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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.
Trish says
This worked out great! A couple things: 1. I fried the rice in a little bit of olive oil for like 5 minutes on medium like someone else suggested. 2. I tightly covered with foil and even put a sheet pan over that to make sure none of the steam escaped. Rice and chicken were cooked perfectly!!!!
Karly says
Thanks, Trish!
Renee Jonassen says
Just put this together in my crockpot, oven is on the “fritz”. I ended up using minute rice, I’m hoping it will turn out ok. Any chance you have tried doing this recipe in a crock pot?
Karly says
No, I haven’t. How did it turn out?
kathie barr says
this looks so good, i would add mushrooms to tweak it up for me though !
Karrie says
I’ve made this recipe twice now. The first time I made it, the rice did not cook.
The second time I made it, I made some changes that I am really happy about:
– heat at 395* for 60 minutes
– 2 packets of the onion mix
– 1 2/3 cup of rice
– pour half the soup mix in the pan, put in the chicken, cover with remaining half of soup mix
– really seal the foil along the inside and outside edge of the pan
I think I could have a lower temperature or less time as the chicken and rice were cooked. But the chicken was a hint dry, but not much, since the rice absorbed the liquids.
Stephanie Lawrence says
Tried this recipe, and I reallly liked it. I used 1 cup of rice blend (white,brown,red,wild) and 1/2 cup white long grain rice, and 1/2 cup brown long grain rice. And all my rice cooked throughout. I used cream of mushroom, and chicken breasts cut similarly to tenders. And my chicken was cooked thru. It might have helped that halfway through cooking when I stirred my rice, I flipped and rotated my chicken. Next time, just a few tweeks of the original recipe, and this will become a repeat dinner entree.
Sabrina Franks says
I just want to say , I had a package of Lipton onion soup mix, chicken tenders and white minute rice I was like there has to be a recipe I can use this on haha. I looked up those 2 ingredients and came across your recipe. I had a couple cans of cream of chicken soup and milk and so I tried it. I added another 1/2 package of soup mix just because I love it. I just took it out of the 350 oven after 60 mins to stir and add cheese .. I don’t even know what kind of cheese I added because I had removed it from the store packaging (coronavirus recommendation) all I know is it is white sliced cheese ha (no holes so I know it’s not Swiss). Anyway I placed the cheese on top and recovered… there was some rice on the spoon from stirring it, I ate it and it was perfectly cooked and DELICIOUS! I can’t wait to try it after the cheese melts ! I’m plan on adding some steamed broccoli on the side ! Thank you !!
Sabrina says
Update I just ate it and it’s divine!!! Followed directions and it’s delicious! (Remember you must keep foil tight (don’t stir 1/2 way through wait till you open to put cheese on). A+
Karly says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Sabrina! 🙂
Ariana says
Just wanted to comment and say that this recipe worked perfectly for me too, so I’m not sure why people are having issues. I used non-instant, long grain white rice, made sure the foil was tight, and cooked for the full 60+15 minutes without stirring. Came out perfectly and just like my grandma used to make!
Karly says
Thanks, Ariana! I still haven’t figured out the issue either and I’ve tested it myself again and again. So frustrating! But I’m happy you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Denise Smith says
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 with a vege on the side.just allow the full baking time.
Amy K. says
This is what I did and it turned out great!
I followed the ingredient recipe exactly, but I used 3 large frozen chicken breasts, buried them into the rice mixture, sealed tightly with heavy duty foil, baked for the full 60 min (w/o stirring half way), stirred that and again sealed tightly and cooked for another 30min (chicken was not done yet). Once that was done, I let it cool and voila! Bon appétit! The rice was cooked and nothing was dried out! Delicious! Hope that helps!
Kesha Robinson says
I was hesitant to try this because of so many of the negative comments about the rice not cooking properly. However, mine came out perfectly. I made sure the foil was on super tight, and I decided not to take it off to stir halfway through. I also just nestled my chicken tenders inside the rice and soup mixture as opposed to putting them on top. I used mozzarella cheese and a little Parmesan. This will be on a regular rotation at my house. Thank you!
Karly says
So glad it turned out well for you!
Kurt Jansen says
After 1 hour the rice is fine, I still have lots of liquid in the pan. Pulled foil hoping to cook it off.
Missy says
Have you ever tried this in a slow cooker?
Karly says
No, I haven’t.
Rachel A. Gregor says
Hi, can any other dry soup mix be substituted instead of French Onion?
Karly says
I think any flavor you like would be fine.
Jim says
After an hour and a half rice is still undercooked . Chicken is very bland. Don’t bother with this recipe
Valerie says
Back in the oven for the 3rd time because the rice isn’t done. And yes, the foil is tight. I bought an aluminum lasagna pan so I could crimp the foil around the lip. 75 mins, then 25 mins, and now back in.