Chicken and Rice Casserole with Cream of Mushroom Soup

Chicken and Rice Casserole is the dinner I put together when I want a hot, filling meal without standing over the stove for it. Almost all of it goes into one dish, the uncooked rice, cream of mushroom soup, milk, cheddar, and chicken thighs, with only the parsley added after it bakes. There’s very little hands-on work: you stir the rice base together, nestle the thighs on top, cover it tightly, and let it bake. The trade-off is time in the oven rather than time at the counter, so it suits an afternoon when I’m home to leave it baking more than a scramble to get dinner on the table in twenty minutes.

The rice cooks right in the creamy sauce as it bakes, so it turns tender without a separate pot, and the chicken thighs stay juicy through the long, covered bake. Half the cheddar melts into the base and half goes on at the end for a browned, cheesy top. One dish feeds six, and the leftovers reheat well for lunches later in the week.

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Why You’ll Love This Chicken and Rice Casserole

• It’s mostly hands-off. Stirring the rice base, nestling the chicken on top, and covering the dish takes only a few minutes; the long covered bake that follows doesn’t need you at the stove.
• The rice cooks right in the sauce. Uncooked long-grain rice bakes tender in the creamy base, so there’s no separate pot to boil and drain.
• The thighs stay tender. Chicken thighs hold up through the long covered bake and stay juicy, where leaner breast can dry out.
• It’s a short list of everyday ingredients. Rice, a couple of cans of cream of mushroom soup, milk, cheddar, and chicken thighs, with nothing specialty to track down.
• One dish feeds six. It mixes and bakes in a single dish, so there isn’t much to wash up after.
• Leftovers reheat well. Portions go from fridge to plate for an easy lunch or a second dinner over the next few days.

What You’ll Need

You’ll need all the ingredients shown in the photograph below.

Long-grain white rice. Uncooked, and stirred straight into the sauce so it cooks as the casserole bakes. Long-grain white rice is the one to use here because it cooks evenly without turning mushy.

Cream of mushroom soup. Two cans, the savory base that loosens with the milk into a creamy sauce. Cream of chicken soup works in its place if that’s what’s in the cupboard.

Milk. Thins the condensed soup into a sauce that coats the rice as it bakes.

Shredded cheddar cheese. Divided, with half stirred through the rice base and half scattered over the top at the end, where it melts and browns. The recipe offers parmesan or pepper jack in place of some of it, with pepper jack there if you’d like a little heat.

Chicken thighs. Skinless, nestled on top of the rice and seasoned. Thighs stay tender and juicy through the long bake, where leaner breast is more likely to dry out over the same time.

Salt and pepper. To season the chicken and the base, to taste.

Fresh parsley. Chopped and scattered over the top at the end for a little color and a fresh finish against the rich base.

How to Make Chicken and Rice Casserole

Scroll down for the full recipe card containing a full printable recipe and measurements in both US customary and metric units.

Prep the oven and the rice base.

Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). In a large bowl, stir together the cream of mushroom soup, milk, uncooked rice, and half of the shredded cheddar until the rice is evenly coated and everything is well mixed.

Assemble the casserole.

Lightly grease a baking dish, then pour in the rice mixture and spread it into an even layer. Nestle the skinless chicken thighs on top, spacing them out so they cook evenly, and season with salt and pepper. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil to trap the steam, so the rice softens and the chicken stays moist as it bakes.

Bake covered.

Bake, still covered, for 1½ hours. The rice absorbs the liquid and turns tender, and the chicken cooks through in the steam under the foil.

Add the cheese and finish.

Carefully remove the foil, scatter the remaining cheddar over the top, and return the dish to the oven uncovered for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Because this bake starts from raw chicken, check that the thickest part of a thigh has reached an internal temperature of 165°F before you take it as done, rather than going by the clock alone; an oven thermometer helps if yours tends to run cool.

Rest and serve.

Let the casserole rest for about 5 minutes, then scatter the chopped fresh parsley over the top, scoop, and serve.

Tips

• Cover it tightly. A snug seal of foil traps the steam the rice needs to soften. If the rice is still firm at the end of the bake, it usually needs more time or wasn’t covered tightly enough.
• Use long-grain white rice. It’s the type the recipe is written around, and it cooks evenly in the sauce and holds its shape rather than turning mushy. Since the bake time and liquid are set for this rice, I’d stick with it rather than swapping in another type.
• Check the chicken with a thermometer. Since the thighs bake from raw, confirm the thickest one reaches 165°F before serving instead of relying on time alone.
• Keep any added vegetables moderate. Frozen vegetables work stirred into the base, but keep the amount modest so the casserole doesn’t turn watery.
• Let it rest before serving. Five minutes out of the oven lets the sauce settle so it holds together on the spoon instead of sliding around the dish.

