Chicken and Rice Casserole

By Shutterfly614

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces, patted dry
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 lb cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup dry sherry or white wine
• 1 1/3 cups* chicken stock**
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1 cup raw, medium or long grain, white rice
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon each of Italian seasoning and poultry seasoning (or 2 teaspoons of one of these herb mixes, or 2 Tbsp chopped fresh herbs such as rosemary, sage, thyme, and basil)**
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

Step 1

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, but with mushrooms and without tomatoes. With this recipe I set out to make a scratch cooking version of chicken rice casserole, sans the cans, with the goal of extracting as much flavor as I could out of the ingredients. First you will note that we use chicken thighs, instead of the more popular (and more expensive by the way) breasts. The thighs have more flavor, and are a little fattier, meaning they won't dry out with long cooking. The chicken pieces are browned in olive oil, removed, and then the onions are cooked in the same pan with the chicken browned bits. Then the mushrooms are browned, and the whole pan is deglazed with dry sherry. All goes into a casserole dish with stock, cream, sour cream, herbs, rice, topped with the chicken, and baked in the oven. The rice cooks in the stock, the chicken finishes cooking, and the resulting dish is, as my 10-yr-old nephew says "really good".

You can make this entire dish on the stovetop instead of the oven if you want. Just use a large sauté pan with a tight cover, cook on low when all is assembled, low enough to keep a simmer, but not so high that you burn the rice.

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1 teaspoon each of Italian seasoning and poultry seasoning (or 2 teaspoons of one of these herb mixes, or 2 Tbsp chopped fresh herbs such as rosemary, sage, thyme, and basil)**

Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high or high heat (hot enough to brown but not burn). Sprinkle a dash of salt on the bottom of the pan. Season the chicken pieces all over with salt and pepper. Working in batches, brown the chicken pieces on two sides, about 1-2 minutes per batch. Add a little more salt to the pan (and more olive oil if needed) after every batch. This will help prevent the chicken from sticking to the pan. Remove chicken pieces and set aside in a bowl. Note that the chicken does not have to be cooked through, only browned.

In the same sauté pan add 1 Tbsp olive oil, lower the heat to medium, add the onions, and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, cook 30 seconds more. Remove onions and garlic to a shallow (9 x 13 x 2) casserole dish.

Raise heat to medium high, add the sliced mushrooms. Dry sauté them (no need to add butter or oil), allowing the mushrooms to brown lightly, and release some of their moisture. Add the mushrooms to the casserole dish.

Add 1/4 cup dry sherry or dry white wine to the pan to deglaze the pan, scraping off the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. (At this point, if you are making ahead, reduce the sherry to 1 Tbsp and pour off into the casserole dish. Refrigerate cooked onions, garlic, mushrooms, and browned chicken pieces until you are ready to make the casserole.) Let the sherry reduce to about 1 Tbsp, then add the chicken stock, and remove from heat. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, the cream, and the sour cream. Add the raw rice to the casserole dish. Then pour the stock, sherry, cream, sour cream mixture over the rice. Add the Italian and poultry seasonings (or fresh herbs) and paprika to the dish. Stir the rice, onion, mushroom, herb mixture so that they are evenly distributed in the casserole dish.

Place the chicken pieces on top of the rice mixture (in a single layer if you can, they will be crowded). Cover the casserole dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake in a 375°F oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil. If the casserole is still too liquidy, let it cook a few minutes more, uncovered, until the excess liquid has evaporated away.

Nope, no taste of sour cream per se. The sour cream is there to add creaminess and acidity. ~Elise

This is almost identical to a dish my Mom would make frequently with dove and quail. She would use wild rice to compliment the meat. It was always a huge hit and is one of my favorite childhood recipes.

Great step by step directions and pictures. This looks delish, it may be in the plans for this week's dinner rotation!

My mother used to make a chicken-and-rice casserole with no cream (no dairy products at all, actually) as her "company" dish. Chicken, mushrooms, onions, rice, chicken stock; after the main ingredients were browned somewhat, they were put into a casserole with raw rice and stock, and then baked. It was simple, but honestly was the best thing in my mother's repertoire.

I can't wait to make this! This looks like a wonderfully fresh and healthier update to the classic but mediocre casserole of my childhood.

