Old Fashioned Chicken and Rice Casserole

5 from 11 votes

Old Fashioned Chicken and Rice Casserole

This easy chicken and rice casserole comes together in just 10 minutes!

Course Dinner

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword chicken and rice casserole, chicken and rice casserole recipe, chicken and rice casserole with cream of chicken soup, old fashioned chicken and rice casserole

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Total Time 35

Servings people

Calories 366.6kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

Ingredients

3 cups cooked, diced chicken
3 cups cooked rice
¾ cup mayonnaise
1 (10.5 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup (or use cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup)
1 cup chicken broth
1 small onion, finely diced
1 cup finely diced celery
½ cup slivered almonds (about 2 ounces)
1 sleeve Ritz crackers, coarsely crushed (about 30 crackers or 1 ½ cups crumbs)
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Optional garnish: chopped fresh parsley or other herbs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, stir together chicken, rice, mayonnaise, condensed soup, chicken broth, onion, celery, and almonds. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
In a separate bowl, stir together Ritz cracker crumbs and melted butter. Sprinkle over top of the casserole.
Bake, uncovered, until hot, bubbly, and golden brown on top, about 25-30 minutes.

Video

Notes

You'll need 3 cups of cooked chicken for this casserole. I like to use the meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken for convenience. If you prefer to cook your own chicken at home, start with about 1 ½ lbs. of boneless, skinless chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs. Boil until cooked through, about 10-15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, chop or pull the chicken and use in the recipe.

The celery and onion become slightly tender in the casserole, but still have a firm bite (which I prefer for crunch in the dish). If you like your celery and onion very soft, I recommend sautéing the vegetables in a skillet with butter or olive oil before adding them to the casserole.

Use microwaveable rice for a shortcut. If you're using Uncle Ben's Ready Rice, microwave the rice according to the package directions before adding it to the dish. Each pouch contains about 2 cups of rice, so you'll need about 1 ½ packets for this recipe.

Nutrition