One Pan Baked Chicken and Rice Casserole, served with brown rice, carrots and peas, is healthy, flavorful and involves almost no clean-up!
Healthy Chicken and Rice Casserole
One Pan Chicken Brown Rice Vegetable Casserole recipe will delight you with its ease and quick cleanup anytime you are tired of cooking! I spent a weekend retesting, reshooting and double checking every bit of this chicken and brown rice recipe!
Chicken thighs baked in brown rice with chicken stock, butter and carrots bake up into a fluffy chicken and rice bake. Right when you take it out of the oven you pour on some frozen peas and mix. The heat of the dish will warm them without making them mushy. Dinner is prepped in 10 minutes, an hour in the oven and you have a healthy easy meal people will fight over!
How to Make this Chicken and Rice Bake
To make this Chicken and Rice Casserole with brown rice and veggies, preheat oven to 375 degrees. The perfect size baking pan for this recipe is 13 inches by 9 inches. Scatter rice on the bottom of the pan. Layer chicken on top. Season the whole pan generously with salt and pepper. Remember this will be seasoning the whole dish, not just the chicken. Scatter the carrots between the chicken pieces. Scatter bits of the butter around the pan. (optional)
Pour the boiling hot stock on top gently. Wrap tightly with foil and cook for 60 minutes. 
CHICKEN AND RICE CASSEROLE RECIPE NOTES (UPDATED) 7/12/2016:
Some of you had left me comments that the timing wasn’t working in this Chicken Brown Rice Vegetable Casserole recipe so I tested it once and it worked well but I did notice an extra 5 minutes didn’t hurt so I am updating it with the new time. Here is a not so fancy screenshot on my iPhone (excuse the not Pinworthy photo) of my original remake the way we do it every week (no edits, 375 degrees, exactly 60 minutes) and it was definitely a tender rice bake, not soupy: 
Then I decided to test this baked chicken and rice recipe a couple of more times because with 3 of you saying the same thing I knew there was a disconnect between what I was seeing/tasting and what you all were experiencing and I knew it was more than a five-minute difference.
Adjusting the Chicken and Rice Bake Cooking time
Here is what I came up with…
- I use 3-4 ounce skinless thighs (this time in July 2016 I used 4-ounce bone-in skinless thighs). I realized this may have been the biggest issue that may have presented itself. When I went to the store and bought some more chicken I got some of the normal chicken thighs that were on sale, both bone-in and boneless. The boneless ones were almost 6 ounces each, bone in was closer to 7.
- The larger boneless thigh (6 ounces each) batch took 1:30 minutes to cook. The bone in (7-ounce thighs) batch took 1:45 (I think this may be where most of the discrepancy was)
- Second, I noticed that between my normal chicken and the larger thighs that they seemed slightly frozen in the middle. I don’t know if anyone else’s chicken was like this, but that may also add to the timing issues. If they are at all frozen it just means it will take even longer since the colder the chicken is it will just make the boiling stock get cold quickly which will also add to the cooking time.
- I know no one mentioned this but I think it’s worth mentioning if you peel back the foil to take a peek during cooking you are letting all the steam out which will make the cooking time go way up.
- This is totally not meant to insinuate anything but I would also just test the temp of your oven. I have a thermometer that lives in there so I know my oven is pretty spot on but you never know.
- Final note: The biggest difference in your cooking time will be the temperature of your chicken and the temperature of your water. If your chicken is fully defrosted and you use boiling hot water/stock and you wrap tightly with foil, you should have a fully cooked, non soupy meal in 65 minutes.
If you guys have any other notes, I am happy to answer in any way I can. I didn’t realize how much larger the chicken in the store would be! My apologies to those who had fails, I wish I could deliver you a tray of this Chicken and Rice Casserole cooked through, I made four trays of it in the last three days determined to get to the bottom of this… (Thank goodness this dish freezes well!).
One Pan Baked Chicken & Brown Rice Vegetable Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 4 ounce boneless skinless chicken thighs** (Please read the recipe notes: you can also use bone in, but don't leave skin on, it will get oily)
- 1 1/2 cups brown rice
- 3 cups chicken stock (boiling hot)
- 2 tablespoons butter (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 lbs sliced carrots
- 1 bag (12 oz.) frozen peas
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Scatter rice on the bottom of the pan.
- Layer chicken on top.
- Season the whole pan generously with salt and pepper.
- Remember this will be seasoning the whole dish, not just the chicken.
- Scatter the carrots between the chicken pieces.
- Scatter bits of the butter around the pan. (optional)
- Pour the boiling hot stock on top gently.
Wrap tightly with foil.
Cook for 65 minutes (If your chicken pieces are larger please refer to the notes for updated cooking times).
- Right when coming out of the oven, toss with frozen peas.
Let sit for 3-4 minutes.
- Enjoy 🙂
Recipe Notes
Adapted from Diethood. Which, by the way, is a totally awesome blog you should check out!
RECIPE NOTES (UPDATED) 11/12/15: Some of you had left me comments that the timing wasn't working in the recipe so I tested it again:
I use 4 ounce skinless thighs. I realized this may have been the biggest issue that may have presented itself. When I went to the store and bought some more chicken I got some of the normal chicken thighs that were on sale, both bone in and boneless. The boneless ones were almost 6 ounces each, bone in was closer to 7.
The larger boneless thigh batch took 1:30 minutes to cook. The bone in batch took 1:45 (I think this may be where most of the discrepancy was)
Second, I noticed that between my normal chicken and the larger thighs that they seemed slightly frozen in the middle. I don't know if anyone else's chicken was like this, but that may also add to the timing issues.
If they are at all frozen it just means it will take even longer since the colder the chicken is it will just make the boiling stock get cold quickly which will also add to cooking time.
