I love quick and easy recipes that give me leftovers all week long that taste as good as they did on day one. Especially recipes that don’t use pre-package processed ingredients.
This chicken and rice casserole fits that description completely. It is perfect for busy families or busy times of year like the week before Christmas.
I absolutely LOVE that classic chicken and rice recipe we all grew up on that uses a can of cream of chicken soup over the chicken.
But have you ever looked at the ingredient list of the canned creamed soups! Yowza. I refuse to buy them anymore as I’ve shifted to trying to eat more healthy.
I’ve been missing my childhood chicken and rice casserole for a few years now.
One day I decided to try to recreate the recipe without the canned cream soup or the boxed Lipton onion soup, and this is what I came up with. It doesn’t taste exactly the same, but its really good and I promise you it is more healthy.
Don’t let the long list of ingredients scare you. It comes together really fast.
And while I do understand that some people may not think 45 minutes in the oven is quick, it only takes about 10 minutes standing in the kitchen to put this together…and that qualifies as quick and easy in my book.
Chicken and Rice Bake:
Ingredients:
Cream Soup Substitute:
1/3 cup powdered milk
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Lipton Onion Soup Substitute:
1/4 cup dried onion flakes
2 tablespoons beef bouillon granules
1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon parsley flakes
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Additional Ingredients:
3 cups water (or use chicken stock instead of water and chicken soup base)
1 tsp chicken soup base or bouillon granules
1 cup uncooked white rice
6 skinless chicken thighs (feel free to use your favorite chicken parts or even a cut up whole chicken)
1 teaspoon paprika
Directions:
In one bowl, combine the cream soup ingredients and in another bowl combine the onion soup ingredients.
NOTE: If you want a large batch of cream soup substitute, you can find the full size recipe that I used on Food.com. I did leave out the chicken stock granules since I use a chicken stock paste, and plan to add 1 tsp of the paste for each 1/3 cup (equivalent to one cup of soup) when I’m cooking.
Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray and place the uncooked rice across the bottom.
Combine the water and chicken soup base (or use an equivalent amount of chicken stock) with 1/2 of the onion soup. Pour over over the rice.
Place the chicken parts throughout the pan with the pieces not touching. If you use chicken with skin on it, place the skin side up.
Sprinkle the remaining onion soup substitute over the chicken. Then pour the cream soup substitute on top of the chicken, evenly distributed among all of the pieces.
As you can see, a lot of the dried ingredients will float into the water. That’s ok.
Top the entire pan with a light sprinkle of paprika. I use Hungarian paprika but you can use any type of paprika.
Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and chicken is done (poke a piece of chicken in the fattest part with a fork and press down…if the liquid comes out pink, keep cooking).
NOTE: The original recipe called for cooking at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, then covering it with foil and cooking for 30 minutes more. That’s the way I made this recipe. Based on a similar chicken and rice recipe that I made (totally different spices but similar amounts of rice, water and chicken), I think 45 minutes at 375 degrees should work fine. If you find the chicken is getting too browned before it is done, cover it with foil.
See my note above…I should have covered this with foil earlier. Lesson learned.
Add a salad or a vegetable, and you’ve got a well balanced healthy meal without processed ingredients.
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SEE MY MOST POPULAR RECIPES:
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As a current expat I’m loving this recipe! Canned soups are nearly impossible to find in France so I’m always looking for recipes that don’t need them!
I hadn’t really thought about cooking if I ever do move out of the US, but my focus on using real ingredients and not processed ones probably will help quite a bit!
I’m also really good at substituting when I don’t have something in a recipe 🙂
I made this for tonight’s dinner in half the amount ask for. It was a big hit for both DH and myself. The chicken was tender and well flavored and the rice was soft (the way DH likes it). Not at all difficult to make and it uses things that I most always have on hand. There is some left over and hubby has already claimed it for his lunch tomorrow. Trust me Keren, that alone is a golden review. Thanks for sharing this with us. 😀
Does this need to be minute rice? I noticed you used regular, but the other versions of this recipe call for minute rice. Does the rice come out crispy?
I don’t use minute rice. I wouldn’t use brown rice, as that takes longer to cook but regular white rice is fine. It’s not crispy, somewhere between rice you make in the pot and risotto style rice.
Awesome. Making it tonight for a potluck!
Very easy recipe to prepare, and it’s quite a filling and tasty dish. I added a bit more garlic and salt, but otherwise stuck to the recipe as written. And it was a great meal. Thanks, Karen.
This was a pleasant meal. I made as directed, although I was not obsessive about removing all fat as well as the skin. I understood from another recipe that removing the skin from the chicken was important, or else the rice would be too greasy. My rice turned about a bit fatty, but it tasted good. Somehow I got a bit confused about the chicken base and the cream of whatever replacement (putting the cream of whatever replacement in with the rice), but I sprinkled on some dried Ranch dressing mix on top of the chicken prior to baking. (In the stomach, doesn’t it all even out?). Next time I might go a step further, and saute real onions in lieu of the Onion Soup mix ingredients.
I do a similar recipe but it uses the processed soup and mix. It’s so nice to have a ‘cleaner’ option! Thank you for a tasty meal. I love how the rice soaks up all that tasty flavoring.