Savory Rice Casserole with Chicken Recipe

This Rice Casserole with Chicken recipeis perfect for the nights when you want a warm home-cooked meal without standing over the stove for hours. You only need a couple of mixing bowls, a baking dish, and a few simple, inexpensive ingredients, and within an hour you’ll have a delicious meal your family will love.

Making a chicken and rice casserole is one of the easiest and most comforting dinners you can make for your family. Not only will your family love this casserole, but it’s also inexpensive to make, with simple ingredients that you might already have on hand. If you don’t, the ingredients can be easily found at most grocery stores. No fancy ingredients that you’ll only use once!

How to Make Rice Casserole with Chicken

Set a 15-minute timer and be prepared to have your full meal prepped in enough time to check homework and rest for a few minutes before dinner.

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You’re going to make your chicken mixture first. Get a frying pan and saute your onions and celery in butter until they’re soft.

Next, add your chicken breasts. Be sure to season your chicken with salt and pepper and cook them all the way through until slightly brown.

After your chicken is cooked, you’re going to create your soup mixture. Get a large mixing bowl and combine the rice, seasoning, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, and sour cream.

Pour this mixture into a 13×9 baking dish. Now, add your chicken mixture from the saucepan and cover the soup mixture.

We like to add a bit of crunch to my casserole, so crush your crackers and add them to a small bowl. We prefer a buttery cracker, but you can use saltines or whatever you have on hand. Melt some butter and mix it into the crushed crackers before sprinkling them on top of the casserole.

Let your casserole sit for at least 15 minutes before you bake it. This allows all of the flavors merge together before they go in the oven.

When you’re ready to eat, just bake it for 30-40 minutes, and you have a jaw-droppingly delicious rice casserole with chicken.

Rice Casserole with Chicken Variations

Sometimes eating a meal the same way can get boring, so if you want to switch it up from time to time, here are a few variations you can try.

• We prefer cream of chicken soup for this recipe because it adds incredible flavor, but you can opt for cream of mushroom soup instead. It gives the meal a different flavor that you might enjoy.
• You can make this dish vegan by using your favorite chicken meat replacement or skipping the chicken altogether. Instead, you’ll have a simple yet flavorful rice casserole. You can even add chicken seasons to give your meal an extra kick. Also, you’ll need to replace your sour cream, butter, and cream of chicken soup with dairy free and meat free alternatives.
• To make your meal more nutritious, you can add a mix of your favorite vegetables such as broccoli, corn, green peas, and carrots.
• Add additional flavor by sprinkling cheese on top to set off the recipe.

Side Dish Casseroles?

While this recipe is a main dish casserole, it could easily become a side dish by not adding the chicken. Some other delicious side dish casseroles we have are Green Chile Rice Casserole , Green Bean Casserole , and our Easy Broccoli Rice Casserole .

Time Saving Tips for Rice Casserole with Chicken

Rice Casserole with chicken is already a super simple meal, but I have a few tips you can use to make the process even shorter and easier.

• Prepare your chicken mixture and rice mixture separately. Store them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to make your casserole. When you’re ready, just pull them out, combine the ingredients, and bake it in the oven. This is a great meal prep option.
• Another meal prep option is to bake your casserole and store it in the freezer. Then, when you’re ready to eat, you can thaw it out and pop it in the oven.
• Instead of using raw chicken breasts, you can use precooked chicken breasts or leftover chicken and add appropriate seasonings. You could even buy a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store and remove the chicken from the bones. Doing one of these will shave a few minutes off of your meal prep time.

Other Chicken and Rice Dishes You’ll Enjoy:

Healthy Chicken and Rice Skillet
Easy Chicken Rice Soup
Quick Chicken Burrito Bowls

Here’s the full recipe, ready for you to print! If you like this recipe, be sure to share on Facebook or pin it to Pinterest.

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