Chicken Casserole

8 servings Prep: 15 m Cook: 1 h 30 m Total: 1 h 45 m Beginner
Chicken Casserole
A great tasting chicken casserole that’s easy to make with chicken, rice, cream of mushroom soup, and French onion soup. Just mix everything in a baking dish and bake for an hour and a half—perfect comfort food for busy weeknights.

Ingredients

  • 8 pieces of chicken
  • 1 stick butter
  • 2 (10 oz) cans cream of mushroom soup
  • 2 (14 oz) cans French onion soup
  • 2 cups clean, uncooked rice
  • salt to taste
  • red pepper to taste

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
  2. Melt a stick of butter and pour into a 13x9 baking dish. Mix in the cream of mushroom soup and the French onion soup. Add in rice and stir to combine.
  3. Rinse, pat dry and season the chicken with salt and red pepper, then place on top of mixture skin side up.
  4. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. Uncover and cook for the remaining 30 minutes until chicken reaches 165°F and rice is tender.

Common Problems and Solutions

Q: Why is my rice still hard after baking?

A: Make sure you're using uncooked rice, not instant rice, and that the dish is tightly covered with foil for the first hour. The steam is what cooks the rice. If your rice is still hard, add 1/4 cup water and bake covered for another 15 minutes.

Q: Can I use boneless chicken?

A: Yes, but reduce the cooking time to about 1 hour total (45 minutes covered, 15 minutes uncovered). Bone-in chicken adds more flavor to the rice as it cooks.

Tips and Techniques

Use chicken thighs for more flavor and moisture, or a mix of dark and white meat. The skin-side-up placement allows the chicken to brown nicely in the final 30 minutes of uncovered baking.

Ingredient Substitutions

  • cream of mushroom soup: cream of chicken soup or cream of celery soup
  • French onion soup: beef broth with a packet of onion soup mix
  • white rice: brown rice

Equipment Needed

  • 13x9 inch baking dish
  • aluminum foil