Mushroom and Chicken Rice Casserole
This Chicken Rice Casserole is a delicious, creamy, and cheesy casserole made with lots of mushrooms, tender chicken, creamy sauce and of course, lots of cheese. This rice casserole is so easy to put together, even using leftovers, and everyone will love this perfect family dinner.
Check out more of my favorite chicken casserole recipes like BBQ ranch chicken casserole and chicken and sausage tortellini casserole.
Table of Contents
Sometimes, you just need something comforting and filling on the dinner table. On those nights when the whole family is craving something creamy and cheesy, a casserole always gets the job done! I have a pretty long list of casserole recipes that I love and this one definitely makes the cut. I’ve been making this creamy chicken rice casserole for years!
It checks all the right boxes. It’s creamy, cheesy, flavorful, and wonderfully easy to toss together. Usually, this chicken casserole takes me about 15 minutes to assemble. Then, the oven does the rest of the work for me!
It’s even easier when you have either leftover chicken, leftover plain rice, or both! Using leftovers or even making chicken and/or rice ahead of time makes this rice casserole an ideal weeknight dinner.
It also helps that my kids devour this casserole. Even my pickiest eater doesn’t care about the mushrooms (and if yours does, you can always leave it out)! Every bite of this chicken casserole is better than the last!
Ingredient Notes and Tips
Cooked Rice – White rice is my personal favorite to use in this recipe. However, really any rice you like best will do the trick! Just make sure it’s fully cooked and cooled prior to using.
Chicken Tenders – You can also use some chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of tenders if preferred.
Mushrooms – I usually use baby bella (aka cremini) mushrooms because they’re flavorful and always available. Feel free to use any mushrooms you like! Just make sure to cut them evenly and cook until done.
Heavy Whipping Cream – heavy whipping cream provides a rich and thick creaminess to the casserole. If you use half and half or whole milk, your sauce will not be anywhere near as creamy. It would also me more runny. You can always increase the amount of cornstarch slightly. To add more creaminess, you can whisk in a couple of tablespoons of sour cream or creme fraiche. Note that sour cream will slightly alter the taste, it will be more tangy.
Chicken Stock – when using store-bought broths and stock, try to get “low sodium” or “no salt added” kind. Try to also get bone broth if available, it will have a richer flavor. I love using homemade chicken stock whenever I can!
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Chicken Rice Casserole
Cook the chicken. Cook chicken tenders, seasoned with some garlic powder, salt, and pepper, until just done (1). Take cooked tenders out of the pan and set aside.
Sauté the mushrooms. Add mushrooms to the pan where you cooked the chicken. Season with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder and mix well (2). Sauté mushrooms until just done as well. Take the mushrooms out of the pan.
Make the creamy sauce. In the same pan where you cooked chicken and mushrooms, heat up chicken stock and heavy whipping cream. Combine cornstarch with a splash of cold chicken stock and stir until combined. Quickly stir in the cornstarch slurry into the sauce mixture (3). Stir in salt, pepper, and thyme. Bring to simmer and take off heat (4).
Mix. Dice cooked chicken tenders and add it to a mixing bowl. Add cooked rice and mushrooms to the bowl as well. Add 1 cup of shredded Italian cheese mix and mix well (5).
Spread into a casserole dish. Combine the sauce with the rice mixture in the bowl (6). Stir well and transfer into the prepared casserole dish (7).
Bake. Spread the casserole mixture evenly and top off with remaining cheese (8). Bake for 18-20 minutes (9).
Storing and Reheating Instructions
You can store your leftovers in the same baking dish you used to cook it! Just make sure to cover the dish airtight with plastic wrap or any other wrap you prefer. Store it in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
To reheat the entire thing: It’s best to do this in the oven and still in the original baking dish. Cover the baking dish with some aluminum foil (discard the plastic wrap used to store it) and reheat at 350°F until it’s heated through at the center. This could take 10-20 minutes depending on how much you have left.
To reheat individual portions: You can use the microwave. If the rice seems a little dry because it soaked up all of the liquids, add a tablespoon or two of chicken stock or milk to the rice. Microwave it covered with a microwave lid or another plate turned upside down. Reheat for about 30-40 seconds at a time, stirring in between until warmed through.
Freezing Instructions
I highly recommend that you either bake the casserole in the aluminum baking dish so it’s easy to cool and freeze OR transfer it into one after baking. Make sure to cool the chicken rice casserole completely (first to room temperature and then a couple hours in the refrigerator) before freezing. Cover it airtight in some plastic wrap or another wrap you prefer, then in some foil. Label and freeze for up to 3 months.
How to reheat a frozen casserole: The very best way to reheat a frozen casserole is to let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator! You can place the casserole in the fridge and let it thaw for up to 36 hours. Make sure to take off all the plastic wrap prior to cooking.
