Recipe For Chicken And Wild Rice Bake

In the event you are in need of a bit of reprieve from the sugar-dusted holiday baking action, I bring you Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole with Butternut Squash and Cranberries.

Not that I would begrudge you for turning Candy Cane Snowball Cookies and 2 Ingredient Homemade Hot Chocolate into dinner by any means, but I find that priming my cookie intake with a hearty, healthy meal like this seasonal spin on chicken and wild rice casserole helps the sweets settle more pleasantly.

Further, this chicken and wild rice casserole is wildly delicious—as in, I can’t promise you leftovers, even though you are definitely going to want them for lunch the next day and the day after that and next week too.

Chicken And Wild Rice Casserole With Butternut Squash

I brought a big pan of this chicken and wild rice casserole with butternut squash and cranberries to dinner at a friend’s, and between the four of us, we ate every last scrap, minus the proverbial final few bites that every native Midwesterner is too polite to claim for his or her own.

Thus, I ate those last three bites on our drive home. No shame. Chicken and wild rice casserole with butternut squash and cranberries is irresistible healthy comfort food at its finest (just like this Chicken and Rice Casserole).

If you are looking for a dinner recipe that’s cozy, wholly satisfying, and healthy enough to leave you wiggle room for that Frosted Cream Cheese Sugar Cookie afterwards, chicken and wild rice casserole is the one.

Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole ⋆ Real Housemoms

A sprinkle of savory thyme, and we have just about every cold-weather ingredient I adore coming together into a dynamite healthy dinner that I plan to serve again and again. It doesn’t always work out this well to throw all of your favorite seasonal foods together in a single dish and watch what happens, but this golden time, it did, and I couldn’t be happier.

A cozy and filling chicken and wild rice casserole made with butternut squash and cranberries. This easy and healthy chicken dinner is a winner every time!

Serving: 1 (of 6) Calories: 476 kcal Carbohydrates: 61 g Protein: 26 g Fat: 16 g Saturated Fat: 4 g Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g Monounsaturated Fat: 9 g Trans Fat: 0.02 g Cholesterol: 97 mg Potassium: 811 mg Fiber: 6 g Sugar: 25 g Vitamin A: 12211 IU Vitamin C: 27 mg Calcium: 155 mg Iron: 3 mg

Wild Rice Chicken Bake

Hi, I'm Erin Clarke, and I'm fearlessly dedicated to making healthy food that's affordable, easy-to-make, and best of all DELISH. I'm the author and recipe developer here at and of The Well Plated Cookbook. I adore both sweets and veggies, and I am on a mission to save you time and dishes. WELCOME!ThisChicken and Wild Rice Casseroleis warm, creamy, hearty, umami rich comfort food the whole family will love! It’s packed with juicy, tender chunks of chicken, earthy mushrooms, and nutty wild rice, enveloped in a creamy, cheddar-Parmesan laced sauce made without any canned soups! Top it all off with buttery, golden crispy panko for the perfect balance of satisfying textures and flavors. This chicken and rice casserole is perfect for all those busy nights because you can prep it entirely ahead of time, then just pop it in the oven at dinner OR freeze for later! With a few tips and tricks, you can elevate this casserole to next level served alongside a green salad and garlic bread!

Chicken and rice are a match made in heaven! Don’t miss my other chicken and rice recipes:Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole, One Pot Creamy Chicken and Rice, Chicken and Wild Rice Soup, Greek Chicken Risotto, Mexican Chicken and Rice, Arroz con PolloandSalsa Verde Chicken and Rice Bake.

The homemade cream sauce is made with pantry friendly ingredients like butter, flour, and milk, is easy to prepare, tastes 1000X better than canned, and adds a velvety craveable cohesiveness.

Sunday Supper {baked Chicken With Bacon Bottom & Wild Rice}

This recipe is seasoned to perfection with hints of Dijon, Worcestershire sauce, salty chicken bouillon, onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, parsley and both sharp cheddar and Parmesan cheeses to stand up to the umami rich mushrooms.

The mushrooms are perfectly caramelized by cooking until golden before adding to the casserole, the chicken remains juicy by searing, then finishing off in the oven, the wild rice adds a palate pleasing mouthfeel that doesn’t become mushy like other rice varieties can, and the velvety homemade cream of chicken soup swaddles the ingredients without overpowering them, creating the perfect swoon worthy bite.  

