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One Pot Creamy Garlic Chicken Wild Rice Casserole: a cozy, herby, one-pan dinner with chicken, buttery wild rice, and creamy garlic sauce. Finish with a little extra butter and fresh thyme. It’s flavorful, classic, and so easy to make. A one-skillet dinner everyone in the family will love! We love this dish served with a side salad and beer bread. Yum!
This dish is perfect for families! I used to eat chicken and noodle casserole a lot when I was a kid. It was one of my least favorite dishes, but my brothers loved it! My dad made it every other week during the school year because this Midwest-style dish was so easy.
I do, however, love a casserole. Throw everything in a baking dish and let the oven work some magic! It’s always great.
When I started to take over cooking dinner for my family, one of the meals I would make a lot was wild rice with baked chicken tenders — usually with some broccoli, since that’s the vegetable we almost always had on hand. Broccoli, potatoes, and bell peppers!
My mom would buy those wild rice blends with the herb and garlic seasoning packets. I always cooked those and served them with the chicken. Very, very basic, but so comforting and delicious.
I created this casserole with all of those memories and flavors in mind — but made it creamy, like my favorite wild rice soup. So delicious!
My mom especially loves this dish. Anything with chicken and rice makes her happy!
How to make my Chicken Wild Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- chicken thighs or breasts – I like to use a mix
- salted butter
- the seasonings: dried parsley, onion powder, dried rosemary, paprika, cayenne pepper
- shallots
- garlic
- cremini mushrooms
- carrots
- wild rice – I use a blend of a variety of rice and couscous
- thyme
- sage
- broth – I use Fond chicken bone broth
- spinach or kale – I love kale, but my mom prefers spinach
- heavy
For Cooking
This recipe requires a large oven-safe braiser or Dutch oven. I use an 11-inch braiser (4 qt) most often.
The Steps
Step 1: Season and start the chicken
In a large, oven-safe skillet or braiser, season the chicken with dried parsley, onion powder, dried rosemary, paprika, and a pinch of cayenne. Add butter and set the skillet over medium heat to melt the butter.
Once the butter is melted, add the shallots, garlic, mushrooms, and carrots. Toss everything together so the veggies get coated and begin to soften.
Step 2: Toast the rice and herbs
Add another pat of butter, then stir in the wild rice, thyme, and sage. Let the butter brown a bit and allow the rice and herbs to toast for a minute or two — this adds great flavor.
Step 3: Add broth and greens
Pour in the chicken broth, then stir in the kale or spinach. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat and add the cream. Cover the pan and let it gently simmer for about 15 minutes to give the rice a head start.
Step 4: Bake until golden
Transfer the uncovered skillet to the oven and bake until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through and golden on top.
To serve
Sprinkle with fresh thyme and a pinch of flaky sea salt. I love pairing this with my fall salad and a loaf of beer bread for a cozy, comforting family dinner — especially on Sunday nights when the whole house smells amazing!
Looking for other easy dinners? Here are my favorites:
One Pan Chipotle Honey Chicken and Rice
One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice
One Skillet Louisiana Style Chicken and Rice
Broccoli Cheddar Chicken and Rice Casserole
Cheesy Zucchini Chicken and Rice Bake
Slow Cooker Herbed Chicken and Rice Pilaf
Spicy Sesame Chicken and Ginger Rice
Skillet Mexican Beef and Rice
Lastly, if you make this Creamy Garlic Chicken Wild Rice Casserole, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love hearing from you 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!
Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Casserole
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 650 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs or breasts (skin on or off)
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- sea salt and black pepper
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms
- 1/2 cup chopped carrots
- 2 cups dry wild rice
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage
- 3 1/2 cups broth
- 2 cups chopped kale or spinach
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.2. In a large oven-safe skillet or braiser, mix the chicken with the parsley, onion powder, rosemary, paprika, and cayenne. Season with salt and pepper. Add 3 tablespoons butter. Set over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, garlic, mushrooms, and carrots, toss and cook 5-10 minutes.3. Push the chicken and veggies to the sides of the pan. Add 3 tablespoons butter, the rice, thyme, and sage. Allow the butter and rice to become slightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Add the broth, then the kale, bring to a boil, stirring everything. Mix in the cream, and season again with salt. 3. Place the lid on the skillet and turn the heat down to the lowest setting. Allow the rice to cook for 20 minutes, until most of the liquid has cooked into the rice, but not all of it.4. Remove from the heat, remove the lid. Bake for 15 minutes, until rice is cooked. Serve the chicken and rice topped with fresh thyme. And enjoy!
