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Sharing my favorite simple one pan autumn chicken and wild rice casserole recipe with you guys today!

One Pan Autumn Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

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.

One Pan Autumn Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

One Pan Autumn Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

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.

One Pan Autumn Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

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.

One Pan Autumn Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

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 Autumn Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

One Pan Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
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

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!
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One Pan Autumn Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

ps. having leftovers of this dish for dinner tonight, because comfort is totally needed right now.

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Comments

  1. Greetings from Canada !
    Cinnamon sugar croissant recipe was a huge hit. Great thank you for that recipe. I am going to make your One Pan Chicken and Rice Casserole. Plan to buy new cook ware, What size is the oven proof pan you used? Also could you suggest a brand for me to purchase?.
    Love, love your recipes and outstanding web site.
    Thank you for your comments.
    Yvonne Adams

  2. 4 stars
    Wow!!! Talk about an explosion of flavor! I substituted kale for spinach and it worked really well. Unfortunately, the apple cooked down to an undetectable amount, so I may double the apple next time, or use chunks instead of thin slices. Fantastic recipe, overall. Thank you!

  3. 2 stars
    Literally followed the directions to the t. Way too much liquid, it took well into and hour and a half to cook down and ended up just tossing since the rice was still hard. Just frustrated with the time and money wasted.

  4. Sometimes I click on a recipe on Pinterest because it looks like there’s a certain ingredient in the picture that looks really good, and when I read the recipe I realize it’s an entirely different ingredient, but I’m still inspired to make it with the ingredient I originally pictured. E.g. here I thought the apples were delicata squash. Gonna try it with both. Canned soups are definitely gross, so this looks amazing (but doesn’t everything on your blog?! 🙂

  5. I just made this recipe tonight. It was delicious, but the chicken turned out dry, any suggestions? ( I cooked the dish for 50 min) I was thinking of adding it 30 minutes after putting the rice in…thoughts? Also next time I cook this, I’m definitely going to double the amount of mushrooms!

    1. HI! Was your chicken very small? It sounds like it just cooked faster than the rest of the dish. Adding it a little later should solve the issue. Please let me know if you have any other questions. So glad you love this recipe. Thanks so much and happy Holidays!! xTieghan ?

  6. This casserole looks delicious, I love mushrooms! I’m having friends over for a weeknight dinner party and I was wondering if part of the recipe can be made the day before and then baked In the evening after work? Thanks!!

    1. Hey Sylvia! You can make the recipe all the way up until you are ready to bake. Then finish baking before you are ready to serve. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan

  7. 5 stars
    This is a great recipe. I sort of went backwards on it, but it came out great. I hope your Migraines are minimal. Keep sharing.

    1. Hey Lisa, I like using skinless, boneless chicken, but yes using skin on and bone-in chicken would add a bit more flavor. Please use what you prefer, but be sure to adjust the cooking time as skin on, bone in chicken will take longer to cook. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan

    1. HI Eric! You should keep the dish covered while cooking on the stove and then leave uncovered in the oven. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan

  8. I’m wondering when to add in the 2 cups of baby spinach. I see it in the ingredient list but not in the instructions. Thank you.

    1. Hi! You add the spinach right before adding the cheese on top. It’s in the recipe. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan

  9. 5 stars
    Made this for dinner tonight !
    .My picky eater…enjoyed it .
    .My wild rice hater …. loved it, sad he couldn’t eat more (had to save dessert room ).
    . Every other guest tonight LOVED IT!
    Easy to make and all flavors work amazingly together, it will for sure be made again..and again..and again!!

  10. We just finished eating this for dinner (with both of us getting seconds!) and I’m already so excited to have leftovers for lunch tomorrow! Delicious!! Definitely will be making again. Perfect cozy Fall dinner.

    1. Hey Jess! The chicken is raw when you cube it. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan

  11. I had a similar problem with not getting the rice to cook. I used Trader Joe’s wild rice – used twice as much liquid and cooked it a good 30 minutes longer and the rice was still hard 🙁

    1. Hey Kellie! So sorry for the trouble. Where do you live? Sometimes living at a high elevation will take a longer cooking time, so that is why I ask. Also are covering the pan while the chicken cooks? Any details on how you are cooking this will help me problem solve for you! Thanks so much! xTieghan