This is a dump-and-bake Chicken Rice Casserole with broccoli that’s made from scratch. It’s creamy, cheesy, comforting and tastes like a risotto but so much easier to make! It’s the ultimate emergency meal – completely effortless but doesn’t sacrifice flavour for convenience.
NO CANNED SOUP!!!
How to make Chicken Rice Casserole – my Emergency way!
This is a dump-and-bake rice casserole that’s made from scratch.
And anyone who knows anything about cooking will (rightfully!) raise their eyebrows when they see how this emergency version of Chicken Rice Casserole is made:
-
Dump UNCOOKED RICE in pan
-
Sprinkle with flour and seasonings
-
Mix with liquids (broth and milk)
-
Top with RAW chicken and RAW broccoli
-
Bake
-
Stir in cheese, melt cheese, serve.
And this is what comes out: a CREAMY Chicken Rice Casserole with PERFECTLY COOKED rice with JUICY SEASONED pieces of chicken! 🙌🏻
What this Chicken Rice Casserole tastes like
It truly tastes like everybody’s favourite risotto – except you haven’t been slaving over a hot stove for 20 minutes. The rice is coated with a creamy cheesy sauce that’s made with milk and flavoured with chicken broth/stock plus stock powder.
It’s nice and creamy rather than stodgy like many rice casseroles are, and comes out of the oven with a bubbly golden cheesy top.
Most of the chicken has some browning on it, and the chicken stays juicy and isn’t overcooked.
The broccoli is on the soft side, but most definitely not cooked into mushy oblivion. You could steam it separately and stir it through at the end, but I chose convenience for a relatively small compromise!
What you need
Here’s what you need to make this Emergency Chicken Rice Casserole:
The key ingredient here that makes a real difference to the tastiness of this recipe is stock powder, also known as bouillon powder. I use this in lieu of salt in this recipe because it’s salt with flavour.
Use chicken or vegetable stock powder – my favourite is Vegeta which is a vegetable one, pictured below. Crumbled bouillon cube will work just great too – it’s the same thing, in cube form!
We need this extra flavour boost to compensate for skipping the usual flavour base step of sautéing onion and garlic in butter and searing the chicken until golden brown like I do with my stovetop Chicken Rice Casserole!
Other uses for Vegeta?
I’m a huge fan of Vegeta, it’s my secret ingredient for great soup broths, such as for from-scratch Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. It’s also my trick to make a really great QUICK clear soup broth for Chicken Rice Soup and faster Chicken Noodle Soup, and a really terrific creamy sauce for Chicken Pot Pie.
NO CANNED SOUP!
I would’ve loved to call it the WORLD’s easiest – but I know for a fact it is not!
The world’s easiest chicken rice casserole is made with just chicken, rice and canned soup that is dumped in a pan and baked, and you will never see that recipe on my site.
I do not judge (you’re talking to she whose parents would crack an egg over rice, add a drizzle of soy and call that dinner!) but using canned soup to make shortcut casseroles just isn’t the way I cook. 😇
But I do truly believe this to be the easiest Chicken Rice Casserole that’s made from scratch because we by-pass the usual roux making process whereby melted butter is mixed with flour and used to thicken milk to make a creamy sauce for loads of things from Mac and Cheese, the Béchamel Sauce for Lasagna to Chicken Pot Pie.
And I promise you – it is 100% delicious. Not “hmm, it’s pretty good”. It’s SERIOUSLY delicious. Creamy, cheesy, comforting, can’t-stop-eating-it-good!!! – Nagi x
PS This is the rice version of the Ultra Lazy Chicken Broccoli PASTA Bake and the baked version of this 30 minute stovetop Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole, both of which are reader favourites!
Watch how to make it
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Emergency Chicken Rice Casserole
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 500g (1 lb) chicken thighs or tenders (tenderloin) , cut into 1.5cm / 2/3" pieces (Note 1)
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp vegetable or chicken stock powder (granulated bouillon) (Note 2)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Rice:
- 2 1/2 cups (625 ml) chicken broth/stock , low sodium
- 2 1/2 cups (625 ml) milk , any fat %
- 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice , uncooked (Note 3)
- 1/4 cup (35g) flour , plain / all purpose
- 1 tsp vegetable or chicken stock powder (granulated bouillon) (Note 2)
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 tbsp (30g) unsalted butter
- 2 broccoli heads (large!), cut into florets (Note 4)
- 2 cups (200g) shredded cheese
Garnish:
- 2 green onions , finely sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F (180°C/350°F fan/convection).
- Mix Chicken Ingredients.
- Heat chicken broth and milk until hot using any method (stove, microwave). Can combine together in saucepan. (Note 5)
- Spread rice in 23 x 33cm / 9 x 13" ceramic or glass baking dish. (Note 6)
- Sprinkle with flour, stock powder and garlic.
- Add the hot chicken broth, stir until flour dissolved (some small lumps ok).
- Add milk, swish rice to spread out evenly.
- Spread broccoli on top, then chicken, then plonk butter on (anywhere).
- Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. (Might get some browned skin on surface, that's ok)
- CHECK rice before stirring - should be JUST cooked (Note 7).
