Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole {Easy Freezer Meal}

This was originally published on 5/10/13. This super easy, super cheesy chicken and rice casserole with veggies is everything that will make family dinner all you wanted and more. If you do freeze, make sure you thaw out before cooking. And add cheese later.


Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole {Easy Freezer Meal}




My sister-in-law had her baby on Friday and I have been trying to be a good Aunt and helping her where she needs it. My favorite things for people to come over and help with in those first few weeks were household chores and bringing food, especially since I was nursing. I understand that asking for help can be hard and sometimes people don't want to do your laundry or vacuum for you (even though that's what you need), so I suggest if they want to bring me food then they can. This is also a great meal if you want to prepare a bunch of food ahead of time for some reason.

So I made her one of my favorite dishes that is easy to prepare ahead and freeze for when you need it. This way if someone else had brought her food, she can keep this frozen until she needs it.


cheesy chicken and rice



Although I used an image from Recipes.com, I have altered this recipe to make it easier and in my Hubby's opinion, taste better. I hope you enjoy!
 

What you need:
1 cup uncooked rice
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup water
2 cups frozen veggies
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - you can also use canned, if you want it shredded in
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese - I like to use mozzarella

What you do:
1 - put chicken on to boil, preheat oven to 375F.
2 - Prepare Rice according to package
3 - stir rice, soup, water, veggies, black pepper, and onion powder in bowl. Pour mixture into shallow baking dish. Top with chicken.
4 - bake for 30 min or until chicken is done. If you are going to freeze, then this is when you do.
5 - Top with cheese. I like to put it back in so the cheese gets melted.

If You FREEZE:
- Thaw out before hand. I just taken mine out of the freezer in the morning and by the time I need to put it in the oven (when Hubby is about an hour out from getting home from work) it is ready to go.
- Add 30 minutes if need be.
- You'll top with cheese at the end.
- Let me know if you try this on Pinterest or in the comments. And definitely let me know how the freezing works out for you!

Okay I hope you enjoy it! Feel free to pin if you'd like. :D

What were some of your favorite things that people helped you out with when your new bundles arrived?
What are some of your favorite meals?
Do you think this might be something you would try?





108 comments

  1. Hey Diana!

    I'm now following your Blog via Bloglovin through the Aloha Friday Blog Hop! I would love for you to check out my blog www.dolly-dowsie.blogspot.ie and follow if you like.

    Have a wonderful weekend.
    Peace and love from Ireland.
    Fiona
    xo

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  2. Looks delicious Diana and am pinning this one to try!! :)

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    1. Thank you! I'm now following you on Pinterest. I didn't realize I wasn't. :)

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  3. what a great idea! might have to prepare a couple of these for when our little bundle arrives in mid-august! this looks soo good!!

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  4. Hello! I'm a new follower from the blog hop, I would love to have you follow me back!
    www.lookingasuare.blogspot.co.uk

    I am always on the lookout for freezable meals, anything to make life easier! I am going to enjoy reading your future posts. :)

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  5. I want this for dinner tonight. I must try. Grrreeaattt!! now I am hungry.

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  6. This looks yummy! New follower here from the Friday Blog Hop and The Second Thought (http://thesecond-thought.blogspot.com) :)

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  7. Looks yummy! Thanks for linking up at Family Fun Friday at http://happyandblessedhome.com! Diane

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  8. This looks really delicious! I hope you will stop by my link party and share the recipe. Have a wonderful weekend and a very Happy Mother's Day!

    -Amy
    http://www.thestitchinmommy.com/

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  9. This is perfect! My sister is due any day now and I can make this for her family too. Pinned this. Thanks for linking up at Family Fun Friday. Sincerely,
    Monica
    http://happyandblessedhome.com

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  10. I love that your recipes are always quick to make and sure to please! I always run out of options when I am baking casseroles for family and friends...definitely adding this to the list! Thanks for sharing at the Friday Follow Along at www.frugalfitfamily.com!

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  11. Thank you for posting this wonderful meal. I am putting together a menu of freezer meals together for the hubby to make while I am away for a week. This would be perfect for him and the kiddos. Question...after you freeze it how would you go about reheating it for a meal (need to thaw or just pop it in the over)??

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    1. Freeze it before you cook it and just pop it in the oven from the freezer. :)

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  12. Awesome! Thank you so much, can't wait to try it!

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  13. At what point do you add the black pepper??

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for noticing! When you add the onion powder, you also add the black pepper.

      Thanks again!

