Way better than casserole made with canned soup! This from-scratch version of chicken and rice casserole bakes with mushrooms, garlic, cream, and herbs.

Photography Credit: Elise Bauer

Featured in 11 Casseroles to Double and Freeze

Have you ever had the classic Campbell’s chicken and rice casserole made with canned cream of mushroom soup?

I admit I have not, though the idea of it intrigued me recently. The dish sort of reminds me of my mother’s arroz con pollo, but with mushrooms and without tomatoes.

With this recipe, I set out to make a scratch cooking version of chicken and rice casserole, sans the cans, with the goal of extracting as much flavor as I could out of the ingredients.

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How to Make Chicken and Rice Casserole

First, note that we use chicken thighs, instead of the more popular (and more expensive) breasts. The thighs have more flavor and are a little fattier, so they won’t dry out with long cooking.

The chicken pieces are browned in olive oil, removed, and then the onions are cooked in the same pan with the browned chicken bits. Then the mushrooms are browned, and the whole pan is deglazed with dry sherry.

All goes into a casserole dish with stock, cream, sour cream, herbs, and rice. It’s then topped with the chicken and baked in the oven.

The rice cooks in the stock, the chicken finishes cooking, and the resulting chicken and rice bake is, as my 10-year-old nephew says, “Really good!”

What Kind of Rice To Use

For this chicken and rice casserole I like to use use medium or long grain white rice. The recipe assumes the rice requires approximately 1 1/2 cups liquid per cup of rice to cook. Some rice varieties, such as brown rice, require more liquid (and a longer cooking time). Adjust recipe accordingly.

Can I Make This on the Stovetop?

Sure! You can make this entire dish on the stovetop instead of the oven if you want. Just use a large sauté pan with a tight cover, and cook on low heat when all is assembled. Cook it at a low enough heat to keep a bare simmer, but not so high that you burn the rice.

Can I Make this Casserole Ahead of Time?

You can make part of the casserole ahead of time, and then assemble and bake before serving. Just follow the steps to brown the chicken, cook the onions, garlic, and mushrooms and move them to the casserole dish. Once you deglaze the pan with sherry, let it reduce and transfer it and any scraped up drippings to the casserole dish as well.

Refrigerate until you are ready to cook, then start with mixing the chicken stock with cream and sour cream, before assembling the casserole and baking it.

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