Easy 3-Ingredient Chicken and Rice Casserole Recipe

Father of the Bride

The storyline of The Father of the Bride intertwines a father wanting his daughter to have the dream wedding she wants and yet stay within his budget. Money doesn’t grow on trees ya’ know!

During the planning phase of the wedding, the bride-to-be, her mom, and of course, her father were discussing the menu with the caterer. The chef/caterer suggested something very fancy like lobster and the father immediately said, ‘We’re having chicken!”

So I knew the recipe I wanted to share with you!

And this easy chicken recipe doesn’t call for the usual cream of chicken soup or even chicken broth. this simple recipe includes Beef Consomme; if you haven’t tried it in a recipe, you’ll soon discover how rich and full of flavor this is compared to chicken stock or beef stock.

You might think it sounds odd to use a beef flavor in a chicken casserole, but take my word for it, you won’t regret trying this delicious beef consomme stock for the first time.

Let’s dive into the easiest three-ingredient chicken and rice casserole you have ever made! This easy weeknight meal takes minutes of prep time so it’s great for busy weeknights.

chicken breasts or chicken thighs?

I usually use boneless skinless chicken breasts in this recipe but my mom, who started this whole chicken and rice recipe, used chicken thighs. She always said that the dark meat of bone-in chicken thighs and gave the comforting casserole dish more flavor. Plus, back in her family-raising days, chicken thighs were cheaper.

Ladies, we are in luck! My mom just called while I am writing this post and I told her that I was sharing this family-favorite recipe. She gave me another tip! She browned her chicken in bacon grease for added flavor. Omgoodness, doesn’t that sound delicious? Thanks to my mom for sharing this old-fashioned cooking tip!

As a side note, my mom also cut up her own whole chicken and would use every part. A whole chicken with all of the parts, legs, thighs, wings, and breasts along with the rice fed her family of six. And everyone was more than satisfied!

​When I started to make this dinner recipe for my own family, my hubby let me know that he is not a fan of dark meat. So chicken legs and chicken thighs were OUT! We only have chicken tenders and chicken breasts in this family!

added flavor: butter and bacon grease

I had to make some adjustments to the recipe to accommodate and also to add flavor that would be missing from the fat in the dark meat chicken. We’ll chat more about that as we move along in this easy recipe. (don’t forget about that bacon grease tip!)

If you use chicken breasts, you have a couple of options: use the bone-in split chicken breasts, boneless skinless chicken breast, chicken tenders or your own chicken ‘tenders’ that you slice from a chicken breast.

shorten the prep time

​Here are some other chicken options for this one-dish chicken recipe:

• leftover chicken (leftover crockpot chicken from another meal is perfect!)
• rotisserie chicken
• chicken chunks from slow cooker chicken

If the chicken you choose to use is already cooked, you can skip this next step. If the chicken is fresh, then you need to brown at least one side of the chicken. The choice is yours!

golden brown chicken

I browned the chicken breast in a cast-iron skillet over medium to high heat using olive oil and butter in the pan (don’t forget the bacon grease tip!) Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. If you use other chicken parts like the legs or thighs, brown them the same way.

Browning the chicken in olive oil and butter will help to add some fat to the dish which is important if you are using boneless skinless chicken breast.

BTW, see that adorable vintage butter dish? I found it on a recent thrift shopping trip that I shared over on YouTube. I didn’t polish it….yet. Do you think I should polish the silver or leave the beautiful patina as it is? Let me know in the comments!

You do not have to cook the chicken through. In fact, you want it raw on the inside and just golden brown on the outside so it won’t take a lot of time to do this step. The chicken will continue to cook in the oven.

prep the baking dish

In the five minutes it takes to brown the chicken, let’s get the prepared baking dish ready.

Ok, here is how to get it ready: do nothing! Seriously, you do not have to prep the glass or stoneware baking dish for this recipe! How simple is that!

I like to use my vintage Pfaltzgraff Yorktown baking dish. It’s perfect for the two of us!

All you need to do in that five minutes is to pour the uncooked rice into the baking dish, then pour the beef consomme soup overtop. That’s it! You just combine ingredients in a baking dish a bake it!

If the butter and olive oil haven’t turned too dark while browning the chicken, go ahead and scrap those drippings into the rice and soup mixture. That will help to add more flavor.

Next, layer the browned chicken on top and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Seriously, how easy is that? This meal can be assembled in minutes.

bake the chicken rice casserole

Then you pop it into the oven for an hour and let it do its thing! Throw a quick salad together or another vegetable like green beans and you have an amazing weeknight meal.

FAQs for 3 ingredient chicken rice casserole

Let’s go over a few more FAQs about this great recipe:

• Can you use brown rice instead of white rice? No. I have tried brown rice and it doesn’t seem to absorb the liquid of the beef consomme well so it won’t create tender rice.
• Can you use instant rice? Definitely not! The rice bake recipe needs time to thoroughly absorb and cook the rice. This is not the time to use minute rice!
• Will this casserole dish create a creamy sauce? No, the rice cooks and will plump up as though you cooked it on the stovetop.
• Is this recipe easy to double or cut in half? Yes, yes, and yes! Use a  large casserole dish, add additional rice and beef consomme soup and you have more for your crowd! (you might have to add longer cooking time if you add additional rice and beef consomme.)
• Can this recipe be cooked in a rice cooker? No, the oven is the best way to cook rice and chicken together for this casserole dinner.
• What is the best dish to bake chicken rice casserole in? Use either a glass or stoneware oven safe dish.

store the leftovers

If you are lucky enough to have any of this delicious casserole left, you can store leftovers in an airtight container and heat it up for lunch the next day. That’s what I just did while I was writing this post! We had this chicken rice casserole last night for dinner and I couldn’t get enough so I had the leftovers for lunch today!

I am so sure you will enjoy this recipe and will want to add it to your delicious dinner ideas. It is the ultimate comfort food any time of the year.

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