chicken and rice casserole
I’m not going to tell you that you’ll like this from-scratch (NO CANNED SOUP) Chicken and Rice Casserole. No, I am not. Instead I am going to tell you that you are going to fall head over heels, like tell everyone that you know, sing from the rooftops, in love with it.
Okay maybe I am laying it on a bit strong, but this Chicken and Rice Casserole recipe… it’s good. Like really, really good. And it is made entirely from scratch with fresh veggies, chicken breast and brown rice with cheese on top!
I’m going to get into how to make chicken and rice casserole without canned soup, in just a jiffy, but before I do, I feel I should confess I sat down to write this post eleven billion hours ago but have ended up on an internet Odyssey of inadvertently delighting in learning about all sorts of casserole related lexicon.
Facts About Traditional Casseroles
For example, do you know what a Hotdish is? A hotdish is a casserole from the Midwest that is usually made with canned cream soup, veggies (usually frozen or canned) and some sort of starch. One of the most famous kinds of hot dish involves tater tots on top! I do not think I can go through life without trying it. It sounds too strange to not be good. And everything in moderation, right?
I also learned that a “covered dish” is not a covered dish at all. It’s actually a party where everyone brings a dish to share. Like a pot luck.
Furthermore, I learned that whereas a Hotdish always includes sauce, veggie, starch and almost always a protein, Casseroles do not have to have all of those components. For example, Chicken Divan does not have the starch part of the meal in it. It would be served over noodles or rice.
This Chicken and Rice casserole, while not a traditional hot dish, does contain the requisite components of one: creamy sauce, starch, protein and veggies. Though without the canned soup nor tater tots, I can’t really see that it would be considered one.
Speaking of the fact that it doesn’t have canned soup, let’s get into that!
How to Make Healthy Chicken and Rice Casserole Without Canned Soup
- First start with softening the fresh veggies in a skillet. I used a combo of onion, carrots, celery and garlic in a little bit of butter. If you prefer red bell peppers or broccoli they would work instead. I would use the onion no matter what for the best flavor.
- Why butter instead of oil? I used butter because I wanted the casserole to taste classic and buttery! I used two tablespoons, and it does add a subtle butter flavor. If you prefer to use extra-virgin olive oil it will work fine.
- After the veggies are softened, make the sauce which is a combo of broth and cream cheese. The heat melts the cream cheese right into the broth and it takes on a tangy creamy flavor – IMO –> totally casserole appropriate! If you are concerned about locust bean gum, which is commonly added to stabilize commercially produced cream cheese, look for locally produced cream cheese made without stabilizers. Even better if it’s organic! I love this cream cheese from Vermont.
- Layer the ingredients into a casserole dish. Start with the rice. Note: the rice is Brown Minute Rice, which is par-cooked and dehydrated brown rice. So it is whole-grain, but cooks quickly. On top of the rice, add on the veggies, the cubed chicken, then pour on the broth mixture. Last add on thawed peas, cover with foil and transfer to the oven.
- After the rice is cooked and has soaked up all the sauce, remove the cover and add on shredded cheese. I like to grate my cheese by hand for a recipe like this. Bagged shredded cheese is awesome and convenient, but it is coated in starch to keep it from clumping together in the package. That inhibits it from melting together too unfortunately. So if you want maximum cheesiness (who doesn’t) then shred your cheese by hand. Today I used orange NY Sharp cheddar cheese but white cheddar would work great too. Add that on top of the casserole, and pop it back in the oven to melt.
- I let the casserole sit for about 10 minutes to cool down a bit before we dug into it. I also added on some fresh parsley on top to make it prettier.
More Casseroles To Try
- Chicken Divan Made with fresh broccoli and no canned soup
- Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli Made with fresh or frozen chopped broccoli, with crunchy breadcrumb topping
- Macaroni and Cheese with Butternut Squash A grown-up mac and cheese if ever there were one, made with rosemary and Gruyere Cheese
- Chicken and Biscuits Casserole On the best-of list- not to be missed!
- Potato and Parsnip Gratin A great side dish for the holidays
- If you’re looking for an alternative to canned cream of chicken soup, try this from scratch condensed Gluten-free Cream of Chicken Soup.
If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a review and star rating! I appreciate it so much! And if you’re new here you may want to sign up for my email newsletter and join the conversation over on instagram.
Thanks for reading and Happy Cooking!
~Katie
chicken and rice casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: entree
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Chicken and Rice Casserole- a healthy from-scratch version made without canned soup! Whole-grain quick cooking brown rice, lean chicken breast, creamy sauce and fresh veggies bakes up to make a complete meal! 441 cal, 31 g protein! Naturally gluten-free and kid friendly.
Ingredients
3 cups instant brown rice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large sweet onion, diced
1 cup finely chopped carrots
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry thyme
½ teaspoon pepper
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
4 ounces cream cheese, whipped or regular cut into chunks
1 pound chicken breast, cut into cubes
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9 by 12 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread rice on top.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, garlic, salt, thyme and pepper, and cook stirring often until the vegetables are just starting to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Scrape vegetable mixture out onto the rice, covering evenly.
- Add broth to the skillet, increase heat to high and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, and whisk in cream cheese until melted.
- Top rice and vegetables with chicken and peas. Pour in broth mixture, gently so as not to disturb the chicken and rice too much.
- Cover with foil and transfer to the oven. Bake until the chicken is cooked through and the rice has absorbed the liquid, about 45 minutes.
- Remove foil, top with cheese and return to the oven until melted, about 10 minutes. Let rest uncovered for 10 minutes and serve hot garnished with parsley if desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 casserole
- Calories: 441
- Fat: 19 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Carbohydrates: 41 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 31 g
I know I’d be head over heels for this! I grew up on those canned soups and I will never use those again. I’m totally on board with these ingredients and love the sound of the cream cheese chunks!
★★★★★
I so appreciate your appreciation Marcie. Lol. It’s so much better from scratch!
I never use canned condensed soup. Instead I always make my own from scratch with real and wholesome ingredients! Cream cheese in this recipe sounds good! 🙂
I lived on hot dish recipes that used canned cream soups throughout college, it almost made me feel like an adult because it was one of the only things I could cook. This is a great (healthy) grownup version!
★★★★★
Oh wow! I have so much catching up to do. Glad you appreciate this from scratch version.
This casserole looks so good and I love that it’s made without canned soup! I also enjoyed reading your casserole trivia.
★★★★★
Thanks Louise. Let me know if you try it!
My family loves casseroles such as this one. Perfect comfort food.
Same here! My family was super excited about the fact I was working on this recipe.
I love it that this makes the filling from scratch, but it’s still very easy.
★★★★★
It really isn’t hard at all. Glad you like it!
I didn’t know all these facts about casseroles. Quite interesting! And I love the ingredients that go into making this recipe. Not to mention the fact that your pictures are making me want to try it right now!
★★★★★
Thanks for saying so, I always struggle with taking pictures of casseroles so I really appreciate it.
Your post is the wiki to casseroles. I love reading info like such on posts. Such a well written and thought through post.
The recipe sounds so good and easily doable. Another brownie point. Just fabulous.
★★★★★
Thanks so much! I am glad you find this post so useful!
Great recipe. Does the chicken get added to the dish raw r pre-cooked?
It goes in raw. Then in step 5, you bake it until it is cooked through about 45 minutes. I hope you enjoy it Liz.
Hey how about Neufchatel cheese to sub in for the whole-deal cream cheese? A little less fat with the same comforting effect and taste? What do you think, Katie?
One more question: How to modify for “regular” brown rice that isn’t “instant” – cook the rice for about half its normal time on the stove-top, and then assemble the casserole? I’ll try that and see how it goes.
