Chicken Casserole Recipes Freezer Meals You Can Make Before The Baby Arrives!
Having a repertoire of delicious chicken casserole recipes can save you a lot of time and effort in the kitchen. They’re super easy to whip up, so you can make a whole batch ahead of time and store them in the freezer for later. Here’s a list of seven freezer-friendly and easy chicken and rice casserole dishes you can try right now!
Chicken Casserole Recipes | 7 Freezer-Friendly Meals
1. Chicken Meatball Soup with Ginger and Basil
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Unlike all the chicken casserole dishes on this list, this one is a soup-based recipe. The soup itself is infused with aromatic ginger and basil. Each bowl of soup comes with handmade chicken meatballs seasoned with soy sauce and sesame oil.
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Tip: If you want to change the recipe up a bit, you can use turkey breast instead of the recommended chicken breast.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup green onions, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup Japanese-style bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup red sweet pepper, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups brown rice, cooked
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1 Tbsp. ginger, grated
- 1 lb uncooked chicken or turkey breast, ground
- 1 Tbsp. honey
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes, crushed
- 2 tsp canola oil
- 2 egg whites
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
- 3 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
Directions:
Step 1: Heat up the canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add half of the garlic and the ginger. Sauté for about 30 seconds, then remove from the heat and set aside.
Step 2: In a large bowl, combine the sautéed garlic and ginger, bread crumbs, sweet pepper, egg whites, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 Tbsp. soy sauce, and ground chicken. When all the ingredients are mixed, take small portions of the mixture and form them into 1-inch meatballs.
Step 3: Place the same skillet over medium-high heat and cook the meatballs until they’re seared all around. Once they’re cooked, set them aside to cool.
Step 4: To make the soup base, heat up the remaining 1 tsp sesame oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook the yellow onion in the oil until it’s nearly tender, around 2-3 minutes. Quickly add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
Step 5: When you start smelling the garlic, that means it’s cooked and you can now add the remaining soy sauce, vinegar, water, broth, crushed red peppers, and honey into the saucepan. Let the soup base boil, and then add in the meatballs.
Step 6: Reduce the heat down to medium or medium-low and let the soup simmer until the meatballs are cooked through. When the meatballs are cooked, you can stir in the cooked rice and chopped basil.
2. Easy Chicken and Rice Casserole
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This recipe is the definition of an easy chicken and rice casserole dish. You literally put all the ingredients in a dish and bake it for an hour. Plus, you don’t have to pre-cook any of the ingredients. You heard us right! There’s no need to saute onions or sear chicken before baking.
The casserole base uses cream of mushroom and chicken broth. Both of which are available in cans at the grocery store. If you have leftovers, you can just cover the whole thing with plastic wrap and store it in the freezer.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups white rice, uncooked
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 10.5 oz cans cream of mushroom soup
- 3 large bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs
- 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
- 2 tsp fresh thyme
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp. parsley, chopped
Directions:
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°F. While you’re waiting for the oven to heat up, go ahead and grease a 9″ x 13″ baking dish with oil. Mix the rice, chopped onion, chicken broth, and cream of mushroom soup in the baking dish.
Step 2: Lay the chicken thighs over the uncooked rice and brush them with melted butter. Season the thighs with salt, pepper, thyme, and garlic.
Step 3: Cover the top of the baking dish with foil. Slip it into the preheated oven and bake it for one hour. After an hour, remove the foil from the dish and bake it for another 30 minutes or until the rice is cooked and the chicken is golden brown.
Step 4: Let the casserole rest for 20 minutes before you cut into it and serve it. Garnish each serving with chopped parsley.
3. Baked Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Casserole
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Adding broccoli to a chicken casserole recipe is a delicious way of eating vegetables. This cheesy chicken broccoli recipe does exactly that! This dish is filled with diced chicken, broccoli florets, and cheddar cheese. It’s even topped with a layer of bread crumbs for an added crunch.
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
- 1 cup white rice, uncooked
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cup broccoli florets
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
Directions:
Step 1: Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes or until they start releasing their aroma. Add in the cubed chicken breasts and cook until they’re golden on all sides.
Step 2: Once the chicken is cooked, add the uncooked rice to the skillet. Slowly stir in the rice and carefully pour in the heavy cream and chicken broth. Let this casserole base simmer for about 20 minutes or until the rice is almost cooked.
Step 3: Before your rice is fully cooked, add your broccoli florets and cheese into the casserole base. Keep the pot simmering until the florets become tender in time for the rice to be al dente.
Step 4: To finish the casserole, sprinkle an even layer of panko breadcrumbs on top and place the dish under a broiler for 2 minutes or until the panko becomes golden and crispy.
Tip: To make the dish even healthier, you can switch out the white rice in the recipe for brown rice instead.
4. Doritos Chicken Casserole
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This Dorito-chicken casserole is jam-packed with the usual chicken and cheese. The recipe also calls for pico de gallo and sour cream, giving the casserole a tangy Mexican flare. Adding a whole bag of crushed Nacho Cheese Doritos ups the cheesiness and adds crunch to the dish. This one’s definitely for the kids!
