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This chicken and rice casserole is the ultimate comfort food!This is the best chicken and rice recipe because it’s easy to make with simple ingredients that you can switch up depending on your tastes.

This is a cozy comfort food dinner that is always a hit when I make it. 

chicken and rice casserole on a grey plate next to a fork.


Why We LOVE This Recipe

This chicken rice casserole is one of my family’s favorite dinners. It’s comforting, cozy, and hearty with all of the flavors of a classic chicken and rice casserole: tender chicken, rice, a creamy sauce, and lots of vegetables and cheese. It’s so easy you can make it on a weeknight!

It’s what I consider a “leftover” recipe because I use leftover chicken and rice to make it. I love repurposing our leftovers into brand new dishes so whenever I have left over cooked chicken or a rotisserie chicken from the store, this is the recipe I make. All you have to do is combine the leftovers with a few more ingredients, pop it in a baking dish and bake the casserole until it’s bubbly and hot.

Ingredients for Chicken and Rice Casserole

  • Chicken: you’ll want to use shredded (or cubed) already cooked chicken
  • Cooked rice: learn how I make brown rice in the instant pot
  • Cream of chicken soup: but you can also use cream of mushroom
  • Spices: Salt and pepper, smoked paprika, onion and garlic powder
  • Frozen Vegetables: I used peas but you could use a mixed vegetable or green beans
  • Shredded cheese: I love using cheddar. Be sure to shred it yourself so it melts better.
process shot of chicken and rice casserole.
process shot of chicken and rice casserole.

How to make Chicken and Rice Casserole

  1. Add the chicken, soup and spices to a large bowl.
  2. Add the peas and some of the cheddar, then stir it all together.
  3. Spread the mixture in a 9×13-inch casserole dish that’s been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
  4. Sprinkle the reserved cheese over the top.
  5. Bake the casserole for 20 to 30 minutes at 350°F or until it’s hot.

Doesn’t get any easier than that!

chicken and rice casserole in a clear casserole pan.

Recipe Variations – Switch it Up!

What I love about this chicken and rice casserole is that you can swap out ingredients based on what you like or what you have on hand. 

  • I love peas in my chicken casserole, but you can swap them out, use frozen broccoli instead and call it chicken broccoli and rice casserole. It’s so delicious, too. You can also use a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, the ones with carrots or green beans.
  • You can adjust the flavor and use cream of potato soup or cream of mushroom soup or even cream of celery soup. That’s an easy way to put a new twist on it every time you make it.
  • If you don’t have any leftover cooked chicken just pick up a store-bought rotisserie chicken and shred it. Rotisserie Chicken and Rice is DELISH!
  • For the cheese, yellow cheddar is great but you can use white cheddar, too. Or try shredded provolone or Monterey jack cheese – pretty much any cheese that melts well will work.

How to Use Raw Chicken

If you only have uncooked chicken, you’ll need to cook it before adding it to the recipe. Here are some tips/ways to cook it:

  • You can use chicken breasts or chicken thighs (boneless or bone in, but time for cooking will be different).
  • Thaw chicken if frozen.
  • Cook boneless chicken in crockpot with herbs for about 2-3 hours or until it reaches 165°F.
  • Put your chicken in the air fryer and cook at 380°F until cooked through (time dependent on thickness and bones, etc).
  • Make instant pot shredded chicken or oven baked chicken breasts.
chicken and rice casserole on a grey plate next to a fork.

Tip From Dorothy

Expert Tips

  • This recipe is a cooked rice casserole – so be sure to precook your white rice or brown rice, either long or short grain, or minute rice, prior to adding it to your casserole.
  • To keep the casserole warm, cover it with aluminum foil. You can also do this during baking if the cheese melts too quickly.
  • Store leftover in an airtight container. Casserole can also be placed in the freezer for up to a month. Reheat in oven or microwave.

FAQ about this Easy Chicken Rice Casserole

Do you cook chicken before putting it in a casserole

It depends on the recipe! For my chicken and rice casserole you will want to use cooked chicken. It’s my favorite way to use up leftover chicken.
This really is the easiest comfort food dinner! It’s great for weeknights or anytime you have a craving for a cheesy chicken casserole.

Can I use any frozen vegetable?

Yes you can substitute any frozen vegetable – broccoli is great!

chicken and rice casserole on a grey plate next to a fork.

Chicken and Rice Casserole

4.97 from 334 votes
Easy Chicken and Rice Casserole is an fast comfort food dinner. Use leftover chicken or turkey and rice to make this cheesy chicken casserole recipe!

Recipe Video

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Yield 8 servings
Serving Size 1 serving
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Ingredients
 

  • 3 cups cooked chicken shredded or cubed
  • 3 cups cooked rice
  • 21 ounces cream of chicken soup (2 10.5 ounce cans) (may substitute cream of potato or mushroom)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon ground onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon ground garlic powder
  • 2 cups frozen peas
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
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Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Stir together chicken, rice, soup, spices, peas and 1 cup shredded cheese in a large bowl. Spread in a 9×13-inch casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.
  • Bake until hot all the way through, about 20-30 minutes.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 376kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 1031mg | Potassium: 294mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 748IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 235mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Author Dorothy Kern

Did you try this recipe? Click the stars to rate the recipe below

Easy Chicken and Rice Casserole is a cheesy, creamy baked casserole with condensed soup, peas and chicken. Use rotisserie chicken to make it super easy – and substitute broccoli if you like!

Favorite Casserole Recipes



Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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4.97 from 334 votes (291 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




107 Comments

  2. Easy fast did I say easy?😁 I’ve never been good at using leftovers & I’m happy I found you! Made 1/2 recipe since its just the 2 of us. I plan on using this as a template! Thank you for showing me how easy using leftovers is & that dinner doesn’t need to take my entire aternoon!!

    Reply

  4. Used canned salmon, mozzarella, mix frozen vegetables, and mushroom soup, as I had no other ingredients. Turned out to be very tasty 😋

    Reply

      1. We used a tin of cream of chicken soup and the end result was a bit like a risotto, tasty and not at all dry. Give it a try with the remains of your roast chicken.

      2. I was worried it would be dry also but it turned out fine. The original recipe calls for “frozen” peas so I think that adds moisture to the casserole. I used blanched broccoli (instead of peas) so the broccoli still had a little water clinging to it so that added moisture plus the tablespoon of water still left in the bottom of the bowl from the draining broccoli, I threw that in too to make up fir the moisture it would have gotten from the frozen peas. It turned out perfect.