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Creamy and Cheesy Chicken and Rice

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Creamy and Cheesy Chicken and Rice:  The ULTIMATE comfort food recipe. Wholesome brown rice, cooked chicken, and lots of cheese all swimming in a decadent, yet healthier sauce. This chicken and rice casserole is one recipe that everyone loves. 

A spoonful of brown rice with cheese and chicken

Do you have a favorite family recipe?

My family’s all time favorite is Creamy and Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole.  This chicken and rice casserole is easy, tastes extremely indulgent, and appeals to just about every palate–including children!!

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Creamy Cheesy Chicken and Rice

I have to be honest, when I hear Chicken and Rice Casserole, I don’t get overly excited.  This recipe is nothing exotic or spicy or fancy.

BUT every single time I make it my family grins ear to ear, and I have NEVER served this chicken and rice bake to ANYONE that didn’t love it.

That is why I am ALWAYS making a double batch and stashing one in the freezer–it cooks up perfectly from the freezer.

And trust me when I tell you Cheesy Chicken and Rice is the meal you should make for anyone who is craving comfort. It always delivers!

Casserole Dish with Chicken and Rice Bake

How to Make Chicken and Rice Casserole

  1. Prepare Casserole dish by lightly buttering.
  2. Melt butter into a medium saucepan over medium high heat.
  3. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.
  4. Whisk in flour, chopped thyme, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute to cook off raw flour taste.
  5. Slowly whisk in dry white wine (if using) and chicken stock, whisking continuously.
  6. Whisk until thick and nearly boiling then stir in cheese until melted.
  7. Stir in cooked rice and chicken.
  8. Transfer to a 9×13 inch baking dish.
  9. Top with additional cheddar cheese, if desired.
  10. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted through.

Easy, Healthy, Frugal Meal plans.

Gluten Free Chicken and Rice Casserole

  • Instead of making a rue with flour and butter, combine 2 Tablespoons cornstarch with 2 Tablespoons of the chicken broth together.
  • Melt butter in saucepan.
  • Add the remaining chicken stock to the melted butter and bring to a simmer.
  • Whisk in the cornstarch mixture into the chicken stock.
  • Then bring to a boil and simmer until thickened.
  • Follow remaining steps as stated.

Tips for Homemade Chicken and Rice Casserole:

  • Make this casserole faster by stocking your freezer with homemade chicken stock, cooked chicken and even cooked rice. But feel free to use what you have: store-bought chicken stock, leftover rotisserie chicken, or chicken boiled and shredded.
  • If you don’t have fresh thyme–do not worry!! It adds an extra layer of flavor that I enjoy, but is completely not necessary. 1 tsp of dried thyme works as well.
  • White wine adds a rich depth of flavor to this chicken and rice casserole, but is not necessary, just replace with an additional 1/4 cup of chicken stock.
  • If you would like to make Cheesy Chicken and Rice with Broccoli, simply add in 2 cups of chopped steamed broccoli to the casserole before baking.
  • The recipe’s nutrition was calculated with the full amount of cheese (3 1/2 cups). I leave the cheese off the top often and it is still delicious. You can even reduce the butter by half and have the wonderful flavor real butter adds to a dish still. If you are dieting and need to watch your fat, save a few calories here and there by following those tips, but this is REAL food.

More Chicken and Rice Recipes

Chicken and Rice Casserole Recipe

4.62 from 13 votes
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Creamy and Cheesy Chicken and Rice

An easy chicken and rice recipe perfect for your family. 

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword Creamy Cheesy Chicken and Rice
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 485 kcal
Author A Mind Full Mom

Ingredients

  • 4 Tbs butter
  • 2 Tbs fresh minced garlic
  • 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
  • 4 cups steamed brown rice 4 cups AFTER cooking This is 1 cup uncooked brown rice
  • 1/4 cup all purpose unbleached flour
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 cup white wine or additional chicken stock
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • Top with 1 1/2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese optional
  • 1 Tbs fresh chopped thyme optional

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 2 quart or 9x13 baking sheet. 

  2. Melt butter into a medium saucepan over medium high heat. 

  3. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. 

  4. Whisk in flour, chopped thyme, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute to cook off raw flour taste.

  5. Slowly pour in wine and chicken broth whisking continuously. Whisk until thick and nearly boiling.

  6. Stir in cheese until melted then stir in cooked rice and chicken. 

  7. Transfer to a 9×13 inch baking dish. Top with additional cheddar cheese, if desired, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted through. 

