This make ahead chicken rice casserole lets you cook once and eat twice! Make 2 - 3 pans of this creamy chicken and rice casserole loaded with veggies all at once and you'll have food to bring to a friend in need or to stock your freezer for later.
PREP TIME 30 minutesminutes
COOK TIME 1 hourhour
TOTAL TIME 1 hourhour30 minutesminutes
YIELD 3casseroles
Ingredients
2cupsrice
2tbspbutter
1large onionchopped
2tspdried Italian herb blend
2tbspolive oil
2poundsskinless boneless chicken breastscut into bite sized strips
1tbspminced garlic
1/2tspcrushed red pepper flakes
2cans of cream of chicken soup
1cupchicken broth
1 (24 oz) package frozen cut broccoli
1large tomatoseeds removed and diced
2/3cupgrated Parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
Cook the rice according to the package directions but add the butter to the pan as it cooks. Once the rice is tender, remove it from the heat. Fluff the rice with a fork and stir in HALF of the chopped onion and HALF of the Italian seasoning. Divide the rice evenly among your freezer pans and gently smooth it out to form a solid bottom layer.
In a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the remaining onion, Italian seasoning, sliced chicken, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes. Sauté for 4 to 6 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink. Turn the heat off on the burner but keep the skillet over the warm burner.
Add the chicken soup and chicken broth and stir until the chicken is evenly coated. Add the broccoli and tomato and toss to combine. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top and stir gently to coat.
Transfer the chicken mixture evenly among the casserole pans. Then Freeze or Bake.
To Freeze:
To freeze the chicken rice casserole, let the dish cool and the cover it in a double layer of tin foil.
Mark your freezer casserole pan with a label that says:
The date you prepared it.
Remind yourself to thaw it in the fridge 24 - 48 hours before baking.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake covered for 30 minutes and uncovered for another 30 minutes.
Freezes well for up to 3 months.
To Bake:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake covered for 30 minutes and then another 30 minutes uncovered, 1 hour total.