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This chicken and rice casserole is serious comfort food! My whole family loves how flavorful it is, and I love that it’s super simple to throw together for busy nights!
I have this weird new food obsession.
Rice.
Seriously. Rice.
It seems so random. I mean, I’ve always liked rice just fine, it’s just not something that I ever really craved or cooked, unless it was my Bacon Fried Rice. <— Can never get enough of that one!
Lately, though, I’m obsessed.
I think it has something to do with white rice made in my Instant Pot. It’s the most perfect rice I’ve ever had. Shall I share my recipe sometime?
Anyway, my family is getting sick of plain white rice, so I thought I’d continue my obsession and create something with a little more excitement and flavor.
Enter the casserole – my favorite way to serve dinner. 😉
I’m from the Midwest after all. Casseroles are a requirement around here.
We kept this chicken rice casserole super simple with just 5 ingredients and loads of flavor thanks to the packet of onion soup mix.
Chicken Rice Casserole Ingredient Notes:
Chicken Tenderloins – We use strips of chicken tenderloins in this recipe, but you can also use chicken breasts that you’ve cut into strips yourself.
Rice – You’ll need long grain white rice. Do not use instant rice. We haven’t tested this recipe with brown rice.
Cream of Chicken Soup – This is going to add lots of creamy chicken flavor to the casserole. If you don’t like the canned stuff, try out my homemade cream of chicken substitute recipe!
Onion Soup Mix – A packet of onion soup mix is just what we need to add that French onion soup flavor to this chicken and rice casserole!
Cheese – I love a cheesy chicken and rice casserole so I top it with plenty of shredded Gruyere cheese! And of course you can add or use any other shredded cheeses you prefer to this recipe.
Seasonings – The onion soup mix adds loads of flavor to this dish, but you can top your chicken with some paprika and garlic powder, if you feel the urge.
What Readers are Saying!
“Just made this recipe, exactly to directions, turned out great, rice is nicely done and sauce is delicious. I did brown for about 5 minutes under the broiler for a little color. Chicken was nice, not dry. Very easy for a weeknight meal…” – Denise
How to Make Chicken & Rice Casserole:
Mix: First up you’ll need to prepare the rice and soup mixture. While your oven pre-heats go ahead and add the uncooked white rice to a mixing bowl and then pour in the water, dry soup mix, and cream of chicken soup. Stir to combine.
Assemble: When the creamy rice mixture is ready you can pour it into a prepared 9×13 baking dish. Smooth it out evenly in the dish and then you can start adding in the chicken tenderloins. Just place them over the top of the rice mixture and try to keep them from overlapping.
Sometimes we sprinkle the chicken with extra seasoning and sometimes we just let the onion soup mix do the work. You can feel free to get creative or keep it simple.
Bake: Now you can go ahead and cover the dish with foil and let it bake for an hour.
We’re going to turn this into a cheesy chicken casserole by topping it off with a bunch of shredded Gruyere cheese. Once you’ve topped the casserole with the cheese cover it with foil again and return to the oven for another 15 minutes or until the rice is tender and the cheese has melted.
Helpful TipS!
- My biggest tip to ensure that the recipe is cooked properly is to be sure that the foil is on TIGHT. You need the steam to stay inside the pan to cook that rice properly.
- Don’t be afraid to let it cook a bit longer if it’s not quite done. The chicken is cooking with the rice, so I know a lot of people are worried it’s going to dry out after being in the oven for so long. But, it’s cooking in that steam and liquid and it really doesn’t dry out. It comes out nice and tender, just the way we like it.
- This recipe used to call for milk in place of water. It worked well for me and for many other readers, but plenty of people were having a hard time getting the rice to cook through. We’ve swapped the milk for water and think that is a bit more fool proof.
FAQs:
Absolutely! Mozzarella, provolone, Havarti, or Monterey jack would all work well in this chicken and rice casserole.
You’ll want to use thawed or fresh chicken in this recipe.
Yes, this casserole stores well in both the refrigerator and the freezer. It should last up to 4 days in the fridge and you can re-heat it in the oven or microwave. It should last a few months in the freezer if sealed tightly.
MORE CASSEROLE RECIPES!
