The Best Chicken Rice Casserole Recipe – NO CONDENSED SOUP
This one pan Chicken Rice Casserole Recipe comes together with just 15 minutes of prep time and then the oven does all the work which means you can have this cheesy chicken and rice casserole dinner on the table in less than an hour. And the best part is it’s made with REAL ingredients, ie: NO condensed soup necessary!!
You Will Love This
- It’s a ONE PAN dinner, which happens to utilize my favorite enameled cast iron casserole pan from Amazon Basics. It’s legit the best piece of cookware that I own as it is SO versatile and easily goes straight from the stove top to the oven. If you’re a regular around here, then – you’ve seen this pan used in roughly 90% of my recipes!
- There’s NO condensed soup in it! Most of us grew up eating chicken and rice casserole made with that sodium laden can of condensed soup. And don’t get me wrong, it was delicious. But there are other ways to give your casserole that same creamy texture without the use of condensed soup. The starch from the rice combines with heavy cream and shredded Parmesan in this recipe, giving this casserole just the right amount of rich creaminess without reaching for the Campbell’s.
- If you loved this one pot dinner be sure to check out my One Skillet Walking Taco Casserole, One Pot Garlic Parmesan Pasta, or my Vegetarian Skillet Pot Pie.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Olive Oil — I like extra virgin olive oil for the flavor, but you could also use any other light-tasting oil with a high smoke point, like avocado.
- Chicken Thighs — We want bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for this recipe so that we achieve as much savory, delicious chicken flavor as possible. Thighs are perfect for this!
- Dry Seasonings — I like the combination of paprika, garlic powder, dried rosemary, kosher salt, and freshly cracked black pepper for this recipe because it’s reminiscent of chicken noodle soup. But you could use any seasonings you prefer — a seasoned salt or poultry seasoning, or even Italian seasoning.
- Fresh Veggies — This chicken and rice casserole recipe calls for the classic mirepoix veggies — carrots, celery, and onion — as well as garlic. You just can’t go wrong with that combo!
- Fresh Thyme — This is the only fresh herb I used in this recipe because it’s just so dang good fresh, but you can use dried thyme if you’re in a pinch. Tarragon or sage work well, too.
- Rice — I love the texture and flavor of a basmati and wild rice blend for this dish. You get the starchy, fluffy rice from the basmati and a level of nuttiness from the wild rice blend. This particular rice blend works best in this recipe.
- Chicken Broth — If you don’t have chicken broth on hand, vegetable broth will work in its place.
- Heavy Cream — This is the key to make this casserole perfectly creamy. It is a must and really shouldn’t be substituted.
- Parmesan Cheese — This is another important ingredient because it just takes this casserole to the next level with its naturally salty, nutty flavor.
Instructions
Combine paprika, garlic powder and a large pinch of salt and pepper. Pat chicken skin dry.
Sprinkle about 2/3 of the seasoning on the skin side of the chicken.
Sear chicken in oil, skin side down, for about 3 minutes or until a dark gold brown crust forms. Season the other side, flip and cook for a couple more minutes. Remove from pan.
Add onion, carrot, celery and a couple large pinches of salt and pepper to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently for about 8 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium and add garlic, thyme and rosemary and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
Add chicken broth.
Add heavy cream.
Add Parmesan cheese.
Then add rice and stir to combine.
Next, nestle chicken thighs into rice mixture.
Cover and bake for 40-50 minutes or until the rice is cooked and the chicken is cooked through. Broil on high for 1-2 minutes to get the chicken skins nice and crispy again.
Garnish with a few sprigs of fresh thyme and enjoy!
Tips
- For the most flavor, use bone in skin on chicken thighs. However if you only have skinless chicken breast on hand, I recommend following the recipe directions in the same way, but baking the rice mixture (covered) in the oven for about 20 minutes and THEN adding the seared chicken breasts to the rice, covering it again and baking for another 20-30 minutes.
