Rotisserie Chicken Casserole with brown rice, caramelized onions, mushrooms, veggies, and cheese. This cheesy, high-protein meal has everything you need for amazing comfort food!
I’m all about simplifying life via rotisserie chicken. From soups to enchiladas, salads, and burrito bowls, I’ve skipped many-a-step by swapping raw chicken for this pre-cooked wonder.
And now here we are, making an easy chicken and rice casserole using (you guessed it) our favorite high protein hero.
Mixing cooked brown rice, sultry cheese, shredded chicken, and fresh veggies in a casserole dish results in winning comfort food and doubles as a refrigerator cleanout! That’s right, you can toss about any vegetables in here you like and even get creative with seasonings.
Let’s discuss the basic ingredients for rotisserie chicken casserole! The great news is you can find the full list of ingredients at any grocery store.
Ingredients for Rotisserie Chicken Casserole:
Rotisserie Chicken: The star of the show here, we’re making the easiest chicken casserole using store-bought rotisserie chicken.
We need about 4 cups of shredded chicken, which is equivalent to both breasts shredded. In this sense, you don’t need to use the whole chicken, although you certainly may if you’d like.
Yellow Onion and Fresh Garlic: Onion and garlic bring a big boost of flavor to the casserole to make it taste nice and comforting.
Cooked Brown Rice: We need 4 cups of cooked brown rice, which is roughly the equivalent of 1 and ⅓ cups of dry brown rice. Wild rice or white rice works too! I just use broth due to the added fiber for complex carbohydrates.
Mushrooms: Adding umami flavor and texture to the dish, mushrooms bring a meatiness and a heartiness to the meal.
Vegetable of Choice: Pick your favorite vegetable to hide inside the dish. I chose green peas, but broccoli florets, green beans, cauliflower, carrots, and baby spinach are all great options.
Chicken Broth: We need a little liquid to mix everything together so that it doesn’t dry out during the baking process.
Cheese: Pick your favorite kind of melting cheese and shred it up! I use raw white cheddar, but regular cheddar cheese, colby jack cheese, pepper jack cheese and mozzarella cheese are all great options.
Sea Salt and Black Pepper: Season the casserole to your personal taste using salt and pepper.
Recipe Customizations:
- Mexican Style: Use 1 cup of salsa (any kind works!) instead of the broth, and use canned black beans and canned corn in place of the mushrooms and peas. Mix in 1 tablespoon of chili powder or taco seasoning.
- Mediterranean Style: Omit the peas and add 2/3 cup of chopped artichoke hearts, 1/3 cup of kalamata olives, 2/3 cup of sun-dried tomatoes, and/or 1 tablespoon of capers. Sprinkle in some feta cheese or parmesan cheese too!
- Swap the Chicken: Use 4 to 6 cups worth any kind of pre-cooked chicken you like. Be sure to chop or shred it adequately in advance.
- Make it Creamy: For a richer, creamier casserole, replace the broth with ⅔ cup of sour cream. Or, keep the broth and mix in 4 ounces of cream cheese. As an alternative, add one small can of cream of chicken soup or cream of mushroom soup and omit the broth.
How to Make Rotisserie Chicken Casserole:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly spray a large casserole dish (I use a 13” x 9” casserole dish) with cooking spray.
Heat the avocado oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add in the onion and mushrooms and sauté, stirring occasionally, until both have softened and turned golden brown.
Shred the chicken and transfer it to the prepared baking dish with the cooked brown rice, peas (or chopped broccoli), caramelized onions and mushrooms and broth. Give everything a big stir.
Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the casserole and bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the top is golden brown.
Serve in big bowls and enjoy!
Storage Options:
- Refrigerator: Transfer the leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
- Freezer: Freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
- Reheating Instructions: To reheat the casserole, bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes, until thoroughly warm in the middle. Bring the dish out of the refrigerator or freezer and let casserole thaw for 20 minutes ahead of time to bring it closer to room temperature.
Recipe Tips:
- Cook 1 and ¼ cups of rice up to 5 days in advance.
- This is the perfect chop-as-you go recipe. Begin with the onion, mushrooms, and garlic, and while they are sautéing, shred the chicken and cheese and compile the rest of the recipe. This helps save time, as you’re multi-tasking throughout the cooking process.
- If you want to use raw chicken instead of rotisserie chicken, chop 1 to 1.25 pounds of chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and add them in. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
And that’s it! Your next cheesy chicken casserole that takes very little effort or time to prepare. Let me know in the comments below what goodies you end up adding!
The whole family will love this easy meal, as you can use it as a base recipe for all your rotisserie chicken casseroles.
If you love making casseroles, also try some of my other favorite casserole recipes.
More Casserole Recipes:
- Chicken Taco Casserole
- Salmon Noodle Casserole
- Sweet Potato and Ground Beef Casserole
- Cottage Cheese Breakfast Casserole
- Ground Beef and Rice Enchilada Casserole
Cheese + Chicken 4 Life!
Rotisserie Chicken Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 8 ounces mushrooms chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced.
- 4 cups rotisserie chicken shredded
- 4 cups cooked brown rice*
- 1 cup green peas or 1 large crown broccoli chopped
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 cups shredded cheese
- ½ tsp sea salt to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly spray a large casserole dish (I use a 13” x 9” casserole dish) with cooking spray.
- Heat the avocado oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add in the onion and mushrooms and sauté, stirring occasionally, until both have softened and turned golden brown.
- Shred the chicken and transfer it to the prepared baking dish with the cooked brown rice, peas (or chopped broccoli), caramelized onions and mushrooms and broth. Give everything a big stir.
- Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the casserole and bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the top is golden brown.
- Serve in big bowls and enjoy!