Ingredients:
- 1 11 oz bag Doritos nacho cheese
- 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
- 1 10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup sour cream
- 8 oz Cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 10.5 oz can diced tomatoes and chiles
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 cup pico de gallo
Directions:
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Stir the shredded chicken, chicken soup, sour cream, diced tomatoes and chiles, cumin, chili powder, and half of the cheddar in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Set this aside.
Step 2: Open the bag of nacho cheese Doritos and empty the contents into a ziplock bag. Seal the bag and with your hands, crush the chips into small pieces. Spread half of the crushed chips at the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ baking dish.
Step 3: Top the layer of crushed chips with the chicken mixture you prepared earlier. You then take the remaining Doritos and cheese and sprinkle them over the chicken.
Step 4: Bake the casserole for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Remove the dish from the oven and let it cool for another 20 minutes before you serve it. Serve each plate with a scoop of pico de gallo.
5. Cajun Chicken and Rice Bake
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Liven-up your catalog of chicken casserole recipes by making one with a Cajun twist! To bring in the flavors of Louisiana cooking, this Cajun chicken and rice bake uses lots of bell peppers, tomato sauce, and andouille sausage.
Tip: If you don’t have andouille sausage on hand, you can substitute it with Mexican chorizo or kielbasa sausage.
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 andouille sausages, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 large chicken breasts, cubed
- 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 1 1/4 cup long-grain white rice, uncooked
- 3 green onions, sliced
Directions:
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 375°F. Take a large oven-safe skillet and set it over medium heat. Heat up olive oil and then sauté the onions, garlic, and bell peppers until they’re soft, then you can add in the cut-up andouille sausages. Cook the sausages until they’re brown all over. After this, you can add your chicken and Cajun seasoning. Let the mixture cook while stirring often until the chicken is cooked through.
Step 2: When the chicken is cooked through, go ahead and pour the rice, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and cheese into the skillet. Mix the ingredients until they’re all combined, then let everything simmer for about 15 minutes.
Step 3: After 15 minutes of simmering, take the skillet out of the heat and slip it into your preheated oven. Let the dish bake to 40 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
Step 4: Let the casserole cool for 10 minutes before you serve it. Garnish each serving with a sprinkling of sliced green onions.
6. Healthy Chicken and Rice Casserole
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This healthy chicken casserole recipe incorporates a great selection of fall vegetables like sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts. Unlike most chicken casserole recipes which are topped with cheese, this one calls for a sprinkling of dried cranberries and sliced almonds instead.
Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, cubed into small pieces
- 1 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 6 cups wild rice, cooked
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup almonds, sliced
Directions:
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°F. While waiting for your oven to heat up, go ahead and grease a 9″ x 13″ baking dish, then set it aside.
Step 2: Heat up 1 Tbsp. of oil in a large and deep skillet set over a medium-high heat. Place the chicken on the skillet and cook for 8 minutes on each side or until they’re cooked through. Take them off of the heat, let them rest for 10 more minutes, then cut them into 1-inch cubes. Set the chicken aside.
Step 3: In the same skillet, heat up the remaining oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add in the chopped onions, cubed sweet potatoes, and quartered Brussels sprouts. Season these veggies with thyme, paprika, salt, and pepper and cook them for about 10 minutes. Pour in the broth and let the mixture simmer for another 5 minutes.
Step 4: After the 5-minute simmer, stir in the cooked rice, chicken, and cranberries. Pour the mixture into the greased baking dish and top it with the sliced almonds. Bake the casserole for 20 minutes.
Step 5: Let the casserole cool for 5 minutes before cutting into it and serving it.
7. Cheesy Chicken Rice Casserole
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A great cheesy chicken bake is nothing short of comfort food. However, compared to its one-pot counterpart, this recipe requires a tad more pans and a few extra steps. For example, in a separate pan, you’ll need to sear the chicken until its golden all over before you bake it in the casserole dish.
Don’t worry because all your hard work will definitely pay off once you sink your teeth into a bubbly chicken bake dinner!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup white rice, cooked
- 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, quartered
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups frozen peas
- 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
- 1 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Directions:
Step 1: Prep your rice by cooking it according to the directions in its package. Set the rice aside and preheat your oven to 450ºF.
Step 2: Lay down the chicken breast quarters in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Cook each side for about 6 minutes. Once they’re cooked through, take them off of the heat and set them aside.
Step 3: Add the olive oil to the same skillet and set heat to medium. Sauté the onions and garlic for about 3 minutes or until they’re soft and translucent. Pour in the stock and cream then bring everything to a boil. When the casserole base starts boiling, bring the heat down to medium-low and let the mixture simmer for 5 more minutes.
Step 4: After 5 minutes, mix in the cooked rice, peas, Parmesan, and parsley. Take it off of the heat and bake it in the oven for 15 more minutes or until the top is golden.
Step 5: Let the casserole cool before you serve it. Sprinkle each serving with some chopped parsley and Parmesan cheese.
Watch this video for our favorite Chicken Casserole recipe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyGQ6W7YEPA
Chicken casserole recipes are a staple in every kitchen for a reason. They’re perfect as tasty make-ahead meals that are easy to cook and safe to store in the freezer. To stay on the safe side, make sure to keep track of when you made your casserole. Just because it’s in the freezer doesn’t mean it’ll last forever!
Which of the chicken casserole recipes listed above have you tried? How did it taste? Let us know in the comments section below!