This delicious copy cat Cracker Barrel Chicken and Rice Recipe will have your family begging for more. The ultimate in comfort food– a few simple tweaks makes this chicken and rice casserole even healthier without any complaints!
Update: Since writing this recipe Cracker Barrel has slightly changed their Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole Recipe. It now uses wild rice and cream of mushroom soup instead of cream of chicken.
Copy Cat Cracker Barrel Chicken and Rice Casserole
I love Cracker Barrel… and I don’t say that lightly…. I REALLY LOVE Cracker Barrel…and I really love Cracker Barrel Chicken and Rice! My husband makes fun of me because whenever he asks me what I want for dinner- if there’s a Cracker Barrel near by- I’m all about it! Lucky for him the closest Cracker Barrel is now 25 minutes away… so we don’t eat there as much as we used to when we lived 5 minutes away.
Anyways, one of my favorite meals (besides this yummy copy cat Cracker Barrel hashbrown casserole) is the Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole that they only serve during certain seasons! It’s oh so yummy… it’s like comforting chicken soup but in a casserole form! Perfect for this cold weather!
Lucky for you I have replicated this recipe almost perfectly…. so are you ready for:
Copy Cat Cracker Barrel Chicken and Rice Recipe
There’s something about creamy chicken over steaming hot rice that just screams comfort food! This recipe is UGLY but the flavors are absolutely amazing! The great thing about this recipe is that’s it’s super simple to make a few healthy changes to make it a delicious meal you can feel good about feeding to your family.
I like to trade out the basic white rice for wild rice or even go healthier with quinoa. You simply cook the quinoa according to the package directions and then pour the delicious creamy chicken on top….your family will totally gobble it up!
Copy Cat Cracker Barrel Chicken and Rice Recipe
Prep time
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This delicious chicken and rice casserole is the perfect comfort food and almost an exact match to the amazing Cracker Barrel Chicken and Rice recipe.
Author: Melissa Llado
Recipe type: Casserole
Cuisine: American
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 2 Cups cooked rice (al dente)
- 1 diced onion
- 1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
- 1 Packet of Chicken Gravy (you can use the packet or the jar)
- 1.5 Pounds of Chicken cut into strips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook rice- when rice is half way done throw in diced onion to finish cooking with the rice.
- Spray baking dish with non-stick cooking spray or lightly coat with EVOO.
- Cover bottom of baking dish with your rice.
- Place cut up chicken on top of rice.
- Spread Cream of Chicken soup over chicken- do not dilute- spread it straight from the can.
- Mix your Chicken Gravy Packet with 1 cup of water (or use the can version all ready to go) and pour it on top of the casserole.
- Cover casserole dish with aluminum foil.
- Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until chicken is done.
- Remove foil and serve hot!
What’s your favorite dish at Cracker Barrel? Share in the comments below…maybe I’ll try to remake it!
Are you like me and always on the hunt for deliciously simple recipes that your family will love?
Other recipes to try:
O-M-G BEST Crockpot Chicken EVER Recipe
Stuffed Chicken Rolls over Sun Dried Tomatoes Recipe
Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole Copy Cat Recipe
Thrive Market - It's like the Costco of organics...this is where I get all of my sugar, flour, baking supplies, kids snacks, etc.
Zaycon Foods- This is where I buy most of my meat products in bulk. The quality is amazing and the prices just can't be beat! I mean, $1.89 a pound for boneless all-natural chicken breasts!! It is bulk but you can always split with a friend or make up a bunch of freezer meals like I do!
Melissa Llado
Creator at Serendipity and Spice
Melissa is a busy mom trying to survive the preschool years. She loves a good Pinot Grigio and cuddling up on the couch for the latest super hero movie. Her kids enjoy getting in the kitchen and helping make a mess trying new recipes! Even though she's constantly creating new and delicious treats she usually winds up buying grocery store treats when it's time for her to take snacks for school-- at all of the teachers' dismay.
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Cooked this for 45 minutes as instructed and chicken was not fully cooked. Are you using raw chicken or did you cook it first? Have it back in the oven for another 30 mins.
The cook time can fluctuate based on how thick your chicken is– I typically will butterfly the breasts and then cut the chicken into strips so that it cooks faster. The important thing is that you get your chicken fully cooked to an internal temp of 165 degrees F. I hope you enjoyed the recipe!
I’d say add a cube of knorr chicken bullion makes a huge difference when it gets too bland….
I really loved the comfort-food flavors of this dish. I did tweak the dish a little (just a little!) to suit my personal tastes. I added more rice because I was using a 9×13 glass dish, and the 2 cups didn’t seem to be enough to cover the bottom. I pre-grilled the onions in a little pat of butter rather than throw them in (my rice cooker doesn’t seem to like that), and added a smattering of sweet peas and a 1/2-cup of sliced mushrooms in an effort to be healthy. Otherwise, I made the dish as directed. Really delicious, though I guess adding extra rice made it a little crunchy here and there. I’ll be making this dish again in the future – and the best part is, it’s just as delicious the next day!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this dish! I like your idea of adding peas! Sometimes I’ll add carrots which pair really well too. 🙂
Made this recipe tonight and was not impressed at all. I followed all of the instructions completely and it still tasted SO bland!
Sorry you didn’t like it. This is supposed to be more of a toned down dish…kind of like a creamy chicken noodle soup in casserole form. My family loves eating it during the winter when we’re not feeling well…it’s our comfort food of choice. For some recipes with a bit more kick I would suggest trying the Arroz Con Pollo- Puerto Rican Chicken and Rice or the Soul Food Crock Pot Chicken and Rice.
I was wondering if you could use regular gravy packet, or would it just be weird tasting? I am in China and they do not have chicken gravy. Thanks!
Hmmmm…..I would think that regular gravy would be too strong….maybe try making a roux with some chicken stock instead.
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I would love to have the recipe for the hashbrown casserole when you get it perfected….
I’m putting the finishing touches on it– watch out for it next Tuesday! Hubs said I perfected it…he can’t even tell the difference between mine and CB’s. 🙂
This looks phenomenal. I’m addicted to creamy chicken and rice type recipes. They’re simple and delicious. I’ll have to give this a try.
Stopping by from #SITSSHAREFEST to say hey. 🙂
Thanks Andrea! It is super yummy! 🙂 Let me know when you try it and what you think! Hope you’re having a fabulous weekend!!!
We never eat at Cracker Barrel but this looks good! Thanks for sharing this at my Pin Me Linky Party.
I have never been to a Cracker Barrel – I have yet to come across one in my travels. I will look out for them now! Your casserole looks delicious, and it really is a great quick and easy recipe.
Oh we LOVE Cracker Barrel– it’s the #1 choice for us on road trips too! My family gobbles this up like there’s no tomorrow- I hope you enjoy it!!
How perfectly yummy! Chicken over rice with a cream sauce is one of my favorite types of dishes, too. I didn’t realize that Cracker Barrel made a dish like this because we only get to stop at one when we are traveling. It’s always our first pick if we know there’s one on the way to wherever we are headed. I’ll be pinning so I can try this! Have a wonderful day!
Oh my gosh! That snow is insane up there!!! I hope you guys are staying warm and safe!! I’m so happy your family enjoyed the recipe so much– mine gobbles it down too. 🙂
Melissa
Melissa – Can I just tell you that I made the chicken and rice casserole tonight for the first time and my family loved it so much they were about to lick the casserole dish clean in the middle of my table! Thanks so much for a “winner winner chicken dinner” of a recipe that obviously I can add to my winter recipe collection! I am up here in snowbound northwestern CT and today to add insult to injury we have had more snow, then ice, freezing rain and cold rain! UGH! I’m ready for spring! Hugs, Dorinda
Oh- I’m there ALL the time… in fact, it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve been- it’s time to go! They have the BEST home style food. 🙂 I love trying to recreate it. Right now I’m working on cracking the recipe for their Hashbrown Casserole! It’s my husband’s FAVORITE and none of the online recipes are quite right. 🙂
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One time I had some chicken and apples, that so delicious it also had cheese on it I think. I would love that recipe! I’ve only seen it once, like you our nearest Cracker Barrel is 30 minutes away.
I have eaten at a Cracker Barrel once when we were on vacation. It was so good! This looks yummy and I’m pinning it to try!