This Chicken And Rice Casserole is the easiest and most delicious weeknight dinner ever! Rice, chicken, and broccoli all conveniently cooked at the same time in the oven!
What I like the very best about this recipe is that I have my carb, my protein, and my veg all in one dish and I don’t have to think about side dishes and main dishes and extra dishes, dishes, dishes.
Do I Cook Rice Before Adding To Casserole?
Short answer: No! Long answer: As long as you add boiling hot liquid and seal your ovenproof dish well, your rice will cook perfectly well in the oven, no need to pre-boil the rice.
Many (the majority) of Chicken and Rice Casserole recipes I’ve seen call for cooked rice and cooked chicken and blanched vegetables. What exactly is the point of making a casserole when you have to cook everything separately? Also….who’s gonna wash all those dishes?
Needless to say, I went into the test kitchen and tried all different methods to make this work. What’s the trick to get perfectly cooked rice in the oven? Hot liquid and sealing. That is the trick. Rice only cooks when the liquid is brought to a boil and then there is little liquid evaporation during simmering on low. Basically, you want to steam it and you can only achieve that by adding boiling liquid in the first place and then sealing the ovenproof dish.
My ovenproof dish is flat on top so I can take a baking sheet, flip it upside down and place it right on top of my dish and thus seal it (see video in the recipe card). If your dish is elevated at the handles I’m afraid you will have to use aluminum foil. Use a big piece and then tightly seal it all around to make sure no liquid evaporates.
Oh and one important note: All rice grains have to be submerged in the hot liquid or else they won’t cook either. Use a spatula to press down the rice into the liquid.
Can I Cook Raw Chicken In Casserole?
Short answer: Yes! Long answer: Chicken has to be cooked to 165F internal temperature so if you cube your chicken and put it in a 400F preheated oven, it will most definitely cook to that internal temperature within 15-20 minutes.
If you used ice-cold liquid for the rice instead of boiling, neither your rice nor your chicken will cook in 15-20 minutes. If you’re lucky your chicken and rice casserole will be done in an hour but probably not.
Do I HAVE to sauté de onion and garlic before adding?
You don’t HAVE to do it but I strongly recommend it. Sautéd slightly browned onion and garlic taste 10,000% better. If you’re super short on time though, you can just use a teaspoon of desiccated onion and about 1/4 tsp or dried garlic instead. It will still be delicious like that.
How Do You Fix Uncooked Rice In Casserole?
If for some weird reason your rice didn’t cook. Maybe because you forgot to press it down into the liquid or your liquid wasn’t hot when you added it, or you didn’t achieve a tight seal with your baking sheet or aluminum foil, don’t worry!
Drizzle 1/4 cup hot liquid well spread out on top of your still cheeseless casserole, this time seal it super-duper extra well and quickly return it to the hot oven for another 5 minutes.
If you didn’t check on the rice and already put on the cheese and broiled it I’m afraid there is nothing you can do anymore to salvage uncooked rice. Just know that despite it being crunchy and not the best tasting, it’s still perfectly safe to eat.
The Best Vegetable For Chicken and Rice Casserole
I love broccoli in my chicken and rice casserole but there are many other vegetables that go well in this casserole dish.
You can easily replace or mix and match:
- Cauliflower
- Asparagus
- Green beans
- Bell pepper
- Sugar snap peas
- Snow peas
The Best Cheese for Chicken and Rice Casserole
Any cheese that easily melts is good for getting the nice brown crusty cheese on top.
Cheddar, Swiss, Emmental, Mozzarella, Gouda…..
Parmesan gets nice and brown when mixed with another does not meld nicely if alone though. I love mixing mozzarella, swiss, and a little parmesan for best results.
The higher up you put your casserole in the oven, closer to the broiler, the nicer it browns and becomes a bit crusty.
More Chicken and Rice Recipes
Chicken And Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 cup white Jasmine or Basmati rice
- zest of 1 lemon
- sea salt
- pepper
- 1/2 Tbsp poultry seasoning
- 2 chicken breasts - 10 oz / 300g total for both
- 1 head broccoli
- 1.75 cups chicken broth
- 2 Tbsp sour cream or crème fraîche
- 2 cups melty cheese - mozzarella, parmesan, swiss or a mix of all
- fresh basil - optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F (200C)
- Peel and finely chop onion and garlic and then stir-fry in a little avocado oil in a pan over medium heat until slightly brown.
- Add browned onion and garlic, rice, spices, and lemon zest to an ovenproof dish (11"x8") and set aside.
