Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
Chicken and wild rice casserole is part of my series on Bags to Dishes meals. For Bags to Dishes meals, all ingredients are shelf-stable so that is an even bigger plus. Assemble the ingredients for a few months’ worth of these casseroles if you have a hankering, and know that the bag will be ready to grab whenever you need it. My family gobbles this one up and everyone wants seconds so if we’re all here, I usually make double.
Be sure to read the original post to find out how you can convert your own meals into shelf-stable ones in order to have your family’s favorite recipes available with the grab of a bag and never have to worry about what’s for supper again! Also, check out my other Bags to Dishes meals by clicking here.
Now, let’s talk about this chicken and wild rice casserole! It only takes 5 ingredients to make this simple yet delicious weeknight meal. With chicken, rice, cream of mushroom soup, green beans, and almonds, this casserole is creamy and hearty comfort food at its best. I also have a slow cooker version of this dish, if that’s more your style.
Here is what our bag meal looks like when we grab it.
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken
- Long grain and wild rice blend (Watch for a sale on this and then stock up!)
- Cream of mushroom soup (A recipe for my homemade version can be found here)
- Cut green beans
- Sliced almonds
How To Make Chicken And Wild Rice Casserole
Cook the rice according to package directions.
Drain chicken and cans. Stir everything together.
Spoon it into a pie plate or casserole dish.
Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, or until heated through and bubbly.
Now that you’ve worked up all that exhaustion, sit down and eat.
Make sure you assemble a few extra meals of this chicken and wild rice recipe when you go to make your Bags to Dishes meals! It is just that good.
You can leave the chicken pieces out and serve this as a side dish as well or use two bag meals of this and add some warm rolls for a larger family meal.
Here are all my other Bags To Dishes recipes.
Storage
- Store chicken casserole leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days and reheat in the microwave.
- You can also store casserole leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months. Simply thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the microwave.
Recipe Notes
- You can leave the almonds out if you want or you can substitute them for water chestnuts if you like. You could also substitute french fried onions for these, that would be good, too!
- While you easily adapt this casserole and use your favorite rice or rice blend (which might be white rice or brown rice), I recommend using wild rice for its distinct nutty flavor.
- If you’re not serving this chicken wild rice casserole as a shelf-stable meal, feel free to add more vegetables. Increase the mushroom flavor with sliced mushrooms or you could even add a can of sliced carrots. Another option is frozen vegetables, like a cup of peas and carrots.
- When it comes to the , feel free to substitute the cream of mushroom soup for either cream of celery soup or cream of chicken soup.
- You could also add a cup of shredded cheese (or a mixture of cheddar and ) on top of your chicken casserole if you prefer your casseroles to be both creamy and cheesy.
- Another option, if this isn’t a shelf-stable meal, is to substitute the can of for your favorite, whether that’s chopped or , or shredded . You’ll just have to the before adding it to the .
Recipe FAQs
Can I make this casserole in advance?
Yes, you can prepare the chicken casserole up to 24 hours ahead of time. Simply cover with foil and refrigerate until it’s time to bake. Just remember that a refrigerated casserole might take longer to cook through. Another option is to bake the casserole, store the dish covered in the fridge, and then simply reheat quickly in the microwave or oven.
What do you serve with this casserole?
I recommend serving this casserole with some roasted vegetables or a fresh salad. Another option is to do a side of zucchini and squash.
You may also enjoy these other chicken and rice recipes:
Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Rice Casserole
Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken & Rice
Chicken Teriyaki with Brown Rice Fresh & Fast
Simply Delicious Chicken & Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 box long grain and wild rice mix I use Uncle Ben's, which is currently 6oz
- 1 can chicken 10 or 12 ounces, whichever you find first
- 1 can cut green beans mine is 15 ounces
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup 10-ounce, fat-free is fine
- 1 teaspoon onion powder optional
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
Assemble all canned goods in a large zipper seal bag along with a printed copy of these instructions. If using onion powder, measure it out into a zipper seal bag and include that with canned goods.
To make casserole
- Drain the chicken and beans. Cook the rice according to the package directions in a pot big enough to mix the casserole (no sense in dirtying up more dishes).1 can chicken, 1 can cut green beans, 1 box long grain and wild rice mix
- Once the rice is cooked, stir in all other ingredients until well combined. Spoon into a pie plate or casserole dish.1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- Bake at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes, or until heated through and bubbly. Serve warm.
Nutrition
“Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.”
~Wayne Dyer
I love all the bags to dishes recipes. I can’t say thank you enough for them. Will there be more added any time soon?
I am so happy that I found your site! This bags to dishes idea is brilliant!!! We are expecting our first child in April and I’ve been wanting to prepare meals that will be easy to make. Freezer meals sounded great but we just don’t have much space in our freezer. Thanks so much for sharing these yummy meals!
I would like to make this and take it to work for a B-day lunch. Will it be ok warmed the next day?
It reheats beautifully!
Wonderful! Thank you so much!
This was a big hit at the B-Day lunch at the office today! Thank you Christy!
I am so glad to hear it was a hit!!
First of all, I just wanted to tell you that I enjoy visiitng your site.Last week, I had the occasion of cooking a meal for my boyfriend family’ .God, wasn’t I nervous!! Because I am not a great cook. But I have to make my at most effort when it comes to impressing my boyfriend parents. Apparently they like vegetarian dish and luckily I saw this post. It was very easy to make and so delicious!! My score was A+ according to my boyfriend and I want to say thank you. Looking forward to seeing your next post.
Love the idea of making our own pre-packaged meals! Thanks Christy!!
Thank you Bella!!
I love shortcut cooking! I think that, even though there are only two of us, I’ll definitely have to put together some of these “bags to dishes” for our pantry.
My only concern with using prepared and canned foods is the sodium levels. I usually buy low- or no-sodium versions of canned goods, but for prepared box mixes it is difficult to get around. I would never have given it a second thought thirty years ago, but now that we are both in our fifties with blood pressure issues, it is a factor. Never realized how many frozen prepared meals have astronomically high sodium levels (think 900-1100 mg per serving, which is usually a too-small size).
Here are some “semi-fixes” I’ve come up with: For boxed rice or other starch mixes, either use about half of the little seasoning packets provided, or omit them altogether and substitute appropriately-flavored Mrs Dash or other salt-free seasoning mixes, plus your own reasonable amount of salt, to season. For canned goods, rinse them well to get rid of the briny liquid and lower the sodium considerably. Use unsalted butter whenever you eat commercially-baked breads or rolls (way higher in sodium than you would ever have imagined) or to season your rice or pasta.
Thanks, I love your books and your blog, and you’ve given me some wonderful ideas!
Christy… brillant idea “Bags to Dishes”. It is only my husband and myself but after working 10 hours every day (and the hubby does not cook), these will certainly help me get out of the kitchen faster. Looking forward to more “Bags to Dishes” recipes.
Thank you for making our lives a lot easier!
Just wanted to say, I LOVE water chestnuts! LOL. Hey, someone had to stick up for them. And, they have a lot less calories, but I love any kind of nuts, water or otherwise. These bags are such a great idea! Thanks Christy!