How To Make Chicken And Rice Casserole With Cream Of Mushroom Soup
Any good Southern casserole starts with condensed soup and is finished with a buttery, crunchy, Ritzcracker topping…and this recipe certainly delivers! Toss it together at the last minute for a quick weeknight meal, or prep it ahead for your busiest days. This easy, creamy chicken and rice casserole is comfort food at its best!
Can You Cook The Rice In The Soup
A lot of recipes call for cooking the rice right in the soup- but I beg you not to do it. I like to cook it on the side in some chicken broth instead, this way the rice and the soup can be stored separately in the fridge or in the freezer. -Ive seen my friends use a slotted spoon to try to remove rice from the soup pot before storing leftovers. And I know you dont have time for that.
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Best Rice For Chicken And Rice Soup
In this recipe, Ive used simple white rice, because its what I have on hand in my pantry most often. If you prefer you can use brown rice, wild rice, or any other variety of rice with this soup recipe.
If you do swap out white rice for another type such as brown rice, be sure to adjust the amount of time the rice has to cook in the broth accordingly, as brown rice has a longer cooking time than white rice. If youre using minute rice, youd also add that at the very end of the cook time, so that you dont overcook your rice.
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Can I Freeze This Soup
Yes! You can freeze this soup for up to three months. Let the soup cool completely before storing it in freezer-safe bags or containers that have been labeled and dated. I would suggest freezing the soup without the rice and adding cooked rice when ready to serve the soup. This will prevent the rice from absorbing all the liquid and getting soggy.
Chicken And Rice Soup Ingredients
Unlike the chicken soup our moms and grandmothers made, which involved cooking the chicken and making your own stock, this recipe cuts out all those extra steps with the help of a rotisserie chicken. However, if youd like, you can make homemade chicken broth as the base for this recipe.
Rotisserie chickens are one of my favorite purchases at the grocery store, theyre inexpensive and the meat is always tender. If I dont feel like baking a big batch of chicken for dinner in my weekly meal plan, I usually grab one or two to use in salads and wraps for lunches or main dishes like Burrito Bowls, tacos, pasta, and soups.
Heres what you need for this recipe:
- extra herbs thyme, rosemary, and oregano are perfect
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So Many Fresh And Healing Ingredients
It starts with the standard comforts of chicken and rice, but also includes:
- Ginger. So much ginger.
- Excessive amounts of lime juice.
- A lil pile of fresh mint and cilantro.
- Peanuts for crunch.
Its savory but also bright. Warm and cozy, but refreshing. Super extra healthy, but comfort food. Plus, its golden and beautiful-looking.
What Is Chicken And Rice Casserole
Chicken and rice casserole was first introduced by the Campbells soup company. It is a homestyle casserole that uses condensed cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup. This casserole is a very popular dish to make as comfort food, as a meal on a budget, and for potlucks. It is also a meal that is often brought to families needing a meal, like after a baby is born or when someone is sick or recovering from surgery.
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How To Make Cheesy Chicken Rice Casserole With Broccoli Basic Instructions
For the full recipe including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions for Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole Recipe visit savoringthegood.com
Why Is There White Scum On The Broth From The Chicken
Many times when simmering chicken, it can release on top of the stock a white foam and scum which is not scum at all. It is actually denatured protein . It can be visually unappealing at this stage but harmless and flavorless. A good portion can be skimmed from the top with a small wire sieve. By the time the soup is finished though, its not even visible.
One way to prevent this all together is to simmer the chicken in the stock while you cook the vegetables in the oil. Remove the chicken, strain the stock and simmer the vegetables in the stock for about 15 minutes. You can then continue with the recipe. It does add an extra process to cooking. In my opinion, the end result is basically the same. Either way, dont panic when you see the foam or scum on top. It can easily be remedied.
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How To Shred Chicken For Chicken And Rice Casserole
There are a few ways to shred chicken. It is best to start with warm chicken. Then you can pull the chicken apart using your hands or 2 forks.
The faster way to shred chicken is to place it back into the Instant Pot bowl or a mixer bowl. Use your hand mixer and run the beaters through the chicken. This will shred it the easiest way. When you are going to shred the chicken, use the shredding chicken trick that makes it super easy!
Can I Freeze Chicken Rice Soup
Homemade Chicken Rice Soup freezes perfectly if you follow a few important steps.
