Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole

Reading the reviews is a must. I make this and it is really tasty - but I use one can of cream of chicken and one can of southwestern pepperjack cheese soup (campbell's). I also mix in a 4 oz can of diced green chile peppers, a little bit of milk and plenty of shredded cheddar and an additional cup of shredded pepper jack cheese. Oh I also increase the rice amount and use the amount of 2 cups of rice precooked. I top the dish with crumbled ritz crackers. My boyfriend (who turns up his nose at all casseroles) asks for seconds and looks forward to having the leftovers for dinner the next night.

This is a very good basic/starter recipe, however you do need to alter it a bit. Due to having to alter it, I would have given it 4 ½ stars if it was an option but it’s not. It was a must to read others reviews for they gave very good insight as how to turn this into a 5 star recipes. I did add a few of my own ideals though. 2 cans of soup is a must (I used one can of cream of chicken and one can of cheese soup). 4 slices of bread is also a must. I stirred fried my chicken with garlic and pepper instead of using the microwave and no garlic. I added 1 cup of chopped onion, 2 cups of frozen broccoli and increased the cheese to 3 cups, using ½ in the mixture and the other half on top of the bread cubes. I also poured melted butter on top of the bread topping. This was a big hit with my husband. This is a great Sunday dish for you can pre-mix it and place it in the fridge until you get home from church, and then all you have to do is bake it and fix a side salad. It is also very good for a potluck dinner.

It's great! After reading other reviews, I made these adjustments: added 1 extra can of soup, 3/4 c. milk, and 1 c. broccoli to the mix (I also added 1 c. of the cheese into the mix, and topped with the other half). I topped with a sprinkling of butter on the breadcrumbs. My husband said this was absolutely the best and most simple recipe we've tried yet. As-is the recipe is 4-star, but make some adjustments and it's 5-star all the way!

I can't say I would've enjoyed this as published, but I can't leave ANY recipe as is. However, this is definitely a keeper. BEGINNING COOKS: Save this in your favorites! This is a perfect base - some meat, some rice, a can of soup and a generous sprinkle of cheese. Adjustments and additions are to be made according to taste (IE: herbs, spices, veggies, type of meat, flavor of soup, etc...). Viola! Dinner is served. My changes: I was out of almost all my cheeses so I combined them - five in all; seasoned the rice water with chicken boullion; seasoned the chicken with boullion, chives, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder; buttered both sides of 2 slices of bread, cubed it and placed on top. Oh, and the reviewer who strongly suggested using your Pyrex for this - absolutely. Cheese and metal are not the best of friends.

Made this as is, and as is, it's OK but not too exciting really. Though it was easy. Bliss makes a very good point -- people see all those stars and assume the recipe is good, because people give stars for CHANGES they've made. (There's a lot of five's around this place for salvaged recipes.) I didn't see the point of the breadcrumbs at all -- they added nothing and just created more work.

I made this tonight with canned chicken (all we had) 4 cups of rice and 2 cans of cream of chicken soup. It was good. It was a recipe that served it's purpose. To make a fast meal with the ingrediants on hand. Don't make if you want something that tastes fancy. But if you came from simple homes as a kid and you ate alot of "throw together, what ever is in the cabinet foods" this is for you. It tasted better than I expected. In fact it tasted like chicken ala king that you get from school when it is all mixed together. (I liked school lunches). And the toasted bread on top is great, just drizzle some melted butter on the top before cooking. Thank you for this easy and makeable meal we all enjoyed it alot.

I recommend that you read all the reviews before making this recipe. As this was my first time on this site/using a recipe I didn’t and I lived to regret it. If I had read them I would have seen that there are many suggestions on how to save this recipe. This dish is very bland – I even thought so as I was making it but thought there was almost 5 stars applied to this dish so it must be good. Unfortunately it was not, at least for my family and my tastes… I can say it was a good lesson on how to use this site… read reviews… all of them!

I used a little more rice than the recipe called for so I added an extra can of soup. I used Campbell's Cheddar Cheese soup along with 98% fat free Cream of Chicken. Also used sharp cheddar cheese, skipped the bread cubes and used crushed crackers on top. I followed the suggestion of adding a can of diced green chilis to the rice, chicken and soup mixture. I think that is what made this recipe so flavorable otherwise it might have been to bland for us. It had just enough kick for my hubby and me, but was mild enough for our 9 year old who went back for seconds! My picky hubby who is not a casserole fan said this was a keeper.

I added 1/2 cup sour cream with the Cream of Chicken Soup and mixed more cheese into the casserole too. Topped w/ a box of seasoned croutons I had on hand (instead of the bread cubes) for more crunch. DELICIOUS comfort food that's fast & easy to prepare!!