Lemon Chicken Rice Casserole

When it feels like winter outside but you’re ready for spring flavors, bake this Lemon Chicken Rice Casserole for dinner! Made from scratch without canned soup.

Have you seen the meme floating around where it talks about how there are more than four seasons, such as fool’s spring, second winter, spring of deception, third winter, and mud season?

I’m pretty sure Pittsburgh is on its fourth winter as it snowed once in April already.

With weather this crazy, it’s hard to know what to make for dinner. Too hot for soup. No wait, this is the perfect soup weather. Ugh too hot to turn on the oven. Wait, bring back the comfort food.

Casseroles are often a winter comfort dish, but here we are mid April with snow in the air. Best way to handle this is to add springtime flavors, like I did with my Lemon Chicken Rice Casserole.

It’s a cheesy rice bake filled with chicken, fresh asparagus, lemon, and Parmesan cheese. And it’s all made from scratch without canned soup (like how my green bean casserole without canned soup is made).

As I was researching recipes for my lemon chicken casserole, I noticed some of them mixed raw chicken with the ingredients. These recipes were missing one ingredient – flavor.

By browning the chicken first, you add another layer of flavor to an otherwise bland chicken casserole. It also helps ensure the chicken stays moist even after baking.

It may seem like an extra step, but it’s one you don’t want to skip. When I made my rice stuffed chicken, I didn’t brown it the first time. Trust me – there’s a HUGE difference when you don’t brown.

Typically casseroles are tough to make for two people because they usually require a 13×9 pan.

As much as I enjoy leftovers for lunch the next day, that’s where it needs to stop. Nobody wants to still be eating baked potato casserole five days later.

That’s why I scaled down my Parmesan chicken casserole to a 1 quart casserole dish (or a 6 inch pan).

It makes a generous 4 servings and might almost help you forget there’s snow in April.

Ingredients For Lemon Chicken Rice Casserole

Here’s what you need to make your Parmesan chicken and rice:

• Oil: Used to cook your chicken
• Chicken: I prefer dark meat with thighs, but you can also use chicken breast.
• Salt and pepper: For seasoning
• Asparagus: A spring vegetable I love. If it’s not asparagus season (February – June), you can easily substitute broccoli.
• Onion and garlic: Aromatics for flavor
• Parmesan cheese: Salty, nutty cheese to pair with your rice
• Instant rice: I used Instant rice because it cooks faster. If you don’t have any, use 1 cup pre-cooked rice and omit the broth
• Broth: Used to cook the rice
• Lemon: Adds bright acidity to balance the heavy flavors
• Parsley: Freshness for garnish

How To Make Lemon Chicken Rice Casserole

Here’s how to cook your chicken lemon rice bake:

1. Brown chicken until no longer pink in the middle.
2. Cook asparagus and onion until softened and mostly fork tender. It’s ok if the asparagus needs a few more minutes as they’ll continue to cook in the oven
3. Add garlic and rice and toast for 1 minute.
4. Pour in broth, cover with a rice, and cook rice until soft.
5. Stir in chicken, cheese, lemon, and salt. Transfer to a casserole dish and sprinkle more cheese on top.
6. Bake at 375F for 10 minutes or until cheese has melted.

More Chicken Dinner Recipes

If you enjoyed your lemon chicken casserole, check out these other chicken recipes for two including:

• Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice
• Balsamic Chicken with Tomatoes
• Mediterranean Chicken Thighs
• Air Fryer Chicken Fajitas
• Chicken Pot Pie Pasta

First published April 23, 2018