Could this recipe be frozen? I'm pregnant with twins and am planning, when I get closer to my due date, to make a bunch of casseroles to freeze for later. Is there any way you could do a post on what recipes can be frozen and how to reheat a frozen casserole - do I need to defrost first, how do I adjust temps and lenght of cooking if I don't need to defrost first? Maybe you could do a category for recipes that are good for freezing? Just an idea. :-)

How funny! I was just looking for a good chicken casserole earlier this week! I am a line cook at a restaurant and I like to make casseroles or enchiladas for the "family" on busy weekends when we don't have time to whip up some eats before our shift. I think crew would like this. :)

Elise, Do you think there's a way to replace the cream/sour cream with something less fattening? I'm trying to watch my calories these days and thought maybe lowfat plain yogurt and half and half would work - what do you think? It's not too much and it does make a whole casserole so maybe the cream/sour cream are "worth it" in this instance. Thanks!

Thanks for the recipe! Do you have any suggestions for a vegetable that would work well here in place of the mushrooms? It looks delicious!

This looks delicious, but I am trying to avoid non-whole grain foods. A simple substitution to brown rice would make this dish perfect for that type of diet. Do you have any suggestions on what may need to be changed (cooking time, amount of broth, etc) in order to substitute brown rice?

You will need more liquid and a longer cooking time, try an extra half cup of stock and an additional 20 minutes of cooking time to start. ~Elise

Love quinoa, but I forget the absorption ratio. Whatever it is, make sure to compensate with the amount of stock in the recipe or you may have a soupy mess. :-) ~Elise

Elise - you are, seriously, my go-to site for help when I suddenly realize I haven't thought of anything for dinner. Being a freelancer at home means dinner is on my plate, so-to-speak, so I truly appreciate your great work here! Gonna add some wild rice and a bit more liquid and time to this for dinner tonight.

Hi Shelly, good question. Just add the dry sherry to the hot pan, it will boil up and dislodge any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Use a spatula to help scrape up those bits. ~Elise

Given that the casserole bakes for at least 45 minutes, I think you could just chop up the raw broccoli and toss it in with the rest of the mix. It should cook in the oven. ~Elise

We made this tonight and it was soooo good! Your recipes make it to the table all the time!

I bet the brown rice gave it a great flavor. Regarding green, this is why we mixed in fresh parsley. Broccoli would be good too. ~Elise

Hi, I'm wondering if any of the commenters have tried this without the milk products. My son is allergic to milk so we don't use any dairy products. Wondering if it's worth making with an extra .5 c wine or stock instead of the two dairy products. Do you think it would still be tasty, Elise? Maybe I would add some carrots and celery, and maybe a leek, with the onion to boost the flavor. I know I could try those soy sour cream type products but I think they always taste off and don't cook well.

You could easily make this without the cream and sour cream. Just add an extra 1/4 cup stock. You could also easily add carrots and celery (cook with the onions). ~Elise

I halved the recipe (cooking for 1) and added asparagus and even with my playing it turned out great...as usual...

Try evaoporated (non-sweetened) canned milk in place of cream. It's skim milk, but because it's evaporated it's thicker and creamier.

I have always wanted to make those soup casseroles and never wanted to use pre-made products. Thanks so much. Will definately try this.

This look yummy! I am really anti canned soup creations. I can't wait to make it. I do have a question. Mom is allergic to mushroom and broccoli is not a favorite veggie for the family, and other suggestions of veggie alternatives?

Oh, thank you again, Elise for another wonderful recipe. This was delicious. I had all the ingredients on hand except for the heavy cream and boneless thighs. I used bone in thighs so I let the dish cook for an exra 15 minutes, and I used half-n-half. It was delicious. Very easy to put together. I may make the rice alone with the sauce some time as it was really good all by itself. I also thought that adding more chicken broth and cream/half-n-half to the rice/sauce would make an interesting soup. Thanks again for sharing your great recipe.

This looks really good. Through the years I've developed a dislike for casseroles simply because most of them were made of creamy condensed soups which I am not fond of. Because of this I've kept clear away from making casseroles for my family...until now. Your recipe is quite appealing to me and I will certainly give it a try this weekend. I like the fact that it uses natural ingredients and I can make use of my homemade chicken stock and homegrown herbs. The only thing I may change is the use of sour cream; whenever a recipe calls for sour cream I usually substitute it with yogurt cheese.

My husband is decidedly anti-casserole, specifically because he hates "soup can" cooking. I have to say though, that this recipe just might make him a convert.

I'm tossing the leftovers and pouring yet another tall glass of water.

