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Crockpot Chicken and Rice Casserole Recipe

4.36 from 14 votes
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posted: 08/03/21

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This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy

This Crockpot Chicken and Rice Casserole is just a few simple ingredients. A great easy recipe for weeknight dinners.

overhead view of a crockpot with chicken and rice casserole garnished with fresh parsley

So many people have see my recipe for Instant Pot Chicken and Rice and asked of I have a slow cooker version. So here it is! It’s easy simple ingredients are perfect for right now.

I will be completely honest with you. I like the Instant Pot version better. It just cooks the rice better. But! After many attempts, I can say this recipe is delicious comfort food your kiddos will love.

How to Make Crockpot Chicken and Rice Casserole

The best part about this recipe is how easy it is.

  1. Rinse the dry rice. (More on this below.)
  2. Combine the diced chicken, rice, vegetables, spices, and broth on your slow cooker.
  3. Cook on low for four hours.
  4. Stir in the condensed cream of mushroom soup and frozen peas.

That’s it!

overhead of a slow cooker with raw chicken, onion, carrot and uncooked rice ready to make chicken and rice casserole

Rinsing Rice

Just like in my Spanish Rice recipe, we are going to rinse the rice before we start. Doing this keeps the rice from clumping together and getting overly starchy in the end recipe.

To do this, place the dry rice in a metal strainer and rinse it with water until the water runs clear. The water coming off the rice will initially look cloudy and will eventually run clean. Another way to do this is to put all of the rice in a measuring cup filled with water. Stir it around. Drain the rice into a strainer and repeat two or three times until the water the rice is sitting in is clear.

Dicing the Chicken

In testing this slow cooker chicken and rice casserole recipe, the best results were with diced chicken. It kept the chicken from drying out as we give the rice enough time to cook and become tender.

Adding Condensed Soup

The most important thing for this crockpot chicken and rice casserole is that you add the condensed soup at the end. Adding it at the beginning will make your rice too mushy.

You can use either cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup. Here’s the good news: I have a homemade recipe for both!

I really believe that you should be able to cook totally from scratch if you want to. And also that shortcuts are great!

The most important thing is that family dinners happen as much as possible.

Here is the homemade version to either:

I prefer the mushroom in this recipe, but you do you.

condensed cream of mushroom soup being poured into chicken and rice casserole

Know Your Crockpot

Since this recipe was first published in 2020, I have received a range of comments from my rice was too crunch to my rice was too mushy, to this turned out perfect.

I have a link in the recipe card with the exact Crock Pot that this was tested in. But I can’t say enough that you need to know your own crock pot. Crockpots vary in the amount of time it takes to cook recipes. That is why you often see a range in the recipes for them.

Too crunchy of rice likely means that it wasn’t cooked long enough. Too mushy of rice means it was cooked too long. I suggest that you test the rice about an hour before the cook time is up and go from there as to how much longer the recipe needs.

FAQ

My rice was too crunchy/mushy, what went wrong?

Please see my note above about knowing your crockpot.

What type of rice do you use?

I used long grain white rice, not instant rice.

Does the chicken go in raw?

Yes! The chicken goes in raw and cut up.

Can I add cheese?

Please do! Some shredded cheese stirred into this at the end would be delightful.

close up of chicken and rice casserole garnished with fresh parsley in a small blue ceramic soup bowl

Other Great Slow Cooker Dinners

If you make this easy chicken and rice casserole recipe, or any of my other recipes, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

And stay healthy my friends.

overhead view of a crockpot with chicken and rice casserole garnished with fresh parsley
4.36 from 14 votes

Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Casserole

Serves: 5
(tap # to scale)
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 4 hours
Total: 4 hours 10 minutes
This Crockpot Chicken and Rice Casserole is just a few simple ingredients. A great easy recipe for weeknight dinners.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups white rice (not instant rice)
  • 3 cups chicken stock low sodium
  • 2 medium carrots diced
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 pound raw chicken breasts diced
  • 10 ounces condensed cream of mushroom soup (you can also use condensed cream of chicken soup – see the post for a homemade recipe)
  • 1 cup frozen peas

Instructions

  • Spray your crockpot liberally with cooking spray.
  • Rinse your rice two to three times with water until it runs clean.
  • In the base of your slow cooker combine the rice, diced chicken, chicken stock, carrots, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.
  • Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours (see note). This recipe works best if you are able to stir it once or twice while cooking.
  • At the end of the cooking time, stir in the condensed soup, and the frozen peas. The peas will quickly come to temperature and be perfect.

Notes

The cooking time of this recipe varies from crockpot to crockpot. If at four hours the rice is still hard, you will need to cook it for longer before adding the peas.
Serving: 1.4cups Calories: 379kcal (19%) Carbohydrates: 53g (18%) Protein: 26g (52%) Fat: 6g (9%) Saturated Fat: 1g (6%) Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g Monounsaturated Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 59mg (20%) Sodium: 868mg (38%) Potassium: 386mg (11%) Fiber: 2g (8%) Sugar: 3g (3%) Vitamin A: 209IU (4%) Vitamin C: 8mg (10%) Calcium: 18mg (2%) Iron: 8mg (44%)
Author: Lisa Longley
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
overhead view of a crockpot with chicken and rice casserole garnished with fresh parsley

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Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Casserole

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Hi! I'm Lisa Longley, and I am committed to giving you simple dinner ideas and recipes that are easy to make; recipes that will fill your home with joy. I am the owner and author of SimpleJoy.com and I'm so glad that you are here.

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  1. lou says

    this sounds yummy. only problem is my husband does not like rice. could i substitute with orzo and still get the same results?

    • Lisa Longley says

      I would want to test it first before I made a recommendation. Orzo is often a great replacement for rice, but because this is done in the slow cooker it would need testing first.

  2. Ellee says

    Hi,
    So I followed your recipe but did not realize the condensed soup was to be stirred in at the end (was preparing this with 2 kids under 4 waiting running wild). Do you think it will still turn our okay with the condense soup added at the beginning like I accidentally did?! I so don’t want to have to toss it :(

    • Lisa Longley says

      I’m so sorry, I’m just seeing this. How did it turn out?

  3. Todd Skjoldal says

    Two hours cooking in the crockpot(on low) and the liquid is absorbed. Should I add more broth?

    • Lisa Longley says

      Yes, if your rice still needs more time after 2 hours and the liquid is all absorbed, I would add more stock.

  4. ginny says

    How many does this recipe for chicken and rice with frozen peas feed?
    Can I double it ?
    I have a large crock pot, 8 quarts

    • Lisa Longley says

      In our house this recipe serves five. It makes 7 cups total. I haven’t tested this doubling it. So while I’m sure you can, you will need to adjust the cooking time but I couldn’t tell you by how much.

  5. Allison says

    2 stars
    I did make this but found it very bland.
    My family members didn’t care for it.

  6. Tina Bunion says

    I tried making this but it all came out super mushy. I followed the recipe exactly, except I had to substitute spaghetti for rice but I made sure to cut it up into rice-sized pieces. I also added a scoop of crunchy peanut butter for taste.

    • Lisa Longley says

      Switching out spaghetti for rice is a major change that would absolutely impact the final results of the recipe. I would urge you to try this again as written.

  7. Heidi Stange says

    Can I use a wild rice in this recipe?
    Thanks!

    • Lisa Longley says

      Wild rice needs quite a bit of cook time, so it wouldn’t be a good substitute here.

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