Hi Ann, Welcome. I am thrilled you’re here and glad this recipe appeals to you. As far as subbing in Neufchatel in this recipe, it should work fine, however here’s why I wouldn’t recommend it: You’ll only save 20 calories per serving and you’ll be adding xanthan gum, carob bean gum and guar gum to your recipe. I’m more in favor of using less of the real mccoy when you’re adding in an ingredient for flavor. {Same story for mayo.} My thoughts are, if you want to save on calories a bit, you can cut the amount of full fat cream cheese in half. As far as the instant rice swap, I am not sure how the rice will work out. It took a bit of trial and error in the testing process to get the right balance of liquid for this, so I am not sure how that would work. If you do try it, let me know how it goes.
Has this been tried with regular rice (aka not instant rice)? I got everything I needed and thought I had instant rice but we don’t just regular rice. Any feedback or tips on how to use that rice would be greatly appreciated!
Wow, this chicken and rice casserole looks so delicious. I know a few casserole dishes, such as lasagna and mac and cheese casseroles but considering that rice is a staple food here in the Philippines, I’m sure people here will love this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Looks delish! Any recommendations for freezing this?
I think it should freeze well. Bake it all the way through as directed, cool completely, wrap well then freeze. Thaw in the fridge for a full day before reheating.
Hi, I was wondering if I can make this ahead in the morning..not bake it until later. Will that work?
Hi Janet,
I haven’t tested a make-ahead option for this recipe. Since there is raw chicken, I would not recommend it. One thought would be to sub in cooked diced chicken thigh meat. (It is more forgiving when cooked for a long time.) Then in step 5 make bake an extra 10 minutes or so, since it will be going into the oven cold.
Zero flavor, so bland I will not try this recipe again unless I doctor it with spices to add flavor- you will disappointed if you follow recipe!
★
Hey Gretchen. Wow. That is out of the blue. I am really shocked and bummed to hear you didn’t like it. Before I have my cross-tester take this one back to the kitchen, I have three questions for you: What type of salt did you use? Regular table salt, kosher salt or sea salt? Was it a coarse or fine salt? And second, what brand of chicken broth did you use? Third: I mentioned in the notes that I used sharp cheddar. Did you? Thanks so much for helping to get to the bottom of this. I appreciate it the feedback.
I was looking for a use for left over rotisserie chicken and I had *most* of these ingredients and it sounded great. I only had regular brown rice so I cooked it first, sauteed the veggies and followed it as closely as possible otherwise, without cooking it as long of course. Kids and hubby loved it too. It was hearty enough that there were leftovers which was great as with growing kids that rarely happens. Thanks!! Also, I’m calorie counting and I figured out, based on all ingredients I used divided by 8 servings it was only around 450 calories, not bad for a well rounded dinner.
★★★★
Hi Elena, You are awesome for coming back to review and rate. Thanks a bunch. And glad to know about your subs. I am sure others will find that useful. Have a great day.
I like to add chicken Bouillon cube to the water, or use chicken broth in place of the water. I also cut the chicken it’s small chunks, and season with Cajun Seasoning for an extra kick! This recipe definitely rocks.
★★★★★
Hi Nova. I am so glad you think this recipe rocks. Love your updates! We had this again this week and it is a family favorite!
Just a quick question. I know the chicken is put in raw, but do you cook the instant rice before adding or do you just put uncooked rice in and it cooks with the liquid broth that’s added?
Hi Janet, Yes the instant rice goes in straight from the box. It does indeed cook with the liquid broth that’s added. Please let me know how it goes!
Thank you! I made it first with cooked rice and it was pretty watery but still tasted good. Now I will make it the correct way and I’m sure it will be much better!
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I’m so glad I came across this. Easy to make, delicious and no unhealthy canned soup ingredients. My whole family loved it.
★★★★★
I am so happy you liked it, and thank you for coming back to review. I really appreciate it!
