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
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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!!!😲😲😲
Hi Nagi, can you freeze this!
Hi Kath, I find this one not great to freeze – it becomes a little stodgy and dries out in the freezer unfortunately – N x
Made this for my family – a real hit. Delicious, creamy, filling and full of flavour. Recipe is a keeper like so many others.
I did add beans & a little cauliflower.
Thank you Nagi.
Wahoo! That’s great to hear Susette! N x
Green beans?
Thanks again, Nagi! My boys have already started school. Meals that provide leftovers for hot lunch to pack the next day are a HUGE help around here. My boys loved it and asked for it to be packed in their lunches. So did the hubs. If anyone is wondering, I used the BOU brand cubes that I found at Whole Foods. I’m not a frequent user of bouillon, so it almost scared me off – but I figured it out. Keep up the good work!
This recipe didn’t work well for us. We only had brown rice, arborio, and basmati at home, so I bought long grain white just for this recipe. Used both broccoli & cauliflower. The rice just misbehaved! It went from hard after 40 mins to mush. I think this is the first Nagi recipe that flopped… but I blame it on the rice! I’m thinking it needed a really good rinse/soak before cooking.
Hi May, that doesn’t sound right at all, I’m sorry you had issues! No need to soak the rice, did you follow the other directions and ingredients as per the recipe? – N x
The recipe looks divine! What type of CHEESE do you recommend?
Tasty or cheddar Mary 🙂
Made this last night my wife and I enjoyed it very much.
Will make it again and play with it like a bit more chicken also mushrooms which we both love.
I did slip a couple of hand fulls of English Spinch.
It needed to be used so thanks again
Spence.
Sounds great spencer!!
i’m in love i’ve made 5 of your blogs this week parmesan fish,baked spaghetti,chicken chowmien rosemary lamb chops ,vegie frittata saisbury steak and even bought your .vegeta everything is wonderful and I was told I was a great cook but i’m telling people to follow you thanks i’m enjoying my trip through your recipes nagi keep up the good work xo and 1 for doza.
That’s so great to hear Betty!!!
I haven’t made this recipe, so I didn’t rate, but it sounds amazing and I’ve been cooking long enough and following your blog long enough to know that this will be excellent. I’ve never seen stock powder here in the US, but we always have several varieties of Better Than Boullion on hand, do you think that will work?
Hi MaryJo, that will be perfect! I hope you love it – N x
Do you think this would work with very plump shrimp?
Hi Georgia! You’d need to add it 30 minutes into the cooking time so they’re only in there for 10 minutes covered, then 10 minutes uncovered 🙂 But it certainly will work! N x (PS Hmm maybe I should share a shrimp and rice recipe!)
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.