Chicken Green Bean Casserole with Rice

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Chicken Green Bean Casserole with Rice

This easy chicken green bean casserole is hearty, downhome comfort food!

Course Dinner

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword chicken and rice casserole, chicken green bean casserole, Chicken Rice Casserole

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 25

Total Time 45

Servings - 6 people

Calories 667kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

Ingredients

2 tablespoons salted butter
1 small onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup, not diluted
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives (or ¼ teaspoon dried chives)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley (or ¼ teaspoon dried parsley flakes)
½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or ⅛ teaspoon dried thyme)
1 ½ cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided
¾ cup 2% or whole milk
2 cups cooked rice
2 cups cooked, diced chicken
1 ½ cups frozen French-cut green beans (or sub with 1 14.5-ounce can, drained)
1 (4 ounce) jar diced pimentos, drained
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 cup coarsely crushed potato chips, or more to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 2-quart baking dish; set aside.
In a large skillet or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Reduce the heat to a very low flame. Stir in soup, mayonnaise, sour cream, chives, parsley, thyme, 1 cup of the cheese, and milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Add cooked rice, chicken, green beans, and pimentos; stir to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if necessary.
Transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top with remaining ½ cup of cheese and crushed potato chips.
Bake, uncovered, for about 25 minutes, or until the filling is hot and bubbly and the topping is lightly browned.

Notes

Instead of French-cut green beans, use frozen cut green beans, canned cut green beans, or canned French-style green beans. If using fresh green beans, you'll need to parboil them or steam them briefly before adding them to the dish.
Swap out the green beans and use other vegetables instead. Good options include frozen baby broccoli florets (or parboiled fresh broccoli florets), frozen peas, corn, asparagus, or sauteed mushrooms.
Instead of cream of celery soup, you can use cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup for this casserole.
Don't have potato chips? Substitute with crushed Ritz crackers, crushed Corn Flakes cereal mixed with melted butter, or other buttery crackers (like Keebler Club crackers). You can also use buttered panko bread crumbs for a crispy topping.
Try other types of cheese instead of cheddar. Good options include Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, Colby, Colby Jack, Swiss, and American.
Any variety of cooked rice will work. I like long-grain white rice, but a short grain rice, basmati rice, wild rice, or brown rice are fine, too. Just make sure that your rice is cooked before adding it to the casserole.
To serve a larger group, double all of the ingredients and bake the casserole in a deep 9 x 13-inch casserole dish.
Use an oven-proof skillet to sauté the vegetables, and then just bake the casserole in the same pan. This eliminates washing an extra dish!
Quick prep: to help this casserole come together quickly and easily, use store-bought rotisserie chicken and microwaveable packets of rice.
Bake the casserole just until it's heated through. All of the ingredients are already cooked, so you just want to warm it in the oven until bubbly. Don't bake it for too long or it will dry out and the rice will get mushy. You know a casserole is done when the filling is hot and bubbly and the topping is toasted and golden brown.
Garnish with fresh parsley, chives, or other herbs for a bright, colorful touch at the end.

Nutrition