- It’s tempting, I know, but please resist the urge to peek while this casserole is baking. The moisture from the broth and cream is going to cook the chicken through and make your rice nice and delicate in texture. You can safely bake it for at least 40 minutes before giving the rice a quick taste to see if it’s done. If it’s not quite cooked through then cover it and check it again in 5 minutes or so.
FAQ
Nope! You just stir the rice into the soupy broth base and nestle in those browned chicken thighs, then let your oven do all the work! This means less cleanup and no cooking the rice in a separate pan! Ah, the beauty of one pot meals!
In this recipe, giving the chicken a quick sear before adding everything else to the casserole ensures that they will cook through and also gives them a nice dark golden brown crust. Searing the chicken breast is going to add a ton of flavor to this casserole as well.
Yes! Covering the casserole traps the steam and helps the rice cook completely and finish cooking the chicken thighs. You will remove the lid, though, in the last couple minutes and set the oven to broil so that the chicken thighs can get nice and crispy.
Try these easy chicken casserole recipes next!
Did you love this recipe?
Please leave a 5-star rating and review below!
Easy Chicken Rice Casserole
One pan and just 15 minutes of prep time means you can have this cheesy chicken and rice casserole dinner on the table in less than an hour. And the best part is it’s made with real ingredients, ie: NO condensed soup necessary!!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove Top + Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 lbs. bone in, skin on chicken thighs
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1 cup sliced celery
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1.5 cups basmati & wild rice blend (I used Della brand)
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 8 oz. heavy cream
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
- Kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil in a large oven safe saute pan over medium high heat.
- Combine paprika, garlic powder and a large pinch of salt and pepper. Sprinkle about 2/3 of the seasoning on the skin side of the chicken.
- Sear chicken in oil, skin side down, for about 3 minutes or until a dark gold brown crust forms. Add remaining seasoning to the underside of the chicken (which is now facing up).
- Flip chicken over and sear the other side for about 2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. At this point the chicken will just be seared on the outside, not cooked through. It will finish cooking with the rice in the oven.
- With heat still at medium high add onion, carrot, celery and a couple large pinches of salt and pepper to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently for about 8 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic, thyme and rosemary and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Then add broth, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese and rice. Stir to combine.
- Next nestle chicken thighs into rice mixture. Cover and bake for 40-50 minutes or until the rice is cooked and the chicken is cooked through.
- Broil on high for 1-2 minutes to get the chicken skins nice and crispy again.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy!
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
For the most flavor, use bone in skin on chicken thighs. However if you only have skinless chicken breast on hand, I recommend following the recipe directions in the same way, but baking the rice mixture (covered) in the oven for about 20 minutes and THEN adding the seared chicken breasts to the rice, covering it again and baking for another 20-30 minutes.
If you don’t have fresh thyme feel free to sub dried! I would recommend about a 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme in place of the fresh in this recipe. If you’re a big thyme LOVER then go for a full teaspoon of dried. I usually opt for fresh thyme in this dish but dried will work just as well!
It’s tempting, I know, but resist the urge to peek while this casserole is baking. The moisture from the broth and cream is going to cook the chicken through and make your rice nice and delicate in texture. You can safely bake it for at least 40 minutes before giving the rice a quick taste to see if it’s done. If it’s not quite cooked through then cover it and check it again in 5 minutes or so.
Thanks Kylie! I ended up finding the Della brand rice at my grocery store and used that instead. I used the light brown rice flavor and followed your instructions. The rice turned out fluffy and the chicken thighs (I used skinless, boneless) were perfectly cooked. Since I didn’t have skin on the thighs I added a pat of butter to the oil when I seared them. I think it helped add a nice caramelized crust to the exterior of the meat. Thanks for the recipe. I think my friend will enjoy this healthier version of comfort food as he recuperates from surgery 🙂
OH YUM – that sounds delicious! Great idea adding a pat of butter – I bet that added a ton of flavor!! Wishing your friend a speedy recovery. And thanks so much for leaving a review, Susanna! 🙂
Hi! This recipe looks amazing. I’m planning on making it for a friend that just got out of the hospital. Can I use Uncle Ben’s instant brown rice instead? How should I adjust the cooking time and temp?