Nutrition Facts
Creamy and Cheesy Chicken and Rice
Amount Per Serving (8 g)
Calories 485 Calories from Fat 216
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 24g 37%
Saturated Fat 13g 65%
Cholesterol 67mg 22%
Sodium 911mg 38%
Potassium 355mg 10%
Total Carbohydrates 76g 25%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
Protein 21g 42%
Vitamin A 13%
Vitamin C 5%
Calcium 38.2%
Iron 13%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

 

 

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Creamy and Cheesy Chicken and Rice:  The ULTIMATE comfort food recipe. Wholesome brown rice, cooked chicken, and lots of cheese all swimming in a decadent, yet healthier sauce. This is a dish that everyone loves. #chickenandrice #chickendinner
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Comments

  1. I made this last night. YUMM!!! I served veggies on the side, but my hubby combined them with the dish. Do you think it’d work to mix in veggies with the chicken and rice and bake it?

    Reply

    • I had this last night as well 🙂 I had made a large batch awhile ago and pulled a tray from my freezer. After a long day, it was the perfect comforting meal that could just be reheated. LOVE that!!!

      Reply

      • We love your recipe and I’ve made it a few times since finding it on pinterest. It is husband and toddler approved. So its a HUGE win in our house. How much additional time did you add when heating it up from the freezer? I would love to make extra for that!

        Reply

        • YAY!! Lindsay, I am so glad that you enjoy this so much.
          I freeze this all the time. If I take directly from the freezer to oven, I bake covered for 1 hour at 350 degrees and then an additional 30 minutes uncovered.
          If I defrost it in the fridge overnight, I typically bake it for 45 minutes at 350 degrees, since it is cold.

          Reply

          • Thank you for the directions for the frozen tray! This is absolutely delicious! Do you think adding broccoli would work? Or would it get too mushy when re-heated? We made this for 2 of us and split it in a small 2 qt baking dish and the rest in another dish. I kept it in the freezer and popped it in the oven 2 weeks later and it was still delicous! I used chicken breasts in the pressure cooker when I originally made it. So tasty and cuts down on the prep time.

          • Hi Dave! So glad you enjoyed this! So, as long as you cook your brocolli briefly before adding, you should be able to freeze and reheat. If you don’t first cook the broccoli, it will give off excess moisture to the dish.
            The broccoli will NOT be as crisp tender after being reheated, but it should still be tasty!

    • And yes, mixed veggies in it is delicious–that is what I do as well. My kids like it separate, but I like the combined taste. I also do that when I make mac and cheese 🙂

      Reply

    • You should try wrapping this cheese chicken rice mixture un ham slices and baking it with cheese on top soooooo good

      Reply

    • Yes. I choose green peas & carrots; mixed veggies; classic veggie medley; etc. whatever is your favorite. Serve a salad on the side or not.

      Reply

  4. I tweeked this a little. I used quinoa instead of rice and I added broccoli as well as the chicken and cheese called for, Husband loved it.

    Reply

    • Danielle, I love cooking with coconut oil. And while it would work with this recipe, you may be left with a bit of a coconut flavor at the end. If you want to avoid butter, you can use olive oil for the same effect and no flavor change.

      Reply

  6. Does this freeze well? I want to make one for a family that is going through some rough times but might not be able to get to it rigt away

    Reply

  7. Oh my lord…I accidently added 1 tbsp of dried thyme instead of fresh! It smells so strong! Hopefully I didn’t ruin it too bad!

    Reply

    • Brittany, the sauce will thicken more as well when it bakes. Best of luck. If that doesn’t work, in the future, you may need to let the sauce simmer a bit longer to thicken up and be sure your rice is not watery when added to sauce. Hope it works out.

      Reply

  10. I added one cup of butternut squash to this. My family loved it, including my toddler who hates veggies. Thanks for the great recipe that will for sure be a regular in my house.

    Reply

  13. Hi I’d like to try this but how much cheese (weight) do you use before it’s shredded ☺️ Here in the Netherlands cheddar is not that common. What kind of cheddar do you use e.g. Mature or some other type?

    Reply

  14. I literarily just made this for dinner for my mom and I and had some sweet corn on the side and it’s so good! Thanks for the recipe! I’ve been wanting to trying this out for a while now and finally did and turned out so well! Will definitely make it again in the future! Best part is the left overs 🙂

    Reply

  16. Making this tonight. I’m so excited! I’m adding sautéed broccoli and a little bit of sautéed onions! I’m super excited to try it after reading all the reviews????

