Midwest Chicken Casserole
Published 11/2/2021 • Updated 8/25/2024
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Sink your teeth into the most flavorful (and easiest!) chicken casserole recipe made with minute rice, broccoli, carrots, peas, chicken breast, and a yummy creamy cheese sauce.
We’ve been eating (and making) chicken casserole since we can remember and this is our tried and true Midwestern chicken and rice casserole recipe that we’ve made time and time again! You won’t find any cream of chicken soup or any other nonsense in this recipe. Just chicken, rice, tons a veggies, and cheese, of course!
From a classic midwestern chicken and rice casserole like this one to creative Asian-inspired casseroles like orange chicken casserole, we are huge fans of taking classic chicken dinners and turning them into casseroles.
One thing that sets this healthy chicken casserole apart from others on the internet is that we dump everything into a casserole dish RAW. That’s right, there’s no pre-baking, sautéing, etc. in this recipe. Dump. Bake. Eat.
PS: check out our one-pot chicken and rice recipe. It has a very similar flavor profile but uses chicken thighs and a Dutch oven instead!
What You Need for this Classic Chicken Casserole Recipe
- Minute brown or white rice: feel free to use either variation as we have tested both. This is the product we use.
- Chicken breast: make sure to use raw chicken breast and to cut them into 1-inch chunks so that they fully cook.
- Veggies: you need onion, carrot, green peas, and broccoli.
- Milk: milk is used to make this a delicious creamy sauce.
- Broth: broth is used for more liquid volume. Feel free to use any kind.
- Shredded cheddar cheese: the more cheddar the better! We recommend shredding your own cheese, if possible.
- Spices: garlic powder, salt, and pepper
What kind of dish should I bake my casserole in?
Our chicken casserole recipes call for ceramic casserole dishes and let me tell you, there is a difference between that and a baking pan. Casserole dishes are like cast iron pans in that they bake things more evenly and faster than a normal metal baking pan.
We much prefer to use a ceramic casserole dish for our chicken casserole recipes for this exact reason. However, no fear if you don’t have one! A baking pan or a dutch oven also works great.
How to Make this Midwestern Chicken Casserole
Prep Veggies and Chicken
Part 1 is all about prepping your veggies and chicken. This chicken, broccoli, and rice casserole calls for the following ingredients that need to be chopped:
- broccoli
- carrot
- onion
- chicken breast
Once you chop those things, place them on the bottom of your casserole dish along with some green peas and quick-cooking rice.
You’ll notice that everything on this list is raw/uncooked. That means you don’t need ore-cooked chicken which is an absolute dream.
Make Cheese Sauce
Up next it’s time to make your homemade cheese sauce! That’s right, no need to buy cream of mushroom soup. For this, you’ll need shredded cheddar cheese, broth, and milk (any kind).
Heat a small pot over medium/high heat and add your liquid. Once simmering, add cheese and turn the heat down to low/medium. Continuously stir until cheese melts. Finally, pour sauce on top of the veggies in the casserole dish.
Note: you’ll notice that there is no roux involved. We’re keeping it simple with melted cheesy creamy goodness, but feel free to make a roux-based cheese sauce.
Bake Casserole
All of that should take you around 20 minutes to prepare. From there, all you need to do is bake your casserole in the oven at 375ºF for 40 minutes, covered.
Remove from the oven and add a generous amount of cheese to the top. Place back in the oven for 10-15 more minutes.
Let it Sit
Once your chicken is fully cooked, it’s time to let your casserole rest. This may sound like a funny thing to do, but I promise it’s important!
By letting your casserole rest on the stove-top for 15 minutes, you’ll let all of the liquid the chicken gave off soak up into the rice and veggies. I promise it’s worth it!
Can you put chicken in a casserole raw?
You do not need to cook your chicken before putting it into a casserole if you plan to cook your casserole for at least 45 minutes in the oven.
However, if you come across a casserole that bakes less, you can absolutely use a pre-cooked shredded chicken.
How long can you keep chicken casserole in the fridge?
Most chicken casseroles will last 3-5 days in the fridge.
Storage tip: make sure to store your casserole in an airtight container with the lid on.
Can I freeze chicken casserole?
Chicken casserole is a great freezer meal. Let your casserole cool completely and then cover it with a piece of plastic wrap, pressing it onto the top of your casserole and removing as much air as possible. Then, cover it with a piece of tin foil doing the same thing.
freezer tip
We suggest baking your chicken casserole in a disposable tin casserole dish. This will free up your other casserole dishes for real-time baking.
Midwestern Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups minute brown rice, minute white rice works, too
- 5 cups chopped broccoli florets, 1 full head
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 medium carrots, finely diced
- 1.5 cups frozen green peas
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1.5 cups 2% milk
- 8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese, divided (6 oz. and 2 oz.)
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1.5 lb.s boneless, skinless chicken breast (raw)
- 1 oz. shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- First, preheat oven to 375ºF and spray a large ceramic casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Next, place minute brown rice, broccoli florets, yellow onion, carrots, and green peas on the bottom of the casserole dish.
- Prepare cheese sauce by placing broth and milk into a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat.
- Once simmering, turn down low/medium and add in 6 oz. shredded cheddar cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Continuously stir until the cheese melts and your cheese sauce has formed.
- Immediately pour over rice and veggies and mix.
- Next, slice chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes and add that to the casserole dish and mix making sure everything is fully coated in cheese sauce.
- Bake at 375ºF, for 40 minutes. Then, add 2 oz. shredded cheddar cheese and 1 oz. shredded parmesan cheese to the top of the casserole dish and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, uncovered.
- Let casserole rest on the stovetop for 15-20 minutes before serving to further thicken.
Tips & Notes
- Chicken: the chicken goes into the casserole raw.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Delicious and easy! Got rave reviews from the whole fam!
This casserole is so light and delicious and doesn’t leave you feeling heavy. I love how the broccoli bursts with flavor, almost as if I’ve roasted it in the air fryer and the carrots and peas bring out a sweetness that ties everything together!
Thank you so much for your review!!
Can I use cooked rice if i dont have minute rice?
Hey Kail! I wouldn’t suggest that only because the liquid ratio would change drastically!
On the basic chicken and rice casserole do I use already cooked chicken and rice OR do I use raw chicken cubes and unprepared rice?
You put everything in the casserole dish raw!
That’s what makes this casserole so easy! Love it!
Your recipe looks good for our needs. Your printer function however doesn’t work, after two tries. I had to create word doc and use that. Something to correct for reader convenience
What’s the sodium content per serving? For some, this info is very important.
oops sorry. just found the definition of a chicken casserole. Ignore my last post. I had no idea that meant the ingredients are raw! but so glad to hear it and know it now thanks!
can’t wait to make this tonight. silly question. do I cook the chicken cubes before I put in casserole? seems like they’d cook IN the casserole if everything hot and it’s in the oven for 30+ min. just making sure. same question about the rice. cooked or raw? I have leftover rice in fridge so I’m going with cooked rice;-)
Awesome and so so flavourful
I made the chicken and rice casserole and it was delicious! I loved how packed full of veggies it was. Noticed that when to add the seasonings was left out of recipe instructions. I added mine to the cheese sauce, but you may want to edit recipe instructions to include this. This will be in my family dinner rotation. Thanks!
Thank you for your note on the spices. You did it right and I just updated the recipe!