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This Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole is made with rice, chicken breasts, cheddar cheese, cream of chicken soup, water, and seasonings. You will love this easy and delicious comfort food meal.
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A Recipe Straight from My Heart 💕
Today, I’m sharing one of my all-time favorite comfort food recipes: Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole. Whenever I make this Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole, I think of my Grandma Edwards. She used to make it every time we visited, and it was pure magic. Sitting around her kitchen table with my family, sharing laughter, and enjoying her cooking are memories I’ll treasure forever.
Picture this: Tender, juicy chicken breasts nestled in a bed of creamy, cheesy rice, all baked to perfection. The aroma alone is enough to have your whole family gathering in the kitchen, asking, “Is it ready yet?” Trust me, this casserole is everything you want in a cozy, easy dinner—and then some!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple Ingredients: Just rice, chicken breasts, cheddar cheese, cream of chicken soup, and a few pantry staples.
- Easy to Make: Minimal prep and just one pan—perfect for busy weeknights!
- Comfort in Every Bite: Creamy, cheesy, and oh-so-satisfying.
Ingredients
- Rice: Long-grain white rice works perfectly, but Jasmine or basmati can also be used for a subtle flavor twist.
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are my go-to, but thighs work just as well if you prefer dark meat.
- Cheddar Cheese: Shredded cheddar adds the perfect cheesy touch. Feel free to mix in other cheeses for variety.
- Cream of Chicken Soup: This gives the casserole its creamy texture and rich flavor. (See tips below for substitutions!)
- Water or Chicken Broth: Broth adds extra flavor to the rice, but water works if you’re keeping it simple.
- Onion Soup Mix: This seasoning blend brings everything together beautifully.
- Seasonings: Salt and pepper are essential, but you can customize with your favorite herbs and spices.
How to Make Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole
Making this casserole is as easy as layering ingredients and popping it in the oven. Seriously, it’s that simple! Here’s a quick rundown of the process:
- Layer the Ingredients: Start with the uncooked rice, spreading it evenly across the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish (use cooking spray). Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and add half the shredded cheese. Place chicken breasts evenly over cheese. Daub rounded teaspoons of cream of chicken soup over the chicken breasts and rice.
- Add Liquid: Pour water (or chicken broth) evenly over the dish, making sure the rice gets fully saturated.
- Season: Sprinkle onion soup mix evenly across the top for that savory, aromatic touch.
- Bake to Perfection: Bake uncovered at 350°F for 1 hour, or until the chicken is fully cooked and the rice is tender. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top during the last few minutes of baking, letting it melt into gooey perfection.
Tips for the Perfect Casserole
- Choose the right chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs work best in this recipe. If the chicken is more than 1″ thick, pound them flat or cut them in half lengthwise. Before removing the chicken from the oven, use a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken breast to ensure the chicken reaches the USDA recommended safe internal temperature of 165 degrees (Fahrenheit).
- Add vegetables: Enhance the flavor and nutrition of your casserole by adding vegetables like carrots, peas, bell peppers, broccoli, or mushrooms.
- Seasoning: Try using a mix of herbs and spices such as thyme, rosemary, garlic, onion powder, and paprika to season the dish. You can also add onion powder and garlic powder. Salt and pepper are essential for flavor.
- Try a different soup: You don’t necessarily need to stick to cream of chicken soup for the creamy sauce. Cream of mushroom soup, cheese soup, and cream of celery soup also taste great in this casserole.
- Cream of chicken substitute: If you are not a fan of using “cream of” soups from a can, try our recipe for Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup Substitute. It is creamy and flavorful without the modified food starch and/or monosodium glutamate (MSG).
Shredding the Chicken Before Serving
If you have younger kids at home or just want to make this casserole easier to eat, try shredding the chicken before serving. Shredding the chicken after cooking makes the chicken have an even distribution throughout the dish. It also creates a tender texture and helps the chicken get more of the flavors from the creamy sauce. Shredded chicken blends seamlessly with the other ingredients, making it easier to serve and appealing to picky eaters, especially kids. Plus it helps you get all the flavors of the casserole in each bite!
5 -Star Reader Reviews
“I made this for a dinner party last night. It was DELICIOUS. So easy to prepare, and everyone loved it!” – Nan
“I keep coming back to this recipe. It’s foolproof and always hits the spot!” – Lizzy P.
“I used chicken broth instead of water and added extra cheese—total game-changer!” -Erica
Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
- 2 cups uncooked rice not Minute Rice
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 (10.5 oz) cans cream of chicken soup undiluted
- 3 cups water
- 1 packet Lipton Onion Soup Mix
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Layer rice, 1 cup shredded cheese, salt, and pepper in pan.If your chicken breasts are thicker than 1", cut them in half lengthwise or pound them flat with a mallet so they cook thoroughly and evenly. Place chicken breasts on top. Daub rounded teaspoons of cream of chicken soup over the chicken breasts and rice.
- Pour water on top and sprinkle with onion soup mix.
- Bake uncovered for 1 hour.
- Remove from oven, and stir excess sauce into the rice. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup cheese.
Video
Notes
- If using brown rice, add 15 minutes to baking time.
- In a hurry? Boil the water before pouring over the top. Quickly cover with foil to trap in the heat and bake as directed. This can save you up to 15 minutes of cooking time.
- The USDA recommends keeping leftover cooked chicken for a maximum of four days.
