Chicken and Rice Casserole with Cream of Chicken Soup

Casseroles make life so much easier and they are delicious! This Chicken and Rice Casserole is the perfect dish. It’s easy to make, and it’s hearty and delicious. You’ll love the creamy chicken and mushroom sauce that coats every bite of chicken and rice. Serve this great recipe with a side of steamed broccoli or green beans for a complete meal that your whole family will love.

Chicken and Rice Casserole with Cream of Chicken Soup

Casseroles are my go to during the fall months. The kids school has gotten back in session, the kids activities picking back up and I need quick and easy dinner recipes that the whole family loves to make my life easier.

For years Tom told me about the chicken and rice casserole his mom made. I made it according to the recipe he had and oh my gosh was it bland and lacking flavor. It was definitly one that the kids asked me never to make again. However Tom still wanted a chicken and rice casserole recipe that would remind him of the one his mom makes so I came up with a flavorful and delicious chicken rice casserole that is now a family favorite.

This chicken casserole makes delicious meal with tender chicken, a creamy sauce and rice with veggies that means no side dishes are needed. I make extra veggies because my kids love their vegetables but you don’t have to and this casserole can work as a full meal all on its own.

Chicken Casserole Recipes

• Chicken and potato casserole
• Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Casserole
• Keto chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
• Chicken Enchilada Casserole
• Loaded Chicken and Potato Casserole
• Chicken Dorito Casserole
• Spinach Artichoke Chicken Casserole

What Is Chicken and Rice Casserole?

Chicken and rice casserole was first introduced by the Campbell’s soup company. It is a homestyle casserole that uses condensed cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup. This casserole is a very popular dish to make as comfort food, as a meal on a budget, and for potlucks. It is also a meal that is often brought to families needing a meal, like after a baby is born or when someone is sick or recovering from surgery.

Why You’ll Love This Casserole

Easy to make dinner recipe. This casserole is super easy to make. Throw it together in the casserole dish, bake and clean up. You won’t have a ton of dishes to wash.

Family Friendly. This is a simple meal that everyone will love. Even the fussiest kids will love this kid-friendly dinner.

Change it up. This is one of those recipes if you don’t have an ingredient, that’s ok. You can swap it out with something else you have on hand.

Can This Casserole Be Made Ahead of time?

Yes, I love being able to make this casserole ahead of time. Prepare the recipe but do not bake. Cover the baking dish and then place it in the refrigerator. It can make prepped up to 2 days in advance.

How to Store Chicken and Rice Casserole

The casserole will stay good in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Make sure to store it in an airtight container.

You can also freeze the casserole. Store the casserole in an airtight container or wrapped well with plastic and foil. Place it in the freezer for up to 4 months. Allow the chicken and rice casserole to thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

How to Mince Garlic

Garlic is a tasty part of this recipe. While I love minced garlic, I don’t love big chunks of garlic in my rice. So I start by crushing the peeled garlic with the side of the knife. I slice the garlic and then add a pinch of salt. Then, I use the side of the knife and drag it across the garlic again to crush it onto the board. I keep doing this until it forms a paste. I also like to use a garlic press like this one.

What is the Best Way to Cook the Chicken for this Casserole?

This recipe calls for 4 cups of cooked chicken. There are a few different ways that you can cook chicken. I prefer to use boneless skinless chicken breast but you can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs if you want to.

• Use an Instant Pot. Place the rack inside the Instant pot and then pour in one cup of water. Place the chicken on top of the rack, add a chicken bouillon cube, and set to start. I usually make 6 chicken breasts at a time. Check to make sure the chicken has reached 165 degrees before using.
• Boil chicken. Just add raw chicken breasts to a pot and cover with 3 cups of chicken broth or water whichever you prefer. Heat on medium high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling turn heat to low and cover pot with a lid and let simmer for 10 minutes.
• Bake chicken. Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray place the chicken breast on the baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Then bake for 35-45 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked.
• Use Rotisserie Chicken. You can also use leftover chicken in this recipe or use rotisserie chicken. Store bought already cooked, prepackage chicken is another option.