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We had this a few weeks ago and absolutely LOVED it! The comment about it being bland is way off. Mine needed a little more salt, but that was my fault because I tend to UNDER salt and let people salt their own. Nothing a little sprinkle of pink salt couldn’t fix. Here’s a couple of questions I have.
1- I would love to try this with cauli rice in place of HALF of the rice…just to lighten it up a bit. Any reason why that wouldn’t work? Would I leave the rest of the recipe as is?
2- What do you serve with things like this? I’m always at a loss because it already has a carb…and TECHNICALLY it has veggies…but I feel like I need something else, but I don’t know what. Suggestions?
Thank you for a wonderful recipe. I stumbled on your site and now have so many of your recipes saved!
★★★★★
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A homemade classic, from scratch! I made this chicken and rice last night and both my husband and I couldn’t stop eating it. I’ve always had it with cream of mushroom or cream of chicken canned soups but this version has much more depth of flavor! Easy too!
★★★★★
Hi Kim, Ss glad to hear it! Thank you so much for the review and rating. I appreciate your taking the time to come back to do that. Have a great rest of your week.
I made this last night. It literally took me 10 minutes to prep. I tweaked it a bit. I only had white rice, so I sprinkled 1 cup of it in the buttered casserole dish(thought 3 cups was a bit more than we wanted). I sauteed the veggies with butter for a couple minutes (added green onion to saute), added 2.5 cups of stock to veggies, added 4 oz cream cheese to mixture, whisked and cooked for a couple minutes, then I added 1/2 cup frozen peas and 1/2 cup frozen baby limas to the simmering mixture (no need to thaw, you’re adding them to a boiling mixture and then cooking them at 375 for over an hour). I set several whole boneless skinless chicken thighs over the rice, sprinkled with lots of salt and pepper, then poured the simmering mixture over the chicken and rice. Covered and baked and followed the rest of the directions. This dinner was super easy, super fast prep, from scratch, and super yummy. We did not think it was bland at all. I recommend lots of salt and pepper during prep for all of the ingredients, though. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
I love to hear about the ways you tweaked it, and it sounds great to me! Thanks for coming back to leave a rating and review! I appreciate it! Have a great rest of your week.
Thank you, this was absolutely delicious! Love how hearty and nutritious it is with all the veggies & chicken & of course the cheezy topping is so decadent. I just wish I had made a double batch to freeze one. It was delicious as leftovers. Thanks again!
-Alison, Southern CA
Alison, I am so psyched to hear that you liked it so much. Thank you for coming back to review. I appreciate it!
I used roasted chicken and the instant brown rice (mixed with 1/4 cup leftover white rice) from Costco, frozen Italian vegetables (instead of peas) and Monterey jack cheese (instead of cheddar) because I did not have the listed ingredients. The casserole came out delicious and just the right seasoning (not too salty). My family said it is the best chicken casserole I have ever made.
P.S. I found the recipe because I did not have any canned soup available in the cupboard, what luck! Thanks!
★★★★★
Pat this note seriously makes my day! I love that you and your family liked it so much! That makes me so happy to hear! I also am grateful you came back to review. It’s so helpful!
Very good. I did sub mushrooms for carrots, used low-fat cream cheese and cooked veggies in olive oil vs butter. Will make it again swapping out the veggie/rice ratio. More veggies and less rice. Husband said it needed more chicken too. Good combination of flavors.
★★★★★
Hi Jan, That’s great! I can appreciate that you wanted more veggies! I am always the same way! Thank you for coming back to review. I really appreciate it!
Loved this, thank you! Very easy! I made two casseroles for a large dinner I was having for my large family. Made one with the vegetables in the recipe, and another with the onions, little bit of carrots and celery, and a lot of broccoli. I used half chicken bone broth and half chicken broth. And 1-1/2 lbs. chicken rather than 1 lb. because our boys like a lot of protein. Both casseroles were a hit, I’ll be making them again and seeing if they freeze well.
