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Tomato Cheddar Chicken and Rice Bake. Made with chicken, rice, garden herbs, and in-season cherry and heirloom tomatoes. Simply cook everything together on the stove. Top the dish with creamy Havarti, gouda, sharp cheddar cheese, and garlicky olive oil-dressed tomatoes. Melt the cheese under the broiler to make it crispy and crunchy. It’s SO GOOD, and it’s a great way to use summer tomatoes!
Half Baked Harvest At Home
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This is such a classic Half-Baked Harvest recipe. I grew up on chicken and rice, and even to this day, it’s probably one of my mom’s (and many of my siblings) favorite types of dinners. It’s simple, but it really is comfort food to us.
I’ve made so many chicken and rice bakes, but the broccoli cheddar chicken and rice bake is one of my personal favorites. As I was working on this week’s recipes, it dawned on me that I’ve never made one with tomato, cheddar, and rice. When I thought about it, I knew the dish would be something we’d all really love.
I thought back to some of the recipes my mom enjoys most. The combination of tomato and cheddar has been a favorite of hers since she was a kid.
Plus, a good bowl of creamy tomato soup with a side of grilled cheese (made with cheddar) is classic. I took all of these flavors and used them in the rice bake. It’s so easy to throw together and a delicious summer meal.
And I hate to go here already, but I have to say that come the middle of August, this will become a go-to for anyone in need of back-to-school dinners. You can even make the dish ahead of time, then pop it in the oven when you’re ready to eat!
These are the details
Step 1: start cooking the chicken
If you use a large skillet that’s able to go from the stove to the oven, you can create this recipe in just one pot.
Cook the chicken with an onion and butter. I like to use butter for flavor
Step 2: add the rice
What I love to do next is add the rice to the chicken and allow it to get a little toasted in the golden butter. Toasting the rice in butter makes it so delicious.
Next, mix the rice with additional butter and fresh thyme and let it cook for a minute. Now, add a couple of handfuls of cherry tomatoes and pour over a few cups of water. At this point, cover the skillet and let the rice fully cook. This will take 15 minutes.
Step 3: top with cheese
Now that the rice is cooked, you can transfer the rice and chicken to a casserole dish. Alternatively, if your skillet is oven-safe, you can leave the rice in the skillet.
Top with a mix of cheeses. I love Havarti, gouda, and cheddar cheese, but you must use cheddar!
Step 4: the tomatoes and baking
The final step is the tomatoes. Find a couple of heirloom tomatoes and then cover them in a mix of olive oil, garlic, and chili flakes. Lay the tomatoes over the cheese and bake the casserole until the cheese is super melty.
You can now switch the oven to broil to get the edges of the dish crispy, this totally optional though.
Step 5: serve and enjoy
When the casserole comes out of the oven, top it with fresh basil leaves and a few sprinkles of sea salt.
Now serve it and enjoy all the deliciousness!
The rice underneath stays soft and creamy, while the cheese on top turns crispy and crunchy. The corners of the dish will form an insanely delicious, cheesy crust too, which we all love!
Looking for other easy back-to-school recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Broccoli Cheddar Chicken and Rice Casserole
Homemade Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Browned Garlic Butter Creamed Corn Cheese Ravioli
Cheesy Zucchini Chicken and Rice Bake
Lastly, if you make this Tomato Cheddar Chicken and Rice Bake be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Tomato Cheddar Chicken and Rice Bake
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 pound chicken breasts, cut into cubes
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 2 cups small cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup shredded Havarti or gouda cheese
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1-2 heirloom tomatoes, sliced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- chili flakes
- fresh basil, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F.2. In a large skillet, set over medium heat, cook the bacon until the fat renders, then remove from the pan. Set aside. 3. Add the onion, and chicken. Cook until the chicken is seared, 5 minutes. Add the butter, the rice, cherry tomatoes, and thyme, and cook until toasted, 2-3 minutes. Add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the cayenne. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook, covered for 15 minutes until the rice is mostly cooked.3. Once the rice is cooked, stir in 1 cup of cheese. If needed, transfer the rice to an oven-safe casserole dish. Scatter the remaining 1 cup of each type of cheese over the casserole. Lay the sliced heirloom tomatoes on the cheese. 4. In a bowl, mix the olive oil, garlic, and chili flakes. Spoon the oil over the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the bacon around the tomatoes. 5. Bake for 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Switch the oven to broil and broil 1-2 minutes, until the cheese on top is becoming crispy. Serve warm with fresh basil.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
This was absolutely delicious! Next time I might increase the cheddar and decrease the amount of rice to 1 cup since it seemed to be heavy on the rice vs. chicken and tomatoes. I also subbed in chicken stock for water and added a little extra seasonings like italian seasoing and Tony’s Creole seasoning but otherwise made it exact!