- After cooking and consuming your tender chicken, take your leftovers from your baking dish or your casserole dish and place in an airtight container where it can remain safely for up to four days in the fridge. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information
A Dish Worth Sharing
This Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole is more than a meal—it’s a memory maker. Whether you’re preparing it for a busy weeknight or serving it to guests, it’s sure to be a hit. If you give it a try, let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear how it turned out and any fun twists you added.
And don’t forget to share this recipe with your friends and family—it’s just too good to keep to yourself!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, cream of mushroom and cream of celery both taste great in this recipe.
Yes, chicken broth will add even more flavor. You can also use a combination of water and chicken broth.
No. That is one of the great things about this recipe! The chicken cooks along with the rice.
What to Serve with this Casserole
I prefer to serve this Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole with cooked vegetables on the side in the winter months, and in the summer months, I serve it with a large garden salad. Try some of these delicious recipes that go perfectly with this casserole:
Followed the full recipe and my chicken also came out raw.
They definitely should not be raw after an hour of cooking. Were your chicken breasts particularly thick? If so I would definitely recommend pounding them flatter or cutting them in half lengthwise so you have 2 thinner halves. I will add this to the recipe to make it more clear. Hopefully this helps!
Made a few of these chicken,rice and soup casserole recipes, but this is the best one! The only thing that I did different was bake it at 400°. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, its a keeper!
I wanted to make something for lunch from the stuff I already had in my pantry. This recipe popped up. Very easy to follow instructions, simple ingredients… all caught my eye.
I decided to half the recipe since it was for just me and my husband. I followed all the instructions completely. This would have been great if the chicken had been cooked. I used 3 chicken thighs and all three were still raw after an hour. I ended up taking the chicken out and cutting it up. I put it back in the casserole and cooked another 20 minutes. It tasted good but, it took too long.
I am sorry this recipe didn’t turn out for you. Some recipes don’t work scaled down like that.
I had the same issue. Cooked for an hour. Still raw. It’s going on 90ish minutes and it’s still not done. I used chicken thighs
Chicken thighs do generally take longer to cook than chicken breasts. It also depends on the size of the thighs. Sorry they took so long to turn out. Next time I might suggest pounding them flat to cook faster. Hope this helps!
I really liked this meal. Chicken was a little bland by itself, but I used a can of low sodium chicken broth (2 cups) and a cup of water to make up the 3 cups total… which I think was a good idea. I also added a can of corn (drained) on top the chicken and used 1 1/3 small bag of the shredded chedder. Turned out soo delicious! Rice and chicken was all cooked through- I used chicken tenders since they’re easier to cut toddler size bites, and I broiled on high just until the top layer of cheese was melty.
Now I just need to learn how to make this as a Low FODMAP meal without losing the flavor and be suited for my IBS diet.
I made this exactly per the recipe (except using chicken broth instead of water). I thought it was tasty, but the rice was not close to being done. I let it go for another 1/2 hour and it was closer, but still had crunchy rice. I wonder if I had covered it and sealed in the moisture if that would have helped? Thoughts or suggestions?
What kind of rice did you use? Instead of covering the pan we would just add a little more chicken broth and give it a stir before cooking the extra time.
Can I make it ahead of time and put in the fridge so I can bake it when I get home.
You can, but I would wait to add the water until right before baking. If you let the chicken and rice soak in water all day it will affect the texture.
I have made similar versions of this and the ones that work are the ones that you cover with foil for an hour or hour + and then take out, sprinkle cheese and brown the top for another 10 or so minutes. I’m not sure how cooking this recipe would work without covering it with foil. I also usually take out and stir the rice a bit and cover with foil again near the end.
Not a fan it’s pretty bland so I wouldn’t make this one again
Is there an explanation of what the excess sause could be? Is it the soup?
Sometimes chicken can release a lot of water during the cooking process – it could be from that.
What would the time difference be if you used pre-cooked chicken? Thank you so excited to try this recipe I’ve been creaming it!!
Pre-cooked chicken would be tough because the rice still takes the full hour to cook so I would be worried that the chicken would become dry in that time.
I meant to add to my comment that I used good chicken broth instead of the water. YUM
Thank you for letting us know! I will try that next time I make it!
I made this for a dinner party last night. It was DELICIOUS. I followed the recipe exactly but gave it 5-10 more minutes to bake. So very easy, I put it in the oven just before folks showed up and it was ready an hour later! YUM
I did this but with 1 can of cream of chicken and 1 can cream of mushroom (just what I had in my pantry already) and it turned out delicious! Toddler approved too
I like this recipe but 350 for 1 hour doesn’t cook it all the way. After an hour I just had to bump it up to 400.
The rice is barely cooked, tons of liquid still left.
Maybe it should be 375 for an hour?
Everyone’s oven is a little different, but it sounds like 375 would work for you if you make this again.
Do I cook the chicken breasts before putting them in the oven or not?
No, the chicken cooks with the casserole in the oven. Thanks for asking!
Can this be made in crock pot with shredded cooked chicken?
We haven’t tried that, but let us know how it turns out if you do!
I only have 1 can of the soup. Should I just use less rice and/or chicken? Also, I only have drumsticks available but planned on trying to use them in this recipe anyway.
We’ve only tested this recipe with the ingredients listed, so I can’t say how that will turn out.
I love this recipe, but the rice doesn’t always cook thoroughly. What can I do?
You can add a little extra water or chicken broth to the pan before baking.
I’ve been coming back to this recipe very often since I’ve found it! It’s delicious and really easy:)