Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole is the ultimate comfort food layered with flavorful rice, chicken, a cheesy sauce, and crispy stuffing. You can make it ahead of time and even freeze it!
This is the casserole I grew up on. I loved it as a child and I still love it today. Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole is one of my favorite easy casserole recipes that will forever be on our meal rotation.
Of all the casseroles I’ve eaten, this is seriously one of the best. Why? First, the flavor and texture is awesome. Instead of using plain white rice you use the seasoned Long Grain and Wild Rice. So much flavor packed in the rice alone! Then in the casserole you’ve got some chicken, and yummy cheese and cream of chicken soup that create a nice sauce to hold everything together and gives moisture to the dish. And then to top it all off you add a layer of stuffing. I’m pretty much addicted to stuffing (Thanksgiving Stuffing) so having that on top is a dream come true. It adds the perfect amount of crispiness and flavor to round out the dish.
Second, you can make it ahead of time! And you don’t have the cook the chicken. Just cook your rice, layer everything in the pan, and stick it in the fridge until an hour before you want to eat.
Third, it freezes great. Since our family is small, I like to split the ingredients into two 8×8 inch dishes and freeze one to have on hand. Then just place the casserole in the fridge the night before you want to eat it and cook it as directed. Easy peasy! If you don’t want to keep your dish in the freezer, line it with foil before layer in the casserole. When the casserole freezes you can easily lift it out of the pan and put it in a freezer bag.
And finally, this casserole is great for feeding your own family but it’s also a perfect dish to take to those in need. I like to take this Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole or Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad to all those new mamas who are getting fragmented sleep and are just on survival mode.
Make it a complete meal by serving it with a side of salad, green beans, carrots… whatever. Your family will walk away from the table feeling full and nourished. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 6 ounces package Uncle Ben’s Long Grain and Wild Rice
- 4 boneless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
- 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese grated
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- ¼ cup chicken broth or water
- Paprika
- 3 cups Pepperidge Farm herb seasoned stuffing
- 1 stick butter melted
Instructions
- Cook rice according to package directions.
- Spray a 9”x13” baking dish with cooking spray and pour rice into casserole dish. Cover rice with 1 cup grated cheese and then layer on uncooked chicken pieces over the top of cheese. Sprinkle chicken with paprika and layer with the remaining 1 cup grated cheese.
- Add broth (or water) to soup, mix, and spoon over top of the cheese.
- Add the melted butter to stuffing mix and spread over the top of the casserole.
- You can refrigerate overnight (or freeze it for later) or cook immediately.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 60 minutes.
Nutrition
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Chris Steller says
I just made this dish for my family this weekend! It was a big hit! We all loved it! It’s so delicious and such a hearty meal. Thank you for sharing it!!!
Kristi P says
Made this for our family tonight and we loved it! My husband is a picky eater and he went back for seconds! Thanks for sharing!
Julie @Real Housemoms says
So glad y’all liked it!
Karen says
I just made this last night and it seriously might be one of my favorite casseroles EVER! Thank you!
Aubrey Cota says
Thanks so much Karen!
Charlie says
Love the recipe, have done it a few times now, but with a twist. I’m trying to lower my cheese intake, so have drastically cut that down in the recipe and increased the soup to 2 or 3 cans of a combo of cream of mushroom and cream of chicken. Plus I found the stuffing was a bit dry where the butter didn’t moisten it, so have added some chicken broth to that as well. Found this less than a month ago and it’s already becoming a go-to!!
Aubrey Cota says
I’m so glad you found something that has been working out so nicely. It’s great to see that you were able to customize it to fit the change in your lifestyle! Thanks for the tips and hope you will find more that become fast favorites.