Hey Samantha,
Fantastic! I appreciate you giving this dish a try and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it turned out nicely for you! xT
I saw this recipe and thought “oooh looks so good”. Unfortunately, my family is not fond of different cheeses like gouda or havarti so I stuck with medium Cheddar – so I tried it with just the cheddar and it was really, really good. This is a keeper – will make again soon.
Hey Debbie,
Wonderful! So glad to hear that your family enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! xT
I’m going to make this tonight but wondering if I can use orzo instead of rice? And do I need to change amount of water?
Hi Barbara,
Sure, orzo should work nicely for you! I would just keep the recipe as written. I hope it’s delish! xT
I made this last night for dinner and halved it for just my husband and myself. Now I’m mad that I didn’t make the whole thing. Delicious! Will definitely make again!
Hey Pam,
Happy Monday!! Love to hear that this recipe turned out nicely for you. Thanks for making it and your comment! Xx
I made this for dinner this evening. I wasn’t sure if it would have enough flavor however, it came out so good. My husband asked me if I would make sure to make this again because he loved the way the tomatoes, bacon, cheese, and chicken melded together. I made the recipe as stated except I used chicken broth instead of water to cook the rice. I used both cheddar and creamy Havarti cheese. Thank you, this will certainly be in our dinner rotation from now on.
Hey Sharon,
Love to hear this! Thanks for trying this recipe and your comment! Have the best weekend:) x
If I wanted to use brown rice would I parcook the rice for say 1/2 hour then transfer the rice and cooking water to the chicken and continue the recipe from there? Do t want to overcook the chicken.
Hi Ann,
So sorry, I have never tested that, it sounds like it could work though! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
This was really good! I used Prosciutto on the top because I didn’t have bacon on hand. Thanks for an easy and satisfying dish!
Hey Mona,
Awesome! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for making it! xT
Read the actual recipe – it’s listed as an ingredient and in the directions of the recipe.
Thanks, Karen! It was my mistake, I fixed the bacon portion of the recipe, so all is correct now:)
Calm down people….cook some bacon and put it on top.
LOL 😉
Yum! I’m going to try this with cauliflower rice.
Let me know how that works out. I love califlower rice.
Hey Kim,
I hope you love this recipe, let me know if you give it a try! xT
Very excited to try this- as my tomatoes are starting to ripen! Bring on all the summer veggie dishes!
Thanks so much, Emma! Let me know how this dish turns out for you, I hope you love it! xT
Yes. tell us about the bacon please.
Hey Valorie,
So sorry about that, I’ve add the bacon in which you will cook in step 1 and then add to the dish in step 4. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
looks delicious! Am i seeing bacon on top?
I see bacon too, but it’s not listed in the comments. I’d cook the bacon first and then use the bacon fat to to the chicken and toast the rice. Yum!
Thanks so much, Erin!! Yes, that is bacon, you will cook in step 1 and then add in step 4. I hope you love this dish! xT
Are you going to share any recipes inspired by your business trip to France?
The picture clearly has bacon in it yet there is no mention of it in the ingredients or how it’s prepared. Can you please clarify?
Looks delicious!! I have yummy tomatoes ready to be picked so this will be perfect!
It would be great if everyone actually read the recipe before they started in on complaining.
They weren’t complaining without reading the recipe, they were questioning why bacon was shown in the pictures but not listed in the recipe. The error was fixed after the comments were made. But feel free to continue defending the sloppy recipe editing Dianna.
Hi Kirsten,
Sorry for any confusion, I fixed the recipe to add the bacon:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Hi tieghan, do you think I could easily freeze this casserole for later use? I’m meal
Prepping before baby and would love to add this recipe to the mix!
Hey Lu,
Totally, I think that would work nicely for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT