Easy Cheesy Chicken and Rice

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 90 min
Servings: 4
Yield: 4 servings

Description

This cheesy rice and chicken recipe is baked in the oven with onion soup mix and cream of chicken soup for a comforting and satisfying casserole.

Ingredients

cooking spray
2 cups rice
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, or more to taste
2 (10 1/2 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
3 cups water, or more as needed
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix (such as Lipton®)

Directions

1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2 Spread rice into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle 1 cup Cheddar cheese over rice; season with black pepper and salt. Arrange chicken evenly atop rice-cheese layer. Dot chicken evenly with rounded teaspoons of cream of chicken soup. Pour water over chicken, then sprinkle evenly with onion soup mix.
3 Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Check rice for doneness; if water is already completely absorbed, add 1/2 cup more water to keep mixture moist. Continue baking until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 30 minutes more. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
4 Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese over the dish to serve.