    Reply

  18. I made this last night! I did add some heavy cream, and used less flour. VERY rich, but very good. I also added uncooked broccoli, and it was the perfect texture once it baked and soaked in all the flavors. I think without the broccoli added, I would need a veggie on the side.

    Reply

  20. Do you cook and mix everything such as butter, salt/pepper and broth into the man before putting it into the casserole dish????

    Reply

    • Yes Briana, as stated in directions. Melt butter into a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in flour, chopped thyme, salt and pepper then slowly pour in chicken broth whisking continuously. Whisk until thick and nearly boiling then stir in cheese until melted. Stir in rice and chicken and then transfer to a 9×13 inch baking dish. That allows the sauce to thicken up and coat the rice and chicken well. Enjoy!

      Reply

    • Jennie, a can of rotel sounds like a great idea. I may omit 1/4 cup of the chicken stock just to keep the dish from getting too liquidy. If you try it, let me know how it turns out.

      Reply

  22. Possibly a dumb question but everytime I cook rice I seem to mess it up and it takes 10x longer to cook. So my question is do you cook the rice before adding it with the chicken or does it cook when you bake it in the casserole?

    Reply

    • Abby, NEVER a dumb question.

      Rice is a very tricky thing to cook right. I start off with 1 cup rice to 1 3/4 cup water. I bring the water to a boil and then mix in the rice. Turn to a medium simmer and then cook for 20-25 minutes for white rice and 45-50 for brown rice.

      For this recipe, the rice is pre-cooked. But it can be a little under and turn out okay!

      Reply

    • Hmm, Ashley–I have never tried that–but I need to experiment with it for sure. If you want to give it a go, I would suggest, adding an extra cup of chicken stock to the dish (for the rice to absorb) and to lay the chicken on top of the rice mixture. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes at 350. Remove foil and cook additional 10-15 minutes. I am not sure how this will work out, but that is where I would start. Let me know if you give it a try and I will try it too sometime

      Reply

      • I was wondering the same thing…..putting in dry rice and raw chicken. I also thought about putting it in the crockpot to cook.

        Reply

        • Hi Tammi! I haven’t tried cooking this in the crockpot with raw chicken and dry rice. I think I should experiment with that myself 😉 Because I use brown rice and not instant white rice, I don’t think it would have enough time to cook properly in the oven. I do think there is a chance in the slow cooker-but I have to experiment with that and see if the roux would burn up. As far as raw chicken, go for it! Just be sure to cook chicken until 165 degrees

          Reply

  31. Made this exactly as written for the first time tonight and it’s delicious! We do the Feingold diet (no artificial food dyes, preservatives, flavors, etc) and it fit well with my ingredients! My family of four ate almost the entire 9×13 pan. It’s now going into the meal rotation. Thanks for a good wholesome, flavorful meal.

    Reply

  32. I made this tonight and I think I did something wrong… the sauce turned out too dark and the flavor sort of overpowered the chicken and cheese. Do you have any suggestions? It looks and sounds great, and was super easy to make, so I’m hoping I can try again and get it right!

    Reply

    • I am so sorry that this did not work for you Dani. My guess is that you cooked the butter and flour mixture too long–which would make it dark like the roux for like a Gumbo–which you don’t want. Try melting the butter over medium heat, whisking in the flour, and then adding the sauce after 30 seonds. Lowering the heat may help. And cook the liquid just until it comes to a boil. And be sure to use high quality clear chicken stock. Hope those tips help–this is one of our favorite meals.

      Reply

      • Tried this again tonight and it was much better! I think my stove is old and gets pretty hot so I kept the heat between medium and low. Thanks for the tips!

        Reply

  35. I’ve made this recipe about five times now and I absolutely love it! I love that it uses brown rice instead of white and if you have your chicken and rice prepped ahead of time you can have dinner on the table really fast. I love the fact that there is no cream of “anything” soup in it, and I should also add that I have a 2 year old and a 4 year old who LOVE this and gobble it up. It’s also on my list of meals to freeze as well as to bring to anyone with a new baby who needs a delicious and healthy meal.
    I’m an experienced home cook and often change recipes, however, I follow this one very closely. If you wanted to add peas, onion, mushrooms or carrots to this they would probably work really well, but I usually just add frozen peas before baking because I like to keep this as a simple hassle free meal. Otherwise, the measurements are spot on!
    On that note when I made it tonight I didn’t have enough cheddar and substituted about half the cheese for shredded fontina and it was really good!

    Reply

    • Amanda,

      This absolutely made my day! I am so happy you love this recipe so much and have had great success with it. You definitely can add in frozen peas or carrots–but my family prefers their veggies on the side 😉 And fontina cheese–oh yum!!