- Cube chicken breasts into 1" cubes. Wash, dry, and cut broccoli into bite-size florets. Add chicken and broccoli to the other ingredients in the ovenproof dish.
- In a large bowl or jug whisk together boiling hot chicken broth and sour cream until well combined.
- Pour broth over all other ingredients, mix well and then press everything down into the broth with a spatula. All rice grains need to be submerged in the broth or they won't cook.
- If your ovenproof dish is flat at the top, cover it with a flipped baking sheet. If it is not flat, use aluminum foil to get a tight seal.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the casserole from the oven, lift off the baking sheet or aluminum foil, sprinkle grated cheese on top of everything and place back in the oven under the broiler for 4-7 minutes.
- The closer up next to the broiler you place the dish, the bubblier and browner the cheese gets.
- Remove from the oven, sprinkle with chopped fresh basil if desired, and enjoy!
Nutrition
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Larry says
Is the calories shown per serving or entire dish? Just learning to cook healthy.
Thanks
Lorena Grater says
It’s per serving and the amount of servings is always displayed as well.
Jill says
Needed just a dash more salt and seasonings since I use unsalted chicken stock but this was fantastic!
I use a rounded casserole dish, about 9×7 sorta and just had to increase the cook time by 8 minutes for the rice to fully cook – worked great!
Dare says
This recipe turned out great! I’ve made it a couple times now and the only thing I would say is put the rice down first in the baking dish then add the rest of the ingredients and don’t mix. The first time I mixed the chicken, rice, and broccoli together and I wound up having crunchy rice. Now I layer ingredients and then mix before topping with cheese. Ive also tried adding mushrooms, peas, bacon, and crushed ritz to cheese topping.
Lorena Grater says
Thank you for the tip! That’s a great idea. The problem is when there isn’t a tight seal, then the liquid evaporates instead of building steam which can then be absorbed by the rice. By leaving the rice at the bottom it’s usually constantly submerged in liquid and can boil. That’s brilliant!
Sophia says
I omitted the chicken completely, boiled my broth in the same sauté pan I did my onions in, and kept the layers intact before cooking instead of mixing them. After 20 minutes, I removed from the oven and mixed before topping. Rice was cooked perfectly. I used a quarter sheet pan weighted down with the lid from a Dutch oven to make sure my seal was nice and tight. I also used way less cheese and half a sleeve of crushed ritz crackers as my topping instead of the recommended 2 cups of cheese, came out great! Thank you for this recipe that doesn’t require precooked ingredients and isn’t scaled to feed an army.
Lorena Grater says
Thank you so much for all your suggestions for changes. I’m happy to read this all worked. This will be super helpful for others that want to make adjustments for their family ❤️
Anne says
Is the listed nutrition information per serving? Ex: 479 calories for 1 serving, right?
Lorena Grater says
Yes, per serving.
Melissa says
Can you make this ahead of time and freeze it?
Lorena Grater says
Yes! This recipe freezes really well. Already tested :)
Karen says
Do you think I could use plain Greek yogurt instead of the sour cream?
Lorena Grater says
You could in theory, however, it will become very very liquid. It has a much higher water content.
Kartoffel says
Tasty! I did change it up with 2 cups of stock, aborio rice, and 3 tbs of butter (replacing the sour cream).
Kati says
Really good casserole.
I used brown rice, all purpose seasoning, and frozen broccoli. I cooked it for 28 minutes covered with aluminum and a sheet pan on top. The rice and broccoli were cooked nicely.
Katja says
Made this and it was great, except the rice was crunchy, even though I followed your instructions – I Think :-)
Next time I will pre-cook it.
Lorena says
Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear that. Did you achieve a very tight seal when cooking? That is the key to fully cooked-through rice.
Katja says
I had to use aluminum foil so maybe not tight enough.
Lorena says
If you use aluminum foil I recommend giving the whole casserole a loop, that makes it tighter. You really need a tight seal. If it’s not sealed water evaporates and that’s water you rice needs for cooking through.
Rebecca says
I used pre cooked rice. Came out super watery! If you do precooked don’t use as much broth.
Lorena Grater says
Oh no, this recipe won’t work with pre-cooked rice. The liquid requirements in the recipe are for raw rice to absorb it all.
Ice says
Can I use half and half instead of sour cream
Lorena says
yes!!
Isha says
Not sure if the error on my side, but I can’t see the oven temperature. Thanks.
Lorena says
Fixed it! Thank you for pointing it out.