If you're craving comfort food flavors and have 10 minutes to prepare a dinner, make this Cheesy Chicken and Rice. Bite-sized chicken in a fluffy cheesy rice is a dinner win!
Nothing says comfort food quite like a casserole, and this one is nothing short of delicious! This Cheesy Chicken and Rice is about the easiest casserole I've ever made. It's filled with super simple ingredients, and is filled with cozy flavors! A blend of tender chicken, fluffy rice, and savory cheesy goodness baked to perfection is a guaranteed weeknight dinner win!
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need
Ingredient Amounts Listed in the Recipe Card Below
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts or Thighs
- Long Grain White Rice
- Garlic Powder
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Chicken Broth
- Cheddar Cheese
- Butter
- Buttery Round Crackers
- Optional, Parsley
Tools You’ll Need
- 9”x9” Baking Dish
- Small Mixing Bowl
- Spatula
- Aluminum Foil
Why You’ll like this Recipe
- Chicken, rice, garlic and cheese are the perfect combination of ingredients!
- It’s a simple prep and easy to clean up dinner!
- It pairs perfectly with many vegetable side dishes!
- The ingredients are basic, but the delicious flavors are anything but basic!
How to Make this Recipe
- Directly in a 9”x9” baking dish, add rice, chicken, broth, ½ cup water, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, 1 ½ cups of the cheese and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Carefully mix until combined, then cover tightly with foil. Bake 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together cracker crumbs and remaining butter.
- Once the bake time is complete, carefully remove the foil. Mix the chicken and rice mixture, then top with the remaining cheese and buttery cracker crumbs.
- Bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until the rice is tender, top is golden brown and chicken cooked through. Garnish with parsley.
Tips and Substitutions
- Rinsing or washing rice first removes that excess starch, resulting in grains that are more separate when cooked.
- If you want to add additional creaminess, opt for a 13"x9" baking dish and add 10.5oz cream of chicken soup canned or homemade. Increase the covered bake time to 50 minutes and uncovered 20 minutes.
- The seasonings of this casserole are simple: SPG...salt, pepper and garlic! You can swap out or opt for other/more seasonings to your palates preference.
Storage
- After the casserole has cooled, store leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator up to 3-4 days.
- Store in the freezer in an air-tight freezer safe container up to 2-3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I use fresh garlic instead of garlic powder?
- Absolutely! You can substitute the garlic powder with 2-3 minced garlic cloves.
- Do I have to use long grain rice?
- While it can be tempting to try different types of rice, be sure to take into account the liquid ratio and the baking time. From personal experience, I have NEVER had uncooked rice at the end of bake time following this exact recipe. For other types of rice, here are some suggestions:
- Brown Rice: needs 5-10 minutes more covered bake time
- Minute Rice: needs 5-10 minutes less covered bake time. I have not made it with this rice, but I’ve been given feedback that it works great as well.
- Short Grain: not recommended as it becomes too soft and mushy
- While it can be tempting to try different types of rice, be sure to take into account the liquid ratio and the baking time. From personal experience, I have NEVER had uncooked rice at the end of bake time following this exact recipe. For other types of rice, here are some suggestions:
- What are some side dishes that go with Cheesy Chicken and Rice?
- Nearly any vegetable side dish will go well with this dish. Some of our favorites are:
- Is this recipe gluten-free?
- This recipe will be gluten-free if the buttery round crackers you choose are gluten-free.
More Recipes Like This
- Queso Chicken and Rice
- Next Level French Onion Chicken
- Cheddar Broccoli Chicken and Rice
- One Pan Loaded Spanish Rice
Cheesy Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 cup long grain white rice rinsed and drained
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 14.5 oz chicken broth regular or low-sodium
- 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese divided
- ¼ cup melted butter divided
- ¾ cup crushed buttery round crackers
- Optional Garnish: parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Directly in a 9”x9” baking dish, add rice, chicken, broth, ½ cup water, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, 1 ½ cups of the cheese and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Carefully mix until combined, then cover tightly with foil.
- Bake 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together cracker crumbs and remaining butter.
- Once the bake time is complete, carefully remove the foil. Mix the chicken and rice mixture, then top with the remaining cheese and buttery cracker crumbs.
- Bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until the rice is tender, top is golden brown and chicken cooked through. Garnish with parsley.
Maureen
Another hit ! Made this tonight after I saw your video on
Instagram, it was delicious. Does remind me of the old recipe that has the cream of chicken soup, but I didn’t miss it !
Only changes that I made is added fresh broccoli in with the chicken and rice - Also added extra spices ( ranch powder & seasoned salt instead of regular salt. At the end I used a handful of potato chips crushed instead of the crackers, because I was out. Very good recipe !!!
Thanks again 🙂
Laura Ashley
Aww!! This has made my day! THANK YOU so much for making it and sharing how you adjusted it as well. It sounds super yummy how you made it too! I'm so happy it was a hit!
Diane
Can I use minute rice for this in place of regular rice? I was going to make it tonite and realized I’m out of regular rice!!
Laura Ashley
I've noted under tips and substitutions how to substitute with minute rice. I hope you love it!
Betty
You don't mention in the recipe when to add the chicken!
Laura Ashley
I've edited that in the steps. Thank you! 🙂
Daven Mansfield
Step two is missing sayinf to add the chicken. I unfortunately discovered after preparing and baking for hour. I then watched video bc it didn’t seem 15 min was enough to cook the chicken 😩
Laura Ashley
I'm so sorry! The comma was missing between chicken and broth, and I've fixed that. Thank you for bring attention to that and I"m sorry it happened during the cooking process!
Tammy
If I add a bag of frozen veggies to it before baking would they be mushy?
Laura Ashley
I haven’t tried that, but folks have added frozen broccoli in the beginning and said it was great 😁