- Add half the cheese, stir through, being sure to get rice in the corners and edges of pan. Should be creamy and quite loose (see video).
- Top with cheese, return to oven for 5 minutes until just melted.
- Sprinkle with green onion, if using, then serve!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
This is why I never drive with the windows down – he’d lose his head with a passing car!!!😲😲😲
Absolutely delicious!!!! So easy even hubby said ‘I can even do this’. We must be piggies because between the 2 of us we ate half of the entire dish. Added button mushrooms but that’s the only change, was perfect, another winner!
I was thinking about a chicken and mushroom version myself!!! The baked mushroom rice recipe I do works so well – you cover the ENTIRE surface with mushrooms and they bake up golden, they’re amazing! N x PS Glad you and your hubby enjoyed it! N xx
I put bacon on top and juvielln… carrot through mine .
I’m excited to try this. Does the liquid or timing need to be changed of you change the rice to brown or wild?
Hi LM – I mention this in the recipe notes – N x
This was super delicious and so easy to make. I had most ingredients, so became a very inexpensive meal! Lots left over for tonight’s dinner. Highly recommend!!!!!
Perfect Val 🙌 N x
Made this last night and it was very tasty and comforting. Instead of broccoli I used 3 carrots and a large leek chopped roughly. The casserole turned out a little mushier than I expected so next time I’ll use long grain rice and not basmati. Thanks for a great recipe Nagi!
I’m so glad you loved the flavour Anita, it’s supposed to be quite soft – just like risotto ❤️
Made this for the first time today. Big hit. Husband and I both loved it. Is a keeper for sure. Was wondering how it would be with mushrooms.
It would be great Annette!!
Just made this, scaled up the recipe. Tastes great.
Wahoo, that’s awesome Trish!
Looks delicious, can’t wait to try it! Do you wash the rice before?
Nope! No need with this one 🙂 All that excess starch is partly what makes the sauce nice and creamy! N x
Great recipe and the various ones applauded. Thanks! Do you have any suggestions as to how to use the leftovers? Perhaps arancini? We would love to get some ideas. Can you help?
Found your Baked Pumpkin Arancini Balls recipe! Will adapt this to the leftovers. You are amazing – what don’t you have on your website? Super Woman.
Hello Nagi,
Love your site, love your recipes, use them constantly so thank you. I am Curren renovating and have no oven, only a slow cooker (that can sear).
Can this recipe be made in a slow cooker? How long do you think? Or best wait until I have my new oven?
Thank you
Hi Nagi, Just letting you know, I pretty much cook one of your recipes every single night for dinner for our young family. They are so delicious, relatively quick, and I’m pretty sure nothing has ever been refused by my two young boys. Thanks for providing such an awesome website with easy recipes and videos. I’m sure you put so much time into it, it must take a long time preparing it all , photographing etc. Thanks again !!!
Hi Nagi – Love this recipe but can not use bouillion powder as the stuff we have here in CA is loaded with MSG and will put me in the hospital. So – I left it out and instead used 1/2 teaspoon of salt instead. Safer for me to use that. It turned out great anyway. I also used Better than Bouillion Chicken base and that also has no MSG in it and is low sodium. You can get it at Costco or on-line. They have a whole lot of Better than Bouillion bases – even ham and seafood. Thanks for sharing this great recipe.
Hey Dozer did you see anything interesting from the window?🐕.
Hi Nagi. .as always your artful recipes warm my happy belly👍💕
Your Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole is a family favourite here, so I can’t wait to try this one! Is it possible to sub the flour for corn flour to make it gluten free? We have a coeliac in the house and your recipes are so great. Every time I make something new the kids want to know if it’s a RecipeTinEats one 🙂
Well, I love to meditate for the 20 minutes of stirring oft-made risotto but must admit I’ll try your dump-in-the-pot recipe. Have oft seen but never used Vegeta and bouillon cubes are a no-no in this house, but again, you are making me curious . . . thanks for the tips . . .
Thank you Nagi for the wonderful recipes.
Often during the week I am stumped for dinner ideas but you always come to my rescue with recipes which have “normal” ingredients which most have in their pantry . My husband loves every one I have made. After 50 years of cooking for him I was getting stale but now I have Nagi and Tin Eats to rejuvenate our dining experience!
This was really really good! I just made it! I halved the recipe, Used fresh carrots, sliced, boiled before putting in recipe and a cup of canned peas. I used Parmesan cheese and it turned out perfect! THANK YOU!!
Oh wowwww this casserole looks absolutely perfect 😍
Wondering about the broth/milk. In Step 3 you say to heat them to just before the boil but then in Step 6 you say to add the hot broth and in Step 7 the milk.
Where is the tenderloin on a chicken? Never heard of this.
Chicken tenders. It’s found on the underside of a chicken breast. Bars and pubs serve batter-fried tenders which are called “chicken fingers” in the states.
@Jayne. The chicken tender or tenderloin, is a strip of breast meat, that is part of the breast but that is not really connected so that it can be separated and used as it is.
What kind of cheese do you recommend?