Low-fat milk does not freeze well and will separate. Regular evaporated milk would fare better over low fat or skim evaporated milk in this creamy chicken rice soup recipe. If you know you plan to freeze, for an even better result, I recommend using whole milk or even cream as the higher fat content does better when frozen and thawed.
Cool to room temperature, then place in a large freezer bag, seal completely, and lay flat to freeze in a thin layer. This will help the soup to thaw quickly when you need it for dinner!
To thaw, you can submerge the bag in lukewarm water until thawed, then reheat to the desired temperature in the microwave or on the stovetop.
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Old Fashioned Chicken And Rice Soup
This is such a basic soup made with everyday staple ingredients, yet it packs in so much goodness paired with an enjoyable and welcome flavor.
Its the not feeling so well, pick me up kind of soup, a dinner the whole family can agree on soup, or the not much in the fridge what to make for dinner kind of soup.
It checks so many boxes. In other words its one of those must try recipes for a rainy day. Literally.
One of the highlights of fall is breaking out all the soup recipes to warm us up and fill our homes with the scent of classic old fashioned dinner. Who can resist a stick-to-the-ribs homestyle recipe like this?
Can This Soup Recipe Be Made Ahead Does It Do Well As A Leftover
Soups with starchy ingredients do make good leftovers if stored in the fridge and eaten within the next 24-48 hours.
However, the rice will continue to absorb the broth and make the mixture more of a thick stew rather than a creamy soup. You can add additional broth to loosen the soup when rewarming.
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Why Youll Love This Casserole
Easy to make dinner recipe. This casserole is super easy to make. Throw it together in the casserole dish, bake and clean up. You wont have a ton of dishes to wash.
Family Friendly. This is a simple meal that everyone will love. Even the fussiest kids will love this kid-friendly dinner.
Change it up. This is one of those recipes if you dont have an ingredient, thats ok. You can swap it out with something else you have on hand.
Seasonings For Chicken And Rice Soup
Isnt it romantic to use fresh parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme all in one recipe? These seasonings complement each other so well. In case you havent guessed, Im a big Simon and Garfunkel fan. My parents listened to their music when I was growing up and I still listen to it today. I love the song Scarborough Fair/Canticle. It was released on their album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme. Scarborough is a town in England and in Medieval times there was a Fair there that lasted for 45 days! Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme represented virtues that are important to the lyrics of the song. Parsley represented comfort, sage represented strength, rosemary represented love, and thyme represented courage. You can read more about it on songfacts.com.
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What Ingredients You Need
Youll love the classic flavors of our Creamy Parmesan Soup, made lighter but still incredibly rich by swapping traditional heavy cream with parmesan cheese and cornstarch.
Plus, did I mention that all of the ingredients are gluten-free?!
Heres what you need:
- Butter preferably unsalted
- Salt and Pepper
Tips And Tricks For This Amazing Soup
This cant get much easier or much better, but there are a few things to keep in mind. If you use all these short-cuts the soup can absolutely be ready in 20 minutes or less. And if you dont use all the shortcuts, you can still have a soup ready pretty quickly!
- Chicken: There are a few shortcuts that make this soup so quick and easy . The first is using rotisserie chicken. We love rotisserie chicken because its already seasoned and so flavorful plus the chicken is already cooked making this soup whip up even quicker. That said, if you dont mind spending a little extra time you can cook your own chicken for this soup and then shred it and add it in.
- Rice: The second short-cut is a packet of seasoned rice. This serves two purposes first, the rice can cook in the soup and second, there are a ton of extra seasoning which eliminates measuring out a whole bunch of seasonings.
- Veggies: The last short-cut that is totally optional is buying some pre-cut veggies. Most grocery stores sell mirepoix which is pre-chopped veggies . If you grab that, youll only need to chop up the red pepper.
- Remember: This best enjoyed the day you make it because the rice will bloat.
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How To Store Leftover Chicken And Rice Soup
Leave the rice in the soup, and youll be horrified by the block of jelly-like sludge that youre faced with the next morning, caused by the rice absorbing all the liquid.
To avoid this, theres no option other than to use a slotted spoon or colander to separate the broth from the rice, chicken and vegetables and to refrigerate or freeze them separately.
If youre making the Chicken and Rice Soup to take elsewhere, please see the recipe notes for the best way to do this .
What To Serve With Chicken Rice Casserole
Salad. Salad is perfect to serve as a side dish for this casserole. We love making Olive Garden Salad, BLT Salad, and Strawberry Spinach Salad.