Thanks!
I really can’t give advice on the cook time, temp, or liquid when using instant rice as I haven’t tried it. I don’t use instant rice regularly either so I really can’t even estimate. I would imagine you’d have to greatly reduce the roasting time so that the rice doesn’t overcook, but then the chicken likely won’t be cooked through. It might be better to google a recipe that uses instant rice and look at what they’re doing. You could still use the seasonings and stuff from my recipe, but a recipe that’s written for instant rice will probably give you a better final result.
After we finished my husband said to me “This is good and I mean REALLY good.” So we’re wowed by your recipe in my house. I guess I’ll add my 2 cents on preparation. I went with fat chicken breasts (vs thinner cutlets) and I used Rice Select brand of Royal Blend rice (texmati brown and red rice with barley and rye). Since I used thick breasts I cooked them for the entire time. They probably would have been juicier if I had added them to the rice mixture after 10-15 minutes but I wouldn’t have called them dry. I cooked and baked in a big cast iron pan and that went really well. I baked for 45 minutes. The rice was a bit chewy when I removed the pan from the oven but I gave it a good stir and let it all rest for 5 minutes (as you do with chicken). When I plated the dish the rice was perfection. I followed the recipe as written. I did intend to stir in some baby spinach that I had in the fridge but I forgot about it 🙂 I’m sure that would have been a perfectly fine addition. Thanks for a great recipe!
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Marita!! And thank you for leaving info about how you prepared – that is really helpful for others readers! 🙂 Thank you for leaving a review – I really appreciate it!
This was the perfect recipe for a simple weeknight dinner on a cold February night. I was out of a few spices and had a little less rice on hand than what it called for, but I adjusted the amount of liquid I used accordingly and it turned out great. I’m already so excited to eat the leftovers for lunch! This will be a new winter staple for our family, for sure.
I am so glad that you enjoyed this chicken and rice, Hannah! I love that you were able to make adjustments based on what you had on hand as well. Thanks for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
I make this for my family all the time! We all love it, including my 2 and 4 yr old. It always comes out so delicious. I use whole milk instead of heavy cream, since that’s what we usually have one hand. Delicious!
I am so glad to hear that your family enjoys this recipe! Good to know that it works with whole milk too! Thanks so much for leaving a review – I really appreciate it, Amber!
Delicious with the bonus of being low sodium! Thank you.
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Nana! Thank you so much for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
Thank you for recipes that do not call for canned soup. You don’t really know what is in them! I love cream and veggies seasoning what I am cooking.. Less sodium too for my Hubs. Keep up with the great recipes.
I feel the same way about canned soup! Would much rather just use real ingredients instead. Thanks for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
Yep! You were right, it took about 30 minutes more and I turned it up to 400 with the cover off. Still DELICIOUS but now I know for next time :). Thank you for the great recipe.
Oh GOOD!! I am so glad to hear. Thank you for the feedback also – I will make a note to add this to the tips section of the recipe! I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe, Joanne!
First of all, this tastes great. I’m making it for the second time and the house smells so wonderful but…what the heck am I doing wrong? After baking for 50 minutes, my casserole is still full of liquid :(.
I followed the directions (this second time I forgot the parm – oops) but the rest: to a T.
I’m using a dutch oven. Is it because I’m using brown Basmati rice? I’m in Canada and I can’t seem to find the same brand you use (plus healthier). I really want to figure this out cuz I just love me a good casserole :).
Does brown rice take less liquid or more cooking time?
I have turned it up to 400 with the cover off after 50 minutes of cooking with the cover on.
Joanne – I appreciate your determination!! YES – all types of brown rice take CONSIDERABLY longer to cook than white! I would recommend baking the brown rice without the chicken (with the lid on) for an extra 30 minutes or more and see if that reduces the amount of liquid and cooks the brown rice through.
Could she precook about 1/2 way to use brown rice then ad as per recipe?
