Chicken and rice casseroles are something that not only I grew up eating but my mother grew up eating too. They are super comforting and hearty and just remind me of home. I have made several different versions of this casserole but my best recipe combines my three favorites – chunky veggies, cheesy sauce, and a cracker crust. I also cheat a little bit with this recipe by using boxed wild rice but if you wanted to cook your own, feel free to do that as well – the boxed stuff just saves on time. Another shortcut would be to shred a rotisserie chicken instead of boiling/poaching/baking your own chicken.

Be warned! This is a big batch recipe and will more than overflow a regular 9×13 casserole dish. If you have a bigger dish use that or feel free to cut down the recipe. My preferred thing to do with this recipe is make two casseroles with this by separating it into 2 aluminum pans and freezing one or both of them. This casserole freezes really well (minus the cheese and cracker topping). All you need to do is let it thaw on the counter, top with the cheese, crackers and melted butter and bake as directed below.

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped into pieces
4 boxes of Uncle Ben’s Quick Cook Wild Rice, prepared according to box directions
1 large onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
4-5 stalks of celery, coarsely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
5 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
vegetable oil
1 stick + 1/4 stick of butter
1/4 cup of flour
2 cups of reduced sodium chicken broth
3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese + 2 cups for topping
2 sleeves of Ritz crackers, crushed into coarse crumbs
salt and pepper

Directions

In a skillet heated to medium high, saute onion, celery and carrots until softened.

Meanwhile, prepare the cheese sauce by melting the 1/4 stick of butter into a saucepan over medium high heat and whisking in the flour, salt and pepper. Slowly pour in chicken broth whisking continuously until thick and nearly boiling then remove from the heat and stir in 2 and 1/3  cups of cheese until melted.

In a large bowl, add cooked rice, sauteed veggies,  and chicken and then pour cheese sauce over rice mixture and toss to combine. Transfer the mixture to a greased baking dish. Melt the stick of butter. Top the casseroles with remaining cup of cheddar cheese, sprinkle cracker crumbs over the casserole, and drizzle with the melted butter (1 cup of cheese, 1 sleeve of cracker crumbs and 1/2 stick of butter per casserole).

Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and top is golden brown and crunchy. (If baking from room temperate time will increase to 1 hour).

Enjoy!

Much Love,
M