I know no one mentioned this but I think it's worth mentioning, if you peel back the foil to take a peek during cooking you are letting all the steam out which will make the cooking time go way up.
Psssst… want to hear a little secret? This One Pan Chicken and Rice Casserole recipe is one of 10 in my FREE e-book 5-10-30: 5 Cuisines, 10 Full Meals and 30 Total Ingredients that is a bonus for email subscribers only! It includes shopping lists that set you up for two weeks of weeknight dinners with no ingredient waste and tips for cooking and alternate ingredient options. If you haven’t subscribed for updates you may want to now and get the e-cookbook FREE!
I’ve made this Several times now w boneless thighs n bone in skin on was still delicious . It cooks Perfect everytime . It’s very important to seal it up w foil Tight n let it cook . My boys dont like rice and they all Loved this . Thank for such an easy yummy recipe ?
Glad to know it’s such a hit, Rana. Thanks for the 5 stars.
I’ve made this recipe multiple times and tried everything under the sun to get the rice to cook. I finally made it work! Here’s my alteration:
Put the rice and the stock on the stove to boil and cook with lid on for 15 minutes. Add to a Dutch oven!! (Eliminates the need for foil and hoping it’s sealed enough) Then proceed as written (with chicken, carrots, and seasoning). Turns out beautifully and delicious!! I love it.
I used deboned, skinless chicken breasts with this recipe. Chicken came out well but rice was not done and dish very soup. I removed chicken and added in a can of cream of chicken soup and cooked at 325 for another hour. If I try again, I’ll add in the soup at the start and see what happens.
Made 1/2 recipe and chicken was delicious, rice was still crunchy and carrots not done. Note I started with defrosted, average size boneless, skinless thighs and brown rice, boiling chicken stock. Not sure what happened but such a disappointment to have crunchy rice (back in the oven now while we already consumed chicken).
THERE IS NO green peppers in a Philly cheesesteak !!! Never has never been ! I’ve live in south philly whole life !! It’s steak cheese and onions and if you don’t like onions then just cheese !!!! Why why why do people that don’t live in this area put green peppers on a cheesesteak and call it a PHILLY cheesesteak ????
I just made this and it turned out fabulous! I used boneless skinless breasts and instant brown rice because that’s what I had at home. I skipped boiling the stock because I knew the instant rice would over cook. However, I would definitely not skip this step if you aren’t using instant rice. I added a little garlic powder and onion powder along with salt and pepper. I cooked it covered at 375 for 50 minutes and it was cooked to perfection. I added the peas as directed. The chicken is moist and the flavor is amazing. I’ll be serving this again in the near future.
So, did you use any stock at all? I will also use instant rice and wondering what you used to cook rice?
Made this in a med, magnalite roaster, browned chicken thighs, in bacon grease on stove top, then removed, and added chopped onions, carrot chunks,celery chunks, and rice, and quickly stir-fried veggies and rice in the bacon grease, then added 2-c chicken broth, and 1-can cream of chicken soup and 1-can of cream of mushroom mixed and brought to boil placed chicken back in hot mix, and put on the lid, put in 350 degree pre-heated oven 30 mins with lid on, then added 1lb. cut in half button mushrooms, baked another 25 min. with lid removed.
delicious baked chicken….I used boneless skinless breasts because that is our preference.
The meat was juicy and flavorful, the rice was done to perfection and I loved the peas and carrots. I’m probably going to try this same recipe with other veges sometime in the near future.
This was a taste of my mom’s comfort food but without the cream soup!
Loved it!
This recipe is a keeper! It was so easy and so good. I used chicken breasts instead of thighs. Thank You!!
Can I just cook in casserole dish with lid on instead of foil and chicken breasts because had in fridge?
I’ve not tested it that way but if you decide to try, I’d love to know how it turns out.
Made this tonight for dinner. Turned out delicious. The chicken was fork tender, and it was so easy to make. Thanks for the recipe! This is definitely a keeper.
Hi sabrina just finished dinner by accident i bought frozen Brussel sprouts in stead of peas. Well I didn’t use them. My dinner came out great, I missed the peas though. Next time I’ll get the peas, and still use the mushroom.
So glad it turned out and that you enjoyed! Definitely let me know how you like it with the peas!
Hi sabrina, I’m making this dish as I type this. The only thing I did different was to add mushrooms. I hope your not mad, I’m sure it will be delicious. I pick yours among the test.
That sounds absolutely delicious! I love mushrooms!
I cannot rate this dish, b/c I have not yet made it, … but after reading this entire post, I plan to follow the recipe ‘exactly’ as written. I can then modify it – if I wish to do so. It sounds PERFECT to me, just as it’s written. I’m sure that my family & I will love THIS! For me, chicken, rice & veggies are the ‘perfect meal’. Thanks, Sabrina 🙂
I’d love to hear how it turns out for you! Hope you enjoy!
This was a game changer!! I used bone-in chicken thighs, baked for 1hr 15min. I also used seasoned salt. One pan, super fast prep, and clean-up was a breeze! I loved that it used brown rice. My husband & 4 yo son loved it. I even scooped some into my blender and made it into baby food for my 6 month old. He loved it too! I’ll be making this often. Thank you Sabrina! I can’t wait to try your other recipes now.
So glad you liked it. What a great idea to make some of it into baby food – everyone got to eat great! Let me know how you like other recipes!
Thank you for all of your testing. I actually just grabbed my cell phone to quickly look up the timing for a chicken and brown rice bake for use with a recipe of my own. Glad I read the comments, because I did have big bone-in thighs and they were a little frozen in the middle. The time you took to research it certainly helped me out a lot.
Aw, thank you for coming back to share this. It always feels great to know I’m appreciated. Thank you so much!