That’s a great tip! Definitely worth a shot. Thank you!!
I am trying tonight with a whole chicken and white rice. Because of the pandemic – that’s what I have. It currently smells amazing.
YUMMM! I bet this will be GREAT with a whole chicken!! I’d love to hear how it turns out, Wendy!
It was awesome! The rice was more risotto texture but delicious that way. I used my Lodge cast iron Dutch oven. So I did sear the whole bird both sides for 5-7 minutes and out the lid on during that knowing a full bird would likely take longer in the oven than just thighs. Definitely a keeper!!
YAYYYY!!!! Great idea to sear the chicken – I bet that made it more juicy and flavorful! SO glad you enjoyed this recipe Wendy!! 🙂
Used chicken breast and white rice, came out perfect
WOOHOO! So glad you enjoyed this recipe – thanks for leaving a review!! 🙂
Can I use coconut or almond milk in place of heavy cream? Made it with regular cream and I loved the recipe. Just have a dairy free person coming to visit!
Great question! I would try using canned full fat coconut milk in place of the heavy cream – not sure that it will work perfectly as a substitute but it has a very similar consistency so I think that is should be good. I think almond milk would be too thin. I’d love to hear how it turns out. Thanks Marilyn!
This recipe is delicious and my family loves it. But I’ve had trouble getting the rice to cook and the liquids to reduce. Last night I cooked it for 30 minutes longer than the recipe called for and it was still soupy. Next time I’ll try turning the I’ve up to 375 and maybe try taking the lid off towards the end.
Well darn it! That’s frustrating! What kind of rice are you using? Is it the same brand that I recommend in the post? I wonder if that might be the issue?
I did not use the brand you recommended. I’ll try that next time. Also I forgot to mention LOVE the amazon basics pan you recommended. Thank you!
Yes – Bella brand is my fave rice for this recipe! It’s got the right blend of rice and wild rice. Also, isn’t that Amazon pan the best??!?! I literally use it at least 5-6 times a week!
This is going into our regular rotation! I used regular long grain rice and that worked well, too. I checked on mine at 40 minutes and then cooked a smidge past 50 minutes and then with the two minutes broiling (lid off!) The rice was perfect. Thanks!
Becca – I’m so glad that this worked out for you with regular long grain rice also!! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
Kylie,
This looks like an easy weeknight recipe for my daughter and I. I will try it this week as school is beginning! Regarding the enameled cast iron pan, I am wanting to buy new cookware and the greeenest, HEALTHIEST possible. Is this something you have researched? What basics should I purchase to cover the most needs? My cookware is truly done its duty and is ready to retire. I will let you know when I make this recipe!
You guys are going to love this one! I have NOT done much research on green cookware, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE my AmazonBasics enameled cast iron pan and literally use it every single day. Buying new cookware can definitely be overwhelming!! I would highly recommend choosing a few basics which include: a nice dutch oven (probably one of the most used pieces of cookware I own), a large enameled cast iron casserole pan (so versatile as it goes from stove top of oven, also something I use frequently), two stainless steel sauce pans (one larger and one smaller with lids) and then a small frying pan. Those are the 5 pieces of cookware that I use most often. This article has some good review of green cookware sets: https://www.thespruceeats.com/eco-friendly-non-stick-cookware-1707203. Hope that helps!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. It will be made again, many times. I used 2% milk instead of heavy cream, and had only Basmati rice, which I rinsed 4 times as per directions on bag, and it turned out wonderful. I made chicken broth from Savory Choice chicken broth concentrate, which used to be at Trader Joe’s, but now I order from Amazon. It’s savory and tasty. I’m a fan of your recipe as is my whole family.
I am so glad to hear that you loved this recipe! And I love that it worked with basmati rice as well! Thanks for leaving a review, Janice! 🙂
Looks terrific and each time I offer that we make Chicken and Rice my wife laments that I want to use condensed milk. This looks like a great recipe and is something that we will enjoy.
Thanks Rick! I’ve never thought to use condensed milk – might have to try that next time 🙂