This cheesy crockpot chicken and rice casserole is easy and delicious. It’s perfect for anyone craving comfort food with minimal effort.
Sometimes you need a recipe that checks all the boxes.
-Low effort ✓
-Comfort food ✓
-Cheesy ✓
-Still has vegetables ✓
This cheesy chicken and rice is full of all the good things. Add in chicken, rice, broccoli, cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, and cheddar cheese. This creamy chicken and rice crockpot casserole takes 2 hours once it’s going, so it’s perfect for a mostly hands-off approach to dinner.
After trying it once, you’ll most likely want to add this cheesy chicken and rice casserole to your weekly dinner rotation!
This post is all about how to make cheesy crockpot chicken and rice casserole.
How to Make Cheesy Crockpot Chicken and Rice
Step 1
Start by taking one large chicken breast, and cut it in half longways. You will have two thinner pieces of chicken. Season the chicken generously with salt, pepper, and Italian spices on both sides.
Sear the chicken in butter in a frying pan. Make sure to flip it to brown both sides. The chicken doesn’t have to be cooked all the way through. We just want the extra flavor that the searing provides.
Step 2
Add the rice, garlic, onion, butter, and water to the crockpot. Season with salt and pepper, and lay the pieces of seared chicken on top of the rice, so that they are covered with water. Turn the crockpot on high and cover it. Let this cook for an hour and a half.
Step 3
After an hour and a half, turn the crockpot to low. Take the chicken out, and shred it with a fork. Fluff the rice. It won’t be the same texture as rice cooked on the stove, but you will barely notice, though, with it inside the casserole.
Add the chopped broccoli back in with the shredded chicken. Pour in the cream of mushroom soup along with the sour cream. Mix all of this well. Finally, add half of the cheddar cheese and combine it with the casserole. Test to make sure the amount of salt and pepper is to your liking.
Let the creamy chicken and rice crockpot casserole sit for another half an hour on low.
Step 4
Add the remaining cheddar cheese to the top of the cheesy crockpot chicken and rice casserole. Turn off the crockpot and let the cheese sit for 5 minutes or until it melts. Enjoy!
Questions about Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole
Can you cook raw chicken with rice?
Technically, yes, you can cook raw chicken with rice in the crockpot. However, I don’t recommend it, because pre-searing the chicken gives it a better depth of flavor. It doesn’t take long, and I think the extra effort is worth it.
How long does it take rice to cook in slow cooker?
When I cook rice, it gets done after 11/2 hours when turned on high. This is when I cook 11/2 cups of rice. The time can vary, though, based on a lot of factors. It can take even 2 to 21/2 hours depending on your specific slow cooker and the amount of rice that you’re trying to cook.
Keep in mind that the texture of the finished rice won’t be the same as rice cooked on the stove.
What can you substitute for cream of mushroom soup?
I currently live in a country where you can’t buy pre-made cream of mushroom soup. I avoided recipes with cream of mushroom soup for years (much to my dismay). Then, I discovered that you can make your own. I actually recommend doing this. The flavor is so much better than canned soup from the store, and it’s not hard at all. I like to use this recipe.
If you don’t want to try this, you can also use most other cream soups. I don’t recommend using anything else for this recipe because the texture of the cream soup, along with the vegetables, is essential to this dish.
What can I serve with this casserole?
Even though there is already broccoli inside this casserole, I actually recommend serving roasted broccoli on the side. Here are some other options.
-Caesar Salad. This casserole is very rich, so a fresh salad on the side can be a great addition to balance it out.
-Roasted Asparagus. Again, this adds some freshnesh to your plate, and it has lots of great vitamins.
-Caprese Salad. This is a great combination of freshness and more cheese. I mean, who doesn’t want more cheese?
-Roasted Zucchini. Because roasted vegetables are actually the best.
How can I store my leftover cheesy crockpot chicken and rice casserole?
This casserole stays good in the fridge for at least 3 days. Honestly, I just leave it in the inner container of the crockpot and put the whole thing in the fridge. Laziness for the win.
If you want more dinner ideas you should try our chicken with mozzarella and tomato.
Cheesy Crockpot Chicken and Rice Casserole
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 tbsp. Butter
- 1 Chicken Breast (large)
- Italian Spices (to taste)
- Pepper (to taste)
- Salt (to taste)
Casserole
- 1½ cups Rice
- 3 cloves Garlic (minced)
- ½ Onion (large)
- 3 tbsp. Butter
- 3 cups Water
- 1½ tsp. Salt
- ½ tsp. Pepper
- 2 cups Frozen broccoli (thawed and chopped)
- 4 cups Cream of mushroom soup (you can use storebought, but I prefer homemade)
- ½ cup Sour cream
- 3 cups Cheddar cheese (shredded and divided)
Instructions
- Cut the chicken breast in half, longways. You should have two thinner pieces of chicken breast. Melt 2 tbsp. of butter in a frying pan, and add the pieces of chicken. Season the chicken generously with salt, pepper, and Italian spices. I do this while it's searing in the pan. Make sure to add seasoning to both sides.The chicken doesn't have to be fully cooked. It will continue to cook in the slow cooker. Sear it until it's golden brown and set it aside.
- Put 1½ cups of rice, 3 cloves of garlic, ½ onion, 3 tbsp. butter, 3 cups of water, 1½ tsp. of salt, and ½ tsp. pepper in the crockpot. Lay the pieces of seared chicken on top of the rice so that they are covered in water.
- Turn the crockpot on high, and let it cook for 1½ hours.
- After 1½ hours, turn the crockpot on low. Take the chicken out and shred it with a fork.
- Fluff the rice with a fork. Note that rice cooked in a crockpot will not be the same texture as rice cooked on the stove. Since this is a casserole, it's barely noticeable, though.
- Add the chicken back in, along with 2 cups of chopped broccoli, 4 cups of cream of mushroom soup, ½ cup of sour cream, and 1½ cups of shredded cheddar cheese. Mix well. Let this sit in the crockpot on low for half an hour.
- Add the remaining 1½ cups of shredded cheddar cheese on the top of the casserole. Cover and let the cheese melt for about 5 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
I hope this recipe for cheesy crockpot chicken and rice casserole can be as useful to you as it is to me! Let me know if you try it.