Cheesy Chicken and Rice (Crock Pot Version)

This crockpot cheesy chicken and rice recipe is one of the most popular recipes of all time on Southern Plate and with good reason. The combination of the flavorful Zatarain rice, cream of chicken soup, and gooey cheese make for a delicious (and easy) weeknight supper.

You talk, I listen. Well, I listen whenever I can, of course! Folks have been asking for more slow cooker recipes for a multitude of reasons. Who doesn’t like to come home and have supper all cooked and waiting for them? I know I sure do! This is a recipe I modified for the slow cooker and some of you will be happy to know I also removed the entire stick of margarine it called for. 

This easy cheesy chicken and rice recipe in the crockpot uses simple ingredients like cheese, cream of chicken, yellow rice, and sweet corn that pack a punch when combined. It’s creamy, it’s flavorful, and it’s so easy to make, as your slow cooker does most of the work for you (don’t we just love that?). But if you want to speed things up, check out my oven version (cheesy chicken and rice casserole) of this crockpot recipe.

Speaking of the slow cooker, here are some recipes to try in your crockpot this week: crockpot lasagna, chicken fajitas in the crockpot, crockpot cashew chicken, and crockpot chili.

Alright, let’s get cooking!

Recipe Ingredients

• Yellow rice
• Cream of chicken soup (homemade cream of chicken soup recipe here)
• Whole kernel corn
• Yellow onion
• Boneless skinless chicken breast
• Shredded cheddar cheese

Helpful Kitchen Tools

• Slow Cooker
• Cutting Board

How to Make Cheesy Chicken and Rice in the Crockpot

Place your chicken breasts in the bottom of your slow cooker (spray with cooking spray first if needed).

Chop up the onion and toss it on top as well.

Spoon or glob your cream soup over that.

Now cover this and cook it according to the following:

Low: 7-8 hours

High: 3-4 hours

This is great to put on in the morning on the weekends if you cook it on high and then have a nice meal at lunchtime.

When it is done cooking, it’ll look a little like this.

Now… it’s not cheesy chicken and rice without cheese and rice!

So your next step is to add the drained corn kernels, cheddar cheese, and cooked rice.

You’ll need to cook your rice before this step. What I like to do is cook my rice the night before and just stick it in the fridge. Then you can dump it in and stir it up and give it a minute or two to get heated. You can also cook your rice as soon as you get home, though. It’s still an easy and delicious supper!

Stir all of that up and give it a few minutes to get all heated and warm (this won’t take long).

This stuff is to die for. Prepare for a happy landing in your stomach!

Storage

Store your cheesy chicken and rice leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days or in the freezer for up to three months. When it’s time, simply reheat it in the microwave.

Recipe Notes

• You can use chicken thighs instead of chicken breast. You can also use leftover rotisserie chicken. 
• Want more veggies? You can also add a selection of frozen vegetables to the slow cooker when you add the onion, like carrots, frozen broccoli florets, and peas. Other options? Cauliflower florets, green beans, chopped celery, and chopped bell peppers. Add two to three cups overall.
• It is a-okay if you want to use cream of mushroom soup or cream of celery soup instead of this creamy chicken version. For even more mushroom flavor, add some sliced mushrooms to the slow cooker.
• Another easy way to add flavor is to add a teaspoon of both garlic powder (or fresh minced garlic) and onion powder.
• One more option… add a cup of chicken broth to the slow cooker in the beginning. This will make the chicken even more tender, if that’s even possible!
• Instead of cheddar cheese, swap it out for your favorite type of shredded cheese.
• I love Zatarain’s yellow rice mix, one of my favorite meal helpers. But you can use any rice you like, such as long-grain white rice, quinoa, wild rice, or brown rice.
• If you want to use the lower-fat cream soup that’s fine in this too. A lot of folks have been making my slow cooker chicken and wild rice with cream of chicken soup because they don’t care for the cream of mushroom soup and that is great, too! Make it your own and tweak these recipes however they work best for your family.
• Feel free to garnish with sliced green onions or chopped fresh parsley. Some freshly cracked black pepper ain’t so bad either!

Recipe FAQs

How do you chop the chicken for chicken and rice?

Now, a lot of folks have asked if or when they need to chop the chicken so the dish appears as it does in the photo. The great thing about this recipe is that by the time you add the rice, the chicken pieces are so tender from being slow-cooked that stirring in the rice will cause it to break up and become shredded chicken as pictured. Hope you enjoy it!

Can you freeze cheesy chicken and rice?

Absolutely! You can freeze leftovers for up to three months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge before reheating them for a couple of minutes in the microwave.

What side goes with cheesy chicken and rice?

I recommend serving this slow cooker chicken and rice recipe as a main dish with a side salad or vegetables. Here are some suggestions:

• Boiled squash
• Fresh green beans
• Zucchini and squash
• Broccoli salad with bacon and raisins
• Roasted asparagus
• Candied carrots
• Collard greens with hot pepper sauce

You may also enjoy serving the chicken and rice with cornbread, biscuits, or homemade dinner rolls.

Here are more of my favorite chicken dinner recipes:

Instant Pot Butter Chicken Recipe

North Alabama Style Pulled Chicken BBQ

How To Make Chicken Fajitas

Dutch Oven Smokehouse Chicken

Chicken Kabobs Recipe In The Oven

Broccoli Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast

 

“Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today.

It’s already tomorrow in Australia.”

~Charles Schultz.