Vegetables. If you are not putting veggies into the casserole you can also serve vegetables like oven baked broccoli, roasted asparagus, Lemon Roasted Asparagus, oven roasted carrots, Roasted Cauliflower, and Roasted Brussel Sprouts are all great options.
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Cube The Chicken Into Large Chunks
Remove the chicken breast from the broth with tongs. Let them sit long enough so theyre cool enough to handle. Im not delicate when it comes to how I cut up the chicken for soups. Just like my vegetables, I want large chunks of tender white meat. Some people like to shred the meat at this stage. Either works, but for me, I want a mouthfeel of chunking ingredients.
How Do You Make Chicken Soup With Rice From Scratch
How do you make healthy chicken rice soup from scratch you wonder? This creamy chicken and rice soup is so easy to make. Just stir together, cover, and simmer until the vegetables and the rice are tender. While I love chicken wild rice soup too, I like to use brown rice in this easy chicken and rice soup recipe. Brown rice packs a bit more fiber than white, and its not quite as labor intensive as wild rice. I think its the best of both worlds!
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How To Mince Garlic
Garlic is a tasty part of this recipe. While I love minced garlic, I dont love big chunks of garlic in my rice. So I start by crushing the peeled garlic with the side of the knife. I slice the garlic and then add a pinch of salt. Then, I use the side of the knife and drag it across the garlic again to crush it onto the board. I keep doing this until it forms a paste. I also like to use a garlic press like this one.
Why Youll Love This Make
- A classic that never dies. This dish is a comfort food that has been around for years and will continue to be made because its so dang good. Its easy, filling, and can be tailored to your liking with whatever veggies you have on hand.
- Can be made ahead of time. This casserole is perfect for meal prep or feeding a large group. Simply make it ahead of time, freeze it, and reheat it when youre ready to eat.
- So easy and so convenient! A great way to use up leftover chicken. If you have cooked chicken on hand, this is a great way to use it up. Simply shred or chop the chicken and add it to the casserole.
- Freezes well. This casserole freezes beautifully, making it a great option for meal prep or feeding a large group. Simply make it ahead of time and reheat it when youre ready to eat.
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Meal Prep Some Chicken And Rice To Make This Recipe Fast And Easy:
For the rice, youâll need 1 1/2 cups of cooked and cooled short-grain rice.
And for the chicken, youâve got lots of options. You can use a store-bought rotisserie chicken to make things super easy.
Or you can oven roast a whole chicken, and side note, I need to add that recipe soon. But no matter which method of chicken you prefer, youâll need about two cups of shredded chicken.
And if I have a whole rotisserie chicken, I just wait for it to cool a bit, then peel large chunks of meat with my hands and shred it into more bite-sized pieces before adding it to a storage container.
Youâll get more than two cups of shredded chicken from one bird, so the leftover chicken is always great to top on salads or other quick assembly meals throughout the week.
Other Healing Soup Recipes To Try:
This chicken and rice soup is classic and full of flavor! Its warming, comforting, healing, and quite easy to make!Its naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, and downright delicious!
- 1 tablespoon oil or butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 cup long grain white rice, uncooked
- 1 pound chicken
- 1 teaspoon salt, more as desired
- 1 teaspoon pepper, more as desired
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 2 lemons, juiced
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What Is Best Canned Or Fresh Tomatoes
Because canned tomatoes are harvested at the peak of tomato season, these ripe tomatoes are available off-season. So when tomatoes are not in season, reach for the can on the shelf because it really is a healthy choice.
- Where I live, its pretty much impossible to get a locally vine-riped tomato beyond October. Picked green and shipped long distances to my grocery stores produce section, those tomatoes become a flavorless imposter of the real deal.
Can I Use Leftover Cooked Rice
You can also use leftover cooked rice to make chicken rice soup if youre looking to clean out the fridge.
You will simply continue with the recipe as written but leave out the rice. Then, at the end when you are thickening the soup, stir in your precooked rice and it will be warmed through in no time.
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How Do You Keep Rice From Getting Mushy In Soup
To keep the rice from getting mushy in soup, its best to add cooked rice at the very end. Simmer just long enough to warm the rice through. We like classic long-grain white rice, but any variety of cooked rice will work in this soup. Try brown rice or wild rice for a heartier, nuttier taste and texture.