This BEST EVER Chicken and Rice Casserole is a one pan meal that is full of tender chicken and creamy rice, all baked together to perfection!
In my family, casseroles are a big hit! From my Chicken Parmesan Casserole, to my Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole, and now this tasty dish….my family loves them all!
Last week, I was in one of those moods where I knew I had to make dinner, had the time to prepare dinner, but lacked motivation. I call it a “lazy moment”. I had thawed some already cooked chicken from my freezer, but didn’t know what I planned to do with it.
After taking a look through my pantry, browsing Pinterest (I can get lost on that site), and using some brainstorming….this casserole came about and I sure am glad it did!
I was able to have it prepped in under ten minutes. I simply tossed in the oven, roasted some veggies while it cooked, and once done….dinner was on the table!
The chicken was tender and flavorful, the rice was cooked perfectly, and when combined….it was a hearty comfort food dish the entire family enjoyed!
This makes a 9×13 baking pan, so plenty for leftovers….which are just as good reheated!
I highly recommend making this for company! It makes plenty and will be a hit with all! This is a great option to make for a family member/friend that needs dinner brought to them too!
Simply add some veggies or a salad to this and dinner is served! Let me know how this BEST EVER Chicken and Rice Casserole turns out! I love hearing feedback!
Enjoy!
Equipment Used:
BEST EVER Chicken and Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked/shredded chicken *or diced cooked chicken
- 1 package Lipton Onion soup mix
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cups long grain rice *uncooked
- salt/pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cooked chicken, onion mix, cream of mushroom/chicken soup, milk, sour cream, water, rice, and salt/pepper.
- Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.
- Pour chicken/rice mixture into prepared pan.
- Cover pan with aluminum foil.
- Place pan in preheated oven and cook for 1 hour 15 minutes.
- Remove foil and cook an additional 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and serve! Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Susan
The rice was not fully cooked. The rest was okay but i wouldnt take chance if serving it to a group of people
Kristin
What kind of rice did you use? I just made this again last week and it worked great. Did you try cooking it a bit longer? Sorry to hear!
Brii
Can you make this without sour cream?
Arlena
Can I use white rice?
Kristin
You can, but you would want to increase the moisture another way, perhaps adding another can of cream of chicken soup?
Kristin
Sure! Just make sure its not minute rice as that cooks much faster and the timing would make it overcooked
Kim
Rice was not fully cooked! 😞
Kristin
Oh no! Sorry to hear that! I will make the recipe again myself this weekend to see if I can troubleshoot why the rice isn’t fully cooked. What kind of rice did you use?
Jen
Can I use cheese in it? And if so what kind will be good to use?
Kristin
Sure! You can use cheddar or mozzarella, either works! I would preferably use mozzarella, but the choice is yours! Enjoy!
Kim G
Exactly what kind of rice needs to be used?
Kristin
I used long grain rice in this, but I know Jasmine rice works great as well!
kendra
Here’s the thing… I was really looking forward to making this, but you have so many ads that are constantly popping up making it impossible to actually read the recipe. Close one ad two more pop up! I kidd you not there was 4 video ads playing at the same time and a banner ad as well. I completely understand you want to profit off your website, but that amount of ads is absurd!
Kristin
I appreciate the feedback! I have sent your response on to my ad network to see what we can do about cutting back on the pop ups! Hope you get a chance to try the recipe and enjoy it!
Kris
My husband is allergic to MSG and the Lipton soup and the creamed soups all contain MSG. Any suggestions?
megan
I have a medium grain rice will that work as well? Also would you recommend rinsing the rice
Kristin
That should work just fine! You don’t “have” to rinse the rice, but you definitely can!! Enjoy!
Kristin
I don’t have a recipe for it, but if you google, you can find homemade versions of each. I know several people have made them and it works great as a healthier substitute without MSG
Sharone Attkisson
My rice was still crunchy how can I fix that after I have taken it out of oven and ready to serve
Kristin
Hmmm, you can always try adding about 1/2 cup water to it, stirring it around a bit, and sticking it back into the oven? Sorry to hear that happened!
Lisa
What about using brown rice and how do you think that would that change the cook time?
Kristin
You definitely could, but you would want to add a bit more liquid and cook time. I haven’t personally tried that yet, but I would start with an additional 1/4- 1/2 cup water and an additional 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it from there!
Peter
I also had a terrible time getting the rice cooked properly – I followed the recipe exactly as written but I had to add extra water and stir it up and put back in the oven multiple times (adding more than three additional cups of water in total) so you might want to add extra liquid at the beginning or plan on a much longer cooking time to get it done. Other than that it was easy to put together and hopefully tastes great once it finishes!
Kristin
Oh bummer! Sounds like I will need to re-test the recipe this weekend to see why there is an issue with cooking! Hopefully I can troubleshoot! I hope it was still tasty!!
