This Crockpot Chicken and Rice Casserole is just a few simple ingredients. A great easy recipe for weeknight dinners.
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.
- Rinse the dry rice. (More on this below.)
- Combine the diced chicken, rice, vegetables, spices, and broth on your slow cooker.
- Cook on low for four hours.
- Stir in the condensed cream of mushroom soup and frozen peas.
That’s it!
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.
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.
Other Great Slow Cooker Dinners
- Italian Beef – This recipe is BETTER than take out!
- Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup – A pantry meal where you can use frozen chicken.
- Crock Pot Chicken Tacos – Only THREE ingredients!
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.
Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Casserole
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
Donna says
Is it ok to cook the rice before adding to other ingredients? Looks delicious.
If you do that, the rice will end up being really mushy, so I wouldn’t recommend that.
Kristen says
I would consider either parboiling the rice or cooking it for awhile in the slow cooker and then adding the chicken and doing the four hours. I just made this today and my rice is so undercooked that it’s crunchy. The overall flavor is good, but the rice is awful.
Kristen, I am so so sorry this didn’t work for you. I’m honestly really surprised to get this comment. This recipe went through a lot of testing, and when cooked on low for 4 hours we didn’t have crunchy rice at all. Did you have liquid remaining? It is possible that given the variations in slow cookers it might need a 4 to 6 hour cook time.
Kristen says
I didn’t have any liquid left at all. I want to try this again because the flavors were really good. I’ll have to experiment a bit with my slow cooker. I may need a bit more liquid and to start the rice sooner and then add in the chicken. This was the first time I’ve tried a rice dish in my slow cooker.
Sheri says
Do you uncooked rice for minute rice?
I’m not quite sure what you mean, Sheri. I used uncooked white rice, not minute rice.
Judy G says
I am cooking just for me, with planned leftovers.
This is a lot of rice . If I make it again, I will cut back on the rice to 3/4 cup and 1 1/2 cups chicken stock. I would also cut the pieces of chicken a little larger, so I could find them in the rice.
Otherwise, I was pleased with the recipe. It was easy to make and I love the idea of cooking it in the crockpot.
You are absolutely right in that it makes a lot. I’m glad that other than that you enjoyed it, Judy. Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and tell me!
Angela says
Hi Lauren! I rely on your Wonderful recipes :) Would it be okay to use Jasmine Rice for this recipe? Thank you 😊
Hi Angela, yes it will work with jasmine rice. I hope you like it!
Angela says
Sorry for referring to you by Lauren…Thank you Lisa! …I appreciate your response 😊
No worries Angela, I’ve certainly been called worse ;)
Lisa says
Rice was too mushy. The recipe for homemade cream of chicken soup was great though.
I’m so sorry to hear that Lisa, but I’m glad you liked the cream of chicken soup!
Dee says
Rice was crunchy. Should It be cooked before adding to the crockpot? I think this would be good if rice was fully cooked.
It doesn’t need to be cooked before added, it’s just that crockpots vary so greatly in their cooking temperatures. It just needed a little more time.
Andrea says
Made this today followed recipe exactly! Rice turned out mushy!
I’m sorry to hear that, Andrea!
Kelcey says
Does the chicken have to be cooked before you put it in the crockpot?
Nope, you put it in raw.
Debbie says
I assume you use long grain rice versus minute rice
Correct.
Becky King says
I love your crock-pot recipes!!! Anxious to try the chicken and ric🤗🤗🤗