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  14. Looks so good! I'm trying to get my freezer meals ready before the baby in October! Why do you boil the chicken and then recook it with the whole dish? Could I not boil the chicken and still cook all of it in the same pan after i pull it out of the freezer?

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    Replies
    1. You could do that as well! It's really up to you. I like to put it all in a dish (chicken already boiled) and give it as a homecoming gift to new parents. That way all they have to do is pop it in the oven.

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  15. How long do you boil the chicken? Making this for dinner tonight.

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    Replies
    1. Until the chicken is done. :) Usually I cut into it to make sure it is done and mine always takes as long my oven to pre-heat. haha

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  16. looks really good. love freezer meals

    knickgirl_3 at yahoo dot com

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  17. do you cook the rice before you mix everything in the casserole dish? I'm making this tonight and wasn't sure :)

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    Replies
    1. You do cook it first, according to package. :)

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  18. I have been craving cheesy cassorols! yum this looks good!

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  19. I was going to freeze & give it to family; any idea at what temp & for how long they should bake it?

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  20. Did u boil the chicken before baking in oven?

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    Replies
    1. Yes I put it on to boil as I pre-heat the oven.

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  21. Perfect, I cook for my parents and I'm making this today for the first time. Will let you know how it turns out:)

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  22. Perfect, I cook for my parents and I'm making this today for the first time. Will let you know how it turns out:)

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  23. this looks wonderful and i love that it is freezer friendly!

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  24. Should I cook this whole thing first then freeze? Or just prepare it & freeze it raw? Sounds good - thank you!

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  25. What kind of rice did you use? Spanish? Mexican? White? Brown? I'd like to do brown rice but will that compromise the taste?

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    Replies
    1. I use white, but brown could work too. I would add salt though.

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  26. Mmm what a delicious and comforting. Stopping by from Clever Chicks. Have a great day.

    Toodles,
    Tammy<3

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  27. This is awesome and I can't wait to try it! I am always looking for stuff that freezes well for our Mommy meal trains! Thanks!

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  28. I love to find a new recipe and your cheesy Chicken and Rice sounds great, especially to freeze. Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you’ll join us again next week!

    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick
    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

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  29. Great idea to use this as a freezer meal. We have several ladies due this summer in our neighborhood and I love to help by taking meals

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  30. This looks easy, yummy, and comforting. I love meals with leftovers, so I don't need to think about lunch or dinner the next day. Will try this soon.

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  31. I love simple, but delicious recipes and this looks like one of them! The best thing after I had my first baby was when friends and family brought over food! It helped out so much! ...Can't wait to try this-thank you for sharing! :)

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  32. I'd like to prepare this for the kids, healthy and not too hard to do either

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  33. do I cover the casserole when I cook it?

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  34. Marnie G (Derrick Todd)5/24/2015 01:02:00 AM

    What a great recipe. I have 2 sisters --- 1 is due with her first child on June 10th and the other fell and will now be having surgery on her knee on June 8th so I'm looking for a bunch of make ahead freezer meals. This on will be going on my list to make as I will be making a couple meals for each of them.

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  35. Yum, that looks amazing! Pinning it to try! :) Thank you for sharing with us at the #HomeMattersParty

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  36. Yummo!! Top anything in cheese and Im totally sold!! This looks amazing!

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  37. (Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole {Easy Freezer Meal}) This chicken recipe sounds so good, and I like that you can freeze it and eat it at a later date also.

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  38. This is a great weekend recipe and definitely going to have to try this out. I love all the cheese in it.
    @tisonlyme143

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  39. This looks delicious and real simple, going to make this for my son.

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  40. I've been looking for more freezer meal recipes. I'm glad to have stumbled across this!

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  41. Oh this looks so delcious! I want to make this soon!

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  42. This looks soooo good! I'm always looking for good freezer meals to give to friends or to stock our freezer. This is one our whole family will love! Thanks!

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  43. This looks yummy! I am always looking for freezer meal recipes. Thanks!

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  44. I love easy freezer meals! Sometimes there are days that I just don't have time to cook so it would be terrific to take a meal like this out of my freezer!
    twinkle at optonline dot net

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  45. This sounds really good, it would be great for busy days. Thanks for sharing. :)

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  46. My hubby loves chicken based casseroles and I would love to make it for him!

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  47. This looks decadent! I like that you can freeze it!

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  48. I like your suggestion for freezing it when you take it to someone so they can cook it when they need it.
    slehan at juno dot com

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  49. This recipe sounds super easy and delicious. I will definitely be saving it for our next chicken night!

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  50. I'm always looking for new recipes for chicken that the family will enjoy and this one looks so good. I cant wait to try making it for them to try.