I just made this and it was delicious! I added some red pepper, spinach, and used brown rice but other than that followed the recipe. I did it all in a Dutch oven that went right in the oven and it worked perfectly! Thanks for a delicious dinner : )

I just discovered this site, and it is quickly becoming my "go to" place whenever I am looking for something yummy. Case in point: I realize I have chicken thighs in my fridge, but am tired of my usual recipe. I think, "I wonder if Elise has anything for thighs." I don't even have to search; I open the site and this is staring at me. Perfect! I made it with fresh thyme and rosemary. Everyone happily ate it, even my son who takes "picky eater" to its ultimate extreme. Thanks, Elise! It was delicious! The only thing I didn't do was deglaze the pan with sherry or wine. I don't like the taste alcohol leaves so I used the chicken stock to capture the browned chicken bits. I don't know how it changed the taste, but leaving out the sherry certainly wasn't a problem for us.

I made this dish tonight and it was a hit! It did take a little longer to cook before the rice was ready. I added a little more garlic and some chopped up carrots when I cooked the onions. Also, the package of chicken was just under 2 lbs. I couldn't find 21/2 lbs. but it worked out just fine. Instead of cream, I used half and half to reduce the fat of the dish. I rounded out the meal with broccoli. Thought you would appreciate a review.

I made this yesterday for dinner to great reviews from the husband. The only change was to deglaze the pan with fresh lemon juice (no sherry/wine available). We loved it and will put it in the Make Often column. With just the two of us, I thought of cutting the recipe down, but we'll have the rest for lunch tomorrow. Thanks so much for your great site.

This sounds delish! I have had tons of chicken stashed in the freezer from when I catch in on sale. I'm a grad student and Food Lion up the street always has great deals. I think I'm going to 'atempt' to make this for my roommates this week. Would you suggest to use 2% milk and scallions in place of cream and union?

I made this last night for dinner and it was such a hit! I used brown rice and added about a 1/2 cup more stock. The cooking time was a little longer but it was honestly amazing. Thank you so much for this recipe. It is going into my monthly rotation!

As someone else mentioned, I'd love to add more colour, maybe in the way of peppers and peas. Not sure if a few red and green peppers, and a half cup of peas will get in the way of the rice cooking, and not sure if I should reduce the amount of mushrooms if I do this. Any suggestions??

I think peas would be a great addition. They shouldn't get in the way of the rice cooking. Just add them in. ~Elise

I used wild rice for this recipe (adjusted stock to wild rice and lengthened the baking time by 15 minutes). This is a very delicious recipe! I can't wait to make it again!

A friend also suggested adding some shrimp alongside the chicken, cooked in the same way as the chicken (seared, then cooked in the oven.)

This was very, very, very good. I used homemade turkey stock (no salt added while making the stock), and found I only needed to add 3/4 tsp of salt to the sauce. I did use salt while cooking the chicken. My advice to those making the sauce and wondering about the salt is, add the salt in 1/4 tsp or 1/2 tsp increments, tasting as you go. You'll find the right balance.

I spoke to an employee at the liquor store about this and he told me that opened Sherry should be replaced after 2-3 months (whereas anything with 40%+ alcohol will keep forever). For cooking purposes, you can use it for a few months longer but the flavor will deteriorate. It will NOT, however, make you sick.

Wow! What a great recipe!! My family loved it....gobbled up every bite!!! The only thing I changed was I used chicken tenders and cut them up into bite sized pieces (we don't like dark meat). Very flavorful and the chicken was so tender and juicy. Definitely will make again. Thank you!

Made this dish tonight and it was very good. I used fresh herbs - basil, rosemary, sage, parsley - and dried thyme and pepper which worked well with the cremini mushrooms. Because my teen doesn't like mushrooms, I doubled the rice and liquid which worked out very well. My family requested I make it with chicken breasts next time. Thanks.

Your brand of rice may require more liquid. I would just add another 1/4 cup of stock. Elise

This was so delicious! I didn't have any sherry on hand, so I used some dry marsala wine instead, and it gave a beautiful flavor. I also like the suggestions in the comments for adding broccoli--I need to try that! That's sort of the beauty of this recipe--it leaves so much room for adaptation and experimentation. Thank you so much for posting it!

I substituted paprika (didn't have any) for some korean crushed chili flakes for a bit of heat and did everything else the same. It took me quite some time to cook since this was my first time ever to cook a casserole dish, but I'm planning to get more used to it since I'll be making this over and over again! Thanks again Elise! :)

My folks came over to visit and watch the championship games so I made this for dinner, and it turned out delicious. I used herbs de Provence in place of the Italian/poultry seasonings; yummy. My husband has already staked his claim on the leftovers. Thanks so much.

Very Good! We made this last night and thought is was one of the better recipes we've made for a long time. My wife isn't a fan of dark chicken meat, she loved it! Only thing I could note: even after cooking an additional 10 minutes uncovered, it still seemed like too much liquid. We ate and the extra liquid was fine. It looked worse than it was.

I highly recommend this recipe! Very Good! Easy to make!

I tried this recipe in the slow cooker! I cooked it up until adding the sherry, and then threw everything in the slow cooker. I had to use about 1-2 cups more broth to sustain the longer cooking time. But it worked out very well! I liked it and half of my 4 kids did, which is not a bad ratio, especially given that one is a vegetarian. I do think the slow cooker method makes the consistency a bit more mushy and there is no crunchy top. But I felt it was worth the convenience. Next time I make it I might try whole thighs rather than pieces (I'm not sure the extra time to cut into chunks was worth it) as well as brown rice. Overall, definitely a slow cooker recipe I will recommend to friends.

Sometimes I think you read my mind! I had been looking for a chicken rice casserole without the 'soup can' adds and here it is. I didn't change a thing and made sure as you suggested that I matched liquid to the rice. My husband loved it and the crimini mushrooms give it an awesome flavour. I wonder if a mushroom blend including shiitake and portobello would add even more flavour - I will try but great recipe!

This is my first of your recipes to comment on, we loved it. I added frozen broccoli at the mushroom stage, it worked great. This is a great staple recipe as well as a great base recipe for other "cream of can" recipes. Oh I used also low-fat sour cream and whole milk. Still rich and creamy! Thanks Elise!

I'm not entirely sure what I did wrong w/ this one. Ultimately it turned out great but it took about an hour longer to bake than the recipe calls for. I did use brown instead of white rice, used FF half and half instead of cream and FF sour cream in place of the full fat. I also live at roughly 6000 ft...would that have something to do w/ it?

LOVED IT, my boyfriend was telling me how tasty it was, so delicious. Thank you! Thank you, this surely is an other regular for us! I love this site and love your recipes! It is the first place I look for when I dont know what to make! Since I am new at this cooking thing, your website is part of my daily site checks!

I boiled my chicken and then sauteed them a bit in the pan. Then I used the chicken broth from boiling the chicken in with the casserole. It was hearty and yet has a nice clean taste. Loved it!

I've made this twice and it is incredible! I used brown rice and extended the cooking time by 1/2 hour with great results. I didn't need to change any of the liquid measures. My whole family loved it. Next time, I think I'll add veggies. I love everything I've tried on Simply Recipes. It is definitely my favorite recipe site.

I have made this a couple of times and it is great. I usually add some peppers with the onions for a little kick. I did however, cook it at 325 when I was trying to watch a basketball game while cooking. I would not recommend cooking it at that temp.

I tried this according to the directions, and after 45 minutes the rice hadn't cooked at all. Any suggestions?

Check the instructions on your package of rice. Standard white rice takes 15 minutes to cook, and is what we are using for this recipe. So if your rice takes normally longer than that, you'll need to compensate in this recipe too. For example, brown rice typically takes 40 minutes to cook, so you'll need to at least double the cooking time (or triple) it for it to work in this recipe. Also make sure you have enough liquid in the pan. Rice needs to absorb moisture when it cooks. ~Elise

Hi, Elise. I made this recipe again using the cream instead of half-n-half as I had done originally. The cream makes the difference. With the half-n-half, it was too watery. I loved the creaminess better. It's worth the extra calories for this dish. I'll skimp on calories somewhere else. Thanks, again.

This dish is great!!! My whole family loved it and it will be added to our "Favorite Recipes" collection. Thanks.

I have a serious aversion any and all canned "cream" soups! Just the thought of looking at that stuff makes me shudder. Don't tell me you didn't have to suffer through that horrible broccoli / rice / cream-of-something-unrecognizable casserole at holiday times?? =P So not fair.

Beautiful blog! Gorgeous pictures! I love how you are still responding to questions and ideas or suggestions even though this was originally posted here nearly seven months ago. I can tell this site is truly a work of love. It shows. I'm very happy to have found this place.

Delicious. I made this with quinoa instead of rice for some GF friends. It was really good. I added some chopped carrots when I cooked the mushrooms for some more color.

I would like to make the chicken rice recipe prior to the day I plan to serve it. I wonder if either of the following would work: Can I put all the ingredients together as listed, refrigerate and cook at a later time(next day)? Or.... is it best to cook it to completion and reheat before serving?

I would cook and reheat. ~Elise

Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I tried it last night and it made me look like a kitchen super star! I especially loved the flavor dry roasting the mushrooms gave the dish but most of all I loved that this recipe contains no canned soup. I'm a time starved working mom just beginning to find my way in the kitchen. I need to learn and utilize every trick in the book in order to present a healthy meal on the dinner table each night so I very much appreciated you sharing how to prep this dish in advance as well as how to incorporate brown rice or make it dairy free. I just found your site last week and am eager to try many more of the foods your family enjoys. Thanks again.

My sister is allergic to dairy and I passed the recipe on to her too. You should be able to use soy/almond/rice or even coconut milk and soy yogurt to make it 100% dairy free. I think the sherry/wine and chicken stock would cover most of any "planty" taste from the dairy substitutes.

We add browned almond slivers to our family's chicken and rice...and no sour cream or soup cans of any kind. it's one of my FAVORITE

LOVED this! I changed it a bit. I used chicken breast, and probably sauteed them a bit more than I should have. I didn't have any cream so I used half cream of chicken soup and half chicken stock. I also added broccoli and topped it off with cheese. I let it cook for an extra 30 minutes and it was perfect. Probably not the healthiest, but delicious!

I made this for the second time last night. The first time I followed the recipe exactly and thought that it was a little dry. This time I added another splash of wine and about another 1/4 C of stock. It was much creamier this time.

This casserole is my go-to for dinner parties. The ingredients are simple and blend so nicely that even picky eaters can enjoy. Each time I have made it I think I have done it differently, usually because I was out an ingredient. Yet each time has been a big hit.

I wanted to share with you my strangest substitution. This one goes into the Macgyver category. Halfway through the prep I realized I forgot to buy cream and had just enough sour cream to make the recipe. Panicking, I looked everywhere for a possible substitute, including the freezer. Yep, thawed vanilla ice cream went in the dish with the chicken stock. No one the wiser till now!

Thanks for sharing all your recipes and thanks for always trying to find a new way to make old favorites.

Wow! This was delicious! My husband and I loved it. I added in frozen peas to the casserole dish and used half and half. When I googled "chicken and rice casserole" and found your site, I feel like I've made something else so yummy from here, but I can't remember! I doubled the recipe as I was making as I brought one dish over to a homeless shelter nearby. When I saw they needed a chicken and rice casserole, I wanted to make something from scratch without condensed soup. So glad I found your recipe and that I made a second batch for my family. I'm adding you to my google reader right away. Thanks so much!

I just wanted to let you know how much I love this recipe. My FIL recently moved in with us and he is really laid back about food. He rarely requests a particular dish except this one. I could make this for him every week and he would be happy. I've served it to company several times and almost always have to print the recipe out for them to take home. I've tried other recipes of yours and they are all wonderful.

I think some folks had recommended peas, which I'm guessing would be a good addition. ~Elise

Really glad I found this site by the way. I've spent the past hour just reading and bookmarking recipes here, and I've only gotten through the beef and part of the chicken portion of your blog. I can tell already I'm going to be spending a LOT of time here. Great looking recipes all over the place.

it was delicious and was easy to make , but my rice was not cooked enough though i follwed the exact intructions , it was a little raw .... any one knows why ?? . . yet the taste was good . thanks for the recipe

This has become a go-to recipe since I found it last year when looking for a gluten free recipe for a pregnant friend. I love it and have adapted it in a few ways - one time I cut up potatoes and threw them in, tonight I added green beans. I've made it both with dairy and without -- I find it more of a meal with dairy. So easy and so yummy!

I have made this recipe at least a half dozen times now, initially because I was looking for a recipe without canned "cream of" soups. This is absolutely amazing -- the best chicken and rice recipe ever. One of my husband's favorite casseroles is chicken and rice and he says this is the best -- even better than his grandmother's recipe. The mushrooms really add something as does the sherry. Make it just as the recipe says and you won't be disappointed. Whole house smells wonderful when this is cooking! I would serve this to company -- it's both down home and special at the same time.

Awesome recipe. I was also looking for a chicken casserole that avoided canned soup. This one was perfect. The sauce is dynamite -- flavors of chicken, garlic, onion and herbs. You could easily add a chopped-up green vegetable to this (brocolli, for example.) I made mine with brown rice -- longer cooking time.

I did do an Arroz Con Pollo version; with Pollo Asado (breast meat, so after browning I added the chicken to the dish half way through bake time); and added Sazon seasoning to the creme mixture.

Great recipe! Had that classic warm, savory, "sticky" rice casserole flavour without needing to use canned soup. Made this using brown rice and it turned out great -- used extra stock as per rice package instructions, and baked for about 1h 30 mins. Added some chopped broccoli, but next time I would probably mix in the broccoli maybe 30 mins into the baking time, as it turned out a little mushy for me. Still very tasty though.

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