Creamy, delicious Chicken Wild Rice Casserole is perfect for a family-friendly weeknight dinner.
Recipes like this Chicken Wild Rice Casserole were a staple in our household when I was growing up. My mother was always incredibly busy, so one-dish meals like this that would serve our entire family were a great help to her!
Mama ran a full-time retail business in addition to chasing around after three girls in multiple after-school activities – band, chorus, majorettes, beauty pageants…you name it, at least one of us was involved in it. I sometimes wonder how she managed it all, plus keeping house and cooking.
All of that is why she needed recipes like this. Casseroles are a great solution for any busy family. Pop the casserole in the oven, and while it bakes, prep a green vegetable like broccoli or green beans and some fresh rolls, and dinner is ready.
Although this isn’t my mother’s recipe, it’s very much like some of hers. As a matter of fact, she made a scrumptious chicken casserole after Christmas that the youngest grandbaby just couldn’t get enough of!
This Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole is packed full of goodness, from the creamy sauce to the mushrooms and pimientos to the sliced almonds on top. Hope you enjoy this one!
How to Make Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
Cook the rice mix according to the package directions. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cook the onion and celery in the butter until tender but not brown.
Remove from the heat and stir in the flour.
Drain the mushrooms, reserving the liquid. Add enough chicken broth to the mushroom liquid to measure 1 1/2 cups total. Place the pan back over the heat and stir in the mushroom/broth mixture.
Add the half and half and cook, stirring gently, until the mixture thickens.
Add the cooked rice mix, mushrooms, chicken, pimiento, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir gently until well mixed.
Turn into a greased casserole dish. Sprinkle the top with sliced almonds. Bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Remove the casserole from the oven and allow it to cool briefly before serving.
Have a question or thought to share?
If you have a question about the recipe or if you’ve made it and want to share how it turned out, I would truly enjoy hearing from you. Just scroll down to leave a comment or add your star rating.
Thank you for stopping by. It means a lot to have you here.
Recipe
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email below and get it sent straight to your inbox.
Chicken Wild Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 ounces long grain and wild rice mix (recommended: Uncle Ben’s)
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 rib celery chopped
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup flour
- 6 ounces canned sliced mushrooms
- 1 ¼ cups chicken broth
- 1 ½ cups half and half
- 3 cups diced cooked chicken
- ¼ cup diced pimiento drained
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 ¼ ounces sliced almonds
Instructions
- Cook the rice mix according to the package directions.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook the onion and celery in the butter until tender but not brown. Remove from the heat and stir in flour.
- Drain the mushrooms, reserving the liquid. Add enough chicken broth to the mushroom liquid to measure 1 1/2 cups total. Place the pan back over the heat and stir in the mushroom/broth mixture. Add the half and half and cook, stirring gently, until the mixture thickens.
- Add the cooked rice mix, mushrooms, chicken, pimiento, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir gently until well mixed.
- Turn into a greased casserole dish. Sprinkle the top with sliced almonds. Bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and allow it to cool briefly before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
I’m Lana Stuart, an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, and lifelong cook raised deep in Southwest Georgia. I started Lana’s Cooking in 2009 to share the tried-and-true recipes I grew up with. Around here, the food is full of flavor, the traditions run deep, and there’s always room at the table.
Delicious! I love a good chicken and rice casserole. I cooked my chicken in water, sherry, some onion and celery and then used that as my broth. Sautéed the fresh mushrooms in butter because I needed to use them snd was out of canned. So good!
Great additions – especially the sherry!
Looks wonderful! I happen to have all of the ingredients handy, and this may be tonight’s supper.
Miss P
Aw Lana, I love this casserole, but never make it anymore because I didn’t want to use canned soup. I love this! Thank you for breaking this down with ingredients everyone can get behind. What a good dish!
You’re very welcome. I do make many casseroles with canned soup but they can always be adapted to other ingredients.
Lana-
What is happening? There is so much advertising here, I can barely read thru the recipe!
I know advertising is what keeps you going, but all these pop ups are too much. Help!