- Million Dollar Mac & Cheese Casserole
- Keto Meatball Casserole
- Broccoli & Cheese Casserole (Air Fryer)
- Crockpot Hashbrown Casserole
- Amish Breakfast Casserole
French Onion Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked long grain white rice
- 2 cups water
- 20 ounces cream of chicken soup
- 1 packet Onion Soup mix
- 1 pound chicken tenderloins
- 1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese
- 1 teaspoon parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
- Add the rice, water, cream of chicken soup, and soup mix to a bowl and stir well to combine.
- Pour rice mixture into the baking dish and place chicken tenderloins over the top.
- Cover tightly with foil and bake for 60 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking.
- Remove the foil and top with the grated cheese. Cover and return to oven for 15 minutes or until rice is tender.
- Sprinkle with parsley just before serving.
Donna says
How long will it take if I remove the rice all together?
Karly says
You just want to cook the chicken in the soup and milk mixture? I’m not sure how well that would work.
Heather says
How long would it need to be cooked if I were to double the ingredients?
Karly says
It should take the same amount of time, but I haven’t tried it myself.
Michelle says
Would like to see nutritional information for this recipe. Especially for those dealing with diabetic issues or watching calorie intake.
Karly says
Hi Michelle,
You’re welcome to plug this recipe into any of the free online nutrition calculators.
Gayle Swart says
Could you substitute the milk with anything, I have two family members who can’t have dairy. For some reason the cream of chicken doesn’t affect them. Can I add a third can of that, or do you have any other suggestions
Gayle
Karly says
You could try using almond or soy milk, though I haven’t tried it myself.
Shannon says
Add an extra can of soup and 2 cups water
Crystal says
Would this work with instant rice?
Karly says
I don’t think so. The bake times and liquid amount would likely need reduced.
Christy says
I’ve done this dish in the instant pot. I don’t have my recipe with me, but try looking up a similar recipe on the instant pot sites.
I added a few jalapenos for my daughter and it was surprisingly yummy!
Nancy H. says
Hi, would brown rice work in this???
Karly says
Probably not without same changes. It takes a bit longer to cook than white rice and I’m not sure if the liquid would need increased.
Nancy H: says
Thanks! I’ll just do the white rice. Going to try this tonight with your homemade cream of chicken recipe. My husband is in the military and I’m trying to cook healthier for him. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Kara says
How would I cook this in the instapot?
Tina says
Wondering how this would end up if I switched the cream of chicken for cream of mushroom. Think it’d taste alright?
Karly says
It’d be perfect! My family doesn’t like mushrooms, so we use the chicken, but mushroom is great. 🙂
Tina says
Thanks for the recipe, it turned out great and is hubby approved!
Karly says
Awesome!! Hubby approval is always a win!
Michelle Jones says
I was thinking the same thing… to swap one of the cans for cream of mushroom or cream of celery. (For my crockpot pot roast I use cream of mushroom, cream of celery, and the onion soup mix.)
E says
Have you tried making this in a crockpot?
Karly says
I have not.
Shelly says
I was thinking the same thing, I like to cook for my parents a few times per week. I like to drop off the crockpot and have my mom or dad turn it on at noonish, then we have dinner after I get off work. If anyone tries the crockpot please share the results.
Kevin Blakeney says
For better cooking of the rice, first wrap with plastic wrap and then foil. The plastic holds in the steam the foil holds in heat and prevents burning. A little trick we use in the catering business.
Karly says
I’m not sure about putting plastic wrap in the oven. If you close the foil tightly it works just fine.
Becky J Williams says
I do this with the plastic wrap all the time. My brother-in-law is a chief and he gave me this idea once when I was cooking lasagna and all the cheese stuck to the foil. When you put the plastic wrap on then the foil it helps with the cooking and the sticking. It does not melt the plastic wrap.
Lynn says
I just made this… well am still baking…one hour in and the plastic wrap… cling wrap… was melted and sitting on top of the casserole. I was able to get it off. I hope. Rice is nowhere done. Giving this another 20 minutes.
Frustrated!
Karly says
Sorry you had issues, Lynn! As I mentioned above, I don’t believe plastic wrap is meant for the oven. Hopefully it didn’t stick to the food and ruin it. If your foil was on nice and tight, the rice should still cook through. If you just used plastic wrap and it melted, I’m afraid the rice isn’t going to get the steam it needs to cook and you’re probably going to need to make other dinner plans. 🙁
Cheri says
I have a casserole dish with a lid, glad I read this! I will use this to bake it. Too bad the 8×11 glass pans don’t have lids?!~
Shirley McGill says
I just finished making this casserole and and rice is not cooked. A waste of all other good ingredients. Taste is good but cooking it longer and allowing the steam to finish cooking the rice didn’t work. Didn’t want to risk plastic wrap melting into my food. Don’t publish another recipe.