PRO TIP: I highly recommend adding just a couple tablespoons of chicken stock around the edges of the pan. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil loosely and let it reheat for about 30 minutes, until the middle of the casserole reaches a proper temperature. Use a digital or meat thermometer to measure the temperature at the center, it should be 165°F.
Recipe FAQs
I don’t recommend preparing and assembling the whole casserole ahead of time because the rice will soak up all of the liquids and it will dry out. You can prepare some components ahead of time like cooking the chicken and rice. Store cooked chicken and rice separately in the refrigerator for a day or two before making the casserole.
Absolutely! This is a great casserole to make when you need to use up leftover chicken and/or rice. You can use rotisserie chicken or leftover whole chicken. If you have any cooked chicken breasts left, you can also use them in the casserole. You can also use leftover plain rice (white or brown) if you have enough.
This is a good question but also does not have an easy answer! It highly depends on the type of the casserole dish you have and the explicit manufacturer’s instructions of that dish. First, you have to check to make sure that your casserole dish is freezer safe (most glass, ceramic, and metal dishes are). Second, freezer safe does not mean they are freezer to oven safe. Glass and ceramic dishes can crack going directly from the freezer into the oven.
I never recommend that you put a freezer-cold baking dish into the oven, no matter what it’s made of. It’s best to let the casserole thaw first and then let the casserole and the baking dish warm up on the counter for 20-30 minutes before baking. It’s always best to not put a cold dish into a hot oven! Note that most manufacturers, Pyrex included, now recommend avoiding extreme temperature changes.
More Easy Casserole Recipes
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Creamy Chicken Rice Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked rice
- 1-2 Tbsp vegetable oil for cooking
- 14 oz chicken tenders
- 8 oz baby bella mushrooms
- salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tsp fresh thyme
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 cups shredded Italian cheese mix
Instructions
- Slice mushrooms and set them aside until ready to cook.
- Preheat the oven to 350° and grease a 9×9 casserole dish.
- Preheat a cooking pan over medium heat. Add some oil and let it heat up.
- Cook chicken tenders, seasoned with some garlic powder, salt, and pepper, until just done. Take out the tenders and set aside.
- Add mushrooms to the pan where you cooked the chicken. Season with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder and mix well. Saute mushrooms until just done as well. Take the mushrooms out of the pan.
- Dice cooked chicken tenders and add it to a mixing bowl. Add cooked rice and mushrooms to the bowl as well. Add 1 cup of shredded Italian cheese mix and mix well.
- In the same pan where you cooked chicken and mushrooms, heat up chicken stock and heavy whipping cream.
- Combine cornstarch with a splash of cold chicken stock and stir until combined. Quickly stir in the cornstarch slurry into the stock/heavy cream mixture.
- Stir in salt, pepper, and thyme. Bring to simmer and take off heat.
- Combine the sauce with the rice mixture in the bowl. Stir well and transfer into the prepared casserole dish.
- Spread the casserole mixture evenly and top off with remaining cheese.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes.
Video
Notes
- Storing: You can store your leftovers in the same baking dish you used to cook it! Just make sure to cover the dish airtight with plastic wrap or any other wrap you prefer. Store it in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
- To reheat the entire thing: It’s best to do this in the oven and still in the original baking dish. Cover the baking dish with some aluminum foil (discard the plastic wrap used to store it) and reheat at 350°F until it’s heated through at the center. This could take 10-20 minutes depending on how much you have left.
- To reheat individual portions: You can use the microwave. If the rice seems a little dry because it soaked up all of the liquids, add a tablespoon or two of chicken stock or milk to the rice. Microwave it covered with a microwave lid or another plate turned upside down. Reheat for about 30-40 seconds at a time, stirring in between until warmed through.
- Freezing: for freezing instructions see the section in the post!
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in May 2017.
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Looks yummy. Can I assemble this casserole a couple of hours before I bake it?
Yes, you can make it ahead of time. If you scroll up to the Q&A I go over tips for making it ahead of time.
Can this be frozen and reheated later?
Hi Cindy,
I am so sorry I somehow missed your comment and I am just now seeing it, Yes, you can and if you go up to the Q&A I have tips on how to make ahead, store, and reheat.
I made this recipe and added some of my own spice preferences. I doubled the sauce recipe. Very delicious. Posted on Facebook and had requests for the recipe, gladly posted the link!
Thank you, Melissa! I am so glad you liked it! 🙂
My husband and I loved this recipe! Will definitely make again. I might double the sauce ingredients it was so yummy! Thank you ‘
Thanks, Katrina! Glad you liked it!
I used a Box of wild rice with seasoning and a rotisserie chicken. Next time I will just use a can of cream of chicken soup. I think any cheese would work.