Yum! Thanks!
Let us know how it turns out! :) Thank you!
Can I make this in a slow cooker? If so, what changes would I need to make and how much time when it need to cook for?
I have not tried it in a slow cooker. Let us know how it turns out if you decide to try it.
I wondered the same thing! Please post how it turned out x
HELP! I’m in the middle of making this recipe and am wondering, when you say 1 package of onion soup mix, do you mean both envelopes or just one?
Just one packet. I hope you enjoyed the recipe!
we are making this today for dinner.one thing of concern is using the long grain rice.husband said when he uses it in recipes it never cooks thoroughly..suggestions or anyone with that problem? that’s why we wondered about using minute rice but that probably cooks too fast..so will see.really enjoy input from ladies who have made any recipes we want to try..thanks..
I do use long grain rice. You’ll want to make sure it is sealed as much as you can so the rice can kind of ‘steam’. Check it at 1hr 15min (just quickly opening one corner and trying a little bit of the rice), it should be soft by then. If not you can add it back into the oven for a few minutes. I hope you enjoy it, my family loves this recipe! :)
Can I substitute chicken stock for water?
Hi Holly, I have made this recipe that way, but I found the chicken stock cooked down faster than water. If you wanted to do a half and half mixture for extra flavor, it will yield delicious results, but be sure to keep an eye on it during the last 15 minutes or so of cook time.
Would this freeze well before cooking?