Easy Crock Pot Chicken and Rice
**This post was sponsored by Floating Leaf Fine Foods. All opinions expressed here are my own as I only promote brands that I truly love.
This easy Crock Pot Chicken and Rice recipe is a protein-packed, dump and go slow cooker casserole that’s family-friendly and comes together in minutes!
There are a lot of foods that take me back to my childhood, and rice is definitely one of them. Rice was served at the dinner table at least a few times a week, and my grandmother’s Armenian rice pilaf was something that we enjoyed at every single holiday.
I grew up on white rice, but these days I prefer to eat brown and wild rice for their added nutrition, fiber and heartiness.
I prepare crockpot chicken and rice on a regular basis, and I can’t think of a better way to give it a fall and winter vibe than by incorporating wild rice.
Try my Instant Pot chicken and rice to get dinner on the table even faster!
This dish doesn’t just include any wild rice — it includes Floating Leaf Fine Foods Sprouted Crimson Lentils, Wild Rice and Quinoa Prairie Blend.
Floating Leaf Fine Foods provides nutritious alternatives to your table with its range of healthy rice, legume and grain products.
Each of the grain and legume blends provide high quality plant-based protein to meals, and are also perfect for those with specific dietary requirements including celiac, diabetes, heart health or anyone that desires optimum health.
These blends are a perfect fit for me as they help me incorporate more nutrition and fiber into my meals.
Those white rice days are over. 🙂
I prepare protein-packed meals for my high school boys often, and this healthy chicken and rice crockpot recipe delivered.
The Prairie Blend provides the heartiness that every casserole needs as well as a boost of nutrition and fiber. It would be wonderful in my wild rice salad recipe as well!
You’ll be amazed how creamy this recipe is without canned soup! The starches from the Prairie Blend alone make this casserole perfectly creamy.
This crockpot chicken and rice is reminiscent of my turkey wild rice soup, which is a favorite of mine. I’ve incorporated the flavors from my soup into this casserole by adding celery, carrot, garlic, bay leaf and fresh herbs.
This meal is comfort food, pure and simple!
How to make this chicken and rice crockpot recipe
This chicken and rice slow cooker recipe is family-friendly and couldn’t be easier to prepare.
Pro tip: This recipe has not been tested using any other types of rice. Bear in mind that the cooking time and amount of liquid will likely vary if you use a different brand or type of rice.
- Place everything but the peas in the crock pot, then cook on high for 2 1/2 hours.
- Add the peas and cook for another 15-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Once cooked, turn off the heat and discard the bay leaf and thyme sprig. Remove the chicken and shred or chop into bite-sized pieces and stir it gently into the rice mixture along with half of the cheese.
- Top the casserole with the remaining cheese, then cover just until the cheese melts.
Recipe notes
- Pro tip: This recipe has not been tested using any other types of rice. Bear in mind that the cooking time and amount of liquid will likely vary if you use a different brand or type of rice.
- I’ve tried this recipe with chicken stock, vegetable stock and water, and each one resulted in a delicious dish — the vegetables and herbs add all the flavor you need!
- This recipe may be made vegetarian and even vegan! Simply omit the chicken and cheese and use vegetable broth or water.
- Feel free to substitute using your favorite types of veggies. Cooked mushrooms and broccoli are also great options!
More crock pot recipes you’ll love:
- Crock Pot Mac and Cheese by Spend with Pennies
- Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken
- Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
- Slow Cooker Chicken Stock
- Slow Cooker Avgolemono Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
- Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Did you try this recipe? If so, be sure to leave a review below and tag me @flavorthemoments on Facebook and Instagram
Easy Crock Pot Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 1 large carrot chopped into 1/4″ thick pieces
- 1 large stalk celery trimmed and chopped into 1/4″ thick pieces
- 1 clove garlic minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 sprig fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup Floating Leaf Fine Foods Sprouted Crimson Lentil Wild Rice and Quinoa Prairie Blend substitute with your favorite wild rice (not quick cooking)
- 3 cups reduced sodium chicken stock
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts seasoned with salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup green peas fresh or frozen
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Equipment
Instructions
- Spray the inside of the the crockpot with cooking spray. Place the chopped carrot, celery, garlic, herbs, bay leaf, rice and stock or water into the slow cooker and stir to combine. Add the chicken, cover and cook on high, stirring occasionally.
- Add the peas after about 2 1/2 hours and continue cooking for an additional 15-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the rice has absorbed most of the liquid.
- Turn the slow cooker off. Remove and discard the bay leaf, then remove the chicken and place on a cutting board. Cut into bite sized pieces, then add it back to the crock pot along with half of the cheese and salt and pepper, to taste. Stir gently to combine.
- Top with the remaining cheese and cover just until the cheese melts. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Pro tip: This recipe has not been tested using any other types of rice. Bear in mind that the cooking time and amount of liquid will likely vary if you use a different brand or type of rice.
- I’ve tried this recipe with chicken stock, vegetable stock and water, and each one resulted in a delicious dish — the vegetables and herbs add all the flavor you need!
- This recipe may be made vegetarian and even vegan! Simply omit the chicken and cheese and use vegetable broth or water.
- Feel free to substitute using your favorite types of veggies. Cooked mushrooms and broccoli are also great options
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
27 Comments on “Easy Crock Pot Chicken and Rice”
Plugging in my crock pot now, this is perfect for a chilly fall night, and I love Floating Leaf blends!
I hope you love this meal Sue! Those Floating Leaf blends are amazing. 🙂
All my favorite ingredients in one dish!
It doesn’t get much better! 🙂
This looks so ridiculously cozy and comforting! Well done!!!
Thank you Lauren! 🙂
Thank you Robyn and you’re so right — that wild rice is so special!
This recipe is amazing! I absolutely love Floating Leaf rice blends. Such a great idea to make it in your crockpot!
I’m with you Kristen — I love those rice blends. Thank you! 🙂
Holy moly, this looks so comforting and delicious! And I love how this wild rice brings the comfort food to a more nutritious level! Can’t wait to devour this.
Yes…the wild rice makes this dish so much more wholesome! Thanks Dana!
This looks so good Marcie — love the ease of the crockpot for healthy dinners! I adore Floating Leaf and know you’ve got something special here!
Thanks so much Michelle and I will be making this all fall and winter long!
I love cheesy rice casseroles like this! They’re total comfort food but also nice and healthy too!
Aren’t they delicious? Thanks Izzy!
Such warm and cozy food! I could go for a big plate of this for dinner tonight!
It’s the ultimate comfort food! Thanks Gayle!
What an awesome dish for the whole family! Gotta try this one.
Thank you so much Tricia!
We grew up on rice pilaf so any sort of dish like this reminds me of my childhood! And not to mention it sounds so delicious and cozy! I’ve never seen Floating Leaf before – I’ll have to keep an eye out for it next time I’m at the grocery store.
I’m glad you’re on the same page with me on rice! You would love Floating Leaf Ashley. It’s not super widely distributed yet but you can find it on Amazon and I hear it’s rolling out to Whole Foods!
I grew up in Texas, one of the largest rice growing regions in the US, but my mother seldom cooked rice. I love it and use it often so your meal sounds good to me.
Thank you Karen — I think you’d love Floating Leaf! 🙂
Can you provide times for doing this in the Instant Pot?
Try this Instant Pot version: https://flavorthemoments.com/instant-pot-chicken-and-rice/
Can this recipe be made into a soup?
I have a slow cooker turkey wild rice soup recipe — simply search the archives for it.