The flour goes into this baked chicken and rice casserole before a single drop of broth does. Stirred into the dry rice with melted butter, it turns the broth and cream into a light sauce in the oven, so the baked chicken and rice casserole comes out creamy without a can of soup.

Nothing gets cooked ahead. The rice goes into the pan raw, and the chicken thighs go on top raw.

What I watch for is that flour. I keep stirring until there isn’t one white speck left on the rice.

That’s my cue for the broth. Then it’s foil, a 350°F oven, and an hour and a half of mostly waiting.

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How long does baked chicken and rice casserole take at 350°F?

Plan on 1 1/2 hours at 350°F. The pan bakes tightly covered with foil for 1 hour, so the raw rice cooks in trapped steam, then uncovered for 30 minutes so the chicken skin crisps. It’s done when the liquid is absorbed, the rice is tender, and the thighs read 165°F.

What Makes It Work

The liquid sits at 3 cups for every cup of uncooked white rice. The Stay At Home Chef uses 5 cups of broth and 1 cup of cream for 2 cups of rice, enough for raw grains to cook fully in a covered 9×13 pan.
Flour coated in melted butter before the liquid goes in can’t clump. In the oven it thickens the cream and broth into a sauce that clings to the rice.
Foil for the first hour keeps the steam in the pan, where the rice needs it. The last 30 minutes uncovered let the chicken skin dry out and crisp while the rest of the liquid cooks into the grains.

I stir the dry rice, onion, butter, and flour with a fork right in the baking pan. It’s the only mixing bowl this recipe needs, and I like it that way.

Reasons to Make This Recipe

One 9×13 pan holds the whole dinner, rice, sauce, and chicken together.
Nothing is cooked ahead. No pot of rice on the stove and no browning the chicken first.
The sauce is made from scratch with flour, butter, broth, and cream, and no canned soup.
The hands-on part takes about 15 minutes, and the oven does the rest.

The Ingredient List

2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice
1 medium white onion, diced
3 tbsp salted butter, melted
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
5 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 to 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
3 tbsp salted butter, melted
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika (optional)

Picking the Right Ingredients

Plain long-grain white rice is what this ratio is built for. Brown rice and instant rice drink up liquid at very different rates, and I haven’t seen tested numbers for either in this pan, so I keep this one to white rice.

Bone-in, skin-on thighs matter here. The pan spends an hour and a half in the oven, and thighs stay moist through that.

The skin is also the reason for the full 30 minutes uncovered at the end, since that’s when it turns crisp. The heavy cream and the flour work as a pair.

Together they make the sauce that canned soup would usually supply. With salted butter, 1 tsp of salt, and broth in the pan, I taste the broth first and go easy on the shaker if it’s already salty.

close up of baked chicken and rice casserole

Let’s Make It

Heat the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9×13 baking pan. Run the butter wrapper or a paper towel into every corner, until the whole bottom and the sides have a thin, even shine.
Coat the rice. Pour the rice, diced onion, 3 tbsp melted butter, and flour straight into the pan. Stir with a fork until every grain looks coated and there are no visible white specks of flour left anywhere.
Spread it level. Push the rice mixture into an even layer across the bottom of the pan. Check the corners, since rice piled high in one spot cooks slower than the rest. Stop when the surface looks flat.
Add the liquid. Pour in the chicken broth and heavy cream, then add the salt and pepper. Stir gently until the cream is mixed through and the rice sits in an even layer under the liquid, with no dry grains floating.
Top with chicken. Pat the thighs dry and set them skin-side up on the rice, with a little space between each one. Brush the skin with the remaining 3 tbsp melted butter until every piece looks glossy.
Season the thighs. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and paprika, if using, over the chicken. Aim for an even speckle across all the skin, so each thigh gets some, and none lands in a clump on one piece.
Seal and bake. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil, pressing it down around the rim until there are no gaps at the edges. Bake for 1 hour without lifting the foil, since the rice is cooking in that trapped steam.
Uncover and finish. Peel the foil back away from you, because a cloud of steam comes out. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes more, until the liquid is absorbed, the rice is tender, and the skin is crisp and golden.
Check doneness. Taste a few grains from the center of the pan, where they cook last. Slide a thermometer into the thickest thigh without touching the bone. It should read 165°F, the USDA safe minimum for chicken.
Broil if you like. For crispier skin, slide the pan under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes. Stay at the oven door and pull it as soon as the skin looks blistered and deep golden all over.

serving baked chicken and rice casserole

What I’ve Learned Making This Recipe

Use thighs, not breasts. Both sources use thighs, and an hour and a half in the oven is a long stretch for lean breast meat.
April in the kitchen points out that oven and rice type both change the timing, so taste the rice before you serve. If the center grains are still firm, I’d cover the pan again and give it a little longer, checking often. That’s my own habit, not a tested time.
For skinless thighs, I don’t have a tested time in this from-scratch version. April in the kitchen’s version uses boneless, skinless thighs and uncovers them for about 15 minutes.
Don’t skimp on sealing the foil. The rice needs that steam for the whole first hour.
I don’t level the Italian seasoning in the spoon. I shake it over until the skin looks speckled and call it good.

How to Store It

Neither source gives storage times, so this follows the general kitchen convention for cooked chicken and rice. Get the leftovers into the fridge within 2 hours, covered, and eat them within 3 to 4 days.

The rice firms up as it chills. I spoon a portion into a dish, add a splash of broth, and reheat it covered until it’s steaming all the way through to the center.

I don’t have a tested freezer method or make-ahead plan for this one. Since the rice and raw chicken cook together in a single bake, I put it together right before it goes in the oven.

What Goes With Baked Chicken And Rice Casserole

Steamed green beans or broccoli, for something bright and crisp next to the creamy rice.
A green salad with a sharp vinaigrette, which cuts through the cream sauce.
Sliced cucumbers and tomatoes with a pinch of salt, for something cold and crunchy against the hot rice.
Warm dinner rolls, for wiping up whatever sauce clings to the plate.

What I Use to Make This

A 9×13 baking pan. The ratio and timing here come from that size, so it’s the one I use.
Heavy aluminum foil that’s wide enough to cover the pan in one sheet and crimp tight around the rim.
A pastry brush for coating the chicken skin with melted butter.
An instant-read thermometer for the thickest thigh.
A fork for stirring the flour into the rice right in the pan.

FAQ

Do you cook the rice before it goes in the casserole? No. The rice goes in uncooked and cooks in the oven in the broth and cream, under foil, for the first hour.

Can I make baked chicken and rice casserole without canned soup? Yes, and this version does. Two tablespoons of flour get stirred into the dry rice with melted butter, and with the cream, that makes the sauce.

Can I use chicken breasts instead of thighs? This recipe is built on thighs. The bake runs an hour and a half, and that’s a long time for lean breast meat, so I stick with thighs.

Why is my rice still firm? Oven and rice type both change the timing. Taste from the center. If it’s still firm, I cover it again and give it a little longer, checking often, but that’s my own habit, not a tested time.

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