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  51. Yum, this looks like something my whole family would enjoy, so I'll have to try it soon!

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  52. When I had my babies my mother and mother-in-law were a big help coming each day so I could take a nap or run errands. Yes. I would make this casserole--it looks delicious.

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  53. This looks really good and I'm definitely going to try this recipe. My mom use to make us this when we were little and i haven't had it in years. I can't wait to try it, thanks for sharing!

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  54. This looks delicious! I love that you can make everything in one pan . I love easy recipes and that don't take up much time.
    @tisonlyme143

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  55. I took out chicken for dinner tonight. Guess what I am making. It is a cold damp day here and comfort food is just what I need. Thank you for sharing this!

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  56. This looks like something my whole family would eat! :)
    kdraebellamy(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  57. This looks so amazing and not to hard to make Thanks !

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  58. This looks delicious. I am definitely sharing this one.

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  59. oh wow this looks delicious. I cant wait to try it

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  60. I love easy to make meals like this. Chicken is served in my house once a week, and now I have a new recipe to try.

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  61. Thank you for sharing. This looks so delicious. I will have to try this one out.

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  62. I love finding new recipes to try and serve my family! This looks delicious!

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  63. This looks so good and I really like that it can be frozen for those nights when I'm too busy to do more than throw something in the oven.

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  64. Yum, I like the ingredients and so will my kids.

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  65. Man- that looks super delicious. I am definitely going to try this recipe. Thank you.

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  66. I love ready to go meals! This looks cheesy and delicious!

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  67. This looks so good and easy to make. Thank you for sharing the recipe.

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  68. Yum! I love easy meals like this that my whole family would enjoy! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe! :)

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  69. I love chicken and rice! My Granny made it a lot when I was a kid! Thanks for sharing this recipe! Brings back memories!

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  70. looking good and tasty love chicken

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  71. You're right. This delicious recipe is easy to bake, does not cost a lot, and as an added bonus can be frozen. These are my kind of recipes.

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  72. OMG! This looks so amazing. My mouth is watering just looking at it. I am going to make this for dinner today. My family is going to love it. Thank you so much for this..

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  73. This recipe looks amazing! My hubby loves chicken and anything with cheese. Going to make one this weekend as well as one to freeze. My email is traciemcooper0515@gmail.com

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  74. I am going to make this for my family it looks amazing! jessicacashen78(@)gmail(dot)com

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  75. This looks delicious and easy to make as well!

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  76. I love meals that I can freeze and just pull out when I don't have a lot of time. Thanks for sharing

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  77. This looks fantastic! I can't wait to try it!

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  78. Super yummy! Thanks for sharing!

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  79. I love that this recipe is super easy to put together, and doesn't take long to put on the table for the family. This is definitely my kind of cooking LOL.
    @tisonlyme143

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  80. This will be our dinner tonight thanks .

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  81. I'd add some onions because I like onions. I would freeze most of it.

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  82. This looks so good and something the whole family would enjoy. Thanks for sharing this one.
    Heather

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  83. Can't go wrong with lots of cheese! I must try this one soon!
    digicats {at} sbcglobal {dot} net

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  84. Darlene Carbajal4/28/2021 03:13:00 PM

    Wow, that looks amazing. I love trying out new recipes. Thanks for sharing!

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  85. I like the fact that you can make this ahead and freeze. Nothing better than having an all ready dish for supper that you can pull out of the freezer at breakfast, put in the fridge, then pull out of the fridge and cook for supper!

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  86. I am a casserole type person and anything with chicken and especially cheese is a good combo! Looks YUMMY!

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  87. (Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole {Easy Freezer Meal} This chicken recipe sounds like one that I would enjoy making for my big family.

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  88. This looks delicious. Thanks for the recipe.

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  89. Do you cook the frozen veggies first, or put them in frozen? Also, I read that you can put the chicken in “raw” rather than boil? Can the rice be put in raw also, or do you need to cook it first?

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    1. I boil the chicken first because it didn't seem to cook evenly when I put it in raw. I don't cook the veggies first, but I do cook the rice. Hope this helps!

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  90. This looks so easy to prepare and something my whole family would enjoy. My youngest daughter especially loves "cheesy chicken."

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  91. Great dish to freeze for later!

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  92. This is genius! Our family is huge on leftovers, so this makes for a great recipe idea.

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  93. This looks delicious and would be great to serve when we have unexpected guests!

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Thank you for dropping by! I would love to hear what you thought. :)

Thanks!
♥,
Diana