30 Minute Chicken and Rice Casserole
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole is pure comfort food.
Chicken, broccoli, rice, and cheese come together perfectly in this tasty homemade casserole – in just under 30 minutes!!
Easy Chicken and Rice
This recipe came from a card I got in the mail, over 20 years ago (at least…)
I have made it many times, it is so creamy and comforting. Even my picky eater will have a few bites without too many complaints. (As long as I remove the broccoli from his serving, lol.)
You’ll Love How Easy This Chicken And Rice Recipe Is To Make.
- Ultimate comfort food dish. This cheesy chicken and rice casserole is creamy, comforting, and oh-so filling.
- Can be made ahead. Know you have a busy week ahead. You can put this casserole together for up to 3 days and store it in the fridge until ready to bake.
- Easy to make. This dish takes only the tiniest amount of prep before tossing the creamy chicken and rice casserole in the oven.
- Simple pantry staple ingredients. You probably already have all the ingredients on hand. I’ve used canned chicken today, but you can use frozen chicken or quickly sauté some raw diced chicken breasts to use.
Want to give this creamy chicken and rice recipe a try? These are the ingredients to add to your shopping list:
🥫 Ingredients + Tips
(Ingredients at a glance, print full ingredient list, and instruction card found at the bottom of the post.)
- Cream of Mushroom soup | You can also use cream of chicken.
- Milk
- Mayonnaise
- Better Than Bullion Chicken | The Better than Bullion brand is my secret flavor ingredient in almost all my recipes. You could use regular bullion but the Better than Bullion has no added MSG, and 1/3 less salt most bouillons.
- 2 cups pre-cooked chopped chicken | Use whatever chicken you have that is precooked. Leftover, rotisserie, canned, etc… (Canned chicken tastes better if rinsed.) If you decide to use raw chicken, dice it into small pieces and go ahead and sauté it with salt, pepper, onions, and peppers.
- Frozen broccoli | You could substitute peas or mixed veggies.
- Onion | yellow would be best as they are less pungent than white and these onions are not sautéed first. (If sensitive to onions, you might consider cutting the amount in half.)
- Red bell pepper | Mainly for color. You could use green or leave it out.
- Cooked white rice | I have recently discovered frozen precooked rice at the grocery store – ready in 3 minutes, this stuff is the bomb when it comes to quick dinners.
- Shredded cheese | My preference on the cheese is the cheddar/Monterey/Colby Jack blend – but use whatever cheese you like.
🍳 How to make this Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Blend soup, milk, mayo, better than bullion, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
- Combine chicken, onion, broccoli, bell pepper and rice in a large bowl; mix gently.
- Gently fold soup mixture into the chicken mixture to combine, fold in half the cheddar cheese.
- Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Spoon in chicken mixture.
- Sprinkle top of casserole with remaining cheese.
- Bake until top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
🍴 Variations:
- Replace peas for broccoli.
- Add jalapenos or a drained can of diced green chiles.
- Use cream of chicken instead of cream of mushroom.
- Sprinkle top with fried onions, crushed Ritz crackers, or bread crumbs.
📌 FAQ’s
Can I Make This Recipe In The Microwave?
Yes, you can! To prepare in the microwave, proceed as the recipe directs through step 4 but do not add the remaining cheese. Microwave on medium for 10 minutes: add remaining cheese. Microwave 10 more minutes till heated through.
Can I Leave The Broccoli Out?
Of course! If you don’t like broccoli, you could replace the veggies with peas or cauliflower or any bag of mixed veggies, or leave the veggies out altogether.
Do I have to use pre-cooked chicken?
For this recipe, the chicken does need to be cooked first. So you can use canned chicken, rotisserie, leftover. Whatever you have on hand. If you only have raw chicken, that is fine too. Just dice your chicken into bite-size pieces and saute on the stovetop first. This step will only add 5 to 7 minutes to your prep time. (3/4 pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts should equal about 2 cups of cubed cooked chicken.)
Can This Chicken And Rice Casserole Be Frozen
This casserole can be made ahead and frozen or stored in the fridge for up to 3 days until ready to bake. You can also put it together and freeze it for an easy freezer meal.
If frozen, defrost in the fridge, then bring to room temp. Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until heated through.
Enjoy!
More Comfort Food Recipes to Enjoy:
- White Chicken Chili Recipe
- Slow Cooker Beef Chili
- Baked Chili Dogs
- Biscuits and Gravy Egg Casserole
- Cheesy Chicken And Yellow Rice
- Creamy Cajun Sausage Pasta
- Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
What are your favorite easy dinner recipes? Sound off in the comments below!
Pin this recipe for later
📝 Let us know what you think!
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and/or a review in the comments section below. If you share an image on Instagram or Facebook, be sure to tag me and use #scatteredmomrecipes!
Print
Chicken and Rice Casserole
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
This Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole is pure comfort food. Chicken, broccoli, rice, and cheese come together perfectly in this tasty homemade casserole.
Ingredients
- 1 can of Cream of Mushroom soup
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1/3 cup Mayo
- 1 tbsp better than chicken bullion
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 1/4 tsp of pepper
- 2 cups chopped chicken (If using canned chicken, rinse it first)
- 1 cup frozen broccoli (You could substitute peas.)
- 1/2 cup finely diced onion (if sensitive to onion, you might cut this in half)
- 1/4 cup red bell pepper
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (divided)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Blend soup, milk, mayo, better than bullion, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Combine chicken, onion, broccoli, bell pepper and rice in a large bowl; mix gently.
- Gently fold soup mixture into the chicken mixture to combine, fold in half the cheddar cheese.
- Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Spoon in chicken mixture.
- Sprinkle top of casserole with remaining cheese.
- Bake until top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Don't miss any more posts!
