This Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole is an easy chicken casserole recipe for a busy day. Only a few minutes of prep work and the oven does the rest. Also known as a Chicken and Rice Bake.
Chicken and Rice Casserole
This Chicken and Rice Casserole has been in our family for years. Whenever I serve it to my family, I am reminded of my Grandma Edwards. She made this dish all the time. It was always a favorite of ours when we went to her home for meals. She often served it with cut up chicken pieces as opposed to boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Isn’t it interesting that food can take you back to a time and place? One bite of this casserole and I am a 7-year old girl sitting with my parents and siblings around my Grandma’s kitchen table eating delicious food, enjoying the conversation, and wondering what delightful dessert was awaiting us. I love food memories! Not only does this casserole taste good, the aroma that fills the house while it is cooking will have everyone asking when dinner will be ready. This is definitely a dish I would label as comfort food. The rice is warm and creamy and the chicken always turns out perfectly moist, never dry.
Recipe Variations
- Small cut-up pieces of broccoli can be added.
- Mushrooms, onions, and/or green peppers can also be added.
- If you are not a fan of using “cream of” soups from a can, our Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup Substitute works great in this recipe. It is just as creamy and flavorful without the Modified Food Starch and Monosodium Glutamate (and all of the other mystery ingredients).
- You also don’t necessarily need to stick to a Cream of Chicken Soup. Cream of Mushroom Soup and Cream of Celery Soup also taste great in this casserole, or a combination.
Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole Frequently Asked Questions
As you can see from the number of comments below, this has been a very popular and loved recipe by our readers. To save you some time going through the comments, here are some quick answers to some of the commonly asked questions that have been asked about this recipe:
- Can I use other “Cream of Soups” other than Cream of Chicken? Yes, Cream of Mushroom and Cream of Celery both taste great, or you can use one of each.
- Can I use chicken broth instead of water? Yes, chicken broth will add even more flavor. You can also use a combination of both
- Do I cook the chicken before adding it to the casserole? No, the chicken is uncooked. That’s one of the great things about this recipe! The chicken cooks with the rice. Frozen chicken breasts can also be used if they are the packaged frozen breasts purchased at the store that thaw quickly.
What to Serve with this Casserole
I prefer to serve the 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:
- Nuts About Berries Salad
- Creamy Green Pea Salad with Bacon
- Chopped Broccoli Salad
- Oven Roasted Vegetables
- Oven Roasted Green Beans
- How to Cook Frozen Peas (the RIGHT way)
How to Make Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
- 2 c. uncooked rice not Minute Rice
- 1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese divided
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 2 (10.5 oz) cans cream of chicken soup undiluted
- 3 c. water
- 1 packet Lipton Onion Soup Mix
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
- Layer rice, 1 cup cheese, salt ,and pepper in pan.
- Place chicken breasts on top. Dob 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 1/2 hours, checking water after 1 hour.
- If water is absorbed before chicken and rice are completely cooked, you can add an additional 1/2 c. to keep moist.
- Remove from oven, and stir excess sauce into the rice. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.
Brenda Kinning says
I made this after reading most of the comments.
I used a rotisserie chicken which I chopped up.
I rinsed my two cups of rice three times.
I used 2 cups water as the recipe says. I used cream of chicken and cream of celery soups (plus the rest of the ingredients as listed). I mixed all of it together in a bowl and poured it in the 9×13 pan. (I poured half, added grated cheese, and poured the rest.)
After an hour I stirred it and added more water (1/2 cup) as it was seeming to be dry. In about 20 minutes I checked it again , stirred, and added about another 1/2 cup water . And another 1/2 cup in about 20 more minutes.
I added a lot of cheese on top and cooked it about 20 more.
It was simply delicious!
It filled the pan all the way to the top (though didn’t boil over). So even a small serving is very filling. I feel like I could feed an entire football team! But I also read in the comments that it freezes well.
Will definitely be making this again and for sure when I need to feed a large group. It would provide a very inexpensive meal for a large group.
My husband loved it too!
Absolutely recommend!
Erica says
Great idea using a rotisserie chicken. YUM!!!! Thanks for your comment!
Amy says
Has anyone tried this in the crockpot? Wondering if that’s a possibility….