Make It Your Own

Swap the soup. Cream of chicken soup stands in for the cream of mushroom for a slightly different savory base.

Change the cheese. Use parmesan or pepper jack in place of some or all of the cheddar, with pepper jack there for a little heat.

Use cooked or rotisserie chicken. The tested recipe bakes raw thighs for the full time. If you’d rather use already-cooked or rotisserie chicken, stir the shredded meat into the rice near the end of the bake so it warms through instead of drying out over the long covered bake.

Add a few vegetables. Stir a small amount of frozen peas or mixed vegetables into the base for a bit of color and a vegetable baked right in. Keep it modest, enough to scatter through rather than a thick layer, since too much releases water as it thaws and can make the casserole watery

What to Serve With Chicken and Rice Casserole

This is a rich, creamy dish, so I like something fresh and sharp alongside to balance it. A simple green salad dressed with olive oil and lemon is my usual first pick, and roasted vegetables do the same job, whether that’s green beans with garlic, a quick side of air fryer broccoli, or glazed carrots for a little color. A few dinner rolls or some garlic bread are good for soaking up the sauce, and if you want something lighter, a cucumber and tomato salad with a tangy vinaigrette cuts through the creaminess nicely. The casserole is filling on its own, so a simple side or two is really all it needs.

Make it Ahead

You can get this casserole assembled before it goes in the oven, but I’d keep any make-ahead short. Because the rice goes in uncooked, my own preference is to assemble it the night before at most rather than days ahead, so it isn’t sitting in the liquid longer than it needs to before baking. It also contains raw chicken, so if you do put it together in advance, keep it tightly covered in the fridge and bake it within a day, straight from cold. Give it a few extra minutes under the foil since it’s going in chilled, and check the chicken reaches 165°F before serving. If you want a get-ahead option you can rely on, cooking it fully and reheating leftovers (below) is the steadier route than holding it raw.

How to Store Leftovers

Cool it first. Let the baked casserole cool to room temperature, then move portions into an airtight container or cover the baking dish tightly with foil.

Refrigerate or freeze. In the fridge, baked leftovers keep for 3 to 4 days. To hold them longer, portion the casserole into freezer containers and freeze for up to 3 months, then thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating. Freezing tends to soften the rice a little, so a frozen-and-reheated portion won’t be quite the texture of the fresh bake.

Reheat. These are already-cooked leftovers, so you’re warming them back through, not cooking them from raw. The rice tends to dry out in the fridge, so add a splash of milk or chicken broth before reheating to bring back some moisture. Warm individual portions in the microwave, or the whole dish covered with foil in a 350°F oven, until it’s steaming hot all the way through, to an internal temperature of 165°F.

Leaving it out on the table? Cooked food shouldn’t sit at room temperature for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour if it’s a hot day above 90°F. Keep it covered and get leftovers back in the fridge inside that window.

Making It Go Further

1. One dish, several meals. A single casserole covers dinner and still sends leftovers to the next day’s lunch.
2. Keep the makings on hand. Rice and canned soup are shelf-stable pantry items, so the base of this dish is easy to keep around for when you want it.
3. Stretch it with a few vegetables. A moderate handful of frozen vegetables stirred into the base bulks it out so it feeds a little further; keep the amount modest so it doesn’t turn watery.
4. Cook once, freeze for later. Portion and freeze what you won’t get through that week for a fast dinner down the line.

More Casseroles to Try

If this chicken and rice casserole earns a spot in your rotation, here are a few more chicken bakes from the site in the same comfort-food vein, one-dish dinners with not much to wash up after.

• Chicken and Dumpling Casserole turns a comfort-food classic into a scoopable one-dish bake.
• Chicken and Broccoli Casserole builds a creamy chicken bake around broccoli, so there’s a vegetable baked right in.
• Chicken Pot Pie Casserole keeps that cozy, creamy pot-pie feel without a crust to fuss over.
• Easy Chicken Casserole is my go-to when I want another simple, chicken-based dinner.
• Chicken Alfredo Lasagna is where I go for something creamy and chicken-based with an Italian lean.