Need an easy dinner this week? This Chicken and Rice Casserole has only 5 ingredients, making dinner quick and simple!

When the weather gets colder, I love a good casserole. It’s like the ultimate comfort food in Winter.

I also like easy recipes, where I can just throw a few ingredients together and have dinner ready in not a lot of time.

This 5-ingredient chicken and rice casserole has a creamy sauce, a delicious cheese topping, and is made with simple ingredients and just a few minutes of prep time. Scroll to the bottom of the post to get to the recipe card to this easy weeknight meal, or keep reading for more tips and tricks!

Ingredients

Cooked shredded chicken

Onion soup mix

Instant rice (I used brown rice, but white rice would be fine too)

Sour cream

Shredded cheddar cheese

Can you use raw chicken?

If you don’t have already-cooked chicken, you can certainly use raw chicken instead. I typically use boneless skinless chicken breasts if I use raw chicken. Slice it into smaller chicken pieces to help it cook faster. You may need more cook time, so you’ll have to experiment.

Leftover rotisserie chicken from the grocery store is another quick option! You can shred all the meat and even keep the bones to make chicken broth. And any leftover chicken can be frozen!

Can you use regular rice?

To be honest, I’ve had zero luck trying to bake regular long grain rice in the oven. It always takes way too long; and even then, some of the rice is still crunchy.

The first time I tried this recipe, I used regular rice and it was kind of a disaster. It took over an hour and the rice was still crunchy. Super frustrating!

If you’d like to try uncooked rice, go for it! Instant rice just seems to work better for me. And you may have a longer cooking time if you use dried rice- just experiment and see.

Can you use canned soup in this recipe?

So I’ll be honest. I was GOING to use canned soup. But when it came time to cook, I realized I FORGOT TO BUY THE SOUP.

Thankfully, I had some sour cream so I attempted it this way to see if it worked. And it did!

So yes, you can definitely use canned soup instead of sour cream! Whether it’s a can of cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, or even cream of celery soup. Just use it in place of the sour cream in the instructions. You may even get more of a creamy casserole by doing it this way!

For the record, I totally plan on doing this next time.

How to make

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with cooking spray, then lay the shredded chicken on the bottom in a single layer.

Sprinkle the onion soup mix and rice over top.

In a medium bowl, mix the sour cream and water, then pour over top of the chicken mixture. Combine ingredients right in the baking dish if needed, to make sure the rice is fully covered by the liquid.

Sprinkle the cheese on top, then bake for 40 minutes until the cheese is golden brown and the rice has fully absorbed the liquid.

Divide into 4 servings and enjoy!

How to store

When the leftovers have cooled to room temperature, store in an airtight container in the fridge. It’ll stay fresh for 3-5 days.

What to serve with this

Since there are no vegetables in this casserole, I suggest serving this with a side salad or steamed vegetables!

I always keep frozen broccoli florets and green beans to heat in the microwave for a quick side item. They’re just as nutritious as fresh!

Other 5-ingredient recipes

Looking for more easy recipes that only have 5 ingredients or less? Check out my Master Post to get more easy dinner ideas!

Print out this great recipe now: