Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

This Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole is my favorite way to dress up a box of wild rice and some chicken when I’m in the mood for something truly comforting. It’s got that wonderful, creamy texture from the mushroom soup and a little surprise crunch from the almonds that just makes the whole dish. Between the savory rice and that golden, buttery Ritz cracker crust, it’s the kind of honest Southern cooking that brings everyone to the table in a hurry!

The Perfect Casserole Recipe For Any Time of Year

Christmas and New Year’s are behind us, and most folks are in the middle of winter, snuggling within their quilts and homes, cooking up stews and cobblers. Oh, I’m doing the cooking part, but not the rest of it; my mind is on other things.  You see, as soon as January hits, I get to expecting spring.

There are so many variations on this casserole that you could throw a rock at the internet and hit fifty on any given day. This is mine, it’s pretty easy and awfully good. Modify it, play with it, make it your own. Just let me know what time it is served and try to have plenty of tea when I show up, please 🙂 Or Diet Dr. Pepper…Diet Dr. Pepper is always good, too! (Bonus points if it’s a Dirty Dr. Pepper)

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Long Grain and Wild Rice (with seasoning, such as Uncle Ben’s)
• Cream of Mushroom Soup (can use fat-free)
• French Style Green Beans
• Chicken
• Almonds
• Ritz crackers
• Butter

NOTE: You can also add a cup of sour cream to this, and it will be wonderful! This is completely optional, but I love it.

Step 1: Cook Your Chicken

Normally, I wouldn’t have used chicken tenders for this because they are a little more expensive. This is a great recipe to use cooked chicken leg quarters (deboned and shredded), leftover chicken, or a whole fryer (cooked, deboned, and shredded), but since I did have this chicken on hand and company was coming (did I mention I like to make this for company), that is what I used.

Step 2: Combine Your Ingredients

Dump chicken, cooked rice, green beans, cream soup, and almonds into a big old bowl. Give it all a stir until it is good and mixed.

Step 3: Top and Bake Your Casserole

Spray a baking dish lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon the casserole filling into the baking dish. Sprinkle crushed crackers all over the top, drizzle melted butter over the cracker crumb topping, and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Now all that’s left to do is eat up!