★★★★★
Hi Pam, That’s awesome news. I love the additions of veggies! Sounds great. Thanks for coming back to review! It’s much appreciated.
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This was very easy to make and I loved the alternative to canned soups. Very tasty! I actually halved the recipe, used a bit of green pepper instead of celery because that was what I had on hand. Still did the other veggies as specified. I also only had white rice so I used that instead of brown. Finally, I added basil, marjoram, parsley, but skipped the thyme (I personally do not care for thyme.) I was very happy with the results. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Cool! Thanks for letting us know how it went. Was the white rice instant or regular? I would love to know as I am sure others would try the same. I really appreciate your coming back to review! Thanks so much!
I have boneless skinless thighs…. Would that work? TIA!
Yes for sure, just remove the skin if there is any. Enjoy!
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I have frozen cooked chicken left over from roasting a whole chicken. How should I adjust cooking time?
In step 4 omit the chicken. In step 5 bake the casserole for 35 minutes, then add on the chicken, cover and continue baking for 10 minutes. Then remove the foil, top with cheese and follow instructions for step 6.
I can’t rate the recipe because it’s not done yet, but I had to comment before forgetting or losing this recipe into the deep recesses of my phone!
Born and raised in Minnesota, your study of the “hotdish and casserole” phenomenon cracked me up. I had a friend who was a transplanted Minnesotan, and her first experience with our “pot luck parties” was reminiscent of your post!
We had sent around a sign up sheet so people could indicate what they wanted to bring. One of the categories was “hotdish” and another was “bars”. She called me and was nearly apologetic when she said she’d probably bring paper plates, cuz she couldn’t imagine what in the flyin’ flute either of those other “things” were. This was way back. Long before google would have answered her question.
I had a heck of a time trying to adequately define “bars”. She would say “oh…you mean brownies”. Ummm…yes and no. I wish I could remember if they had a kind of catch all name for “bars”. Having never met anyone who hadn’t lived here forever, I couldn’t help but marvel at the little things that make each region so unique.
Anyway, since this posting, I hope you’ve taken the “Tater Tot Hotdish” journey Not sure how much of the stuff I’ve eaten over the course of a lifetime. There are as many variations of it as there are church basements where it’s often served! We don’t have it often anymore simply because it’s pretty unhealthy. Then again, that’s something that ALL of those dishes had in common years ago. While many of them lend themselves to healthier versions, two of them are in my “why bother” list. One is the infamous Tater Tot, and the other is a little taste treat we call “Potato Chip” hot dish. Also a church basement frequent flyer. Tuna, cream of mushroom soup, egg noodles, peas, shredded cheese, and a big ol’ bag of crushed Old Dutch potato chips decorated the top. Can’t wait to try your recipe.
This is delicious! I used two cups of quick brown rice and two cups of cooked black rice. Also used cooked chicken (Sous Vide) and put it in per the recommendation about 10 minutes prior to adding the cheese. A definite keeper! Thanks for the recipe.
★★★★★
Hey Katie, This looks delicious! Is there a way to make ahead – where would you stop?
Hi Katie, I have not tested this out, but here’s what I would do. I would prepare it through step 3. Then, let the broth mixture cool. Then continue building the casserole as directed. Cover with foil and refrigerate for a day. Then continue on as directed, adding 20 minutes of extra time before removing the foil and adding cheese.
A great recipe with NO CANNED SOUP! Did not take any longer to prepare! Yum!
★★★★★
I made this last night and it tasted really good!
However it was really watery. I feel that 4 cups of broth is a bit too much for instant rice. I will try again with less broth.
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I’m curious about this Nico, as this is the first time I’ve heard of that problem. Did you bring the broth mixture to a boil and then pour it over the rice while it was still hot and transfer it to the oven right away? If you didn’t it’s possible that the rice didn’t absorb all that it could have.