Creamy Lemon Chicken and Rice Casserole

A classic lemon chicken and rice casserole ready to serve with a spoon scooping out rice

4.87 from 15 votes

Creamy Lemon Chicken and Rice Casserole

This Lemon Chicken and Rice Casserole recipe is the perfect easy one pot meal full of citrus and herb essence, flavorful juicy chicken thighs and creamy tender rice!

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Total Time1

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 720kcal

Author: Jocelyn Delk Adams

Ingredients

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp lemon zest separated
kosher salt and ground black pepper
4 bone in skin on chicken thighs we used 3 large ones here but 4 smaller ones are great as well.
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
10.2 oz cream of chicken soup
1 cup chicken stock
3/4 cup long grain white rice
2 cloves of garlic grated or minced
1 lemon sliced into rounds
thinly sliced basil for garnish, optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 11 x 8 baking dish (or one of similar size).
In a large shallow bowl, combine flour with the parmesan, garlic powder, onion powder, and half of the lemon zest. Season generously with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly with a fork. Dredge each piece of chicken on all sides with flour mixture. Set aside.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat olive oil until shimmering but not smoking. Add chicken skin side down, and sear until golden, 6 minutes. Flip and cook until the opposite side is golden, around 6 minutes more. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Stir together the soup, stock, rice, garlic, and remaining lemon zest in your prepared baking dish. Place the chicken on the rice mixture and layer lemon slices over the top of each piece. Cover the baking dish.
Bake for 40-60 minutes or until the chicken is done and the rice is tender (it could take a bit longer up to an hour for some for the rice but if it is still liquidy continue baking). To develop a deeper color, uncover the dish for the last 5-10 minutes of baking. Sprinkle on the sliced basil. Let stand for 10 minutes. Stir the rice and season to taste before serving.

Notes

Add an extra 1/3-1/2 cup of water or broth for creamier rice.

Also you can change the chicken thighs to breasts but they will require a longer baking period overall.

Nutrition