To make things easier on myself I keep cooked and shredded chicken in the freezer. It is super easy to make a large batch of cooked chicken, shred it and then portion it out into 1 cup freezer bags. Then whenever I need shredded cooked chicken for a recipe I pull it from the freezer the night before to thaw. On nights that I have forgotten to pull it out the day before a few minutes in the microwave on defrost gets the cooked chicken ready to go in a casserole.

How to Shred Chicken for Chicken and Rice Casserole?

There are a few ways to shred chicken. It is best to start with warm chicken. Then you can pull the chicken apart using your hands or 2 forks.

The faster way to shred chicken is to place it back into the Instant Pot bowl or a mixer bowl. Use your hand mixer and run the beaters through the chicken. This will shred it the easiest way. When you are going to shred the chicken, use the shredding chicken trick that makes it super easy!

Tips and Variations of this recipe

Add more veggies. You can add more veggies, I like using peas but frozen corn, mixed veggies, and green beans are also great additional items to add or use in place of the peas.

Change out the soup. I use cream of mushroom soup and cream of chicken soup, but you can also change them out for the cream of celery soup or a variation of the three types, using 2 cans total in the recipe.

Use a large bowl. I like to keep dishes as minimal as possible so I mix everything in the casserole dish, but you can add the chicken, the peas mixture, rice, and soup into a large bowl mix it all together, and then pour it into the casserole dish if you prefer.

Use Chicken stock. If you would like a stronger chicken flavor then you can use chicken stock instead of water.

Add cheese. If you want to have a cheesy sauce you can, just add a cup of cheddar cheese or parmesan cheese to the casserole mixture.

Skip the spice. If you do not want any spice to your casserole leave out the red chili pepper flakes.

Cooking the onion and garlic ahead gives it a nicer flavor, this step can be skipped if you are short on time.

For nice even small pats of butter,  cut the butter in half lengthwise, cut those pieces lengthwise again, and then slice into pats.

What to Serve with Chicken Rice Casserole

Salad. Salad is perfect to serve as a side dish for this casserole. We love making Olive Garden Salad, BLT Salad, and Strawberry Spinach Salad.

Vegetables. If you are not putting veggies into the casserole you can also serve vegetables like oven baked broccoli, roasted asparagus, Lemon Roasted Asparagus, oven roasted carrots, Roasted Cauliflower, and Roasted Brussel Sprouts are all great options.

Chicken and Rice Casserole Ingredients

• 4 cups of shredded chicken (approximately 3 skinless boneless chicken breasts around 2 lbs)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• red chili flakes (optional)
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1 white onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 cups of white rice, uncooked
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 cups milk
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup
• 3 Tablespoons butter – cut into small pats

How to Make Chicken and Rice Casserole

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, grease the baking dish with cooking spray (I like Canola as it has no flavor).

Cook the chicken in your preferred method.

Once the chicken is cooked, shred the chicken and put it into a medium bowl, add salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and chili flakes if using. Mix to coat well.

Pour chicken into the prepared baking dish.

Dice the onion.

In a skillet over medium heat add a small amount of butter and the diced onion, saute until translucent, and then add the minced garlic and peas and saute for an additional minute.

Add the uncooked rice and soups to the chicken and mix well then add the peas mixture to the chicken casserole and mix well.

Cut butter into small pats and divide evenly across the top. 

Bake at 375 for 60 minutes or until rice is tender.

Easy Chicken Recipes

• Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings
• Olive Garden Chicken Pasta
• Honey Garlic Chicken
• Chicken Florentine
• Firecracker Chicken
• Chicken and Potato Casserole
• Baked Chicken and Veggies sheet pan
• Avocado Chicken
• Chicken Asparagus Pasta
• Lemon Garlic Chicken