The Best Baked Chicken and Rice Casserole is made completely from scratch in this easy one pan recipe that’s sure to please the whole family!
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. In addition, this recipe is made in just ONE pan.
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.
Rice Options:
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.
Is Best Baked Chicken and Rice Casserole really made in only one pan?
This recipe is made directly in a 9×13 baking dish. There’s no need to dirty any bowls or pots or pans. Simply stir everything together directly in the 9×13 pan, add in your chicken, season, and bake. It’s that simple!
Chicken Options?
Chicken thighs are used in this recipe because they will stay moist during the long baking process. If you prefer, chicken breasts can be used instead, but you’ll want to check the chicken and rice to see if both are done after baking for 1 hour. The additional 30 minutes of cooking may be unnecessary for chicken breasts. Use thick chicken breasts for best results.
Storage and Reheating Instructions:
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave in 30-second increments until warmed through.
If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other delicious chicken thigh recipes:
- Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Thighs
- Easy Garlic Lime Skillet Chicken
- Mom’s Chicken Cacciatore
- Mexican-Spiced Chicken Thighs
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, Facebook Watch, or our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
CAN I USE YELLOW RICE? MY FAMILY DOESN’T LIKE WHITE RICE. PLUS NO DARK MEATS, I ALREADY HAVE SHREDDED COOKED CHICKEN BREAST, IN FREEZER FOR ANYTIME RECIPES, HOW COULD I INCORPORT INTO THIS RECIPE???
Yes, yellow rice should be OK. I would not use shredded chicken for this recipe though.
Yellow rice IS white rice with turmeric added, which gives it the yellow color.
I made this tonight. It came out very good.
Only used 4 cups broth. This I will make again
How many chicken thighs for 4 cups of broth?
Since the broth is in the rice mixture,it has absolutely no effect on the number of chicken thighs you use.
Really good, only used 4 cups broth turned out perfect. Will definitely make again.
I made this tonight. It was really great! I took out one cup of the chicken broth to decrease the liquid as suggested by some of the other comments. The chicken was tinder and the rice was moist. I loved all the onions. My husband, who fancies himself a food critic, really enjoyed it too. The prep was super easy too. We will definitely have this again. I did feel like I wanted something a little more in the flavor, so next time I am going to add Cajun spices to the chicken.
Best recipe ever. Easy and no fuss. Hardly any clean up, . And it’s so delicious , try it you will really like it ! Keep those recipes coming !
I made it for my family it was delicious
I made this tonight and I would modify it next time by sautéing the onions first, using only half an onion vs whole (it was VERY onion-y). I would also cut the rice down by 1/3 and add in quartered baby Bella mushrooms and some large chunks of broccoli. Also if only using 4 chicken thighs your rice to chicken ratio will be large and you’ll end up with lots of leftover rice…it def needs 6 pcs of chicken if made again sans veggies.
I did almost exactly that. I Pre cooked brown rice some. . I put a frozen bag of broccoli in and made a cheese sauce. Threw in left overs from roasted chicken. It was great!
OMG I agree about cutting down the rice. There was soooo much that I found it comical haha. This is a versitile enough recipe that you can tweak and make it however you want though!
Actually the first time was 2 weeks ago and only change I made was 4 cups of broth and just 6 ends of green onions instead of half or whole onion. It turned out very well super tasty ! Today I’m improvising and used grilled mild pepper sausage along with some corn ..will see what that tastes like!
Made this for dinner tonight. Oh my goodness! It was the VERY best chicken and rice casserole. Thanks so much!
Made this for dinner tonight. Oh my goodness! It is the VERY best chicken and rice casserole. Thanks so much!
I made this for my family today. While it was delicious, the rice was quite overcooked. I’m wondering if there’s a way around this. Less cooking time won’t work as at the 1-hour mark it was quite runny. However, I don’t really like the texture of mushy rice, it’s offputting and I had a hard time eating it (although the others did not). Any suggestions? Was a particular type of white rice used?
This is just an update on my previous comment should anyone experience the same mushy rice issue. I reduced the chicken stock by 1 cup, the dish came out perfect.
I thought that seemed like a lot of liquid for 2 cups of rice. Did it still take an hour and a half cooking time? That seemed long to me. Can’t wait to make it.
Thanks! Wish I would have read these comments first as mine was mushy too. I used Jasmine rice.
I’d also like to know the exact rice you use. I cook with a lot of Minute Rice which is totally different from bagged regular rice. Thanks!
Any white rice (but not Minute Rice) will do.