Mary Kathryn
I am so disappointed. I read the reviews tried the recipe anyway hoping the recipe had gotten fixed from the undercooked rice issue. Not the case. It has great flavor but the rice was crunchy. I even added 3/4 cup of water at the beginning. Still wasn’t good. I wish you could figure out how to fix it!
Kristin
So sorry to hear that! I plan on running through the recipe this weekend to trouble shoot what is going on and update accordingly as I haven’t had the issue. Stay tuned, I WILL get it fixed, I promise!
Erica
Rice would not fully cook, was still crunchy even after cooking much longer and adding more water
Kristin
I plan on trouble shooting the recipe this weekend to see if I can help correct that. Stay tuned!
DAWN
US THE MINUTE RICE ITS WORKS
Kristin
Great idea! I will play around with that combination too to see how much water/time is needed!
Valerie
The 2 types of chicken I have are the white canned chicken and frozen chunk chicken. Both are cooked-which would be better. I also have 10 min. White Rice boil in a bag that I would just take out of the bag to use (it was the only rice when this all started) will this rice work and which chicken should I use?
Kristin
Either chicken will work good in this recipe! As for the rice, that should work great too, just cut down on cook time and liquids as you won’t need as much liquid and not as long of a cook time! Enjoy!
Leann
Can you make this and freeze it for later use?
Kristin
I don’t know how well the rice will reheat once frozen. I never seem to have any luck with it due to it getting mushy, sorry!
Lela
Hi Kristin! I just wanted you to know that I just finished making your recipe and It turned out great with just a couple modifications. I increased the water to 1 cup, I added a teaspoon of Greek seasoning, and one small can of mushroom pieces. It is so good!! And the rice is cooked perfectly. I used long grain white rice, uncooked. Thank you!
Kristin
That’s great news! I finally got around to updating the recipe last week, so I am glad to hear it worked out great! Glad you enjoyed!!!
Katrina
I loved it❣❣
I added a can of cheddar cheese soup instead of the mushroom soup and added vegs to it also. Will definitely make it again soon!!!
Marsha
If you make ahead of time but don’t bake right away I’ve found the rice hardens and doesn’t bake as well. Found this out by prepping ahead. Make it ahead but don’t add rice till ready to bake. Just an FYI.
Tracy Harrell
I did every thing you said and is awesome thank you
Kristin
Yay!! Glad you enjoyed it!!
Kristin
Great tip! I have noticed that too! I think the rice starts absorbing some of the water, so once its baked, it doesn’t have the liquid it needs to soften. Hope you enjoyed!
Kristin
Oh yum!! Great idea! Glad you enjoyed!
Billy Todd
I tryed this best chicken recipe, an it turned out AWESOME, I had seen the reviews about some saying that there rice was not done, so I pre cooked my rice about 15 mins hard boiling, an let it drained completely, then cooked the dish as the recipe said , it turned out great, an everone that tasted the dish loved it, I will be making it again…
Kristin
Yay!! Love hearing that! I had to tweak the recipe a bit after some of the reviews were saying it wasn’t cooked, but now it should be good to go! Glad you enjoyed!
Will
Made this dish tonight. I used a rotisserie chicken from Publix which I shredded. It was very tasty and the rice cooked very well, but it ended up being a bit dry. The moisture just wasn’t there. I will make again, but am going to try adding an extra cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup to the mix.
Kristin
Bummer to hear it was dry, but glad it was still enjoyed! Keep me posted if you try the extra soup and how that turns out!
Maddie
I tried this recipe tonight and it was great! I substituted chicken broth for the water and cooked my chicken in strips on top of the rice mixture. I also cooked it about 15 minutes less with the foil on. Very good and still moist!
Kristin
Yay! Glad you enjoyed!!
Lucy
Can’t you just cook the rice for about ten minutes before adding it to take care of the problem?
Brenda
I just saw this recipe on Facebook and tried it. The rice did not cook thoroughly resulting in a crunchy casserole. Disappointing… otherwise would have been good.
Kristin
You definitely can!
Kristin
Oh that is a bummer to hear as I have recently updated this recipe due to comments having that problem. Did you use long grain rice? Sorry to hear that!!
Nikki
This is great if you know that it calls for WAY too much rice in conjunction with the liquid amount suggested. Having made many rice bake dishes I knew that so I dropped the rice to 3/4 cup and also added less chicken (since the chicken also sucks in the liquid). Used cream of celery instead of mushroom because we prefer that. Very yummy, the onion mix gives it a nice twist and its filling.
Kristin
So glad you enjoyed it!!
Lori
Ovens tend to vary in heat and length of cooking time. Sometimes this will cause a problem with recipes. Be sure your adjusting for your oven abilities.
Kristin
Absolutely! Great advice! Thanks!
Brenda Pickus
Too dry!!!
Kristin
Bummer to hear that!
Debbie Kotelnicki
How would you convert this to use in an instant pot?
