Leftover chicken and rice casserole with cream of mushroom soup

Is there anything more comforting than a chicken & rice casserole? Honestly, we don't think so. Hearty and filling, it's the type of recipe we turn to time and time again during the fall and winter (and all year-round tbh), just like our roast chicken or tortellini soup. The best part? Everything is ready at the same time in this recipe, so you can toss it all in the dish (yes, one dish) for dinner ready in under two hours. Because everything cooks together, you'll also get the most flavorful rice without any stress of cooking it on the stove. Here's why this is the casserole of our dreams: 

1.  It's toss and go! This is a literal dump 'n bake recipe: You put the uncooked rice and onion, broth, and cream of mushroom soup into a casserole dish and then top with the chicken thighs. Like magic, everything is ready at the same time — no turning on the stove required!

2. It only dirties ONE dish. Seriously, how could you go back to a normal recipe after this? By layering ingredients in the baking dish, you won't have to bust out any extra skillet or bowl, which makes this casserole perfect for a lazy Tuesday when calling up pizza delivery is all too tempting.

3. It's totally versatile. This dish is completely customizable, and a great base for any substitutions or additions your heart desires. If you'd rather sub in chicken breasts, you totally can — we just love thighs for their flavor and crispy skin. Throw in some frozen veggies (broccoli is a delicious choice), or sprinkle on some cheddar towards the end of cooking to make this creamy casserole a cheesy dream. 

Made this? Let us know how it went in the comment section below!

Editor's Note: This intro was updated to add more information about the dish on August 23, 2022.

Cal/Serv: 1025

Yields: 4 servings

Prep Time: 0 hours 15 mins

Total Time: 1 hour 50 mins

Extra-virgin olive oil, for baking dish

2 c.

white rice, rinsed well and drained

1

large onion, chopped

2 c.

low-sodium chicken broth

2

(10.5-oz.) cans cream of mushroom soup

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

4

large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 lb.)

2 tbsp.

melted butter

2 tsp.

fresh thyme

1

clove garlic, finely minced 

1 tbsp.

freshly chopped parsley, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9"-x-13" baking dish with oil. Add rice, onion, broth, and soup and stir until combined. Season with salt and pepper. 
2. Place chicken thighs skin side up in rice mixture and brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with thyme and garlic and season with salt and pepper. 
3. Cover dish with foil and bake for 1 hour. Uncover and bake 30 minutes more, until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through. Turn oven to broil and broil until chicken is golden, 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Garnish with parsley before serving. 

Nutrition (per serving): 1025 calories, 44 g protein, 96 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 50 g fat, 15 g saturated fat, 1340 mg sodium

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This was tasty and a great comfort food casserole. I had to omit a few ingredients due to what I had on had; water chestnuts and celery (I missed all the crunch) and had to sub an italian white cheese blend for the parmesan (missed the wonderful tang of parm). All that said, this was still very good and would have been amazing with the missing ingredients.

This must have been good. My husband just had seconds. Since I didn't have all the ingredients on hand, I had to make some adjustments. I used one can of organic semi-condensed mushroom soup and a half can of chicken stock. I used some sunflower seeds instead of water chestnuts. As another reviewer recommended, I sautéed some fresh mushrooms with the onion in olive oil. I added a little tarragon to the sautéed mushrooms. I used brown rice instead of white. I didn?t have celery, so I threw in some frozen peas. I didn?t have cornflakes, so I topped it with Parmesan and some panko breadcrumbs mixed with melted butter. Yum!

 

This must have been good. My husband just had seconds. Since I didn't have all the ingredients on hand, I had to make some adjustments. I used one can of organic semi-condensed mushroom soup and a half can of chicken stock. I used some sunflower seeds instead of water chestnuts. As another reviewer recommended, I sautéed some fresh mushrooms with the onion in olive oil. I added a little tarragon to the sautéed mushrooms. I used brown rice instead of white. I didn?t have celery, so I threw in some frozen peas. I didn?t have cornflakes, so I topped it with Parmesan and some panko breadcrumbs mixed with melted butter. Yum!

 

My 10-year-old daughter wanted to make dinner last night. We found this recipe and decided to try it. It was pretty easy and very tasty. We loved the crunch and the complex flavors. We don't like canned mushrooms, so we left them out. Next time, we might add fresh sauteed mushrooms, but it was still great without them. We reduced the mayo to 1/3 cup. We were going to leave it out, but we tasted it before we put it in the pan and decided that we needed it. We opted to add the cayenne and topped it with corn flakes. Excellent!

 

Overall very good and easy to prepare. I made a few changes: used wild rice blend and only one can of soup with a half can of milk. Fresh mushrooms instead of canned which I sauteed in olive oil with the onions, celery and 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic. My hubby likes heat in his food so I added about 1 Tbsp Pepper Palace Sauce Maker's Reserve. Left out the cheddar at the end to avoid clashing flavors. Definitely thumbs up.

 

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