      Thanks for sharing your success with me Amanda. And if you ever want to venture out from this classic–try my Buffalo Chicken and Rice–https://amindfullmom.com/cheesy-buffalo-chicken-and-rice/

      Reply

  37. THIS WAS SO DELICIOUS!!! MY FIANCE AND I TRIED IT WITH BISCUITS TOO AND IT WAS YUMMY!!! Thank you for this amazing recipe. It’s hard to cook when you have someone very picky!

    We did use white rice because we had no brown and we used gouda cheese and grated it because we did not ahve shredded cheese, but all in all, it still turned out great!.

    Reply

  38. Making this for the second time tonight! Just popped it in the oven:) the first time I made it I didn’t have as much cheddar as I thought so I used mostly mozzarella in the sauce and topped it with cheddar and it was delish! Tonight I’m using all cheddar so I’m excited to have it as the recipe was written. Thanks for sharing such a great comfort food recipe!

    Reply

    • Amy, Honestly, it is better with cooked chicken. But if you would like to start with raw chicken, dice it into 1 inch chunks and cook the dish for an additional 20 minutes, covered the first 30 minutes.

      Reply

  42. This recipe is fabulous. I followed it exactly as stated. I even made two batches: one for the family overall, and one for my daughter who has a milk allergy (I simply substituted shredded Daiya cheddar cheese for regular cheese in hers). Both versions were amazing. It’s the perfect comfort food!!!

    Reply

  43. This is SO delicious! My husband is picky when it comes to creamy stuff but he raved about this. He’s not a fan of anything creamy. But he really liked this. I even had him help make it. He cooks more than me actually. After reading some of the comments I did some tweaking too: no wine, just a little more chicken stock & no thyme & added 1 cup of broccoli but will at least double it next time. Oh it was so good! Thank you for posting this.

    Reply

  45. I made this tonight and it was delicious! I used cooked mixed quinoa and rice and 2 cups of steamed broccoli and at least 3 cups of cheese. I froze half for later. My husband is very picky and doesn’t like vegetables and he loved this! Thank you so much I’m adding this to our favorites!

    Reply

  46. This was so good my entire family loved it. It’s gone already, no left overs. I didn’t have enough cheese, only 8 oz. And the only garlic I had was powdered, but that didn’t matter. I look forward to trying some fresh onions and mushrooms for next time, and maybe some hot sauce 🙂 Home run!

    Reply

  47. I have not put it in the oven yet but so far it taste yummy! Do I grease the pan before putting the rice mix into the pan? Do I put foil over the pan while in the oven?

    I hope my kids love this so I can add this to my double meal plan. I like to cook 2 meals in one night so I can freeze one for a busy or sick day. I wish I had this one after my C-Section. Praying my family of 7 loves this one like I did when I was a kid!

    Reply

    • Hi Amy! I so hope your family loves this as much as mine does! It is a great meal to freeze (here are instructions on how to freeze and heat from freezer–https://amindfullmom.com/3-easy-and-healthy-freezer-friendly-meals/

      And for cooking now, yes it is best to grease casserole dish (but I often forget–LOL, and it is fine!) And if cooking while warm, leave uncovered. If from fridge, cover for first half so the top won’t dry out before the casserole warms through. Enjoy!

      Reply

  48. Me and hubby made this tonight and yum! What a blessing from God!
    We added bacon bits, a little sour cream, made a butter-ritz crum topping and used prepared white rice.
    We like it and have plenty leftover! Next time I may use more rice.
    Thanks for the recipe!

    God Bless!

    Reply

  49. Thank you for such a great recipe! This gets 5 stars in my book. I used whole wheat flour and I put thawed frozen broccoli spears chopped up on top sprinkled with some more of the cheese and the juice of one fresh lemon on top of the broccoli. I also substituted 1/3 of the cheese with Monterey Jack. Even with substitutions it is hard to get it wrong because of this recipe’s delicious ingredients.

    Reply

  52. I’ve made this twice and it is AMAZING!!! My boyfriend begs me to cook it regularly now. Thank you for this recipe! ❤

    Reply

  53. I accidentally slightly overcooked the brown rice so I didn’t bake it since I was worried it would be straight mush. I instead added more rice, chicken, cheese and added broccoli to make it thicker and absorb the liquids. The taste was great and I will make again. Thanks

    Reply

  54. This was a fail for all 3 of us. The garlic (2TBSP) was way too over powering. I had hopes of being able to eat brown rice- not with this dish unfortunately. The sauce lacked something – maybe it was the over powering garlic. But I didn’t care for the thyme in it. The entire casserole was dumped. So sad too

    Reply

      • Love this recipe!!

