Chicken and Rice Casserole is a classic family favorite here in the United States. It is total comfort food. In this recipe, we’ve stuck with a completely “from scratch” concept made from real ingredients. In addition, this recipe is made in just ONE pan, making clean-up a breeze for those busy weeknights!
Why Our Recipe
- Made completely from scratch, so you’re not using any canned/boxed ingredients.
- Made directly in the baking dish, so you don’t even have to get a single bowl or pan dirty.
- Prep time is only 10 minutes. The oven takes care of the rest!
A lot of times nowadays, chicken and rice casserole comes from a box or is made from a bunch of canned ingredients. Not here! We are bringing you completely from scratch deliciousness for your family to enjoy. You still get to dump everything in a pan, but this time it’s all whole, real ingredients. There is ABSOLUTELY NO cream of chicken in this dish.
Ingredient Notes
- Long Grain White Rice: we recommend using only regular white rice in this recipe. Instant rice is not a good option and will overcook in this casserole. Brown rice requires a much longer cooking time than white rice and is also not recommended for this recipe.
- White Onion: you can also use a yellow onion interchangeably.
- Salted Butter: unsalted butter can also be used, but you’ll want to add a little more salt to the recipe.
- Flour: flour is necessary for thickening up the sauce used in the casserole.
- Chicken Broth: vegetable broth can also be used.
- Heavy Cream: whole milk can also be used, but the casserole won’t be as creamy.
- Seasonings: salt and pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and paprika add great flavor to this recipe.
- Chicken Thighs: Thighs are used because they are much more forgiving when it comes to drying out and with a long cooking time, that’s what we need. You can use boneless skinless chicken thighs if you’d like. Chicken breasts will end up dry.
The Best Rice to Use
This recipe calls for long-grain white rice. We recommend using jasmine or basmati rice in this recipe for best results. Both are types of long grain white rice, but they tend to be a little more consistent in quality than something generically labeled as long grain rice.
Lower-cost or store-brand rice often has more broken grains and excess rice flour, which can cause uneven cooking and leave extra liquid in your casserole. Jasmine and basmati rice absorb liquid more predictably and bake up light and fluffy.
Keeping the Chicken on Top of the Rice
To ensure the chicken stays on top of the rice and doesn’t sink into the liquid, placement is key. After pouring the broth and cream mixture over the rice, gently smooth the rice into an even layer with the back of a spoon. Then, carefully place the chicken thighs skin-side up directly on top.
It’s important not to press the chicken down into the liquid—just let it rest on the surface. The chicken will naturally nestle into the rice as it cooks, but starting it above the liquid will help the skin stay exposed for optimal crisping. The combination of thickened rice from the flour and careful placement keeps the chicken nicely on top throughout baking.
Adding a Veggie
Casseroles are pretty convenient as well as forgiving. If you want to add some veggies into this mix, frozen peas and carrots are going to be a great option. Add up to 2 cups and stir them in with the rice before baking. No need to thaw beforehand, but do reduce the amount of broth by about 1/4 cup to compensate for the added liquid.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Reheat portions in the microwave in 30-second increments until warmed through.
More delicious chicken thigh recipes
Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
Very good recipe! Easy and turned out perfect I love that it is homemade without any store bought soups or o ion soup mix. I followed the recipe exactly, then added some broccoli and mushrooms I had.
I decided to do this I a crock pot for 6 hours on low, came out delicious but this ingredients adds too much rice. I think 1 cup of rice is enough.
Sadly, this is the only SAHC recipe I’ve tried (twice now) that is a miss. I’m a fairly experienced cook and Rachel explains things so well that I was confident it would be as delicious as it looks. I used bone-in, skin on chicken thighs and they were nice and moist. However, like many reviewers, I had several problems with this recipe. Firstly, there is way too much rice for the number of thighs called for. I ended up throwing a good deal of it out. The amount of liquid called for is excessive and both times I made this I ended up scooping out a good cup and a half of liquid part way through the baking process (yes, I used a good quality basmati rice) and even after I got it cooked, it was mushy. My family also found the recipe to be very under seasoned and we ended up adding more salt, etc. when we sat down to eat it. Even after removing some of the liquid, I ended up having to bake this for almost an hour longer than the recommended baking time just to not have rice and chicken soup. If you do attempt this recipe, make sure you use a deep 9×13” baking dish and put a baking sheet with a lip on the edge underneath it or it may overflow all over your oven. I first tried the recipe several years ago and decided to try it again hoping it had been revamped because it has the potential to be superb and so many people have commented they have had the same poor results. Either I’ve done something wrong each time I’ve made this dish or… I don’t know. I don’t think I’ll try this one again as food is too expensive to not turn out well. I’m sorry, Rachel! 🙁
Thanks for the honest feedback Shannon! This one has perplexed me. You aren’t the only one to have this issue. I have tested it over and over and over again to try and replicate the problems, and I can’t. I have a different baked chicken and rice recipe coming out soon where I’ve started from scratch in the rice base, altering the ratio, and changed the seasoning profile. I’m hoping that version doesn’t end up with the same problems.
I look forward to trying your new recipe, Rachel. In the meantime, we’ve got lots of delicious recipes to try on this excellent website. Thanks for your commitment to delicious and easy to understand recipes, and I’m glad you’re feeling much better.
Can you use chicken breast boneless in place of thighs
I don’t recommend it. They end up drying out.
Made this tonight for the family. Was easy and tasted wonderful! Make sure your baking dish is deep dish.
Can you substitute boneless, skinless chicken breasts and if so, how many ounces and would that change the cook time?
Sadly, you cannot as they end up drying out. To use chicken breasts, you’d want to add them later in the baking process, as they’ll only need about 30 to 35 minutes to bake.
I was thinking of using minute rice and boneless chicken thighs, with cream of chicken soup, cream of celery soup, and cream of mushroom soup. No cream or broth…. What do you think?
While there are a lot of recipes out there that use cream of soups, minute rice will turn to mush in any baked chicken and rice dish as the chicken just takes far too long to cook compared to the minute rice.
Don’t know what some those people are bitchin about. Followed the recipe, turned out perfect.
I’ve been doing a rice & chicken bake for a few years. This beat my recipe. Flavor off the charts, cooked perfectly. Ending the bake with a broil adds a nice crisp to chicken. I liked the chicken broth and hot water addition for this recipe. Thanks for sharing Rachel.
This recipe is trash! Let’s take the focus off of your test kitchen and rice choice and analyze the five cups of liquid ingredients!
Thanks for your feedback. It’s always helpful to hear different experiences with a recipe. The liquid ratio can definitely make or break a dish like this. If your casserole came out too wet, it might be worth looking at the type of rice used and whether it was pre-rinsed, as that can affect how much liquid it absorbs. Every oven and ingredient behaves a little differently, so adjustments are sometimes needed. We appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts!
Excellent but be careful when increasing the serving size. Had to split it between two pans, to fit the chicken, and it was hard to judge how much rice/liquid to put in each. I suggest making two separate recipes, for two pans. Otherwise, it was excellent. Be sure to use designated amount of salt, if not more.
Great suggestion on using two pans and measuring separately for each.
Could I use chopped cooked chicken in the recipe instead of chicken thighs? If so , what adjustments, if any, do I need to make in the recipe?
It would be best to make a different recipe, or just cook the rice and add chicken at the very end. You don’t want the chicken drying out during a long baking time.