Anna Whitby says
The only things I did different was substitute salt for a pinch of kosher salt. I used one can of cream of chicken soup and a can of chicken and mushroom soup. And, while it cooked for the first hour, I would every so often stir the rice and liquids, and turned over the chicken so that everything would cook evenly. After an hour, everything was pretty much cooked through, but went ahead and stirred in the 1/2 cup water and let it cook for 5 more minutes. Came out great! Not too salty and rice fully cooked (Uncle Ben’s white rice). Next time I will probably add veggies! Great recipe!
Favorite Family Recipes says
Thanks so much for the nice comment! So glad you liked it!
Cat says
I made this tonight, as I didn’t have the energy to cook from scratch. Easy to put together and similar to a recipe that I used to use.
I used 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup, didn’t add any extra salt, and I used jasmine rice (what I had on hand). I used 4 medium chicken breasts; 2 cut in to bite size and mixed into the casserole, and cut the other two in half and laid the pieces on top, and then added a bit of cheese all over.
I baked it at 375 degrees instead, for about an hour. When done, removed the big chicken pieces and gave it a stir to mix in the last bit of liquid. Turned out great.:)
Cat says
Oh, I forgot to add that I mixed the soup, water, and dry mix together first before pouring over rice and cheese in the dish, and gave it a quick stir to ensure no dry spots of rice.
Jeanette says
I am making this for Bunco tomorrow and the first recipe I found added French onions on top so that’s what I’m doing
Penny Young says
I am cooking several casserole types of main dishes for my daughter in law and son in law. They have two small boys (the oldest is about to be 4) and my beautiful grand babies can eat like men! Crazy. I am very excited to make your grandmother’s recipe! I will have to modify one thing but when I get cream of chicken soup, I’m going to make it for me and my partner. The kids need a little help and this sounds like the perfect recipe. I am going to make a couple of portions so when they get home from work, all either of them has to do is pull one of the portioned meals out of the freezer, heat it and eat it!!
What would you recommend for the reheat, microwave or oven? If oven, should they add a little chicken broth or cream of soup to ensure it doesn’t dry out??
I will return after I have made it and rate it. I LOVE people who share family recipes! Thank you so much!!
One year for Thanksgiving, I located recipes people made between the dates of 1850-1899 for everything I made using. Very very difficult and a little stressful based on the fact that instead of a true measurement, their measuring system was a little different than modern techniques. The also used what was available to them, be it cost prohibitive items like refined sugar and white flour. They used molasses or brown sugar instead of the high priced refined sugar. They would use Rye flour, “Indian (corn) meal” with only a small amount of wheat flour for white flour or wheat flour. The fact that mildew rust on wheat flour caused most 19 Century Americans to all but abandon the wheat flour crop.
I am SOOO SORRY!! I have not idea how this became a history lecture of 19th Century recipes! Thank you again!!!
Penny
with Favorite Family Recipes says
I LOVE hearing the history of anything to do with food. This is such a wonderful comment! We love getting personal stories and history stories like this, so thank you. That is so neat that you pulled off a Thanksgiving dinner from the 1800s! That is impressive!
To answer your question– you can totally microwave or use the oven to re-heat. I would do as you suggested and add a little chicken broth so the rice doesn’t dry out too much.
If you like family recipes you are totally in the right place 😀 I hope you have been able to browse around to find even more of our family’s favorites! We have over 1,000 of them on here with more being added each week. We hope you will keep coming back for more!
Melissa says
This recipe was just ok in my opinion. Not bad, but my family isn’t begging for me to make it again. It makes A LOT of rice. Definitely stir it up good bc the rice under the chicken ends up without any sauce. Wish the cook time wasn’t so long too. I’m sure you could do some shortcuts to speed things up. All in all tastes ok.
ANAHI VAZQUEZ says
Going to try it this afternoon for dinner. Sounds easy and it is delicious. My grandmother used to make it.
Rebecca Goodwin says
This has become a staple in our home. I’ve made a few small tweaks and the family loves it! After the layer of rice, cheese and salt and pepper, I go ahead and slowly pour 1 cup of the water mostly around the edges (seems to help keep the rice more moist at the end) and sprinkle about 1/3 of the onion soup mix. After adding the chicken breasts, I add a bit more salt and pepper to the top of them. I also mix in different cheeses with the cheddar depending on what I have on hand. Part of my regular rotation now. I usually make 2 pans so there are leftovers. 😀 Thank you!!