There are probably as many recipes for Chicken and Rice Casserole as there are cookbooks in America. Every cook, every house has its own version. I did one this week that turned out well. Nothing fancy at all, just basic comfort food. But it was easy and tasty. Here’s how.
I started with chicken tenderloins, not whole chicken breast loins. I did this for several reasons – they were on sale, they cook quickly and they are more tender than whole loins – if you don’t overcook them.
Start with about a pound and a half of loins, more if you’re cooking for company. Rub them with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Put the loins in a 400 oven for about 10 minutes. They should be nice and juicy and just done.
While the loins are cooling, put a bag of boil-in-bag rice in boiling water for 5 minutes and remove.
Pull the chicken loins apart and separate into bite-size portions. Spread the chicken on the bottom of a 10×10 baking dish, then add the rice. Spread the contents of one can of Cream of Chicken Soup over the rice and chicken, then sprinkle one C of sharp cheddar cheese over the soup. Now for the best part. Put 1 C of Panko Crumbs in a bowl and pour 4 T of melted butter on the crumbs, then mix. Scatter the butter crumb mixture over the chicken and rice and bake in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes or until the Panko crumbs are golden brown. Good stuff. You’ll probably go for seconds.
Chicken and Rice Casserole
1 ½ lbs. chicken tenderloins
1 bag boil-in-bag rice
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 C sharp cheddar cheese
1 C Panko Crumbs
4 T butter
Double the recipe for a 10-x13 pan