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Sharing my favorite simple one pan autumn chicken and wild rice casserole recipe with you guys today!
I share a ton of recipes here on Half Baked Harvest, but I don’t often share more traditional, homey ones like this wild rice casserole. It’s odd because my family loves traditional food. Meaning lots of chicken and rice, tacos, and pasta… basically anything on the more bland side of the dinner spectrum. While I do share those types of recipes, normally I’ll put some kind of spin on them. I love flavor, nothing bland over here!
Today though, I am going the more classic route and loving it. This is cozy, healthy, filling, and all things delicious. It’s not a bland casserole in any way, just simple, feel good kind of food.
Okay, okay, and there’s maybe a good amount of cheese on top too…
What? Always got to have a little cheese.
I don’t know if you guys remember, but around this time last year I shared a cream of mushroom chicken and wild rice soup that my family and I loved. This casserole is sort of similar flavor wise, but just a lot less soupy and much heavier on the wild rice.
So just what inspired me to make this casserole? Well, like most of the more classic recipes I share with you guys, my mom inspired this one. She’s always loved chicken and wild rice casserole, but she grew up on the ones that are canned soup based. I wanted to create a version that was just as tasty, but a little healthier.
Fortunately, it was a pretty easy task and it turned out really delicious too.
Start off by cooking up some mushrooms, add some apples, wild rice, and chicken. Next stir in some broth and a splash of wine (you know, for good measure). Cover and simmer until the rice is tender. Then stir in some spinach, top with cheese, and bake until golden.
DONE.
Really doesn’t get much easier, and I love that this dish is an entire meal…carbs, protein, and veggies all together in one dish. This is truly a recipe made for busy nights.
Also, if you’re wondering about the addition of apples, I know it may seem a little odd, but it’s the perfect touch of sweetness for this extra savory recipe. Plus, I love the combo of apples and Gruyère cheese, so good.
Double also? if you wanted to add another layer of flavor, I would highly recommend topping the dish with thinly sliced prosciutto before baking. The salty flavors would be delicious with the apples, mushrooms, and rice.
And that’s it for me today guys. Shortening up the post a bit because I experienced my first migraine today (it’s Monday night as I am typing this) that has left me extremely out of it. The headache started a couple of days ago, but hit its high today and woe, I was not ready for it at all. Fingers crossed I’m on the up and up from here.
Hoping you’re all having a great week, and happy Wednesday!
One Pan Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
Servings: 6 servings
Calories Per Serving: 525 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup sweet onions chopped
- sea salt
- pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 6 ounces cremini mushrooms
- 2 ounces wild mushrooms
- 1 Honeycrisp apple, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme, plus more for serving
- 2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup white wine or more chicken broth
- 2 cups wild rice
- 1/2-1 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 1/2 cups Gruyère cheese, shredded
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 2. Melt the butter and olive oil in a large, oven safe skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring often until the onion is soft. Season with salt and pepper. Add the garlic, the cremini mushrooms and the wild mushrooms, cook another 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are caramelized. Stir in the apples and thyme and cook another minute longer. 3. Pour in the 2 cups chicken broth and the wine and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the rice and chicken, cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 45-55 minutes or until the rice is cooked, if needed, add the remaining 1/2-1 cup broth if the rice feels a little hard still. Remove from the heat and stir in the spinach. 4. Sprinkle the cheese over top the rice and transfer to the oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Remove from the oven and serve with fresh thyme. Enjoy!
ps. having leftovers of this dish for dinner tonight, because comfort is totally needed right now.
Tiegan,
I cooked this for 25 more minutes than you suggested and used more than twice as much liquid and the rice was still rock hard. I think something is off in your calculations or you maybe used a different type of rice. Just thought I would let everyone know.
Hey Aly, what kind of rice are you using? I haven’t had other readers have this issue, so wondering if you are using something different?
Made this dish for a church potluck. Absolutely amazing! The apples added such a unique touch. I highly recommend making this recipe! Next time I will add more mushrooms so there’s a better mushroom/chicken/rice ratio. . .Also, the rice took about 25 minutes longer to cook, which made the apples cook down more. Next time, I’ll add the apples a littler later on so they don’t break up. Thank you for this delicious recipe! Can’t wait to make it again!
Hi Karly! I am so glad you and your church enjoyed this recipe! I am so happy to hear that!
So if it helps anyone, I actually tried this recipe. A lot of the time I see comments about “looks so good” but rarely those who have tried it. I give this 2 big thumbs up. It truly is comforting, and I like the whole ingredients. I have a recipe that tastes almost just like this but calls for a bunch of powder mixes and additives and chemicals you cant pronounce…I’m very pleasantly surprised with this! So so yummy! I used portabella mushrooms because there weren’t any of the others available in organic and it’s just so yummy!!
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Liz! Thank you!
This was so delicious and very easy to make. Really big hit in our household.
Thank you Sheila! I am so glad you liked this!
I’ve really been enjoying your recipes (and so has my boyfriend lol)! I really like how flavorful, yet healthy a lot of your dishes are. Last night I made this dish and messed it up a little, but it still turned out super tasty. I would definitely recommend this to any mushroom lover 🙂
Thank you so much Sonia! I am so glad you loved this!!
Yummy…. thank you for sharing recipe. I will definitely try this one.
Thank you! I hope you love this!
Hi,
So I see that the oven is to be preheated at the beginning but then the instructions say to simmer for 45 minutes then bake with the cheese. Am I understanding correctly that the simmering is to be done on the stovetop? If so can I bake it instead?
HI! I do like to simmer on the stove-top, but you can use the oven if preferred. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
My husband and I had this tonight. It was delicious and easy! thank you for the recipe!
Thank you Jules!
I am a bitter supertaster, so vegetables are usually a no-go, and the texture in fruit usually makes me wig out (although I love the taste). But I made this tonight and my boyfriend and I thought it was just delicious. Granted, I’m not going to make another vegetable thing for another week or so–but hey, progress! Baby steps.
That is so great! I am really glad you enjoyed this Gwen!
This recipe is AMAZING! I made it for a client (I’m a personal chef), and it was a big hit- I was drooling over it too wishing it was for me! Yum!
That is AMAZING! Thank you Emah!
Delicious! Added a pinch of red pepper flakes and some fresh rosemary. Did add the prosciutto on top. It added a lot but didn’t get crispy. Should I have cooked it first?
HI Vikki, yes, the prosciutto should be cooked before adding to the dish. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
I made this using leftover turkey and it was great. Just added the turkey same time as spinach. Much better than pot pie hubby was craving!
I am so glad you and your husband enjoyed this Cathy! Thank you!
This dish was amazing! My husband and I ate fore a couple days and loved it every time! Perfect for warming up on a cold day!
Yes! I hope you love this! Thanks Jill!
It turned out pretty good. After reading the comments, I worried that it would be a little bland so I added 1/2lb of browned sausage and did half chicken breast/half chicken thighs. Next time, I would add more Apple— the flavor didn’t really carry. Yes, the rice took longer but it was worth it.
Everyone loved it.
I am so glad it turned out great for you Laurin! Thank you!
To clarify, add uncooked chicken and rice at the same time prior to covering?
Yes, add the uncooked chicken with the rice. No need to cook it before adding in. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