Versatile.  Add virtually anything to this chicken rice casserole recipe! Swap the chicken breasts for chicken thighs or rotisserie chicken, swap in your favorite veggies, swap the Parmesan for Gruyere or pepper Jack and on and on.

Cheesy Chicken And Wild Rice Casserole

Make ahead.  This chicken casserole is a great choice for feeding a crowd or for meal prepping because it can be made ahead of time and just popped in the oven at dinner to bake to glorious cheesy perfection.  Winner, winner, easy chicken dinner!

Is the al dente, nutty, toasted, earthy chewiness of the wild rice blend. It’s the ideal companion to the robust mushrooms and is nearly impossible to overcook and turn mushy, the downfall of many other chicken rice casseroles.

The excellent texture of wild rice blend is in large part due to the fact that wild rice actually isn’t rice at all! Even though it may look like long-grain rice with a brownish-blackish color, it is actually a highly nutritious seed of long-grain aquatic marsh grass.

Chicken Wild Rice Casserole Recipe

To cook the wild rice blend, simply simmer it in a few inches of water until tender.  I highly recommend checking the rice at 25 minutes, even if the instructions say to cook closer to 40 minutes.  

Yes, wild rice is highly nutritious. It contains more protein and less calories than other types of rice, is a good source of fiber and boasts a variety of vitamins and minerals such as manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, and zinc. Wild rice is rich in antioxidants, which can help protect against chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer. It is also low in fat and gluten-free, making it a healthy option for people with dietary restrictions. Additionally, wild rice has a lower glycemic index than white rice, which means it can help regulate blood sugar levels.

Purchase a wild rice BLEND for this recipe and not 100% wild rice. Wild rice blends are a blend of rice varieties, which give you complementary firm, fluffy cooked textures and robust, nutty, earthy vibrant flavors. You can find wild rice blends pre-packaged in a bag or box at your grocery store or in the bulk bins at stores like Sprouts. I use Lundberg Wild Rice Blend, which is made of long grain brown rice, sweet brown rice, wild rice, whole grain wehani rice, and whole grain black japonica rice. 

Easy Chicken And Wild Rice Casserole

If your wild rice package comes with a seasoning packet, discard that for this recipe. Also, take care you don’t purchase instant wild rice.

White rice:  White rice doesn’t offer anything to the casserole in my opinion. It doesn’t have the same palate pleasing texture or nutty flavor, and isn’t bold enough to stand up to the rest of the ingredients. It’s easy to overcook, so make sure you cook just until al dente.

In addition to wild rice, this chicken casserole boasts an ensemble cast of juicy chicken, umami rich mushrooms, aromatic onions and garlic, carrots, and celery. Instead of canned cream of chicken soup or mushroom soup, it’s made with a homemade cream sauce that’s 1000x better, and easy to whip up with ingredients you likely have on hand right now. Let’s take a closer look at what you’ll need to make Chicken Wild Rice Casserole from scratch (full recipe with measurements in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post):

One Pan Roasted Herb Chicken And Wild Rice.

There are quite a few steps in this recipe because the rice, chicken, vegetables, and mushrooms all cook separately for optimal flavor and texture. However, everything but the rice is prepared in one pan for easy cleanup. I assure you this chicken rice casserole is well worth the effort as it’s one of the most craveable dishes of all time!

Let’s take a closer look at how to make Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole (see full recipe with measurements in the printable recipe at the bottom of the post):

1. Panko: This is what I’m using in this recipe. See the recipe card below for detailed instructions on how to prepare the panko topping. 

Contest Winning Chicken Wild Rice Casserole Recipe: How To Make It

2. Stuffing: Mix a 6 ounce box stuffing mix, or 3 to 4 cups homemade stuffing, with 1 ¼ cups hot water in a bowl; rest for 5 minutes. Evenly top the casserole with the stuffing mixture before baking.

3. Cornflakes: Combine 2 cups crushed cornflakes with ¼ cup melted butter and stir to combine; top casserole with crushed cornflakes before baking. Take care to gently crush the cornflakes – you don’t want tiny crumbs, but larger pieces so there’s more crunch.

4. Ritz crackers: Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan. Add 1 sleeve crushed Ritz and stir to combine. Sprinkle mixture over the casserole and bake as instructed.  You may need to reduce the salt in

Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Casserole (easy Recipe!)