This post was originally published on October 2, 2025
So yummy. No notes! Thanks Tieghan another yummy weeknight meal!
Hey Emily,
Thanks for the thoughtful feedback after trying this recipe, I’m happy to hear it was a win. Have a wonderful day!
I made this as recipe stated except I used 3/4 cup of couscous and 1 1/4 cups of wild rice. Turned out beautiful and delicious! Thanks for another fall Classic!
Hey Joy,
Yay! Thank you so much for trying this recipe. I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed. Have a great week!
Flavor and whole concept of the dish was amazing! Love the one pot wholesome hearty and healthy dish idea! I did have issues with the rice though! Cooked for about 20 minutes extra and rice still wasn’t cooked through, added more liquid and cooked for another 5 and still not quite done but I was tired and hungry at that point so went with it. Next time I think I would try substituting orzo or a brown rice that doesn’t take as long to cook as the wild rice or partially cook the wild rice in a pot prior to adding it maybe.
Hi Haley,
Happy Friday! I really appreciate you making this recipe and reporting back. Thrilled it turned out well!
The cook times were off for this one, unfortunately.
Hey Marc,
Sorry to hear you had some issues with cook times, please let me know if there is anyway that I can help!
Delicious fall flavors. I substituted celery for the mushrooms and needed to cook about 15 mins longer for the wild rice to be done.
Hey Katherine,
Amazing! Thanks a bunch for trying this dish and your feedback, so glad it was enjoyed!
We loved this dish! I have had problems in the past with HBH recipes that call for rice cooking with the liquid in the pot, so we did substitute orzo. This also allowed us to skip the baking in the oven as our chicken and orzo were both cooked through by the end of step 3. If you choose to do this as well, remember to stir occasionally when simmering so the orzo doesn’t stick! It was so good!
Hey Nicole,
Fantastic! I’m so glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you!
Thanks for giving it a try and your comment! Have a great week ahead!
Made this tonight, turned out great!! Rice was perfect & we’re at high altitude!
Yay! Thanks so much, Adrienne! Love to hear this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you making it!
Delish, but I followed the recipe to the “t” and had a problem with the rice not absorbing the liquid. I am at 5000 ft altitude so I kept it in bake for extra 15 minutes, then let it rest for a little – seemed to do the job. Nicely compliment a green salad!
Hi Mayr,
Perfect! Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing what worked well for you! So glad it was enjoyed!
This recipe is a gem! I was feeling lazy today and rather than bake it in the oven, I used my crockpot instead. I added the rice after about two hours on high, then the kale and mushrooms after another hour and let them go for about 1/2 an hour more. Absolutely wonderful flavor combinations! Thank you for sharing this recipe with us.
Hey Lauren,
Happy Sunday!🎃 Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it was a winner!
I love the flavors BUT the rice did not cook!! I had enough liquid but after an hour the rice would not cook.
Hi Janina,
Thanks for trying this dish and sharing your feedback. Sorry to hear you had issues with the rice!
The flavor profile of this recipe is great. However, as others have mentioned, the instructions regarding cooking the rice are completely off. It still looked like soup after 20 minutes. Maybe next time I’ll have to use the exact brand of wild rice blend she links to rather than the dry wild rice I bought at the store.
Hey there,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! So sorry to hear you had issues with the rice. Let me know if you try again!
So delicious!! The leftovers were even better the next day. The rice did take a little longer to cook, but it was so big deal – just left it cooking in the oven longer. Can’t wait to make this again!
Thanks so much, Mary! I am so glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for your comment!
This was amazing!!! I didn’t have fresh thyme or sage so I swapped it with a TBSP of Italian seasoning.
Hi Katy,
Happy Friday!🎃 Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and your comment, I’m so glad it was enjoyed!
Made exactly as written except I was short on time and fresh herbs do I used dried thyme and sage. I needed an extra five minutes to simmer on the stove but boy was this a hit! Super tasty and definitely easy enough for a weeknight meal.
Hi Lauren,
Love to hear this! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and your feedback! Have a great day!
I was excited to try this recipe as it’s so many flavors I love and the idea of them in a one pot casserole seemed genius! But when my 5:30 dinner turned into a 7:30 dinner I was not so enthusiastic.
This recipe just doesn’t work…wild rice takes so long to cook and chicken doesn’t.
Maybe if you were using the pearled couscous that Tiegan used it would be ok, but it is just a misleading recipe.
Hi Mikala,
Sorry to hear this recipe did not turn out for you. Thanks for giving it a try. If you want to make it again, you can use a combo of rice and couscous as noted in the post. I hope this helps!