Victoria says
I am not sure if its Karly being told not to post another recipe or Kevin who suggested the plastic wrap. But everyone’s cooking is different. I am learning alot about cooking different things (slowly coming out of my picky shell) and I am not one to tell someone how to cook something. Me personally, I would not have used plastic wrap. I cook a chicken and rice dish all the time. My recipe is 1 cup rice, 2 cups water, can of cream of chicken soup, I use several different seasonings. I put foil over it, pop it in a preheated 375 i believe oven for 45 minutes. I turn oven off, leave dish in there for 15 minutes. Then I take foil off, sprinkle some cheese over it & broil for 5 minutes. Rice is done and chicken is done. But again, every cook & oven is different, what works for me might not work for you. So to tell someone not to post another recipe cause it didn’t work for you is just rude. Especially if it’s in reference to the person who is blogging her recipes. They don’t have to share what they do. I for one am grateful for the post, I have learned alot. does it always work for me? No, but I just take it off my pinterest & try the next one!! Karly, I don’t know you, but thanks for posting recipes and helping people like me to learn more and to try different things. I’m not trying to be mean or hurt anyone’s feelings and I apologize if I did.
Karly says
Thank you, Victoria. <3
Kaathy says
I’m sorry but I have to be the devils advocate here….who in the hell puts plastic wrap in the oven or over any thing hot???? REALLY? Sorry Lynn, I mean no harm but maybe you should go on the Foodnetworks Worse Cooks show. LOL
Lynn says
Wow! I am really surprised at the rather rude comments to my previous comment. I only used the plastic wrap because of the previous comments. I did not say it was in the recipe nor did I yell at the person who wrote the recipe. I was merely offering my experience. I will have you know that I am actually quite a good cook. I have many people over to eat on a regular basis and those same people keep coming back for more.
I had also sen the use of plastic wrap in several good shows. It seemed strange to me but I thought I would give it a try.
The problem with the entire meal was the length time it took to cook the rice. We ate the dinner and overall it was not bad.
Plastic wrap and all! ?
Kathy says
Can you use minute rice instead of regular rice?
Dani says
Yes I always use the minute rice and I’m actually able to cut down the cooking time.
Kathy says
Thanks. Minute rice worked great and yes only cooked an hour. Also used one can cream of chicken and one cream of mushroom. Was delish!
Lara says
DO NOT USE PLASTIC WRAP in the oven!
Use a turkey bag instead of foil or plastic wrap. Plastic wrap is not made for the oven and will melt all over your dish and is toxic.
Michelle says
Any idea of the nutritional values in this. Mainly calories per serving.
Karly says
You’re welcome to add this recipe to any of the free online nutrition calculators if you’d like. 🙂
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Trey says
I have made this recipe twice now and love it! The first time – I followed the ingredient list and directions exactly – it turned out great. The second time, I made a couple of modifications. I used boneless, skinless thighs and cut them up into bite-sized pieces and mixed them in with the rice mixture. I also added a bag of thawed frozen broccoli pieces and a drained, small can of chopped mushrooms. I used an applewood-smoked Gruyere cheese. Instead of just topping the dish with it, I mixed in 1/2 cup of the grated cheese into the mixture as well as putting 1/2 cup on the top to bake later. I did have a lot more moisture in the dish after cooking under foil for 60 minutes I think due to the broccoli and mushrooms and possibly even from having used chicken thighs, so I cooked it 20 additional minutes without the foil. I then topped it with the 1/2 cup of grated cheese and baked it another 15 minutes (so a grand total of 95 minutes – 60 with foil, 35 without). I have to say – it turned out marvelous and is more of a complete dish now with the added vegetables. Thanks for sharing this – I will definitely make this many more times to come.
Karly says
Sounds like some great additions! I’d guess it was more watery from the veggies. 🙂
Marcia Bilodeau says
My husband made this for dinner tonight and it smells delicious. Our problem is it is watery, he used Fat free milk could that be the problem??
Karly says
I wouldn’t think fat free milk would make a difference. Did you use regular long grain white rice or were you using minute rice?
Michelle says
We had this tonight for dinner and it was incredible! It seemed too simple and easy to be so delicious. Even my picky husband cleared his plate and asked for leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Karly says
Yay! Glad to hear! 🙂