        I have made this as posted several times but I went outside the box a bit last night, I had cooked a whole duck several weeks ago, there was alot of it left, so I throw it all in the freezer till I figured out what I was going to do with it. Yesterday I decided to make this recipe with it. Threw the duck and water in a stock pot and cooked it down, then deboned all the meat. Saving the stock/broth putting it in the fridge so I could scrap off the layer of faT so I could use it instead of the chicken stock/broth. I also used fresh shredded mozzarella cheese, thought that would go better with the duck, but did use 3 blend Mexican blend for the top. Can I say it turned out amazing!!

        Reply

        • Thank you SO SO much for sharing Mary! That sounds incredible. I don’t cook much with duck, but my grandmother always made a duck for Christmas. I will have to try this sometime to remind me of her.

          Reply

  56. I had some vegetable pilaf left over from last night, and some cooked spicy chicken cooked this afternoon. I fried the sliced and diced chicken in garlic butter – no, nobody in our family here knows anything about dieting and they are sticking to a traditional real butter and cream diet, instead of starving themselves of proper nourishing nutrition – and, as I do not like thyme, I just added a pinch of seasoning salt to the flour and butter mixture and of course cayenne pepper. After that, I began assembling the layers on the baking tray.
    Lowermost layer, rice. Followed by chicken layer. Then a layer of onions and lots of cheese, then rice, then leftover chicken and some bits of chopped ham and bacon which I had fried beforehand in garlic butter, so that I had plenty of bacon lard/garlic butter. Mix, to be used for a little bit of sprinkling here at the last moment and for other future culinary purposes. – I cannot resist ham and bacon, using garlic butter to fry them. Sorry, I do not use canola, because after all, we Army guys used to use the same canola manufactured in a factory and sold as industrial grade oil in the 90s, to lubricate the Frozen vehicle parts In Alaska or in other wintry regions. Until, of course somebody decided, hey, let us sell canola to guys all over the world as an edible oil. Call it vegetable oil, and these people are going to eat anything, as a cooking spray.
    So, butter, or clarified butter is the cooking medium or olive oil or coconut oil, or real sesame oil, unrefined.
    Well, the last layer of course is of cheese, after I have spread the soup sauce on the different layers. Last sprinkling, white pepper, some Himalayan salt, and just a touch of cayenne – I love cayenne flakes.
    This was supposed to last me up to tomorrow afternoon, but I do not think any vestige of it is going to go into the fridge. Having made rice, chicken with white sauce before, and cheese, I know how delicious it is, when taken out of the oven, especially a cold winter’s night!
    Bon appetit!

    Reply

  57. Can I make this in the morning and stick in the refrigerator until I cook in the oven before dinner?

    Reply

  58. Hi, and thank you for the recipe. I modified it a bit:
    I parboiled the rice, chopped fresh onions, celery, parsley, rosemary, and thyme and cooked them in 6 tablespoons of butter along with the garlic before making my roux. Then I used a combination of bone broth (for nutrition), chicken broth, and milk (for creaminess). I topped it with the cheese instead of stirring it in.

    It was delicious! Very flavorful!

    Reply

  59. My family (mostly) loved this recipe. I made the gluten free version, but missed the “add to the rest of the soup stock” step (like an idiot) and had to fish out the awful gummy mess I created in the bottom of the pan *eyeroll* But in the end, it really didn’t need the thickener. I also added frozen peas and corn, and used Colby and Mozzarella cheese (the ones I had on hand). The other modification I made was in the soup – when I took my soup out of the fridge it was growing mold so I couldn’t use it, but I wanted to try this recipe so I made it with water. The end result was perfect consistency, but a little bland. My son loved it, as bland as it was. My daughter and I needed a bit of salt to round out the dish. I can’t wait to make it again with non-moldy soup, I’m betting it will be amazing.

    Reply

    • Oh Jennie–it sounds like you had quite the time making this recipe! I have been there before. And you are right–the stock will make this SO much more flavorful. I hope you try it soon 🙂

      Reply

  60. My daughters favorite meal is chicken and rice. My mother in law makes it for her and she loves it and I really wanted to learn how to make a good dish for her. I’m an amateur when it comes to cooking and I was a little intimidated by this recipe, but I am so glad I decided to make it! I didn’t have thyme on hand but I used basil and it came out great anyway! I am definitely saving this recipe. It’s AMAZING.

    Reply

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