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Wild Rice Chicken Casserole with vegetables is a healthy, filling meal! Make it and serve to guests, or prepare as a meal prep dinner for the week.
HELLO, casserole of my dreams!
For those times you’re looking for a hearty, filling, yet clean meal, this casserole is a perfect fit! Packed with veggies, wild rice, chicken and a creamy cream-less sauce, the meal is flavorful and creamy, AND great for feeding a crowd.
It’s just so palate-pleasing and belly-satisfying!
The way I see it, this casserole is marvelous for the chilly fall and winter months. Getting cozy on the couch with a pile of delicious casserole in your favorite bowl, wearing your favorite stay-at-home sweater with a mug of tea steeping on the coffee table and a great book?
This is my idea of a wildly vivacious evening 😀
While this casserole does require a substantial time investment, I pinky promise it is well worth it. Plus, most of the time is bake time, which means you can easily multi-task as it bakes.
How about we bake it up?
How to Make Wild Rice Chicken Casserole:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Add the wild rice, onion, chopped carrots, celery and broth to a large casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake on the center rack of the preheated oven 1 hour and 15 minutes.
A few minutes before the rice has finished cooking, add the coconut milk, butter, flour, sea salt and garlic powder to a small saucepan.
Bring to a full boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Whisk consistently until mixture has thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes.
Once the veggies and rice have finished baking, remove the foil. Stir in the sauce and raw chopped chicken. Increase oven heat to 425 degrees F.
Place casserole back in the oven and bake another 20 to 25 minutes, until casserole is bubbly and chicken is cooked through.
Top with chopped hazelnuts (optional) and chopped parsley.
Serve heaping portions and enjoy!
Recipe Adaptations:
- Add or swap out your favorite vegetables. Cauliflower, broccoli, and/or bell pepper would be great!
- Use brown rice instead of wild rice.
- Swap the butter for ghee or a non-dairy vegan butter spread to make the recipe completely dairy-free
- If you aren’t dairy-free, use 1 cup of whole milk, half & half, or heavy cream instead of coconut milk
- If you have leftover chicken or turkey, toss ‘er in instead of using raw chicken
Looking for more healthy casserole recipes? Try out these reader favorites!
More Healthy Casserole Recipes:
- Tuna Rice Casserole
- Zucchini Herb Sausage Breakfast Casserole
- Mushroom Bolognese Spaghetti Squash Casserole
- Tuna Noodle Casserole
- Creamy Cauliflower Casserole
Get wild with this chicken and rice casserole!
Wild Rice Chicken Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup wild rice
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion, chopped
- 4 large carrots, peeled and chopped
- 5 stalks celery, chopped
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk
- 4 Tbsp butter, or ghee
- 1/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp sea salt, to taste
- 1 lb chicken breasts, chopped
- 2/3 cup hazelnuts, chopped, optional
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Add the wild rice, onion, chopped carrots, celery and broth to a large casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake on the center rack of the preheated oven 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- A few minutes before the rice has finished cooking, add the coconut milk, butter, flour, sea salt and garlic powder to a small saucepan. Bring to a full boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Whisk consistently until mixture has thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Once the veggies and rice have finished baking, remove the foil. Stir in the sauce and raw chopped chicken. Increase oven heat to 425 degrees F. Place casserole back in the oven and bake another 20 to 25 minutes, until casserole is bubbly and chicken is cooked through.
- Top with chopped hazelnuts (optional) and chopped parsley.
- Serve heaping portions and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!
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I’m confused, it says total time 1h but you have to cook the vegetables for 1h15 minutes
Made it today and after reading through the comments I just added a little more coconut milk in after pouring sauce onto rice and it’s perfect
So happy it turned out well for you after adding more coconut milk, Debbie! xo
Recipe worked perfect and very tasty!
So thrilled you like it, Tammy! Thanks so much for reporting back! xoxoxo 😀
It says 50 minutes for cook time but the first instruction says bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. Confusing
@Caroline D, Follow written instructions. It works very well!
I followed the 1/2 cup broth modification below but it was not enough liquid for the rice to absorb, so my rice turned out hard. The 1/2 cup of coconut milk + 5 Tbsp margarine worked great for the sauce. I liked the taste.
Confused about the times. Recipe says takes 50 mins cooking and total of 1 hr including prep, but instructions require over an hour with just the first cooking step?
@Katie, I follow the written recipe and it turns out just right.
Could this be made ahead and frozen?
Hi Rachel!
I haven’t tested it myself, but in my experience, chicken casseroles like this freeze well. If you try it, I would add a small amount of additional fat – avocado oil/full-fat coconut milk to help keep it preserved and tasting great once it is reheated. Let me know if you try it! xo
Could you use Arrowroot powder in place of the flour?
VERY disappointed. Too runny. By the time I added more rice and cornstarch to thicken, the broccoli i used for a vwggie was mush!
With the broth and other liquid in the casserole it ended up being way too runny. I had to add some more rice and cornstarch to get it to thicken right
What size pan…9×13?
I did all the steps up until the final baking at 425 degrees last night. I put it in the fridge to be baked and eaten for dinner tonight. (Used cooked chicken.) Any recommendations on adjusting the baking time?
Hi Elizabeth,
I would still bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes so that all of the liquid gets absorbed. You can check on it after 15 minutes and pull it out of the oven if it looks finished…otherwise, I’d leave it 😀
Hello, you mention sea salt in the instructions, but there is no sea salt listed in the ingredients. Was this a typo or was it forgotten?
Also seems like there is either too much flour or not enough liquid in the sauce and too much butter. Sauce thickened immediately within seconds on low heat, became all gummy and oily, mixed it into the casserole anyway and now there is a thick layer of butter on top of the casserole when it’s done cooking. Might have to move this one to the do not make again pile.
The same thing happened to me when I made this for the first time this week. I had to throw out the sauce completely – it was disgusting. I remade it with half a cup of coconut milk, half a cup of chicken broth and I cut the butter down to 5 Tbls. I also cooked it for only about a minute or two. That helped and it worked. The dish was delicious.
For the sea salt I just added 1.5 tsp.
Thanks, for sharing this with us. It’s a really very easy and grateful way to cooking.
We are a Corriander leaf: restaurant in Yangon, Myanmar. If you visit Yangon, Just try and feel the real taste of Indian dishes.
My husband does not like coconut milk, can you recommend a good substitute?
Hi Kelly,
You can use regular milk or broth. If you go for broth, the casserole will not taste as creamy, but will still be very good!
Looks fantastic, cant wait to try!! Do you think this would work in a slow cooker?