Jill
Ok Ladies and gents, after reading your comments i decided to make this and change a few things.
Instead of water i used 1 cup chicken broth, chopped 1 medium yellow onion, and added 2 tsp garlic powder, 1 cup cheese of your choice.
Increased cooking time an additional 15 min. covered and then 15 uncovered…
VUALLLLA !!!!!!
Kristin
Hmmmm, I am not too sure on that one. Let me try to play around with it a bit and get back to you after I have tried it!
Kristin
Yum! Great changes!!
Ardis Debban
I really liked the recipe, but the rice was not done. Used brown long grained rice. Is there a better rice to use?
Kristin
Brown rice tends to take much longer to cook versus white rice. You would need to increase the cook time and liquid ratio if using brown. I tend to use jasmine rice or long grain white rice in this!
Jamie
I used minute Rice and it turned out great. Family loved it.
Kristin
Great idea! Glad it was a hit!
J
Was freaking delicious first time making it. Took some personal liberties with recipe. Rice was perfect nothing dry
*My touch
Subbed Cream of Broccoli instead of mushroom Added: Broccoli, Cheddar Cheese and Red Pepper Flakes. During the standard 1:15 cook..Preheated to 350 once casserole in oven bumped it to 400 until preheated then dropped it back down to 350 for the rest of the time to make sure Rice cooked through
Kristin
Yay, glad you enjoyed this!! Great variation you did! Yum!!
Melissa
What size cans of soup? Last time I made this my rice was not cooked enough.
Kristin
I use 10.5 oz cans in this recipe
Beth
Rice is completely uncooked. Used long grain brown rice. Followed all directions, experienced cook. Frustrating after over an hour of cooking!
Kristin
Oh no! Such a bummer to hear! I have tweaked the recipe over the years to avoid this! I will try to make it again this week for my family to see if I notice any of the measurements off!
Rita
Kristen.. Minute Rice or ? ?
Kristin
I use long grain rice 🙂
Shelley C
I made this just as specified…well I started out that way, but I could see there wasn’t enough liquid (I was right). Must have added around 1.5 more cups of water. After the last 30 minutes uncovered, there was some gravy still, but the rice was 100% uncooked. I covered the pan back up and cranked the oven to 400 for another 35 minutes. (I had people waiting to eat!) at that time the rice was done but it was so dry none of us liked it. You really should take off then”best ever” title …
Kristin
Yikes! So sorry to hear that! I am not sure why it ended up like that as I haven’t had those issues. Nonetheless, I will be trouble shooting the recipe this weekend and see if I need to tweak things or add in tips! Thanks!
Becky Mullins
I cooked the chicken breast and shredded it. I used a 26 oz can of cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup each. 1 + 1/2 to 2 cups of sour cream, one package of Lipton Onion Soup mix, 3/4 cup milk. I did not use water. I mixed all that together but instead of using uncooked long grain rice I cooked it. Then I took the chicken mixture put it in the pan then took the rice and put it on top and mixed it through while in the 9 by 13 inch pan. I took a little melted butter and mixed bread crumbs in it and sprinkled that on top of the mixture then added a little cheese. I had enough chicken mixture to make a 8 by 8 in but instead of using the rice I put tater tots with cheese on the top of it. My family really enjoyed it. If you want to comment me about this please do.
Kristin
Yay! Glad you enjoyed!!
Gina Swartzendruber
Did you all use instant or minute long grain rice?
Kristin
I used long grain rice, not the instant version! Enjoy!
Cindy McKissick
I used Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice in a Box add 1/2 red wine twice the water cooked on top of stove till rice was done add remaining ingredients, put in baking dish ,Baked 1 hour 325. We loved it.
Kristin
Wow, great variation! Sounds tasty!!
Suzanne Tipton
I haven’t made this recipe but I do know 1/2 cup water is not enough liquid for 2 cups of rice. No wonder it’s crunchy. Use chicken broth or additional water – normally it takes twice as much liquid as the amount of rice.
Kristin
The milk adds to the liquid amount making it more than the 1/2 cup of water alone! You can definitely add broth in place of water as it will enhance the flavor!
Nital
I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out delicious, but just a little dry. Next time I won’t uncover it the last 15 min. Thank you!
Kristin
Glad you enjoyed!! Keep me posted what you think next time without uncovering it!
Mel
Lipton soup mix over powers everything else in the casserole. Still yummy, but may omit it all together next time!
Kristin
You could definitely omit, or even reduce amount if desired! Enjoy!!
Nancy Ollivant
This recipe was great! The flavors were very good together. I do see the problem with making sure the rice gets cooked all the way without drying out the chicken. I steamed my rice for about 10-15 minutes first to help and added a little extra chicken broth, cooked it for the time said and it turned out almost perfect. I think next time I will add a little more broth and maybe cook the rice for a couple minutes longer. It was still delicious though!
Kristin
Yay! Glad you enjoyed this recipe!!