This chicken and rice casserole can be made ahead of time and with any combination of vegetables you like. I happened to have broccoli, carrots, celery, and onions on hand. It’s a super way to use up leftover chicken and it’s such a nice comfort food. The kids absolutely love it and it’s perfect for us if it’s made in advance, say on the weekend, and just heated up on a weeknight.
Directions for chicken and rice casserole
If you have leftover rice, you can use it or cook about 2 cups of white rice. You can cook the rice while you chop and saute the vegetables.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees if you’re going to be eating the casserole right away.
While the oven preheats and the rice cooks, heat 1 tbs. olive oil on medium heat. Saute the vegetables 3-4 minutes, until they are bright color.
Add the soup and chicken broth.
Add the chicken and rice, heating through. If the mixture is thick, add more chicken broth. The mixture should be thin but not runny. The rice will soak up a lot of the liquid while the casserole bakes.
Fill a greased casserole pan with the filling and keep dog away. Ally dog here decided she would like to be my sous chef but I told her no table food. She tried to get some anyway.
Top the casserole with 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese. Cover and store for later or bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. Casserole is ready when heated through and cheese is bubbly.
If you love easy make ahead casseroles, try this chicken noodle and broccoli casserole.
PrintChicken and Rice Casserole
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 35 min
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
2 cups diced chicken
2 cups cooked white rice
2 cups diced vegetables
1 tablespoons olive oil
2 cans cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
1 cup chicken broth
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
Cook white rice or use leftover rice.
Chop vegetables.
In a large sauce pan, heat olive oil on medium.
Saute vegetables 3-4 minutes.
Add in 2 cans of soup, 1 cup chicken broth.
Stir in rice and then chicken.
If the mixture is thick, continue to add more chicken broth.
Mixture should be thin but not runny.
Pour mixture into a greased baking dish.
Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until heated through and cheese is bubbly.
Keywords: Chicken, chicken casserole, make ahead, easy chicken