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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It’s just my partner and I eating and 4 breasts tend to be too many as my wife doesn’t love leftovers. If I use 3 breasts instead will it mess up the rest of the recipe? Thanks!
No, it shouldn’t mess up the recipe. This recipe can be a bit finicky for people but overall that should work well. I would love to hear how it turns out for you!
Do you rinse the rice before cooking?
I do not rinse the rice. Enjoy!
Can I cook this in an Air Fryer?
I’ve only tried this as written so I can’t say for sure. Let us know how it works out for you!
Really bland even for 4 ingredients lol. Definitely not worth it and there’s wayyy too much chicken for the amount of rice.
Can spinach or any vegetable be added into the casserole?
This recipe can be a bit finicky, but other readers have had success with adding in spinach and mushrooms and other veggies to this casserole. I would love to hear how it turns out for you!
Can I use quinoa for extra proteininstead of rice in this recipe?
I have never tried this recipe with quinoa but I am not sure if it would work. I would love to hear how it turns out for you!
This tasted good flavor wise but texture was not good. I dont know what went wrong but half the rice didnt cook and half was soggy and mush. Pouring rice on top of the chicken seemed to leave rice out of the liquid so it could not cook properly (glass pan used, white long grain, and poured the broth over top). I also used foil and followed the directions for 1 hr 15 but it all cooked so uneven.
I haven’t made this recipe yet, but plan to. Are frozen chicken breasts okay to use?
We recommend using thawed or fresh chicken breasts but other readers have used frozen. I would plan for additional cooking time to ensure the chicken is fully cooked before serving.
I wanted my son to start cooking so I started him on this recipe bc it looked easy and quick. This dish is very good. I sautéed baby bella mushrooms and ate with dish. Delicious!!!
Is there anyway I can do brown rice with this? It’s all I have lol
Alison, I would not recommend making this recipe with brown rice. If you do use brown rice, I would suggest precooking it partially or completely.
*SECURELY COVER PAN with foil (& make sure there are no holes/tears). The most common reason for dry or undercooked rice is from escaped steam.
**As stated, it’s best to use a GLASS or CASSEROLE (nonmetal) dish. The temperature for this recipe is also written for a glass pan.
…Simple & delicious!
Rice was tasty, chicken was way overcooked and very tough. Shredded the leftovers hoping to have for lunch tomorrow. I should have known chicken breast cooked for over an hour would be tough. May work with bone in thighs or drumsticks though?
Can you use instant rice instead?
For this recipe we recommend using long grain white rice. Instant rice cooks too quickly for this recipe.
What can I use instead of condensed cream of onion/mushroom can of soup?
Hi Elie, you can replace it with any cream of soup. Enjoy!
Have you attempted this in a crockpot?
Have you ever done this with bone in chicken thighs? How much would you increase your cooking time if you tried with bone in thighs?
Chicken thighs have worked well for other readers. Sounds like there is no need to change anything.
This is so reminiscent of the Mushroom and Rice Chicken Helper that I SO TOTALLY MISS and my family loved so much back in the 80’s.
I used long grain and wild rice mix and added a small can of mushrooms. Extra water to accommodate the wild rice. Thank you for sharing.
My chicken came out dry. I think the one comment is correct, to cover it. It was good chicken bought at Whole Foods. The rice was delicious.
Substituted chicken breasts for small legs. I browned them off then sautéed onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic added to the rice. Also used Golden Onion Soup Mix. Then followed the recipe. Very Good!
So the rice covers the chicken completly?
It doesn’t need to cover it entirely but it does get added on top of the chicken in step 3.
My aunt Stella‘s recipe… almost. She used a can of French onion soup instead of the dry mix. It was perfect! I also love your hamburger soup. I never ever thought I could make soup and it turns out perfect every time. Thank you for the recipes.
step 4 doesnt change when you multiply the recipe. would you add the additional water here? I doubled the recipe.
4.Combine mushrooms soup and 1 ½ cups of water. Pour over chicken.
Yes, if doubling the recipe you will want to double the water in Step 4.
This is just like my Mother’s recipe. It’s so so good, and is comfort food for me.